Huawei seems to have started the hype machine ahead of the upcoming smartphone announcement on March 27 in Paris, with a leak that’s either deliberate or ridiculous. It was thought that Huawei’s P20 might launch with Android 8.0 rather than the newer 8.1, but today, we can confirm this is not the case.
XDA Developers has confirmed a swathe of information about the upcoming device, including:
- The P20 line will launch with the latest Android 8.1, and EMUI will have the same version number.
- Jumping to Android 8.1 will unlock the Neural Networks API which will allow third-party developers to take advantage of Huawei’s Kirin 970 Neural Processing Unit. Expect some fancy camera-based AI here.
- P20 devices may feature an iPhone X-style notch at the top, which houses (what Huawei calls) a “Point Cloud Depth Camera” – shown above.
Though XDA Developers have got their hands on this new Android 8.1-based firmware, there’s no hardware capable of running it just yet. They’ve attempted to flash it onto a Mate 10, and in the process, destroyed the phone irrecoverably.
We don’t have long to wait now, though. Huawei’s P20 will likely be discussed off the record at MWC 2018 in a couple of weeks, and the announcement event will follow a month after. To say I’m excited is an understatement.
Mate 9 is on Android 7, EMUI 5, Security Patch level June ’17 and they have been promising updates forever. Meanwhile Huawei in every other region has gotten these updates. Whoever is running their Aus division is a hack.
My mate 10 pro from Optus has received 3 updates since launch, has January security patch.
P10 is/was the same. In 2017 Huawei Australia has really picked up its update game. Still a ways to go, but infinitely better than it was.
An iPhone X notch… Huawei has absolutely no originality.
Given there’s no other way to house the sensor array on a full screen no bezel front face.. how else would you propose they do it? The ‘notch’ is a neat solution, providing the implementation is done properly.
I’m assuming that launching with 8.1 means that it will support Project Treble? I’m eagerly awaiting the day when we can buy phones without worrying about what horrible skin the manufacturer decides to put onto it.