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With the Mate 30 series launching in one week, the leaks and rumours are out in full force. It is going to be an interesting release for sure, likely mired by the issues with Google.

As always with the Mate series, this will be the first phone to launch with the new flagship system on a chip from Huawei / HiSilicon.

We already know all the details of this, but at the moment there is no clue on what variations will be launched with the Mate 30 series. There are two Kirin 990 chips, one with 5G that is also clocked higher.

The Mate 30 Pro will definitely come with the 5G variant, but they may have a 5G model and a none 5G model. Hopefully, the Mate 30 Pro will just be 5G by default, and the normal Kirin 990 will be used on the Mate 30 (none pro).

So how does the new phone differ from the previous generations?

All of the following information is based on leaks, and titbits of information Huawei has released. It is also not complete so hopefully, Huawei will throw out a few surprises.

The most recent leak comes from @RODENT950, and covers most of the specification.

Google Apps

Sadly, this is the most talked-about thing at the moment. It looks almost certain that the Mate 30 series will launch without any Google Apps and come with some form of cut back Android. The previous models obviously came with everything included.

It is expected that Huawei will somehow make it easy for users to sideload Google Apps.

SoC, RAM and Storage

We know for certain that the Kirin 990 5G will be launched on one of the models, likely the Kirin 990 on others.

Both the P30 and Mate 20 launched with the Kirin 980.

A more detailed comparison is available here. However, expect the usual, more performance, better power efficiency etc. The AI performance has dramatically improved so it will be interesting to see what Huawei do with this.

Camera

The P series is normally where Huawei make leaps and bounds progress with the camera. We saw this with the introduction of the new RYYB sensor in the P30 Pro, this allowed the phone to achieve exceptional low light performance.

The Mate 30 Pro is almost certainly launching with two lenses using this technology. Numerous leaks have happened, and Huawei has teased it. It is highly likely they will use the 40MP RYYB sensor in the wide lens, which in my opinion is fantastic news as wide-angle is my favourite choice.

While the underlying sensor technology will stay the same, the Image Signal Processor on the Kirin 990 series comes with a “brand new” ISP 5.0 that utilizes block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D) for hardware-based noise reduction, letting phones theoretically capture brighter and sharper images in low light. Huawei claims this will give the chipset DSLR-grade noise-handling, improved by 30% compared to the Kirin 980. 

Mate 30 Sensor

The latest leak indicates no periscope zoom but instead, the 3x optical that was found on the Mate 20 Pro.

On the front, Huawei has gone back to the Mate 20 style again, and there is quite a large notch which hides a 32MP camera, and ultrawide camera with no specification revealed yet, and a TOF sensor.

Display

mate30 waterfall

The phone will definitely be launching with a new waterfall display which extends the rounded edges down the side of the phone. How good this is in real life remains to be seen.

The latest leaks indicate some resolution has had to be sacrificed for this display. It is expected to run at 1176-2400 FHD, but it is also believed to have a high refresh rate of 90Hz.

The P30 Pro has a 1080 x 2340 pixel display, while the Mate 20 Pro had 1440 x 3120 pixel.

The exact screen size doesn’t appear to be known yet, but it looks like Huawei are going larger again with something between 6.6 – 6.8-inch vs 6.47 of the P30 and 6.39 of the Mate 20.

Battery

It looks like Huawei will continue their dominance in battery performance. The Mate 30 Pro is expected to launch with a 4500 mAh battery, 40W supercharge and 27W wireless charging!

The P30 Pro & Mate 20 Pro both had a 4200 mAh battery with 40W charging and 15W wireless.

Other Features

It looks like Huawei will be doing some other things with their Face ID tech, it should be more accurate, and it is also expected to be able to measure your heart rate and breathing rate. The advanced AI processing of the Kirin 990 is likely allow this to function.

HuaweiMate 30 ProP30 ProMate 20 Pro
Announced2019, September2019, March2018, October
Dimensions-158 x 73.4 x 8.4 mm (6.22 x 2.89 x 0.33 in)157.8 x 72.3 x 8.6 mm (6.21 x 2.85 x 0.34 in)
Weight-192 g (6.77 oz)189 g (6.67 oz)
BuildFront/back glass & aluminum frameFront/back glass, aluminum frameFront/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame
SIMNano-SIMSingle SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)Nano-SIM
IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 mins)IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 mins)IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 mins)
TypeOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size6.53 inch6.47 inches, 102.8 cm26.39 inches, 100.2 cm2 (~87.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution1176-2400 FHD+ waterfall AMOLED display
Probably 90Hz
1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~398 ppi density)1440 x 3120 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~538 ppi density)
HDR10HDR10DCI-P3
DCI-P3HDR10
OSAndroid 10 (Pie); EMUI 10 - No Google Apps (at launch)Android 9.0 (Pie); EMUI 9Android 9.0 (Pie); EMUI 9
ChipsetHisilicon Kirin 990HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm)HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm)
CPU2x Cortex-A76 @ 2.86GHz
2x Cortex-A76 @ 2.36GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.95GHz
(4MB shared L3 cache)
Octa-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)Octa-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPUMali-G76 MP16Mali-G76 MP10Mali-G76 MP10
Card slotNM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses SIM 2)NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses SIM 2)NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB
Internal8GB+128GB base
12GB+512GB top model
128/256/512 GB, 8 GB RAM128 GB, 6 GB RAM
Rear Camera40 MP, f/1.6, 27mm (wide), 1/1.7", PDAF, OIS, RYYB40 MP, f/1.6, 27mm (wide), 1/1.7", PDAF, OIS, RYYB40 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), 1/1.7", PDAF/Laser AF
40 MP wide 18mm 1/1.15520 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.7", PDAF/Laser AF20 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.7", PDAF/Laser AF
8 MP, f/2.4, 80mm (telephoto), 1/4", 3x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF/Laser AFPeriscope 8 MP, f/3.4, 80mm (telephoto), 1/4", 5x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF/Laser AF8 MP, f/2.4, 80mm (telephoto), 1/4", 3x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF/Laser AF
TOF 3D cameraTOF 3D camera
FeaturesLeica optics, Xenon LED flash, HDR, panorama & colour temp sensorLeica optics, dual-LED dual-tone flash, panorama, HDRLeica optics, dual-LED dual-tone flash, panorama, HDR
Video2160p@60fps, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps
Front Camera32MP + unknown ultra wide + TOF sensor32 MP, f/2.0, (wide)24 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide)
FeaturesLeica opticsHDRHDR
Video-1080p@30fps1080p@30fps
LoudspeakerYes, with stereo speakersYesYes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jackNoNoNo
32-bit/384kHz audio32-bit/384kHz audio32-bit/384kHz audio
Active noise cancellation with dedicated micActive noise cancellation with dedicated micActive noise cancellation with dedicated mic
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE
GPSYes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSSYes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSSYes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS
NFCYesYesYes
Infrared portYesNoYes
RadioNoNoNo
USB3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connectorType-C 1.0 reversible connector3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
SensorsFace ID, fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compassFace ID, fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compassFace ID, fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass
Non-removable Li-Po 4500 mAh batteryNon-removable Li-Po 4200 mAh batteryNon-removable Li-Po 4200 mAh battery
ChargingFast battery charging 4.5V/5A 40W superchargeFast battery charging 40WFast battery charging 40W (70% in 30 min)
27W superwireless chargingFast wireless charging 15WFast wireless charging 15W
Power bank/Reverse wireless chargingPower bank/Reverse wireless charging
ColoursBlack, Ice White, Aurora Blue, Sunrise RedEmerald Green, Midnight Blue, Twilight, Pink Gold, Black

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