Freshly announced at IFA 2015, and briefly teased as “unprecedented Sensibility”, the Huawei Mate S was launched before Apple’s own, iPhone 6s. Claimed to push the boundaries of interaction with your smartphone, it features a pressure sensitive screen that expands features based on touch and it could even weigh an orange!
Following its global announcement, we finally have new details of it making a surprise appearance on SIRIM – leading us to believe that the device will soon make its way to Malaysia. The device isn’t a one trick-pony, considering it boasts some decent specs to go along with its “force touch” technology. Housed inside the all metal-chasis, is a home-grown Kirin 935 8-core processor, mated to 3GB of RAM, all in a 5.5-inch package.
Its screen is a FHD display (1920 x 1080) and has curves on the back that tee off slightly, while the front makes use of 2.5D Gorrila Glass 4 to smooth the edges. There are two variants of the devices but the model listed on SIRIM is the CRR-UL00 model which comes with dual-SIM and has a different band support. It also supports 4G LTE in either FDD and TDD standards.
But as a rough indication, the UK Vmall site is selling the 32GB version at £469.00, instead of its larger 64GB model. Based on early reviews in the UK, the Mate S in “Standard version” doesn’t come with the pressure sensitive display and it is said to be available later in a high-spec trim with 128GB of storage. So it is still a question mark whether we are getting the “Force Touch” high-spec version in Malaysia.
In terms of its imaging, a 13-megapixel camera will support its photo taking on the rear, while the front gets a 8-megapixel shooter. The former is an f/2.0 4-colour RGBW camera sensor with OIS and dual-LED flash. On the latter, its an f/2.4 shooter with an accompanying soft LED light for flash.
Fans of gestures will ravel over the (for show) Knuckle sense technology. An upgraded 2.0 version allows you to draw a “C” shape to open the camera app – we’re unsure how many of you will take notice or even use this though. The metal-chasis on the back surrounds a distinctive Huawei shaped fingerprint sensor. From Apple to Samsung, the Mate S also shares the 3 microphone multi way conference recording feature as seen on the Galaxy Note 4.
A feather weight of sorts at 156grams and 7.2mm thick, it still manages to pack a 2,700 mAh battery under all that metal. Android 5.1 will run the device’s OS but have a EMUI 3.1 skin to go on top. No official word on its pricing yet in Malaysia, nor has there been news on the release date but we’ll keep you in the loop.
Thanks to tipster @KelvinNgTK for the heads up.
