Following months of speculation, Huawei has officially confirmed the launch of the Mate 70 series for the fourth quarter of 2024. This places the release window somewhere between October to December.
The confirmation comes from Huawei Consumer Business Chairman Yu Chengdong, who revealed that the Mate 70 series will be the first to come pre-installed with the stable version of HarmonyOS NEXT.
Huawei launched the HarmonyOS NEXT at the HDC Developer Conference event today. It completely breaks away from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) codebase which means Huawei devices with this version of HarmonyOS will not support Android apps altogether.
The upcoming Mate 70 will be the first to get a stable version of the new OS Following its release, Huawei is expected to roll out the major software update to other devices. The company has already begun Beta testing the OS on the Mate 60 series and a bunch of other devices starting today.
While details about the Mate 70 series hardware are scarce, leaks suggest that the Pro model will maintain the triple punch-hole display design seen in its predecessors, though it’s unclear if this extends to the entire lineup.
To recall, the Mate 60 Pro features a 13-megapixel ultrawide selfie camera, a 3D ToF sensor, and additional sensors and lasers for 3D face mapping. The Mate 70 Pro is likely to continue using the same set of front sensors.
The rear camera system is another area of focus for leaks. The Mate 70 series might utilize upcoming Omnivision sensors for improved image and video capture. Additionally, the top model in the line could feature a retractable lens similar to the one in the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra.
The Mate 70 series is also rumored to feature a new Kirin chip, though details about it are scarce at the moment.
