Rumors are gathering that Huawei may be working on a sequel to the Mate 7, called the Mate 8. The company has already released a range of exciting devices in 2015, from the new Huawei Watch to the Mate S smartphone, so what does it have for us in the near future? Here’s everything we think we know about the Mate 8, which sounds like a-veritable monster of a phablet. Updated on 11-18-2015 by David Curry: Added in new photos of the apparent Mate 8.- Design may be reminiscent of the Mate 7 The Huawei Mate 8 launch date looms closer, and reliable leaker OnLeaks has revealed some new details on what could be the Mate 8. In a spree of tweets, OnLeaks showed what looks like the back, front, and sides of the Mate 8, along with a short video circling the device (or showing the device spinning). The photos posted are quite convincing. The Mate 8 uses the same all-metal aesthetic as the G8 and Mate S, and has the fingerprint sensor on the back. OnLeaks said that the Mate 8 will not feature USB Type-C. No comments have been made on the screen or megapixel size. No physical buttons appear on the front of the leaked device, meaning we’re likely going to see software buttons. The display is full edge-to-edge, with the Huawei logo and front-facing camera the only areas of non-screen on the front of the smartphone. Our first look at what could be the Mate 8 came from-a Chinese source in late July, when a pair of renders showing the device were published online. The pictured phone’s design resembles the Mate 7 from 2014, right down to the large fingerprint sensor on the rear. On the front, the display has very thin bezels, and what looks like a flash unit is set above it, opposite the front-facing selfie camera. Subsequently, a short video was published on YouTube showing a hands-on with a phone that’s said to be the Huawei Mate 8. The design is slightly different to the phone in the leaked picture. On the rear, the flash unit is off to the side of the camera lens, rather than between it and the potential fingerprint sensor. There’s no obvious Huawei branding, but the name ‘Miahen’ can be creatively altered to make the company’s name. There are changes to the front too. There’s no evidence of a front-facing flash, and the selfie cam lens and what’s probably an ambient light sensor sit to one side of the speaker. The phone is shown in a gold color. While the phone is obviously real, there’s no proof it’s the final design. The video has since been deleted. November 26 event teased Things have been quiet regarding the Mate 8 for several months, following the launch of the Mate S in September, but that changed at the beginning of November. According to Chinese blog Mobile Dad, Huawei has started teasing an event on November 26, which could see the arrival of the long-rumored phone. The teaser image shows a large figure 8, and states the Mate model line will return. It seems like a safe bet the phone on display will be the Mate 8, but it’s unofficial for now. What’s more, Huawei is expected to announce the new Kirin 950 processor on November 5, ready to power the new flagship phablet. Premium body, high specs rumored The Mate 8,-which drops the Ascend sub-brand in accordance with the Huawei’s new device-naming conventions, seems-categorically premium. According to a source-in China, it’ll feature an all-metal body-and extraordinarily thin bezel around a-2560 x 1440 touchscreen. The internals sound just as uncompromising: a 20.7-megapixel rear camera with a Sony sensor, up to 4GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor, and support for Cat.6 LTE service. Reportedly driving the powerhouse is-Huawei’s-in-house Kirin 950-with eight CPU cores, a processor that the source claims matches or bests-the performance of Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 820. Related: Huawei Ascend Mate 7-hands on Another report states Huawei will make two versions of the Mate 8, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space, and the other with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. It also adds the front facing camera may have 8-megapixels. However, the report questions whether the Kirin 950 chip will be ready in time for the Mate 8, and Huawei may be forced to go with an alternative. This fits with earlier leaks indicating the Mate 8 would sport a Kirin 930 processor, and those reports also linked the phone with a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization — but suitably high-end-components are in line with previous Huawei Mate phones. Last year’s Ascend Mate 7, for instance, featured a-massive 4,100mAh battery, 3GB of RAM,-and a high-contrast IPS panel. It’s reasonable to speculate the Mate 8’s screen size will be roughly in line with its predecessor, and the gigantic P8 Max. This Chinese source agrees, stating it will measure 6-inches and have a 2K — which we’ll take to mean 2560 x 1440 pixels — resolution. A few unknowns remain. It’s likely the Mate 8 will run-the newest iteration-of Huawei’s Emotion UI overlay, but it’s unclear-how radical a change it’ll be from the version (Emotion UI 3.0) that debuted alongside the-the Ascend Mate 7. As for price, don’t expect the Mate 8 to be cheap. The Ascend Mate 7’s going rate in the UK was-£399, or about $623. Related: Here’s some confidence for you: Huawei wants to chase down Apple and Samsung in the U.S.- Where will the Mate 8 be sold? If the Ascend Mate 7’s performance is anything to go by — Huawei shipped 1 million units in its first month of availability — the Mate 8 will undoubtedly sell well in China. But-Zhiqiang Xu, president of the company’s-U.S. division, earlier this year-expressed ambitions beyond the mainland, asserting that-2015 would be “critical for Huawei” in its quest gain a U.S. foothold. To that end, Huawei has-committed to improving its American portal for unsubsidized, unlocked device sales by staffing call centers in the U.S. and offering free shipping to and from local repair centers. The company-has so far been reticent to brings its flagship devices to U.S. shores — the Ascend Mate 7 never landed stateside — but that could change with the Mate 8. Previous Updates: Updated on 11-02-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in-news the Mate 8 may launch on November 26 Updated on 08-04-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in-a short video which may show the Huawei Mate 8 Updated on 07-23-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in leaked picture that may show the Huawei Mate 8 Article first published on 07-22-2015 Also watch: Huawei Watch Review: A stunning Android Wear Watch Please enable Javascript to watch this video



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