Alleged Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G screen protector confirms a waterfall display for the upcoming flagship
According to Huawei Central, the image of a screen protector allegedly made for the unannounced Huawei Mate 40 Pro shows curves on both the left and right side indicative of a waterfall display. Last year's Mate 30 Pro featured an 88-degree drop-off on both sides of the screen. The so-called Horizon Display on last year's model eliminated the physical volume keys and replaced them with virtual controls on the side of the waterfall display.
A patent approved by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) indicates that the Mate 40 Pro will add more virtual controls, some from the camera app, to the side of the phone's display. And similar to what Huawei offered on its 2020 first-half flagship model the P40 Pro, the Mate 40 Pro will feature a 90Hz refresh rate for buttery smooth scrolling and enhanced gaming animations. At 90Hz, the screen is updated 90 times each second.
LetGoDigital created a render from a patent illustration showing a touch interface for a phone's camera on the side of a curved waterfall display
The Mate 40 series could be powered by the unannounced Kirin 1012 chipset. The component is supposed to be manufactured by TSMC using its 5nm process node. A new export rule put into place by the U.S. will take effect in the middle of September; it will require foundries (like TSMC) that use U.S. technology to produce their cutting-edge chips to obtain a license from the U.S. before shipping the components to Huawei. This might not affect the Mate 40 line but could seriously impact the P50 Pro starting next spring.
However, it is believed that Huawei will have access to only 8 million Kirin 1020 chips with 10 million phones expected to be built. As a result Huawei could use the Kirin 1020 SoC on the Mate 40 Pro and the Snapdragon 865+ Mobile Platform or MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ on the Mate 40. Or it could stick to the Kirin chips on units sold in a particular market (or markets) and use the alternative chips elsewhere.
The Horizon Display used on the Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Huawei has plenty of momentum behind it right now. The company's Huawei Mobile Services ecosystem reaches 700 million users up 32% year-over-year. And with 55.8 million phones shipped from April through June, Huawei is the leading smartphone manufacturer in the world at the moment. Imagine if the company wasn't considered a national security threat in the states.
Meanwhile, Huawei fans are eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the Mate 40 and Mate 40 Pro; the Mate line is the manufacturer's most technologically advanced handsets manufactured each year and having a 5nm chip driving the series should make the handsets even more powerful and energy-efficient. While some expect an October release for the phones there are some analysts calling for a one to two-month delay that could take the calendar into November or December before the second-half flagships are launched.
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