Huawei will officially announce the Mate 10 flagship on October 16, with the Chinese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) planning to unveil its latest high-end device alongside the Mate 10 Lite, sources with knowledge of the matter said earlier this week. The tech giant is reportedly planning to hold its upcoming product launch event in Munich, Germany, indicating that both devices will be sold on the Old Continent, with the Mate 10 also being expected to hit the United States and a number of Asian markets. The newly uncovered information coincides with previous rumors about the device that claimed the Mate 10 will be revealed in October, with most industry insiders agreeing that the handset will be available for purchase by the end of the year.
The Mate 10 is rumored to feature a nearly bezel-less design thanks to its 6.1-inch edge-to-edge screen, sources said, adding that the display panel in question will feature an unconventional aspect ratio of 18:9, i.e. 2:1, and be manufactured by Japan Display Inc. Tall image formats are becoming increasingly popular in the mobile industry and the currently best-selling Android smartphones in 2017 are featuring them, with Huawei previously implying that it’s looking to follow suit and join the new design trend. The screen of the Mate 10 is said to feature a resolution of 2,160 by 1,080 pixels, with the phablet itself reportedly being powered by the Kirin 970, HiSilicon’s first system-on-chip (SoC) manufactured on the 10nm process node that has yet to be officially announced by the Huawei-owned fabless semiconductor company.
According to industry sources from Poland, the Mate 10 will be priced at 4,000 Polish zloty, which translates to approximately $1,100. That price tag will likely be smaller in the majority of other European markets as Poland has one of the highest value-added tax rates in the European union, with its VAT amounting to 23 percent. The phablet is likely to be even cheaper in the United States, though it may still cost north of $700 if the aforementioned price for Poland is accurate. The smaller, 5.8-inch Mate 10 Lite is said to cost 1,999 zloty in Poland, which translates to approximately $556. Huawei recently claimed that the Mate 10 will be looking to take on the Apple iPhone 8 lineup head-on, adding that its top management believes the flagship has what it takes to compete with the most popular smartphone series on the planet.