IFA: Huawei Launches Ascend Mate 7 With 360 Fingerprint Sensor

Huawei looks to spoil the coming out party for the Apple iPhone 6 with the launch of its new smartphone and phablet.

The Chinese network equipment manufacturer joined a number of other vendors in launching their smartphones at the annual IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, just days ahead of the iPhone arrival next Tuesday.

Ascend Mate 7

The first device from Huawei is a good looking phablet with a brushed metal finish, and it looks remarkably like the HTC One Max.

Known as the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, the 6-inch Android handset is being tipped as the ‘world’s fastest phone’, not because of its processor or RAM, but because of its Cat 6 LTE connectivity options, which should allow for download speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Unfortunately Cat 6 LTE is not currently supported by any UK network.

The arrival of this phablet comes just a day after Samsung updated its phablet device, with the Galaxy Note 4. But what does the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 offer when compared to its rivals?

Well, it has a 6-inch display (1920 x 1080p Full HD resolution), and the body is only 7.9mm thick. It comes with an integrated 360 degree fingerprint scanner on the back that can apparently read your fingerprint at any angle. Up to five different fingerprint can be stored on the Mate7, with the data being “encrypted and stored safely.”

Under the hood lurks a 1.8GHz octo-core Kirin 825 processor and a 4100mAh battery that comes with a ultra power saving mode that intelligently shut down the most battery draining features as the phone starts to lose power. This gives the user extra life with the last 10 percent of battery power.

The rear facing camera is 13-megapixel, whereas the front-facing camera is 5-megapixels. A dual antenna on the handset is “optimised to provide fewer dropped calls and smooth 4G LTE navigation.”

The handset also comes with noise reducing earphones. The standard Huawei Ascend Mate7 (2GB RAM and 16GB ROM) will cost 499 euros (£396), while the premium Huawei Ascend Mate7 (3GB RAM and 32GB ROM) will be 599 euros (£478).

“Today marks the arrival of our fastest and most compelling big-screen smartphone experience for consumers,” said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “It’s a symbol of our relentless commitment to ‘Make it Possible’ for people everywhere to enjoy our premium quality products.”

“Huawei Ascend Mate7 actually leads the big-screen pack with smarter performance, impressive power efficiency, and outstanding convenience with its superior single-touch fingerprint technology,” said Yu.

Tough Cookie

Meanwhile, Huawei also revealed that it will produce a limited edition of its Ascend P7 phone with a sapphire glass display.

That handset arrived in May this year, and at 6.55mm, it also claims to be one of the slimmest 4G smartphones on the market.

Of course, the iPhone 6 is also widely tipped to feature a sapphire glass display in an effort to toughen up its notoriously vulnerable screen.

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