Huawei Extends Mate 60 Series with Mate 60 Pro+
Phones Canada team
A week after announcing the Mate 60 Pro, Huawei is adding to the series with the Mate 60 Pro+. Both phones are generating interest for their use of a homegrown Kirin 5G chipset produced by SMIC, China’s largest foundry. This is notable because U.S. restrictions have prevented Huawei from accessing cutting-edge chips.
Release Date and Pre-Orders
Huawei has announced that the Mate 60 Pro+ will be released on October 9th. Pre-orders for the device are already being accepted.
Satellite Connectivity and Storage Capacity
Similar to the Mate 60 Pro, the Mate 60 Pro+ allows users to make phone calls and send texts using satellites in areas without cellular connectivity. However, the Mate 60 Pro+ offers an additional feature, as it can connect to two satellites simultaneously. In terms of storage, users can choose between 512GB or 1TB options, both accompanied by 16GB of RAM.
Breakthrough Chipset
Previous Huawei smartphone series, such as the Mate 50 line and this year’s P60 models, employed Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipsets. However, due to U.S. restrictions, these chips were limited in their compatibility with 5G networks. The Mate 60 Pro and Mate 60 Pro+ overcome this issue with Huawei’s own Kirin chipset.
Comparison with Top Foundries
While the Kirin 9000s chip used in the Mate 60 Pro+ is a significant development for Huawei, it still lags behind the chipsets manufactured by leading foundries like TSMC and Samsung Foundry. TSMC, for example, employs a 3nm process node to build Apple’s A17 Bionic chipset for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This enables the A17 Bionic to have a higher transistor count, resulting in greater power and energy efficiency compared to the Kirin chipset.
Impressive Speed Tests
According to Reuters, speed tests shared on Chinese social media show that the Mate 60 Pro delivers 5G download speeds surpassing those of top-line 5G handsets. This accomplishment is all the more impressive considering the U.S. restrictions on Huawei’s chip access. Analyst Dan Hutcheson from TechInsights describes it as a “slap in the face” to the U.S.
Introduction of the Mate X5
In addition to the Mate 60 Pro+, Huawei has introduced the Mate X5, a book-style foldable phone. The Mate X5 boasts features such as 12GB or 16GB of RAM, storage options of 512GB or 1TB, a 6.4-inch external display, a 7.85-inch internal screen, and a camera array consisting of a 50MP primary camera, a 13MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP periscope telephoto camera. The phone also includes an 8MP front-facing camera and a 5060mAh battery.
Stay tuned for more updates on Huawei’s Mate 60 series as the release date approaches.
