HUAWEI MATE 90 SERIES OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED: FLAGSHIP TAU CHIPS, 12,000-NIT DISPLAY, AND INDUSTRY-FIRST FOUR-CARD CONNECTIVITY

Huawei’s new Mate 90 lineup debuts with the Kirin 9050 Pro logic-folding chipset, third-generation Red Maple imaging, and pricing starting at RMB 5,999 — with same-day sales opening at 12:08 PM on October 1.

SHENZHEN, China — October 1, 2026 — Huawei today officially unveiled the HUAWEI Mate 90 series, its annual flagship smartphone lineup, at a full-scenario new product launch event held in Shenzhen. The new series — comprising the Mate 90, Mate 90 Pro, Mate 90 Pro Max, Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition, and Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design — went on sale the same day at 12:08 PM, marking the first time Huawei has launched and immediately released a flagship smartphone on the same date.toutiao.com

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Richard Yu Chengdong, Huawei’s Executive Director and Chairman of the Device BG, introduced the series with the tagline: *“The Mate 90 series ships with flagship Tau chips across the entire lineup. Through vertical integration of software, hardware, silicon, and cloud, it delivers a comprehensive evolution in design, performance, imaging, reliability, and intelligence.”*xhby.net

Flagship Performance: The Kirin Tau Chip Family

The headline upgrade is the new generation of Kirin chipsets built on Huawei’s “Tao Law” (τ定律) design methodology, which replaces traditional geometric shrinking with logic-folding architecture — stacking logic units vertically with high-density interconnects to compress signal transmission paths.nfnews.com

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• Mate 90 — Kirin 9030: overall performance up 27% vs. the Kirin 9020, with GPU gains of 54%.
• Mate 90 Pro — Kirin 9035: overall performance up 20%, with NPU gains of 51%.
• Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition & RS — Kirin 9050 Pro: overall performance up 31%. The 9050 Pro is Huawei’s most powerful chip to date, achieving a transistor density of 238 million transistors per mm² (+28% YoY), 5 million signal transmission bonds, and 125 TB/s cross-die bandwidth. It supports hardware ray tracing (55 million rays per second), on-device execution of a 30B-parameter MoE multimodal LLM, and post-quantum cryptographic security via a dedicated Mobile Security Processor.nfnews.com
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All models ship with HarmonyOS 7, with Yu noting that the HarmonyOS ecosystem now hosts more than 450,000 apps and services and 35,000 games, with over 90 million devices running HarmonyOS 6 or 7.nfnews.com

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Display: Second-Generation Linglong Panels

The Mate 90 Pro and above carry the second-generation Linglong display, hitting a peak brightness of 12,000 nits at 1% APL with a double-layer OLED architecture that extends panel lifespan by 138%. The Pro Max and RS debut the industry’s first Full-Color Linglong Display, achieving full-link BT.2020 coverage and enabling more than 60 mainstream P3-gamut apps to upgrade to BT.2020 content. Eye protection is enhanced with a new light-environment sensor supporting 1-nit dark-light comfort mode.cnr.cn

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Camera: Third-Generation Red Maple Imaging

Every model in the series is equipped with the third-generation Red Maple True-Color camera, the first to apply infrared optical coating across all focal lengths — boosting global color accuracy by 37% and portrait skin-tone fidelity by 62%. The Pro Max adds an 18EV ultra-high-dynamic-range main camera and a 200MP RYYB periscope telephoto with CIPA 7.5 stabilization for clear 20x footage. Huawei also introduced the Ruiying Z10 module camera — an industry-first add-on with a 1-inch RYYB sensor, 24–240mm continuous optical zoom, and F2.0–F4.5 aperture range.cnr.cn

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Design and Durability

The series retains Huawei’s signature center-axis symmetric design language, combining a glossy mid-frame with a matte metallic back panel. Pro models and above feature a crystal-lattice aramid fiber back, while the Pro Max Collector’s Edition debuts a “Floating Gem Ring” crafted from yttrium crystal — reported to be more crack-resistant than sapphire. The RS Ultimate Design continues its signature star-diamond lens Deco with new Dynamic Grating Kunlun Glass.ce.cn

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Durability is anchored by the Full Kunlun Xuanwu Architecture on Pro and above: optical Kunlun glass on the lens cover delivers 20x better drop resistance, the front panel gains 50% better drop resistance, and the Xuanwu Kunlun glass on the top-tier variants offers 70% better anti-reflective performance and 16x scratch resistance. All models are rated IP68 (6m) and IP69.xhby.net

Connectivity: Industry-First Four-Card, Three-Standby

The Mate 90 series introduces the industry’s first integrated Wi-Fi and cellular antenna architecture, improving signal strength by 2dB. The Pro Max debuts four-card, three-standby capability — combining physical SIM and eSIM to keep three lines simultaneously active for calls, data, and messaging. A new multi-device cooperative communication feature lets up to four Mate devices pool their network resources, accelerating file downloads and video uploads by up to 40% in weak-signal environments such as high-speed rail stations and concert venues. Satellite connectivity includes Tiantong satellite communication and BeiDou satellite messaging.nfnews.com

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Battery and Outdoor Mode

The new Outdoor Exploration Mode supports 36 hours of off-screen trail navigation and extends极限续航 to up to 15 days in extreme battery-saver conditions, with Star Flash-triggered automatic SOS and watch fall-detection linkage for emergency scenarios.xhby.net

Pricing and Availability

ModelStarting Price (CNY)HUAWEI Mate 90¥5,999HUAWEI Mate 90 Pro¥6,999HUAWEI Mate 90 Pro Max¥9,499HUAWEI Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition¥10,999HUAWEI Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design¥12,999 (top 16GB+2TB: ¥18,999)

All models went on sale across Huawei’s channels at 12:08 PM on October 1, 2026. “Given today’s surging memory prices, our pricing remains very sincere,” Yu said during the presentation.nfnews.com

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Alongside the Mate 90 series, Huawei also announced the nova 16 Pro × Pop Mart Hirono limited gift box (globally capped at 7,000 units), the HUAWEI FreeBuds Neo earbuds (¥699), the HUAWEI WATCH D3 blood-pressure smartwatch (from ¥2,988), and the HUAWEI MateTV 2 smart TV series running HarmonyOS 7.ce.cn

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About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, with integrated solutions spanning telecommunications networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services. The Mate series represents Huawei’s flagship smartphone line, recognized for its innovation in chipsets, imaging, satellite communication, and industrial design.