Huawei may not become the first phone maker to release a foldable handset, but it may leave Samsung behind in releasing the first notchless and bezel-less phone. Huawei’s notchless phone could have a pinhole on the screen to house the front-facing camera.
Huawei teases phone with no bezels or notch
Huawei has already launched many impressive phones this year, like the Huawei P20 and the Mate 20 Pro. However, it appears the Chinese company is not yet done for the year and may have one more unique handset design ready. If the teaser about the phone is true, it could sport a design the Samsung Galaxy S10 was expected to introduce.
Huawei posted a teaser image of its upcoming handset on Weibo. The image shows a hole near the top-left corner of the screen. This cut is likely for the front-facing camera, which suggests it could be a notchless phone. Although this is a new idea, Samsung has been rumored to be planning to adopt the same design for the S10. The Korean firm even showcased its Infinity-O display recently, which features a camera cut-out in the screen. The Galaxy A8s is also rumored to feature an Infinity-O display. Additionally, a recently-leaked image from tipster Ice Universe purportedly shows a screen protector for a Samsung phone with a corner camera cutout, which could be for the Galaxy A8s.
Even though Samsung announced the idea first, Huawei could be the first company to actually launch a handset with this design. According to the teaser, Huawei’s notchless phone will arrive next month. However, it is not known if the phone will be launched globally or will be exclusive to China. There is no mention of the handset on Huawei’s international social media channels.
Will Huawei’s notchless phone be the first?
If the Galaxy A8s comes with such a cut, it could be the first Samsung phone to get this design. The S10 isn’t expected to arrive until March, and Samsung has not announced the release date of the Galaxy A8s. However, tech site SamMobile expects the Galaxy A8S to launch in January, while tipster Ice Universe claims the handset will be showcased next month. Huawei told The Verge that it plans to share more information on its upcoming handset on Dec. 3.
Ice Universe noted that if the Galaxy A8s is also coming out next month, it will be interesting to see who launches their notchless phone first.
Huawei will release the world’s first hole-screen mobile phone before the Samsung Galaxy A8s, which will be released in December, but the A8s may also be released in December, so who will start, it will wait and see.
Huawei’s offensive against Samsung has never weakened. pic.twitter.com/MqefEgK7j0— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 26, 2018
What to expect from Huawei’s notchless phone
Not many details about the phone are known, including expected specs, pricing and availability. However, ITHome claims Huawei’s notchless phone will be an addition to the company’s Nova series, which is released only in select markets, including China. Further, the report says the handset will be named the Nova 4. Huawei’s Nova series targets young smartphone buyers with celebrity-driven advertising campaigns.
Although Samsung has been linked to notchless screen technology, Huawei has also been exploring alternatives to the notch for some time now. In July, a rumor about a Huawei screen with a pinhole instead of a notch surfaced. Further, the rumor claimed that the screen, which will measure 6 inches, was for a handset due by the end of 2018. The screen could be for the Nova 4.
Another rumor out of China recently suggested that BOE, a Chinese company, is producing the LCD screen for Samsung’s Galaxy A8s. This could mean both Samsung and Huawei could use the same screen technology.
Recently, an alleged picture of Huawei’s notchless phone was shared on Weibo. The image showed a phone with a headphone jack and a selfie camera near the top-left corner. PhoneArena speculated that the handset would feature Huawei’s 7nm Kirin 980 processor and 6 GB of RAM and run on Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI on top.
A different leak from TrendingLeaks claims the handset will have a 6.22-inch Full HD AMOLED screen, up to 8 GB of RAM, a Kirin 980 processor, and an under-display fingerprint sensor. The rumor also suggested the phone will have up to 256 GB of storage, a dual-lens rear camera with 20-megapixel and 12-megapixel sensors, a 4,230 mAh battery, and an under-display 25-megapixel front camera.
