Huawei Mate XS Foldable Phone With Kirin 990 SoC Set to Debut in March 2020

Huawei Mate XS with 5G support is set to debut in March 2020, the Chinese company announced at the launch of the Mate X on Wednesday in its home market. The new smartphone would sport a foldable design -- similar to the original Mate X. However, it will be powered by Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 990 SoC, instead of the Kirin 980 SoC featured on the Mate X. Huawei at the launch of the Mate X at a pre-MWC 2019 event back in February highlighted it had deployed a flexible OLED display panel in the Mate X to deliver an 8-inch tablet-like experience.

At the Mate X launch in China, Huawei showcased a slide highlighting the debut of the Mate XS. The smartphone is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 990 SoC that includes an integrated 5G modem, as reported by Sohu.com.

Unlike the Huawei Mate XS, the original Mate X includes the HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC that comes with a Balong 5000 modem to support 5G connectivity.

Huawei Mate XS was showcased briefly at the Mate X launch in China
Photo Credit: Sohu.com

Last month, Huawei unveiled the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro with Kirin 990 SoC. The chipset, which is touted to include the "world's most powerful 5G system" with the "most powerful" 5G modem, was announced as the company's 5G-capable offering just days before the launch of the Mate 30 series.

Huawei hasn't specified any key features or specifications of the Mate XS -- except confirming the new Kirin SoC. However, the render showcased on the official slide at the Wednesday event suggests that the phone would have a design quite similar to the Mate X. The handset also appears to have Leica optics.

In August, the Mate X surfaced on TENAA with some images -- hinting at subtle changes over what was showcased at MWC 2019 earlier this year. The phone with model number Huawei TAH-AN00 appeared to have tweaked button placements and might come with an improved hinge.

Huawei has initially launched the Mate X in China. Nevertheless, it does have plans to bring it to other markets including India. The foldable phone competes against the Samsung Galaxy Fold that was launched in the Indian market earlier this month.