Huawei Launches Mate 90 Series With New Kirin 9050 Chip

Huawei unveiled the Mate 90 series in China on October 1, National Day, introducing five models powered by three different Kirin chipsets. The standard Mate 90 uses the Kirin 9030, the Pro model upgrades to the Kirin 9035, while the Pro Max, Pro Max Collector's Edition, and RS Ultimate Design share the flagship Kirin 9050 Pro. Huawei claims the 9-core Kirin 9050 Pro delivers AI performance 140 times faster than its previous chips and features a Maleoon GPU with 35 percent higher graphics performance.

The top-tier RS Ultimate Design starts at 12,999 yuan ($1,940) for 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, featuring patterned Kunlun glass and polished titanium. Pro and RS models sport 6.9-inch dual-layer OLED displays with 1-120Hz refresh rates and a claimed peak brightness of 12,000 nits measured at 1% APL. The camera system includes a 200-megapixel telephoto lens with roughly 4x optical zoom, though independent reviewers caution that resolution alone does not guarantee superior photo quality.

“There's plenty of resolution on paper, but photo quality needs independent testing before those numbers become a reason to buy.”

Battery capacity ranges from 6,600mAh on the base model with 66W wired charging to 6,800mAh with 100W charging on higher variants. All models run HarmonyOS 7. Huawei states the standard Mate 90 is 27 percent faster than the Mate 80 based on internal lab testing. The Kirin 9050 Pro employs a "LogicFolding" 3D internal wiring design first seen in the Mate XT 2, though the chip manufacturer remains undisclosed.

The launch coincides with Apple's iPhone 18 recording its strongest China launch-week performance in years, highlighting intensifying competition in the premium segment where overall smartphone sales are declining. UAE pricing and availability have not been confirmed.