Huawei’s Mate series of flagships have been around for ages now, generally offering well-rounded flagship phones. The Chinese manufacturer unfortunately skipped a Mate series release last year due to US sanctions, but it’s back in 2022 with the new Mate 50 series.
We have three phones this year, namely Mate 50, Mate 50 Pro and Mate 50 RS. All three phones are powered by a 4G version of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC and offer an IP68 rating, 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging capabilities, and Harmony OS 3.
The phones also stand out thanks to the 50MP RYYB main camera on all three devices, offering variable aperture technology. Huawei says you can choose from 10 aperture settings ranging from f/1.4 to f/4, compared to just two settings on phones like the Galaxy S10.
Huawei also beat its rivals by announcing that the Mate 50 series supports satellite connectivity via the Chinese Beidou constellation. This feature allows you to send texts and location information via satellite, although you cannot receive messages via this connectivity standard. So what else do you need to know about these phones?
Huawei Mate 50 Pro and Mate 50 RS
The Mate 50 Pro packs some notable base specs, such as a 6.74-inch FHD+ 120Hz OLED curved panel, 4,700mAh battery, and 256GB to 512GB of storage (expandable via NM card).
Moving on to the camera category, the phone also packs a 13 MP ultrawide camera (120 degree field of view, autofocus) and a 64 MP 3.5x periscope camera. A 13 MP ultra-wide camera and a 3D ToF sensor are available on the front of the device, but in a wide notch.
Huawei has also relaunched a Mate 50 RS Porsche Design model (seen at the top of the page), bringing ceramic construction and a similar camera body design to the Mate 40 RS Porsche Design variant in 2020. It is otherwise almost identical to the Mate 50 Pro except for the 64MP periscope camera replaced by a 48MP 3.5x periscope shooter. This camera is also capable of taking macro photos and videos.
Interestingly, Huawei claims that both phones offer water resistance up to six meters of water compared to two meters of immersion for the vanilla Mate 50.
The Standard Mate 50
Interested in something cheaper? Then Huawei also offers the vanilla Mate 50. You still get a powerful flagship SoC, an IP68 rating and variable aperture technology, but we see some reductions in the name of pricing.
For one, you get a slightly smaller 4,460mAh battery than the Pro and Porsche variants. The 6.7-inch OLED display also peaks at 90Hz instead of 120Hz, although we’re sure the switch to a flat screen will be welcomed by many.
Moving on to the cameras, we still get a 50MP main variable aperture camera and a 13MP ultra wide camera, but we also get a 12MP 5x periscope camera instead of a 3.5x ultra high resolution periscope shooter. Finally, you also have a 13 MP ultra-wide selfie camera, but no 3D ToF camera here.
Price and availability
Huawei has already said Android Authority that today’s launch was for the Chinese market only, but a global release would follow soon after. Nonetheless, there’s no word yet on a timeline for a wider launch.
Huawei Mate 50 series: hot or not?
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Expect the standard Mate 50 to start at 4,999 yuan (~$718) for the base 128GB model, while the Mate 50 Pro has a starting price of 6,799 yuan (~$977) for the 256 GB model. Want the Porsche model? Then expect to pay 12,999 yuan (~$1,868) for the 512GB model alone.