News & Reviews:   Huawei Mate 8 Malaysia

Huawei recently announced the global launch of the Huawei Mate 8 globally at CES 2016. Featuring tech specs that include the latest Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 950 processor, the Mate 8 ups the ante from its previous devices (Huawei Nexus 6P and Huawei Mate S) by also including a 6-inch display, 16MP rear camera with OIS (optical image stabilization) and phase detection autofocus with a 4000 mAh battery. You can see the full tech spec comparison with our comparison tool but it looks like with the global launch the Mate 8 could soon be coming to Malaysia (further supported by a poster from Huawei Device APAC of the Mate 8).

No Malaysia release dates or pricing details but the Mate 8 is currently going from 599 euros (RM2831) for the 3GB RAM/32GB storage version and 699 euros (RM3303) for the 4GB RAM / 64GB storage version. At its initial launch the three variants costs were the 3GB + 32 GB model for CNY 2999 (RM1985.09), 4GB + 64GB for CNY 3699 (RM2448.43) and 4GB + 128GB for CNY 4399 (RM2911.78). 

CES 2016 will start soon on 6 January in Las Vegas, and Huawei will be holding a press conference. At the same time, they also teased us with three new image teasers in their Facebook page. What will they present? Could it be the new Huawei P9? Or something related to the Huawei Mate 8 as according to their Facebook page? 

We have already confirmed that the Mate 8 is official, and looking at the tech specs it sports a Huawei Kirin 950, supported by quad Cortex A72 cores (2.3GHz) and quad Cortex A53 cores (1.8GHz), and a 3GB/4GB RAM. This seems to fit “power and efficiency” very well. As for the “rhythm and entertainment”, it seems to suggest they will show us a new tablet; and the last teaser looks like a new Huawei Watch.

Finally, after many weeks of teasing the Huawei Mate 8 has been officially unveiled and it is a fullmetal phablet with three types of pricing. The three variant costs are a 3GB + 32 GB model for CNY 2999 (RM1985.09), 4GB + 64GB for CNY 3699 (RM2448.43) and 4GB + 128GB for CNY 4399 (RM2911.78). It packs some serious tech specs too:-

• TSMC’s based Kirin 950, quad Cortex A72 cores (2.3GHz) and quad Cortex A53 cores (1.8GHz)  
• 3GB/4GB RAM
• 32GB/64GB/128GB  storage (microSD card not known)
• 6-inch screen with FHD 1920 x 1080p resolution
• Sony IMX298 16MP main camera and 8MP selfie snapper
• Dual-SIM slots
• VoLTE, 4G support and NFC.
• Fingerprint sensor, Knuckle Touch 2.0, Split Screen multi-tasking
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow
• 4000 mAh battery

We are just a day away from Huawei’s official launch of Huawei Mate 8, and there are some leaked images of how the Mate 8 would look like. We did a speculated report on this about two weeks ago, and it looks identical with the new leaked images. 

So what can we expect from Mate 8? Well, a full metal body that’s for sure; seeing how shiny it is. Huawei might also offer different colour options for the customers on their taste preference, the model screen display looks like it could be bigger than 6-inch and the fingerprint sensor is just below the main camera unit.

There are a few reports that Huawei has inserted a clue inside their invites for the upcoming Huawei Mate 8 official event (26 November). Inside the invitation card there is a 32GB flash memory storage. What does this mean? Did they accidentally put in the disk in all of the invitation cards? Seems unlikely.

As you may know, it’s tradition that smartphones will have a 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB worth of storage space. With this mysterious 32GB disk in the card, it looks like they are trying to tell us that the Mate 8 will just start off with the 32GB version.

As usual, before the release of a smartphone, leaked images somehow find its way to be released and there's already an image of the Huawei Mate 8 online. Our last report on the Mate 8 had it already certified and from what we can see, it looks similar to the Huawei Mate S. We also got some speculated tech specs too:-

• Kirin 950 chipset
• 3 or 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage (list microSD/expandable memory if available)
• QHD screen and 1080p screen (for the smaller one, read below)
• measurement
• 16MP camera (front camera unknown)
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow

China’s 3C Quality Certification recently certified the Huawei Mate 8 and there are three versions of the phone coded NXT-AL10, the NXT-CL00 and the NXT-TL00. It’s likely this trio will reach China’s three major telecom operators, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile.

Wow, just when you thought Huawei will go back to sleep after releasing the Huawei Mate S in Malaysia at the end of last month and now they have teased us with a possible announce date for the Huawei Mate 8. The Internet being the Internet has also resulted in a few leaked pictures of the smartphone.

Whatever their plans may be, it looks like they’re trying to do a double kill with the speculated Kirin chip scheduled for 5 November (one more day!). According to Mobile-dad.com, the Huawei Mate 8 is likely to be powered by the new Kirin 950 processor. Release date for the Mate 8 is rumoured to be dated early December after its unveiling on 26 November (if that actually is the case).