Huawei Pay might cross the Atlantic and make its way to the US

It’s been a year since Huawei announced its own mobile payment service that crosses paths with the likes of Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and others, but it has remained a China-exclusive service since the announcement. News hit the wire that this could change with a launch in Europe, and now we’re learning the same could happen in the US in the near future.

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Huawei filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and though the application was accepted, it has not yet been examined. According to the language used in the application page for Huawei Pay, the USPTO has up to three months to investigate, which means we could see the mobile payment service launch by year’s end.

There are a few possibilities here, the first being that Huawei could launch its mobile payment service alongside a certain AI-centric smartphone that could eventually make its way to the US. This hinges on when the Mate 10 will launch in the country, and if the Mate 9’s US availability is any baseline, that launch could happen in early 2018.

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There also exists the possibility that Huawei Pay for the US could be announced on its own, but given Huawei’s relative lack of presence in the market, it might be smarter to have the mobile payment service launch alongside some hardware.

Huawei takes a shot at iPhone X, says “real AI phone” is coming next month

Huawei took a not-so-subtle shot at Apple with its latest video posted on Facebook. It basically makes fun of the iPhone X’s facial recognition feature that failed twice during its first demo at Apple’s event last week. The video ends with a claim that we’ll see the “real AI smartphone” revealed next month, on October 16 to be exact.

The smartphones in question are likely the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, the phablets that will go head to head with the iPhone X as well as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30. Huawei hasn’t confirmed this, but the devices are scheduled to be unveiled on October 16, so it’s probably a safe bet. Both devices will be powered by the Kirin 970 chipset revealed at IFA 2017, which has built-in AI computing capabilities. The AI platform runs on a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is basically a piece of hardware that is very good at running neural networks.

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Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly what to expect from the Mate 10 or Mate 10 Pro in terms of AI. We’ll have to wait until the official announcement to learn more, as the video doesn’t reveal anything specific. But we do have a good idea of the device’s specs thanks to the numerous rumors that have been going around, although these haven’t been confirmed yet.

The Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are said to come with a 6-inch “full screen” display with a 2:1 aspect ratio. The device will have a bezel-less design like a number of smartphones we’ve seen this year including the Essential Phone and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2. Rumors also suggest the device will sport 6 GB of RAM, a dual-camera setup, and a 4,000 mAh battery.

Can Huawei overtake Samsung and become the largest smartphone maker in the world?

Huawei has been the third-largest smartphone maker in the world for quite some time, sitting below Apple and Samsung. According to a market analysis by Counterpoint Research, this has recently changed, as the company actually passed Apple in June, July, and likely in August in terms of sales. Exact sales numbers weren’t shared with the public, but the graph below does show that Huawei’s lead is minimal at this point.

While Apple’s new iPhones are expected to significantly increase the company’s sales, Huawei will likely be bumped down to the third position again in a short period of time. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the company is not only planning on soon passing Apple for good, it also wants to overtake Samsung eventually.

Huawei wants to become the biggest smartphone maker in the world

That’s right, Huawei wants to become the biggest smartphone maker in the world. The manufacturer has been very open about its bold plans with the public, saying that it wants to surpass Samsung within the next four years, by 2021.

So what exactly does Huawei have to do to have any chance of becoming the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world?

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Stand out from the crowd

The Galaxy S8 has the Infinity Display, the new Note 8 has the S Pen, the OnePlus 5 has Dash Charge, while Huawei’s flagships have, well, nothing really.

 

Huawei has a number of great smartphones in its lineup, but none of them really stand out from the crowd. One of the first things Huawei has to do is to come up with a few unique features that will allow it to differentiate its devices from the competition. The Galaxy S8 has the Infinity Display, the Note 8 has the S Pen, the OnePlus 5 has Dash Charge, the Moto Z2 Force has the ShatterShield display and Moto Mods, while Huawei’s flagships have, well, not a ton that other smartphones don’t have. Sure, there’s the Leica-branded camera setup, but that’s not really a strong enough USP (unique selling proposition) that would convince the masses to get the P10 or Mate 9 over the competition. And despite the fact the cameras in high-end Huawei smartphones are good, they aren’t market leading.

The only thing that makes the company’s smartphones stand out from the crowd is the EMUI skin, but unfortunately, not so much in a good way. If Huawei wants to boost its chances of reaching the top, it needs to improve its user interface. Although EMUI has gotten better with each new version, it’s still far from the most popular skin out there. It changes the look and feel of Android quite a bit and, in a way, tries to imitate Apple’s iOS, which is something a lot of people aren’t a fan of.

To appeal to the masses, the best move for Huawei would be to make EMUI a lot lighter, bringing it closer to stock Android. At the same time, the UI should offer something extra such as a few unique and useful features that would make it different than the competition.

OnePlus has done a great job in this area with its popular and light OxygenOS that offers a bunch of useful customization features that don’t get in the way if you don’t want to use them. Lenovo even took a step further and decided to ditch its Vibe UI altogether and now ships smartphones with a stock version of Android. I don’t think Huawei will go down this road, but simplifying its UI is definitely something it should consider in order to make its devices more appealing to users and increase sales in the process.

Expand and simplify

In terms of sales, Huawei has been doing great in its home country of China as well as Europe. To get to the next level, however, it has to increase its presence in other major markets around the world starting with the US. Huawei has yet to make an impact stateside, which is something it has to change if it wants to overtake Samsung within the next four years. The first thing it has to do is bring its flagship devices to the country with the help of large carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, and others, in order to get them in front of as many consumers as possible.

The company is already working on this, as it has reportedly made a deal with AT&T that will apparently sell the upcoming Mate 10 sometime during the first half of 2018. This is Huawei’s first step towards increasing its presence in the US and one that will allow it to directly compete with Samsung and Apple for consumers’ attention. The next step should be to bring its flagship P-series to the US, which will hopefully happen next year. As you may know, despite initial rumors, the P10 and P10 Plus were never officially released in the US. If Huawei could get that worked out, then perhaps they could take the next step and start bringing more budget-friendly devices to the US and spend some money on various marketing campaigns that have proven to be quite successful in Europe so far.

The US is a market that could help Huawei increase sales of its high-end smartphones. However, to increase sales of its entry-level and mid-range handsets, the company should focus more on one of the largest smartphone markets in the world, India. Demand has been rising quite a bit over the years in India, with low-cost Chinese brands taking center stage thanks to their devices that offer a great price-performance ratio. Huawei hasn’t been doing a great job in this large country, which is a problem that needs to be addressed in order to achieve its ambitious goal.

It doesn’t help that Huawei’s smartphone lineups are confusing. When it comes to high-end devices, things are as they should be with only a couple of options available. There’s the Mate series that goes head to head with Samsung’s Note devices and other phablets, and the P series offering two smartphones in different sizes that currently compete with the likes of the Galaxy S8, LG G6, and HTC U11.

Huawei doesn’t have a well-defined mid-range lineup like Samsung with the Galaxy A series or LG with its new Q6 smartphones.

However, when looking at Huawei’s mid-range and entry-level smartphones, things get a bit confusing. There are many options available from different series including Nova, Lite, and others. The main problem is that the company doesn’t have a well-defined mid-range lineup like its competition. Samsung, for example, has the Galaxy A devices, whereas LG and Motorola have the Q6 and G series. 

The best course of action for Huawei would be to simplify its mid-range as well as entry-level lineups of smartphones and make them stand out from the crowd with the help of a few unique and useful features. The already mentioned Galaxy A series is waterproof, for example, while LG’s Q6 smartphones offer a bezel-less display normally only seen on flagships.

The Honor brand might be the key to success

Huawei’s more budget-friendly Honor brand has a number of great smartphones in its lineup including the Honor 9 and 8 Pro, among others. The great thing about them is that not only do they offer an attractive design, they also have a great price-performance ratio, or at least a better one than Huawei-branded devices.

The problem is that not all Honor smartphones are available in every market where Huawei does business. Although the company has been focused a lot on the European market in the last few years, the 8 Pro, for example, is only on sale in a few EU countries for now.

Another problem is that after distributors and retailers apply their sometimes extremely high margins to Honor’s handsets, they aren’t quite as affordable anymore as one would hope — especially in smaller markets.

So, not only does Huawei need to put in more effort to bring Honor-branded devices to more markets, it also has to keep the prices down as much as possible. The key here could be the expansion of its online store, which would allow the company to avoid third-party retailers and their high markups. Currently, it only ships to some of the largest markets on the old continent and has overlooked the majority of smaller ones. The purchasing power in a lot of these countries isn’t quite as high as in Germany or France, which just might be a great opportunity for Huawei to seriously increase overall sales with its affordable Honor smartphones.

Focusing more on online sales also has the benefit of offering smartphones at lower prices. A lot of companies have been using this strategy in the last years including OnePlus, which quickly rose to fame thanks to its affordable flagships.

The Honor brand just might be the key to Huawei’s success if the company plays its cards right

 

The Honor brand just might be the key to Huawei’s success, but only if the company plays its cards right. Offering devices with a beautiful design, great specs, and most importantly, an affordable price tag just might significantly increase Huawei’s chances to eventually become the largest smartphone maker in the world. This is especially true when considering that a lot of smartphones are getting more expensive with each year — just look at the Galaxy Note 8 with its starting price of $929. But before that happens, it has to bring the devices to more markets, especially via online sales.

Final thoughts

Even if Huawei manages to do all these things, there’s still no guarantee that it will reach the top. Although I can see it truly beating Apple in the near future, Samsung might be a tougher obstacle to overcome. You see, Samsung has a key ingredient that Huawei is missing: a loyal fan base. Just think about it, the Note 7 was a disaster for the company, its acting chief is in jail because of the bribery scandal, and the new Note is one of the most expensive flagships currently available. None of these things seem to bother Samsung fans, based on the great sales numbers of the Note 8. If Huawei would have the same problems as Samsung, consumers likely wouldn’t be as forgiving.

Samsung has a key ingredient that Huawei is missing, which is a loyal fan base.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a chance that Huawei can beat Samsung and reach the top, as things on the smartphone market do tend to change quite drastically over time. However, I don’t think Huawei has what it takes to pull this off in four short years.

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Right now, Samsung is way ahead of its rival in terms of sales and market share. According to IDC, Huawei shipped 38.5 million smartphones in the second quarter of this year (11.3 percent market share), while Samsung shipped 79.8 million units (23.3 percent market share). The difference between the two is enormous at this point, so unless Samsung starts doing everything wrong over the next few years and loses its loyal fan base, it will likely still be the smartphone king once 2021 comes along.

Huawei’s Wayne Goodrich talks about the future of UX and design

The way we interact with our devices is changing. We began with punch cards during the dawn of computing, then eventually transitioned to tactile buttons and finally to touch. And, while it may seem like this is the best way we can possibly interact with our phones and other screen-based devices, we always need to keep pushing the boundary in terms of what is possible.

Now that artificial intelligence is finally making its way to the mainstream, we have physical objects that can perform tasks and make decisions for us, instead of us needing to make a discrete statement of what we want the device to do. This is all part of the user experience (or UX) of an object, and as these objects evolve physically, it’s up to us to provide the due diligence of making sure this new technology works with humans in the most streamlined way possible.

Google Assistant, Bixby, Siri and Alexa are all built on some intelligence platform. But the interface is just that – the designed interface that we have with that system.

Huawei thinks they are capable of building the next generation of adaptive interfaces, and today Wayne Goodrich of Huawei sat down and talked to Florence Ion about his thoughts on what machines should be doing for us, and expressed his vision for the future of UX design.

These systems have to be adaptive. We as humans change our minds all the time, and a lot of the services in AI and eventually AR are going to have to be responsive to us.

Wayne believes that our interfaces need to start becoming aware of what we want as people, since we are incredibly complex and are constantly evolving. He says that we need to have relationships with our interfaces that really understand us fundamentally, so that they can change with us over time.

Though artificial intelligence may seem very complicated, Wayne thinks that it can actually be broken down quite simply. When you make an action on your device, there is always a follow-up action. By teaching our devices what we do in sequence, we are able to train our phones to understand what we want to do and when we want to do it.

That isn’t to say we don’t deviate from habit. We are all human, and our actions can often seem random. The ability to learn over time and develop reactions to our habits with a high degree of accuracy is what these machines are attempting to achieve, but Wayne says they also need to be able to deviate from the norm, which actually helps them develop even higher levels of precision.

The user experience is very trivial. I want to engage or I don’t want to engage.. The next time you engage with it, it may be a little different.

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An extreme level of accuracy in guessing our intentions can lead to a much more enjoyable user experience. At the end of the day, our devices are tools that allow us to work, create, and consume. Every little step you are able to take out of the process is one that can help make your life just a little bit more streamlined, and Huawei thinks they have the ability to build the ultimate responsive design.

Huawei Mate 10 lock screen video shows off adaptive colors, 18:9 aspect ratio

The Huawei Mate 10 launch is right around the corner, and we already have a few details as to what Huawei’s new flagship device will bring to the table. According to the latest rumors, we can expect to see a camera with an f/1.6 aperture, a Kirin 970 chipset under the hood, EMUI 6.0, and, much like the rest of the flagship competition, the device will also sport a “full screen display.”

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Today Huawei is giving us a closer look at the Mate 10’s display, and, more specifically, the device’s lock screen.

The video attached below shows off the Huawei Mate 10’s lock screen, complete with an “intelligent color selection” feature that identifies the color scheme of the wallpaper and selects a complementary color for the lock screen text. Huawei also says this color selection feature will be present on the home screen, not just the lock screen.

The video also reveals that the Mate 10’s display will feature an 18:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2160 x 1080, suggesting that the standard model will stick with a Full HD resolution. The Mate 10 Pro is rumored to sport a much more flagship-level 2880 x 1440 Quad HD resolution.

Best Android Wear watches (September 2017)

Android Wear has evolved a lot since it was first announced back in 2014. In the early days, there were only a few options, mainly from Motorola and LG. These days, many handset makers have thrown their weight into Android Wear, and even traditional watchmakers have begun to embrace the Google-powered Android watch platform.

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With the number of watches available increasing dramatically, it’s hard to keep track of which watches stand out as the best. For one thing, most of the watches are all quite similar in software and hardware, leaving design preferences as the biggest factor. In order to help you make the most informed decision on which watch is right for you, we’ve rounded up what we feel to be the best Android Wear smartwatches you can buy right now.

Also read:

• Best smartwatches
• Best fitness trackers

Editor’s note: We’ll be updating this list regularly as new devices launch.

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Best overall

LG Watch Sport

See more LG Watch Sport photos

Alongside the launch of Android Wear 2.0, Google and LG took the wraps off two new smartwatches to showcase the big update. The higher-end of the two is the LG Watch Sport, and it’s currently the best Android Wear watch you can buy right now.

The Watch Sport has basically every feature you’d want in a smartwatch – a big AMOLED display, built-in GPS, an optical heart rate monitor, LTE connectivity, an IP68 water resistance rating, as well as support for Android Pay. The main button on the right side of the device also acts as a way to scroll through menus in Android Wear, which allows for a much faster and more robust navigation experience.

It’s a bit pricey at $349, but we think it’s worth the money. If you’re interested in learning more, be sure to check out our LG Watch Sport review attached below.

Specs

• 1.38-inch POLED with 480 x 480 resolution, 348 ppi
• Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor
• 768 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of on-board storage
• 420 mAh battery
• 45.4 x 51.21 x 14.2 mm, 89.4 g
• IP68 dust and water resistance

Read more

• LG Watch Sport and Watch Style review
• LG Watch Sport and Watch Style specs, price and release date
• Where to buy the LG Watch Sport and Watch Style

Buy now from the Google Store

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Runner up

LG Watch Style

See more LG Watch Style photos

As previously mentioned, the LG Watch Style was also unveiled alongside Android Wear 2.0. It’s not as feature packed as the Watch Sport, but it’s still a great option if you’re looking for a cheaper, less bulky smartwatch running Android Wear 2.0.

Unlike the Sport model, the Watch Style does not feature NFC for mobile payments, nor does it come with a built-in GPS, LTE connectivity or a heart rate sensor. While those omissions might seem like a big deal for some people, it’s worth noting that not everyone wants a big, bulky watch with a ton of features. The LG Watch Style is just that – a stylish, well-performing showcase for Android Wear 2.0 that doesn’t try to do too much. It’s a great smartwatch, and one you should definitely consider if the current crop of Android Wear devices are just too big for your wrists.

Specs

• 1.2-inch POLED with 360 x 360 resolution, 299 ppi
• Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of on-board storage
• 240 mAh battery
• 42.3 x 45.7 x 10.79 mm, 46 g
• IP67 dust and water resistance

Read more

• LG Watch Sport and Watch Style review
• LG Watch Sport and Watch Style specs, price and release date
• Where to buy the LG Watch Sport and Watch Style

Buy now from the Google Store

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Honorable mention

Huawei Watch 2

See more Huawei Watch 2 photos

Overall, the Huawei Watch 2 is another good showcase of the capabilities of Android Wear 2.0, though there are some things you should know before buying one.

Android Wear 2.0 comes with a focus on fitness features, but unfortunately Huawei managed to simultaneously move too far in this direction and also fall short of it. It doesn’t come with a rotating side button for navigation, which is a shame as we really love the button on the LG Watch Sport. It does, however, come with great battery life and a stellar feature set otherwise.

The other thing you should know is that it’s not nearly as classy as the original Huawei Watch. Sure, there’s a Huawei Watch 2 Classic model that doesn’t look as outdoorsy, but it’s hard to compare to the elegant Watch.

At $349, the Huawei Watch 2 is an interesting device. In a world where the LG Watch Sport exists, it’s a bit harder to recommend this new Huawei device. However, if you love the look and aren’t turned away from the lack of rotating side button, this may be a good option for you.

Specs

• 1.2-inch AMOLED display with 390 x 390 resolution, 326 ppi
• Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor
• 768 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of on-board storage
• 420 mAh battery
• 48.9 x 45 x 12.6 mm, 57 g
• IP68 dust and water resistance

Read more

• Huawei Watch 2 review
• Huawei Watch 2 officially unveiled at MWC 2017

See it at Huawei

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Best Android Wear watch for fitness

Polar M600

See more Polar M600 photos

Polar’s new M600 sport watch is by far the best Android Wear-powered fitness tracker on the market.

With a built-in GPS, IPX8 water resistance rating, optical heart rate monitor and 4 GB of on-board storage, the M600 is quite the feature-packed device. It also comes with support for Polar’s wonderful Flow app, allowing you to track just about any activity you can think of – rowing, skiing, hiking and much more. You’ll also be able to squeeze about two days of battery life out of this thing, which is impressive for an Android Wear watch.

It’s very pricey, though, starting at $329. You can certainly find Android Wear devices for less than that, but the M600 provides much more than other devices. If you’re in the market for a smartwatch/fitness tracker hybrid and don’t mind spending upwards of $300, look no further.

Specs

• 1.3-inch TFT display with 240 x 240 resolution, 260 ppi
• 1.2 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT2601 processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of on-board storage
• 500 mAh battery
• 45 x 36 x 13 mm, 63 g
• IPX8 water resistance

Read more

• Polar M600 review

Buy now from Amazon

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Runner up

Moto 360 Sport

See more Moto 360 Sport photos

If you’re a fan of the second-generation Moto 360 but need something a bit more rugged, you should check out the Moto 360 Sport. It has basically the same internal specifications, plus GPS tracking capabilities. The battery on this device does suffer a bit with the GPS turned on, but that can easily be forgiven when taking into account the watch’s other great features. It has a killer AnyLight Hybrid display that makes it super easy to see outdoors, as well as an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.

All in all, this is the go-to Android Wear option if you need something to track your exercises. As of right now it only supports run tracking, but Motorola says more exercises will be added to the watch in the future. The Moto 360 Sport starts at $199.99 from Motorola’s website, but you can usually find it much cheaper on Amazon.

Specs

• 1.37-inch AnyLight Hybrid Display with 360 x 325 resolution, 263 ppi
• 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of on-board storage
• 300 mAh battery
• 45 x 45 x 11.5 mm, 54g
• IP67 dust and water resistance

Read more

• Moto 360 Sport review

Buy now from Amazon

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New rumor claims Huawei Mate 10 may have a f/1.6 aperture camera

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The rumors and leaks surrounding the launch of the Huawei Mate 10 series of phones continues. The latest such unconfirmed report claims to have hardware specs on two of those phones, with word that a third model might launch as well.

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Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro: All the rumors in one place

Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro: All the rumors in one place

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The report, from VentureBeat and noted gadget leaker Evan “@evleaks” Blass, claims that one of the Mate 10 phones, with the internal code name “Blanc”, will have Huawei’s own recently revealed Kirin 970 chip inside. He also says it will have a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,880, plus a 18:9 aspect ratio and a near bezel-free look. He adds that it will also have 6 GB of RAM, either 64 GB or 128 GB of internal storage, a large 4,000 mAh battery, Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the company’s own EMUI 6.0 skin.

Perhaps most interesting in this new rumor is that Blass claims that “Blanc” will have a dual camera set up, one with 20 MP and one with 12 MP, which will have a lens with a f/1.6 aperture. The recently announced LG V30 is so far the only smartphone that has been confirmed with such a camera aperture. “Blanc” is rumored go on sale in December, and may be the one that will be branded by Huawei as the Mate 10 Pro.

In addition, Blass says he has specs for another phone in the Mate 10 series, with the code name “Alps”. He says it will have a smaller 5.88-inch IPS LCD 2,560 x 1,440 display, but will still have the same processor, the same battery, and the same cameras as “Blanc”. However, its memory will be lower with just 4 GB of RAM, and will only have a 64 GB onboard storage option. Blass speculates that “Alps” could be labeled as the Mate 10 Lite.

Honor 8 Pro and 6X to get Android Oreo before the end of 2017

Honor held a fan meetup in India recently, where it chatted with its users regarding the improvements they would like to see on the company’s upcoming smartphones. More importantly, Honor also used the opportunity to announce that both the 6X and 8 Pro smartphones will be upgraded to the latest version of Android.

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The Honor 8 Pro will get Android Oreo in December, while the 6X should receive it sometime before the end of the year, although there’s chance the update might be pushed back to January 2018. Of course, we also expect that the company will update quite a few other smartphones in its lineup to the latest version of Android. One of them should definitely be the popular Honor 9, although this hasn’t officially been confirmed yet.

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Huawei beat Apple for the second place in the global smartphone market

Huawei beat Apple for the second place in the global smartphone market

4 hours ago

The latest version of Google’s OS will bring a number of new features to Honor devices including picture-in-picture mode (PiP), and more control over notifications, just to name a few. To learn more, check out our “Android 8 review: Oreo is for everyone” post.

It’s also worth pointing out a couple of improvements users have suggested Honor could make to its upcoming devices. These include a double tap to wake gesture, which we have already seen on a number of smartphones so far, and faster charging speeds, among others.

Huawei beat Apple for the second place in the global smartphone market

It looks like Huawei’s plan to become the largest smartphone maker in the world is on track.

Counterpoint Research published its latest global smartphone market analysis, and the biggest takeaway is Huawei’s impressive performance that put it ahead of Apple for the first time.

According to Counterpoint, Huawei outsold Apple in June, July, and likely in August. The research firm did not share its raw numbers, but looking at the graph below, it looks like Huawei’s and Apple’s share in July were around 12 percent. Huawei edged out the iPhone’s maker, while Samsung continued its streak at the top with just over 20 percent of sales share.

Huawei has previously claimed to have beaten Apple in sales in December 2016, but it’s the first time a large research firm puts Huawei ahead of Apple in a research paper.

To be fair to Apple, Huawei’s lead seems very small for now, and it could be very brief. Apple is gearing up to launch a major revision of the iPhone, one that is likely to result in a substantial sales spike. Furthermore, summer is usually Apple’s lowest point, as many of its customers wait out for a new iPhone in early fall.

Huawei will strike back with the new Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, which the company’s CEO Richard Yu called “more powerful than the iPhone.” The new devices will be unveiled on October 16 in Germany.

The trends seem to work in Huawei’s favor, which has made no secret of its ambition to become the top smartphone seller within four to five years. Apple’s share, while highly cyclical, has been stagnant overall over the past years, while Huawei is steadily crawling up.

Counterpoint also released a breakdown of the top ten best-selling smartphones in July 2017 and, surprisingly, Huawei is not represented at all. Apple’s iPhones are the undisputed leaders, followed by Oppo’s sleeper hits R11 and A57, and Samsung’s Galaxy S8.

The makeup of the top ten looks like a great representation of the three-way battle currently going on between Apple, Samsung, and Chinese players, a battle that will continue to shape the industry in the next years.

While Huawei does very well in terms of overall sales (73 million units in H1 2017), the fact that it lacks a truly popular device remains a weakness. The Mate series is still not acting as an engine for Huawei’s lineup, lacking the brand power of the iPhone, Galaxy S line, or even of some Oppo devices.

“While Huawei has trimmed its portfolio, it likely needs to further streamline its product range like Oppo and Xiaomi have done – putting more muscle behind fewer products,” said Pavel Naiya, an analyst with Counterpoint.

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Huawei’s other big problem is its over-reliance on certain markets – mainly China, but also Europe and Latin America. The company needs to improve its game in India and especially in the United States, where Huawei devices are still hard to come by. In order to do so, Huawei has reportedly teamed up with AT&T, the second largest US carrier, to put the Mate 10 in the hands of more Americans starting next year.

Check out these leaked Huawei Mate 10 renders

Huawei wants to take you beyond the Galaxy on October 16, and thanks to a new report from Priceraja and Onleaks we now know what to expect from the Mate 10.

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3D renders based on CAD drawings reveal the likely design of Huawei’s phablet powerhouse, which shapes up to be another successful installment in the Mate series.

One major departure from previous Mate phones is the placement of the fingerprint sensor on the front of the device, just below the screen. It’s not clear yet whether the fingerprint sensor acts as a home button like on older Galaxy phones, or if it’s just a sensor like on Motorola devices. We can only speculate about the reasons for this change, but the move might prove controversial among fans of the series.

The Mate 10 will feature an edge-to-edge screen design, with larger bezels at the top and bottom, the renders reveal. This design was previously teased by Huawei’s CEO, Richard Yu, who also promised a longer battery life, quicker charging speeds, improvements in the camera department, and better performance than the iPhone. The latter could come thanks to the new Kirin 970 processor, which Huawei unveiled at IFA last week.

While it’s not obvious from the renders, we think that the Mate 10 will feature the trendy new 18:9 aspect ratio, with a resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels and a diagonal size of around 5.9 inches. That should make the Mate 10 much easier to use in one hand, which has always been a problem with older Mates.

Another major change is the glass back – it looks like Huawei is the latest company to switch from a metal unibody to a “glass sandwich” design. The clean back of the phone is dominated by the dual cameras, with the flash and sensors module on the sides.

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The leak claims the Mate 10 will be 150.2  x 77.5 mm in size, with a thickness of 8.4 millimeters. The camera will protrude an extra half a millimeter.

Note that we’re looking at the Mate 10 here – the Mate 10 Pro could bring more pizzazz thanks to a curved screen that wraps around the edges of the phone.

For more details on the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro check out our rumor roundup, and we have some predictions on the Mate 10’s price and availability here.