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Huawei Mate 70 launched today, but Galaxy S25 Ultra promises bigger surprises
Today, Huawei has officially unveiled the Mate 70 series flagships. The new lineup brings several upgrades to its predecessor. However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra promises to offer even bigger surprises than the Huawei Mate 70 smartphone.
It’s proved that US restrictions failed to crush Huawei’s innovative approach. The firm has no access to cutting-edge semiconductors and the Android ecosystem. Hence, the Mate 70 flagship packs everything developed in-house.
Huawei’s Mate 70 lineup has four models: Mate 70, Mate 70 Pro, Mate 70 Pro+, and Mate 70 Ultimate Design. The flagships feature a tweaked camera design, which is an even more refined iteration of the previous lineup.
Specialist website HuaweiCentral praises the design, saying, ” The bump (in Mate 70 models) is highly visible and coming out of the “back panel. A giant ring covers all camera lenses inside with a diamond-cut texture on the side.”
Image: Huawei Central
Chinese phone makers often play with overall design language. Samsung (and Apple), on the flip side, doesn’t make radical changes to the overall design. That said, the S25 Ultra is expected to have the same backplate setup as the S24 Ultra and S23 Ultra.
Talking about internals, the Mate 70 features a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP telephoto and a 40MP ultra-wide angle lens. The telephoto supports 4x optical zoom, while the S25 Ultra will have dual telephoto solutions with 3x and 5x optical zoom.
Huawei brought a quad-curved 6.9-inch OLED, LTPO screen to the Mate 70 Pro. It’s the same size as the Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to sport. The refresh rate would go from 1 to 120Hz, offering decent power efficiency with smoother operations.
Mate 70 Pro boasts triple-front punch holes, a selfie camera and 3D sensors for face unlock and air gestures. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a single tiny punch hole on the display to equip the 12MP selfie snapper.
Samsung will repeat the 5000mAh battery and 45W charging on the Galaxy S25 Ultra too. However, Huawei’s Mate 70 Pro flagship leaves S25 Ultra in the dust with its 5700mAh battery and 100W super fast charging.
Interestingly, the Mate 70 series marks the end of the Android era in Huawei’s smartphone lineup. Due to the lack of Android, Huawei developed its own operating system, called HarmonyOS, which turned Android free with the HarmonyOS NEXT iteration.
Huawei also claims the Mate 70 series supports generative AI and LLM technologies. The devices could bring some eye-catching features to the table, which we would see in Samsung Galaxies and Apple iPhones in the near future.
Huawei’s Mate 70 series is currently available in the Chinese market. The lineup could be expanded to select markets in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S25 series in late January next year.
Samsung is preparing for its mega Unpacked event, likely to be held in early 2025. The company has recently started the mass production of the new smartphones and officially unveiled the Galaxy XR headset, codenamed Project Moohan.
A new leak (via Alvin/X) revealed key details about the Samsung Unpacked 2025 including the event date and time, location, unveiling devices, and more. It’s going to be a big event and you can expect many exciting unveilings.
Per the info, Samsung could hold the Galaxy Unpacked on January 22, 2025. The in-person event and online livestream may kick off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Interestingly, the new leak suggests San Jose as the venue for the Unpacked event.
- Washington, US (Eastern Time): 1:00 p.m. ET
- London, UK: 6:00 p.m. GMT
- New Delhi, India: 11:30 p.m. IST
Samsung held the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 in San Jose to unveil the Galaxy S24 series. Previous leaks point to San Francisco as the Unpacked venue for the next year. It would be interesting to see what Samsung picks for the mega unveiling.
We all are well aware of the upcoming devices that include the S25 series. Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra. The recently revealed XR headset (Project Moohan) could be teased, and probably the Glasses too.
Aside from this, the official One UI 7 will also be introduced. The new flagships will come pre-loaded with the latest software. However, the rollout plan of the One UI 7.0 update is expected to be released by Samsung.
Leaks suggest that Samsung is unlikely to raise the Galaxy S25 series price. The company is highly inspired by Apple as iPhone 16 series prices are intact. The Korean units may be slightly costlier than the global variants due to political chaos.
Samsung has opened a Customer Service Store in the Macquarie Centre, Sydney, offering a fresh and customer-focused shopping experience. Located on Level 4 of Macquarie Centre at Herring Road &Waterloo Rd, the store is designed to give customers an immersive experience with Samsung’s wide range of connected devices.
The Samsung Store features self-discovery zones where shoppers can explore products in detail and consultation lounges where they can get personalized advice and support. The lounges are equipped with advanced diagnostic tools to help customers troubleshoot any issues with their devices.
This store also aims to minimize device downtime. It offers on-site repairs so customers can get their devices fixed while they shop, with the backing of an authorized service center. This quick and efficient service ensures customers don’t have to wait long for solutions.
Samsung is Australia’s most trusted consumer products brand (Roy Morgan in December 2024) as it is dedicated to delivering high-quality products and exceptional customer service. The opening of this new store shows Samsung’s commitment to providing a seamless, customer-friendly experience that blends innovation with care.
Muneeb Ekhlaque, Head of Customer Service at Samsung Electronics Australia, said, “We’re excited to offer a new store in Sydney that improves the overall customer experience. We understand how important technology is to Australians, and this store is designed to make shopping and support easier and more enjoyable.”
Samsung’s One UI 7 Beta Program for Galaxy S24 series hit full capacity. If you missed joining the Beta Program, there’s good news: Samsung is expected to reopen the One UI 7 Beta on Monday along with the Beta 2 launch.
Max Jambor revealed that Samsung may open the second phase of One UI 7 Beta registration, and the date aligns with previous rumors of a Beta 2 launch. The rollout of the second Beta should bring another opportunity to join the Beta.
At present, Samsung is running the Beta Program for the Galaxy S24 series. The program is already live in four out of six key markets: Germany, South Korea, the UK, and the US.
Samsung stopped Beta registrations just the next day after the Beta launch in the US. It seems the slots are fewer than last year, keeping the Beta build restricted to a limited audience.
Recently, Samsung Support confirmed that the One UI 7 Beta Program will start on December 16 in India, and the same date is rumored for the remaining European market: Poland.
The Beta participants will receive an incremental update as Beta 2 on their Galaxy S24 device. However, the latest build will directly be provided to the Wave 2 markets: India and Poland.
The second Beta of One UI 7 will bring improved animation and transition effects. Samsung users can expect more natural and fluid system animations in the next Beta updates.
One UI 7 Beta 2 – What to expect?
- Smoother animations, fluid transitions
- Enhanced performance and lesser app incompatibility
- Bug fixes and overall user experience improvements