News & Reviews:   Huawei Mate 7

Huawei have officially announced their Honor 7 smartphone today and like the Honor 6 Plus before it, it comes with a host of flagship features for a very affordable price tag. Finally going upwards from the previous Honor design, the Honor 7 offers a full metal unibody frame and backplate complete with a fingerprint scanner like the Huawei Mate 7. Breaking free of previous restrictions it is also the first Honor smartphone to come with a 20MP rear camera which also comes with phase detection auto-focus, dual tone LED flash and a sapphire protective glass layer. Tech specs include a 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core Kirin 935 processor, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch FHD display, 8MP front camera, 3100 mAh battery, fast charging and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Pricing is surprisingly affordable with the single SIM 4G LTE version with 16GB storage going for 1999 CNY (RM1214), the dual SIM 4G LTE version for 2199 CNY (RM1335) and the dual SIM 4G LTE version with 64GB storage going for 2499 CNY (RM1517). No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but Honor Malaysia should be bringing it in soon. A lot of other features are also available such as more complete voice commands like the speech awareness on the Huawei P8, while the premium design should make the Honor 7 even more of a value-beating device here in Malaysia.

The Honor 7 smartphone rumours keep on coming and this time reports indicate that it could be priced at $599 (RM2239). Earlier leaks have it coming on 30 June 2015 with features that include a metal body and fingerprint scanner. Leaked pictures show it to follow the same design as the Huawei Mate 7 but with a smaller 5-inch display. Tech specs remain unconfirmed but rumours say it could have a Kirin 935 processor, 3GB / 4GB RAM, 16GB / 64GB storage, a 5-inch FHD display, a 3280 mAh battery and a 13MP rear camera with OIS. While there is no news yet of a Malaysia release date or pricing details, we expect the Honor 7 to be just a bit higher than the current Honor 6 Plus which retails at RM1399. This would place the Honor 7 around RM1600 to RM1800 but as always with such rumours, do take this with a good pinch of salt, as things could change drastically when it actually arrives in Malaysia.

While the Huawei P8 has yet to be revealed officialy, the leaks about this upcoming flagship smartphone just keep on coming. This time around, a factory schematic or blueprint has been leaked by @Onleaks showing the back, sides and top of the upcoming Huawei smartphone. The schematics also reveal measurements which include 144.9 x 71.9 x 6.6mm. Other rumoured tech specs include a Kirin 930 processor, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch full HD display, 2600 mAh battery and 13MP rear camera. The schematics also reveal dual speakers on the bottom and what appears to be either a touch control or finger print scanner on the back. The drawings make it seem as if it is a swipe type of fingerprint scanner unlike the one-touch scanner on the Huawei Mate 7 but we'll know for sure in the next few weeks.

The Huawei Mate 7 smartphone recently received the "Smartphone Best New Arrival" award from the 11th Hurun Best of the Best Awards 2015. The Awards event presents such awards to deserving luxury brands including cars, watches, jewelers, jets, yachts and others. The Huawei Mate 7 sets itself apart by offering top-of-the-line tech specs and features which include a one-touch fingerprint scanner, 4G LTE, 6-inch full HD display, 7.9mm slim premium metal body and more. The Huawei Mate 7 achieved a Net Promoted Score of 79% making it the best in this category. Here's what Huawei had to say about it:

“Huawei Mate7 has been included in a growing number of high-end luxurious brand lists recently, most recently from Hurun, which is evidence that we have succeeded in creating a smartphone of premium quality that provides a great user experience. Our strategy of focusing on premium mid- to high-end products is clearly working for us. In addition to having sold an impressive more than 2 million Mate7 units since its launch in September last year, we are thrilled to see the Mate7 receive so much global recognition.” Mr. Kevin Ho, President, Huawei Consumer Business Group Handset product line

While this rumour has already been confirmed, Huawei is dropping their current Ascend branding for their smartphones. This means the smartphone previously known as the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 will now be known as the Huawei Mate 7. This was seen previously in the Phase II Syok Menang article along with what appears to be the removal of Honor branding with Huawei as well. We managed to ask a Huawei Malaysia official about this and he confirmed that while both Huawei and Honor will still be related, they will each be taking different paths and targeting different users. In related rumours, it seems that we could be soon seeing an Honor smartphone going by the codename of the Honor Cherry which could slot in between the Honor 3C Lite and the Honor 6. We assume this would be the Honor 4X but do take this rumour with a pinch of salt. While there are no Malaysia release dates details, we've been told that the Honor Cherry could arrive sometime during or after March 2015. We assume the Honor 6 Plus could soon follow.