Huawei Mate 9 Release Date Rumors and Specs: Could Come With Dual 20MP Camera and Kirin 960 Chip

Sep 16, 2016 12:52 PM EDT

Huawei is now reportedly gearing up to release the Mate 9 later this year. The next flagship device of the company may come with better dual camera set-up than the iPhone 7. Not only that, the handset is reportedly powered by faster processor.

Here's what is currently known about Huawei Mate 9 release date, rumors and specs.

An alleged leaked photo of Huawei Mate 9 was published on Chinese social network Weibo. Based on the image, it appears the next Mate smartphone has top-of-line features that can go up against leading smartphones in the market.

By looking closely, one can easily notice the dual-camera set-up on the back of the smartphone. Android Authority says the next Mate has dual 20-megapixel cameras, which are better than iPhone 7's 12-megapixel dual cameras. The higher megapixel allows users to capture better-looking photos in high resolution. Aside from two 20-megapixel lenses, the smartphone has dual-LED flash and fingerprint sensor.

Inside, Huawei Mate 9 is powered by new Kirin 960 processor, which is an upgrade from Mate 8's Kirin 950. The latter has ARM's Cortex-A72 core design and a 16nm FinFET process. However, the Kirin 960 has upgraded Cortex-A73, which is a much more powerful and faster processor. 

The Mate 9 is the first device from Huawei that is equipped with ARM's Cortex-A73. The Kirin 960 CPU is paired with a whopping 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage

For operating system, rumors around the internet claim the Mate 9 runs on EMUI 5 interface atop Android 7.0 Nougat. The modified software of Huawei seems to eliminate many of the pain points of previous EMUI versions, such as app-switching, lock screen and notifications.

Furthermore, the Mate 9 is said to have 1080 x 1920 Quad HD resolution and sports the IPS-NEO LCD technology. For screen protection, its screen is reportedly protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Also, the overall body of the device has same smooth and premium finish of its previous iteration.

The launching of the Huawei Mate 8 happened in December last year, so we expect the Mate 9 will be released around the same month, probably November or December 2016.

Meanwhile, take note that the Mate 9-related rumors mentioned above came from unverified sources, so let's take them with a proverbial pinch of salt. Huawei has not yet revealed the full specs and features of the Mate 9.

Stick with us for more update.