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Mate X2 Refresh to Use a Cheaper SOC
Huawei launched its Mate X2 flagship in February 2021 with a new design and a sky-high price-tag. Its new refresh has the exact same specs as before - except for its SoC, which is the Kirin 9000 without the usual 5G modem and is expected to cost a little less on its release in China. Huawei's Mate X2 represented a significant overhaul of its OEM's flexible-display tech, particularly as it made the transition to an inward-folding design rather than the potentially more fragile outward-facing displays of its Mate X and Xs predecessors. The upcoming refresh is identical to the original Mate X2, except for the fact Huawei has swapped its top-end Kirin 9000 5G processor for its 4G/LTE-only counterpart. Huawei similarly modified its early-2020 P40 flagship and its Nova 8 Pro, which launched as a 5G mid-range flagship in 2021. These 2 new variants have the Kirin 990 and 985 4G/LTE SoCs respectively. The new releases could indicate that Huawei is terminally running out of premium 5G chipsets at this stage or it could be a sign of increased demand for more affordable phones, aggressive campaigning for 5G adoption on the part of manufacturers such as Qualcomm notwithstanding. Huawei has yet to reveal pricing or availability for the 5G-free Nova 8 Pro or Mate X2. However, it is likely that they will go for a little less than their pre-existing counterparts. For context, they currently start at 3,999 (~US$616) and a whopping 17,799 yuan (~$2740) respectively on Vmall in China.
Figure 1: HUAWEI Mate X2
Huawei launched its Mate X2 flagship in February 2021 with a new design and a sky-high price-tag. Its new refresh has the exact same specs as before - except for its SoC, which is the Kirin 9000 without the usual 5G modem and is expected to cost a little less on its release in China. Huawei's Mate X2 represented a significant overhaul of its OEM's flexible-display tech, particularly as it made the transition to an inward-folding design rather than the potentially more fragile outward-facing displays of its Mate X and Xs predecessors. The upcoming refresh is identical to the original Mate X2, except for the fact Huawei has swapped its top-end Kirin 9000 5G processor for its 4G/LTE-only counterpart. Huawei similarly modified its early-2020 P40 flagship and its Nova 8 Pro, which launched as a 5G mid-range flagship in 2021. These 2 new variants have the Kirin 990 and 985 4G/LTE SoCs respectively. The new releases could indicate that Huawei is terminally running out of premium 5G chipsets at this stage or it could be a sign of increased demand for more affordable phones, aggressive campaigning for 5G adoption on the part of manufacturers such as Qualcomm notwithstanding. Huawei has yet to reveal pricing or availability for the 5G-free Nova 8 Pro or Mate X2. However, it is likely that they will go for a little less than their pre-existing counterparts. For context, they currently start at 3,999 (~US$616) and a whopping 17,799 yuan (~$2740) respectively on Vmall in China.
Figure 1: HUAWEI Mate X2
Source: Huawei