Huawei Mate 90 series launches with new Kirin chips and 200MP zoom
Huawei Mate 90 flagship smartphone series launched in China, introducing five versions ranging from the standard Mate 90 to the premium Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design.
The new line runs HarmonyOS 7 and marks another step in Huawei’s push towards domestically developed smartphone technology. The range uses three Kirin processors, topped by the Kirin 9050 Pro, which uses Huawei’s new LogicFolding chip architecture.
- Huawei Mate 90
- Huawei Mate 90 Pro
- Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max
- Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition
- Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design
- Will the Huawei Mate 90 launch outside China?
Huawei Mate 90
The standard Mate 90 is the entry point to the new series and uses Huawei’s Kirin 9030 processor.
It has a 6.75-inch display, a 6,600mAh battery, 66W wired charging and up to 50W wireless charging. Huawei also gives the phone IP68 and IP69 water and dust resistance.
The rear camera system includes a 50MP RYYB main camera with optical image stabilisation and an F1.4-F4.0 variable aperture, a 50MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and a 40MP ultrawide camera. Huawei’s third-generation Red Maple colour sensor is also included to improve colour reproduction.
The phone comes with 12GB of RAM and three storage options:
- 12GB + 256GB: 5,999 yuan ($895)
- 12GB + 512GB: 6,999 yuan ($1,044)
- 12GB + 1TB: 8,499 yuan ($1,268)
Huawei offers it in green, pink, white and black.
Huawei Mate 90 Pro
The Mate 90 Pro moves to the more powerful Kirin 9035 chipset and uses Huawei’s second-generation Linglong display technology.
Huawei says the screen can reach a peak brightness of 12,000 nits under specific testing conditions. The Pro also adds strengthened Kunlun Glass around both the display and camera system, alongside IP68 and IP69 protection.
The company says the redesigned camera glass is 20 times more drop-resistant than the previous generation, while the overall body offers 50% better drop resistance. Those figures are based on Huawei’s own laboratory comparisons with the Mate 80 Pro.
Here’s an interesting new feature on the Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max called «View Once.» The photo can only be viewed once. Once you’ve seen it, it disappears forever. And just look at this unique interaction. The animation and visual feedback are incredibly well designed. Even Apple doesn’t offer an interaction this polished.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) October 1, 2026
Pricing is:
- 12GB + 256GB: 6,999 yuan ($1,044)
- 12GB + 512GB: 7,999 yuan ($1,193)
- 16GB + 512GB: 8,499 yuan ($1,268)
- 16GB + 1TB: 9,999 yuan ($1,491)
The Mate 90 Pro is available in orange, green, white and black.
Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max
The Mate 90 Pro Max receives the largest hardware upgrades in the range.
It has a 6.9-inch dual-layer LTPO OLED display with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a resolution of 2,848 × 1,320 pixels. Huawei again claims peak brightness of up to 12,000 nits in specific conditions.
Depending on configuration, the phone uses either the Kirin 9050 or Kirin 9050 Pro. The higher-end chip uses Huawei’s LogicFolding architecture.
Photography is one of the biggest differences from the cheaper models. The Pro Max gets a 50MP RYYB main sensor with an F1.4-F4.0 variable aperture and optical stabilisation, a 40MP ultrawide and a 200MP RYYB periscope telephoto camera with optical stabilisation and macro capability.
Huawei lists 4x optical zoom, 8x «optical-quality» zoom and digital zoom of up to 100x.
Power comes from a 6,800mAh battery with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. The phone also supports 18W wired reverse charging.
The regular Pro Max costs:
- 12GB + 512GB: 9,499 yuan ($1,417)
- 16GB + 512GB: 9,999 yuan ($1,491)
Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition
Huawei also offers a separate Mate 90 Pro Max Collector’s Edition.
It uses the Kirin 9050 Pro across all configurations and upgrades the exterior protection to Huawei’s Xuanwu Kunlun Glass. Storage starts at 512GB.
The Collector’s Edition can also be paired with Huawei’s new Ruiying Z10 modular camera, an external imaging accessory designed to give the phone additional long-range photography capabilities.
This is the Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max, paired with an external camera. It is important to emphasize that this is a true «external camera,» not a traditional external lens or telephoto attachment. The external camera itself features an independent 1-inch sensor, with up to 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. In other words, from the sensor to the lens, it is a complete and independent imaging system in its own right. It is also very simple to use. Just attach it to the camera area of the Mate 90 Pro Max, and you can control the external camera directly through the phone’s screen, operating system, and camera software. In this setup, the phone’s own camera does not participate in image capture. The camera area mainly serves to secure and connect the external camera. The actual photography is handled by the external camera’s own 1-inch sensor and 24mm-to-240mm lens. This is also the biggest difference between it and traditional smartphone telephoto attachments. Traditional telephoto attachments still rely on the phone’s original camera to capture images, whereas this solution adds a complete, independent camera system to the phone. In a sense, you can think of the Mate 90 Pro Max as the external camera’s display, operating system, and computing platform. In theory, this external camera could also be used with other phones, as long as it is securely mounted and properly adapted through the appropriate connection method.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) September 29, 2026
The Collector’s Edition costs:
- 16GB + 512GB: 10,999 yuan ($1,640)
- 16GB + 1TB: 12,999 yuan ($1,939)
Huawei separately prices the Z10 camera module at 5,999 yuan ($895), while a bundle containing the 1TB Collector’s Edition and Z10 costs 19,499 yuan ($2,908).
Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design
At the top of the line is the Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design, which combines most of the Pro Max hardware with a more expensive body and larger storage options.
It has a polished titanium frame, weighs about 248g and uses a 6.9-inch dual-layer OLED display with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
The RS is powered exclusively by the Kirin 9050 Pro, paired with 16GB of RAM and as much as 2TB of storage.
Its rear cameras comprise a 50MP variable-aperture main camera, 40MP ultrawide and 200MP telephoto camera. It also includes Huawei’s third-generation Red Maple colour sensor.
HUAWEI Mate90 RS | ULTIMATE DESIGN https://t.co/W2pw6lC7sB
— techway1 (@Techway0) October 1, 2026
Like the Pro Max, it has a 6,800mAh battery, 100W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and IP68/IP69 resistance.
Prices are:
- 16GB + 512GB: 12,999 yuan ($1,939)
- 16GB + 1TB: 14,999 yuan ($2,237)
- 16GB + 2TB: 18,999 yuan ($2,834).
The RS comes in red, black and white.
Will the Huawei Mate 90 launch outside China?
For now, Huawei has announced the Mate 90 series only for China.
The phones went on sale there on Oct. 1, but Huawei has not announced international prices, a global launch date or a list of countries that will receive the series. The company’s global consumer website also does not yet list the Mate 90 range.
Huawei’s previous Mate 80 Pro, for example, received a global launch in February 2026, several months after its Chinese debut. Huawei also launched the Pura 90s Pro and Pura 90s Pro Max internationally in Kuala Lumpur in July.
