Huawei Mate 10 prices, details, UK release

This afternoon (UK time) Huawei unveiled three new high-end smartphones. So, please welcome the Huawei Mate 10, Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10.

That’s right, Huawei has been very busy. Mind you, they have had to be. These handsets have been designed to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, the iPhone 8 and Google Pixel 2.

They will also be deployed in strategic waves. When they land you had better brace yourself though. These phones will range from between €699 and an O.M.G-baiting €1,395.

They all look gorgeous but the proof of the pudding is in the… errr.. choosing of the right analogy, apparently.

Huawei Mate 10 – the details

All three phones run Android Oreo. The similarities don’t stop there either. In fact, looking through the specs, they are all largely the same. Obviously, the screen sizes are different.

Screen

The Huawei Mate 10 has a 5.9-inch, 2560 x 1440 display, while the Pro and Porsche Design models are slightly larger but less sharp.

The latter models are equipped with 6-inch, 2160 x 1080 displays.

RAM and ROM

The smaller handset’s internals are lesser though, sporting 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Whereas the Pro model is IP67 water- and dust-resistant and packs 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The tasty Porsche Design model features 6GB of RAM buddied with an expansive 256GB of storage.

Processor

All three are powered by the Kirin 970 chip, which Huawei has dubbed an AI processor.

According to the company, the chip helps the phone work faster “for AI-related tasks”. So, tell me that wasn’t on your phone shopping list!

The phone uses it to recognise a range of objects through the camera, such as animals and food, and learn your usage habits. Yes, HAL. I am eating another pizza…

Cameras

One of the Mate 10’s headline features is the Leica dual-camera setup on the back. The latest Mates combine a 20-megapixel monochrome lens with a 12-megapixel colour sensor.

The system is designed to let you easily play with effects. Bokeh has been a byword for these clever sensors for some time now. In fact, other manufacturers, including Apple and Google, now do something similar with their flagship phones.

Up front sits an 8-megapixel selfie camera.

Stamina

All three models are also powered by a 4,000mAh battery, which looks very generous on paper.

The cell can be recharged quickly via the USB-C port too, thanks to Huawei’s SuperCharge technology.

Design

I quite like the Mate 10’s shiny strip at the back. Apparently this reflective band has been designed to attract attention to the camera.

All three handsets have a glass body, and will be available in a range of colours. More on that later.

The Pro will feel like a smaller phone due to the narrower 18:9 aspect ratio it shares with many of this year’s similarly sized bezel-less handsets. The regular Mate, however, arrives in 16:9.

The Mate 10 is 8.2mm thick and has a fingerprint sensor below the screen; the Pro is 7.9mm and has its fingerprint sensor around the back.

The Pro also features an IR blaster, while the Mate 10 gets a headphone jack and a microSD card slot as a trade-off.

Special power

Samsung has its DeX, which is a pretty similar concept to Windows Continuum and the Motorola Atrix. All of which are ways you can use your mobile as a desktop computer – in a fashion.

Well, Huawei has empowered the Mate 10 to do the same, although you can plug your phone directly into a monitor using a cable.

You can expect to get around three hours of use in desktop mode. This features resizable windows and Office support.

The system allows you to use your phone as normal while it’s powering the larger monitor. There are also privacy controls that allow you to stop notifications from popping up. You really don’t want some things you get sent to your phone on the big screen, do you?

Specs at a glance

Mate 10 specifications

• Processor: Huawei Kirin 970 2.4 GHz octa-core
• Display: 5.9-inch 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution LCD (499 ppi)
• Operating system: Android 8.0 Oreo with EMUI 8.0
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB internal with microSD expansion card slot.
• Cameras: Rear 20-megapixel f/1.6 aperture monochrome and 12-megapxiel f/1.6 aperture color cameras with OIS. Front 8-megapixel f/2.0 aperture
• Battery: 4,000mAh with SuperCharge fast and safe charging technology
• Dimensions: 150.5 x 77.8 x 8.2mm and 186g

Mate 10 Pro specifications

• Processor: Huawei Kirin 970 2.4 GHz octa-core
• Display: 6-inch 2160 x 1080 pixels resolution LCD (402 ppi)
• Operating system: Android 8.0 Oreo with EMUI 8.0
• RAM: 6GB
• Storage: 128GB internal. No microSD
• IP rating: IP 67 – dust and water resistant
• Cameras: Rear 20-megapixel f/1.6 aperture monochrome and 12-megapxiel f/1.6 aperture color cameras with OIS; front 8-megapixel f/2.0 aperture
• Battery: 4,000mAh with SuperCharge fast and safe charging technology
• Dimensions: 154.2 x 74.5 x 7.9mm and 178g

Price and availability

The Mate 10, which will come out in late October and cost €699 (£620). Colour choices will be Mocha Brown, Black, Champagne Gold and Pink Gold.

The Mate 10 Pro, meanwhile, will cost €799 (£710) when it hits the market in mid-November. It will be available in Midnight Blue, Titanium Grey, Mocha Brown and Pink Gold.

Finally, the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 will cost an eyewatering €1,395 (£1,240) when it comes out next month, and will only be available in Diamond Black.