Huawei P40 Pro render surfaces; rumor suggests a huge change is coming to the battery
Based on rumored specs posted on Twitter, it would appear that Huawei's next flagship phone is going to be a monster. In addition, a render of the P40 Pro has surfaced on GizChina giving us a look at a noticeable camera bump, a curved display, and the volume rocker and power button found along the right side of the device. The buzz around the water cooler suggests that the top-of-the-line P40 Pro will sport a 6.5-inch AMOLED waterfall screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. That is twice the rate that most smartphone screens refresh at and should help deliver improved animation for video games and smoother scrolling.
The P40 Pro display will reportedly be equipped with a pair of punch-hole selfie cameras (main selfie + ultra-wide) allowing for a screen-to-body ratio in the neighborhood of 98%. As many as five-sensors could be found on the back of the device including a 64MP wide that uses the Sony IMX686 1/1.7 inch sensor with OIS. Also on the back, we might find a 20MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP telephoto camera using the periscope design, a Macro camera, and a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor. The phone will support 4K video. Powering these units will be the Kirin 990 chipset, the same SoC used for the Mate 30 lineup
Perhaps the most exciting rumor deals with the possibility that Huawei will stuff the P40 Pro with a graphene battery
Perhaps the most exciting rumor about the Huawei P40 Pro has to do with the handset's battery. The speculation is that the manufacturer will use a graphene battery to power the device increasing the capacity of the part and offering faster charging times. For example, the graphene battery rumored to be inside the P40 Pro is believed to feature a 5500mAh capacity but has only 70% of the volume found on the lithium batteries currently in use. With the company's new 50W charger, the battery will take only 45 minutes to fully charge from 0% to 100%.
Render of the Huawei P40 Pro
Normally Huawei releases the P series line in late March. However, the rumor mill says that the company is looking at the possibility of releasing the P 40 line earlier next year. And assuming that the manufacturer remains on the U.S. Commerce Department's entity list and unable to access its U.S. supply chain, the P 40 family will not be licensed by Google to use the Google Play services of Android. That means that Google's core Android apps like Search, Maps, the Play Store, Gmail and more will not run on the new models. Of course, this doesn't matter in China where most Google apps are banned anyway, but it will play a part in determining international sales. With the Mate 30 series, Huawei used an open-source version of Android and its own AppGallery app storefront. Still, a report back in November suggested that a global version of the P40 line will be released shortly after the phones have their domestic launch.
Despite the U.S. supply chain ban, Huawei managed to ship 66.8 million units worldwide during the third quarter. That was good enough for a second-place ranking behind only Samsung, but ahead of Apple. More importantly, the figure represented a 28.5% year-over-year gain in shipments during the period. Huawei captured 18% of the global smartphone market during Q3, up from the 14% share it owned during the same time last year. One of the reasons why Huawei has thrived this year is due to a rise in patriotism among Chinese consumers who see the company as a victim of American bullying tactics. During the third quarter, Huawei's domestic shipments soared an incredible 66% on an annual basis giving the firm a 42.4% market share in its own country.
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