From giant screen mobile phone to all-round flagship—Reviewing the development path of Huawei Mate series

If the P series enables Huawei to compete with Apple and Samsung in terms of imaging in the mobile phone market, then the Mate series is the basis for Huawei to compete with Apple and Samsung in all aspects. The Mate series has gained high market recognition due to its large screen, long battery life and excellent overall experience. At present, Huawei's Mate series may be the most recognized among domestic high-end mobile phones. Next, let’s review how the Mate series has evolved step by step from giant-screen phones to all-round flagships.

In March 2013, Huawei released its first Mate series product: Huawei Mate. At that time, Samsung Note2 was only 5.5 inches, while Mate had a 6.1-inch giant screen, but the resolution was only 720P; the battery was 4050 mAh, which was indeed very large at the time when the average was only about 2000 mAh; the processor It is the classic HiSilicon K3V2, supporting the most decoding formats in history; 2G memory, 8G storage, equipped with Emotion UI based on Android 4.1.

It is positioned differently from the current all-round business flagships of the Mate series. Instead, it is purely aimed at users who pursue ultra-large screens and super battery life. Therefore, Mate has been quite popular among some special customer groups.

A year later, in March 2014, Huawei released Mate2. Mate2 is still equipped with a 6.1-inch 720P screen, and the battery is still 4050 mAh. 2G RAM, storage upgraded to 16G, processor upgraded to Kirin 910T quad-core processor, supporting 4G network. Rear 13-megapixel camera. In terms of other functions, it supports multi-window operation on the same screen, reverse charging and NFC functions.

Although Mate1 and Mate2 have achieved good results through special market positioning, what Huawei wants is to attract more ordinary users to buy it and make Mate a high-end flagship that can completely replace the D series. Then A big screen and a big battery are not enough. So in September 2014, Huawei Mate7 was released. Mate7 adopts an integrated metal body design, and the body quality has been greatly upgraded; the front is a 6-inch 1080P screen, with an ultra-narrow bezel design that can park an aircraft carrier; the first-ever HiSilicon Kirin 925 eight-core processor; battery capacity 4100 mAh , with a 13-megapixel rear camera and integrated fingerprint recognition function on the back for the first time.

I believe that a considerable number of people’s understanding of the Mate series comes from the Mate7 product, and I am no exception. The slogan "Jazz Life" is so classic. When it comes to this, I have to admire Master Yang Zhe's marketing ability.

The large screens and long battery life of Mate1 and Mate2 have laid a good reputation foundation, and the jazzy life of Mate7 has established a high-end image for the Mate series. Huawei seems to feel that the Mate series has the capital to be high-end, so it released the Mate S in September 2015. All-metal integrated body design, with a 5.5-inch 1080P resolution screen on the front; Kirin 935 processor, built-in 3G RAM and 64G storage; supports new fingerprint recognition 2.0 and knuckle recognition 2.0 technology; equipped with EMUI based on Android 6 4.0 operating system.

Although the craftsmanship and design of Mate S are excellent, the weak performance of Kirin 935 and the fact that Apple released Force Touch function similar to 3D Touch before Apple has been implemented in the retail version. In addition, 4199 starting selling price. As a result, the aircraft did not achieve the expected results and ended in a dismal end. In fact, the price of Apple and Samsung's flagship phones at that time was generally only around 5,000. With the product strength and hardware capabilities of the Mate series at the time, it was naturally impossible to support the high price.

In November of that year, Huawei launched the sequel to the Mate series: Huawei Mate 8. The biggest highlight of Mate 8 is the 16nm process Kirin 950 processor, which uses four A72 architecture large cores, supplemented by four A53 small cores, Mali-T880 GPU, and integrated 4G baseband, changing the weak image of the previous Kirin 930. There is a beautiful time gap with the Snapdragon 820 and Samsung Exynos 8890, and its performance is far better than the Snapdragon 810 and Exynos 7420 in the same period. It is a turnaround for Huawei processors.

In addition, Mate8 uses an all-metal integrated body; a 6-inch 1080P 2.5D curved screen; a 4000 mAh battery that supports 18w fast charging; and a rear 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 sensor that supports optical anti-virus shake. In terms of selling price, Mate 8 is also relatively pragmatic, still starting at 2,999, and the full Netcom version is 3,199.

With the lessons learned from Mate S, Huawei promptly corrected its mistakes and adjusted the direction of its products. Through the steady improvement of Mate 8, it once again consolidated the reputation and image of the Mate series.

In November 2016, Huawei released the Mate9 series. This time it launched three versions at once: Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro, and the first joint launch of the Mate 9 Porsche Design Limited Edition.

Mate9 is equipped with a 5.9-inch 1080P direct screen, 4000 mAh battery, and still has an integrated metal body design; it is the first Kirin 960 processor; it uses the EMUI 5.0 system based on Android 7.0; and it integrates fingerprint recognition on the back sensor. In terms of cameras, Mate9 is equipped with a second-generation Leica dual camera with a 12-megapixel color lens and a 12-megapixel black and white lens.

Mate9 Pro and Porsche Limited Edition have the same processor, camera, battery and other parameters as Mate9. The biggest difference is the appearance and screen design: the fingerprint recognition of Mate 9 Pro and Porsche Limited Edition has been moved from the back to On the front, it is changed to a push-type fingerprint recognition design; the screen is also changed from a 1080P LCD direct screen to a 2K resolution Samsung Super Amoled curved screen. It is the second domestic mobile phone with a curved screen design after Xiaomi Note2, but the display quality is far behind. Better than Xiaomi Note2.

Huawei and Porsche Design collaborated to launch a joint model, which helped Huawei create a higher reputation. The camera was co-branded with Leica before, and the design was co-branded with Porsche. This year fully reflected Huawei's ambition to build P and Mate into its most high-end series, marking Huawei's official move towards the high-end market occupied by Apple and Samsung.

In October 2017, Huawei released the Mate10 series in Munich. Mate10 and Mate10 Pro have changed from the all-metal body that lasted for several generations to a glass back shell and metal middle frame design, which has greatly changed the style of the entire machine.

Mate10 is equipped with a 5.9-inch, 2K resolution LCD display, a 4000mAh battery, and supports 22.5w fast charging. Since the forehead and chin are significantly narrowed, but the screen ratio is still 16:9, the whole machine is slightly chunky; the processor is 10nm process Kirin 970; the push-type fingerprint recognition is integrated on the front; it supports IP53 dustproof and waterproof. The camera is a dual-camera combination of 12-megapixel color lens and 20-megapixel black-and-white lens.

Mate10 Pro adopts a full-screen design with a slender body. The front is a 6-inch 1080P Samsung OLED direct screen. The fingerprint recognition is changed to the rear. It supports IP67 dustproof and waterproof. The rest of the configuration is the same as Mate10. .

Also unveiled was the Mate10 Porsche Design. The system has a customized theme, the back has a stronger high-end texture, and the packaging is more luxurious. The rest of the configuration is basically the same as Mate10 Pro.

In April 2018, Huawei released a Mate series product: Mate RS at the P20 launch conference. Mate RS can be said to be Huawei's masterpiece at the time. Mate20RS does not use the same bangs and big chin design as the P20, but is equipped with a 6-inch 2K resolution curved screen. In terms of hardware configuration, Kirin 970 has a 4000 mAh battery and 512G storage; supports 22.5w fast charging, and adds wireless charging function for the first time; supports IP67 dustproof and waterproof; supports super linear dual speakers and dual fingerprint recognition on the back and under the screen; retains the P20Pro The same Leica triple camera as above.

Being able to integrate so many top-level configurations into one mobile phone at the same time was not necessarily possible even by Apple and Samsung at the time. This time, Huawei Mate RS became the biggest highlight of the entire conference. It fully demonstrates Huawei's top hardware stacking and industrial design capabilities.

In October of the same year, Huawei released the Mate20 series. This time, the results of Huawei’s years of R&D and design capabilities have been concentrated, creating an all-round flagship phone with no blind spots.

Mate20 is equipped with a 6.53-inch 1080P, LCD water drop screen, 4000 mAh battery, up to 22.5w fast charge; first equipped with 7nm process Kirin 980 processor; supports dual speakers; integrated fingerprint recognition on the back; camera , Mate20 abandoned the black and white color lens solution and adopted a three-camera solution of main camera, telephoto and ultra-wide angle.

Next is Mate20 Pro: Kirin 980 processor, 6.39-inch 2K curved notch screen, the high-end version supports two recognition methods of under-screen fingerprint and 3D structured light; battery 4200 mAh, first 40w fast charge, And 15w wireless charging, the first wireless reverse charging technology; supports IP68 dustproof and waterproof and dual speakers. The camera inherits the IMX600 sensor on the P20 Pro and uses a three-camera combination of 40-megapixel main camera, 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, and 8-megapixel telephoto lens.

In addition to the two regular models, there is also an ultra-large screen Mate20 X. Mate20 seems to have returned to the original positioning of the Mate series: it has a 7.21-inch 1080P OLED water drop screen, 5000 mAh battery, 22.5w wired fast charging, Kirin 980 processor, back fingerprint recognition, and supports dual speakers; the lens module is the same as Mate20 Pro Same style. This giant screen flagship has also been greatly welcomed and meets the needs of ultra-large screen lovers. Later, Huawei launched the Mate20X 5G version, with a battery reduced to 4200 mAh, a Kirin 980 processor, a plug-in Balong 5000 baseband, and a charging upgrade to 40w.

Huawei’s performance this year is very impressive: the Kirin 980 processor has excellent energy efficiency; it also has the latest high-end biometric identification methods of under-screen fingerprint and 3D structured light; the lens focal length covers a wide range of The bottom lens has an overwhelming advantage in night shooting; the battery life and charging speed are excellent; the colors such as emerald green, sapphire blue, and cherry pink gold are very eye-catching. Friendly companies collectively failed this year: Samsung S9 and Note9 toothpaste sales plummeted, and the iPhone XS series also suffered a sales cliff due to lack of innovation, and finally the price plummeted. Huawei has taken advantage of the right time and place to successfully join the high-end ranks. However, due to LG's process issues, a large number of green screens appeared on the Mate20 Pro in the early stages of its launch. Most of the screens purchased from BOE were fine, but the LG versions all had green screens, resulting in the Mate20 Pro being out of stock for a long time.

Huawei Mate30 series

In September 2019, Huawei released the Mate30 series. The entire Mate30 series is equipped with the Kirin 990 4G processor, and later the Mate30 series equipped with the Kirin 990 5G processor was released. The processor integrates the 5G baseband.

Among them, Mate30 is equipped with a 6.62-inch 1080P rabbit screen, a battery capacity of 4200 mAh, and supports 40w wired charging and 27w wireless fast charging; the rear camera uses a 40-megapixel main camera, a 16-megapixel ultra-wide angle, and an 8-megapixel telephoto Lens combination. In addition, there is an extremely advanced 3.5mm headphone jack.

Mate30 Pro is equipped with a 6.53-inch 1176P notch ring screen, supporting 3D face recognition and screen fingerprint recognition; the battery is 4500 mAh, supporting 40w wired charging and 27w wireless charging; rear super-sensitive Leica four cameras: 40-megapixel movie lens, 40-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel telephoto camera and 3D depth camera, supporting 7680-frame slow-motion video shooting. In addition, Mate30 Pro also supports IP68 dustproof and waterproof, X-axis horizontal linear motor, and the 5G version adds a plain leather back shell.

Due to insufficient chips in the later period, Huawei launched Mate30E Pro. The processor is changed to Kirin 990E. Compared with Kirin 990, the number of CPU cores and architecture are the same, and the GPU is reduced from 16-core Mali-G76 to 14 cores; AI air-to-air operation gestures are cancelled. The rest of the configuration is exactly the same.

The year is here, and it is an extraordinary year for Huawei: multiple rounds of sanctions, chip supply cuts, and a shutdown crisis for its mobile phone business. However, the Mate40 series was released in October. This time, Huawei has piled all the latest and most powerful technologies on the Mate40 series, which is top-notch in terms of hardware configuration and workmanship.

Mate40 is equipped with a 6.5-inch 1080P, 90Hz curved single-hole screen, a 4200mAh battery, and supports 40w wired charging and 40w wireless charging; the processor is Kirin 9000e; the rear camera specifications are 50 million pixels camera, 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and 8-megapixel telephoto lens; the system is equipped with EMUI 11 based on Android 10; it comes standard with a 3.5mm headphone jack and supports dual speakers. Later, due to insufficient chips, the Mate40E version was launched. The chip was replaced by Kirin 990E, and the rest of the configuration was the same as the Mate40.

Mate40 Pro is equipped with a 6.76-inch dual-hole waterfall screen that supports 90Hz refresh rate; a 4400 mAh battery that supports 66w fast charging and 50w wireless charging; the processor is Kirin 9000; the rear lens is 5000 Megapixel main camera, 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and 12-megapixel telephoto lens. The main camera does not support optical image stabilization. Re-added volume keys, supports dual speakers, and comes standard with an X-axis linear motor.

Mate40 Pro is the highlight this time. The screen and most of the hardware parameters are the same as Mate40 Pro. The memory is upgraded to 12G. An 8G version will be launched later, with two colors: ceramic white and ceramic black. The key upgrade is on the rear lens, with a 50-megapixel main camera that supports optical image stabilization; a 20-megapixel free-form lens with a focal length increased from the Pro's 18mm to 14mm; the wide-angle angle is increased while effectively preventing edge distortion; the telephoto camera is changed to A 3x optical zoom lens, a 10x optical zoom lens, both support optical image stabilization, and a TOF lens.

Finally, there is the Mate40 RS. Since the free-form lens is out of stock, the Mate 40RS only uses the same ultra-wide-angle lens as the Mate40 Pro. The rest of the hardware configuration is the same as the Mate40 Pro.

In addition to conventional mobile phones, Huawei later added a folding screen product line to the Mate series, which represents the exploration of Mate, the all-round flagship series, into a new mobile phone form field.

So far, there are only three folding screen phones in the Mate series, namely Mate X, Mate XS and Mate X2:

Mate . Mate Mate X uses an 8-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2480

The design concept and most configurations of Mate Xs are still the same as Mate Identify. The difference is that the processor has been upgraded to Kirin 990 5G, and a more complete structural design has been adopted to increase durability and body strength.

In February 2021, Huawei launched a new generation of folding screen mobile phone Mate X2. The design of Mate X2 has undergone major changes, with the outward-folding screen design being changed to an inward-folding screen design. The outer screen is a 6.45-inch dual-hole OLED screen, and the inner screen is still an 8-inch display. The processor is upgraded to Kirin 9000 5G (a 4G version will be launched later, still equipped with Kirin 9000), the battery is 4500 mAh, supports 55w fast charging, and the rear lens module has also been upgraded. Compared with the previous two generations of folding screen mobile phones, Mate X2 has been greatly improved in terms of screen shape and practicality, but overall it is still not a practical machine.

Looking at the development of the Mate series in the past 9 years, if the P series was favored by Huawei at the beginning and invested a lot of resources to reach the top, then the Mate series has charged into the battle and proved itself step by step. strength. The original Mate did not have as much aura as the current Mate series. It had to rely on its own hard work and constant exploration, and finally gained public recognition.

There are always more Mate series users around me than P series users. Whenever I ask them why they choose the Mate series instead of the P series, I always get the same answer: the Mate series has better battery life. , more versatile. Although it is just a simple sentence, this is the greatest affirmation of the Mate series. Although Huawei is currently experiencing difficulties. The Mate series cannot iterate normally and the pace of updates has been slowed down. However, I believe that there will be a day when it will be fully resurrected and return stronger.