Not too long ago, a leaked render came out for the upcoming Huawei Mate 9, and it appeared that there would be two versions of the device available when it is announced on November 3rd. We didn’t have a name for that curved display version that appeared, but now we do. Thanks to VentureBeat, it appears to be the Mate 9 Pro. This device is codenamed Long Island, with the regular Mate 9 being codenamed Manhattan. The specs of the two devices are largely the same. We’re looking at a 5.9-inch display, with the HiSilicon Kirin 960 processor inside, with 4GB of RAM and storage capacities include 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Where the Mate 9 Pro differs is with the 2560×1440 resolution, compared to the 1080p resolution found on the Mate 9.
You may recall that Huawei has said in the past that a 2K display is overkill for a smartphone. Which some would agree with, but the reason why they went with a 2K or QHD display on the Mate 9 Pro is because it works with Google’s Daydream VR. This is all “according to someone familiar with company plans”. It’s not confirmed that this is going to be a Daydream VR compatible smartphone, but if it is, it’ll be the first smartphone from a manufacturer other than Google to support the new platform.
Both smartphones are going to be sporting a dual-camera setup, like recent flagships out of the Chinese manufacturer have had. However, instead of going with dual 12-megapixel shooters, Huawei is said to be going with a 20-megapixel shooter and a 12-megapixel shooter. Which should provide an even better experience for users. Additionally, they both will be running on Android 7.0 Nougat, and not Android 7.1. This would be the second smartphone to launch with Android 7.0 Nougat, behind the LG V20 which is currently up for pre-order after having been announced in early September.
The company is still expected to announce both variants of the Huawei Mate 9 at their November 3rd event in Germany. It’s not clear when these smartphones will be available for purchase, but they should be available before the end of the year.