Huawei has launched two new flagship devices – the Mate 8 smartphone and M2 tablet – for Africa and the Middle East. The devices were launched last Tuesday at an event in Dubai.
The 6-inch Mate 8 is Huawei’s attempt at striking “perfect balance between high performance and long battery life.” It’s lightweight, dual SIM compatible and runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0, and according to Huawei’s press statement, it is the first smartphone “to run the Kirin 950 chipset and is equipped with a 4000mAh high-density battery.”
Speaking about the phone, George Al Kafrouni, Regional Manager, Device Product & Training Middle East Region, explained that, “With the ‘Super Hands-Free 3.0’ technology users can enable their hands-free operation in a variety of environments. Whether in a car, a conference room or at a crowded party, users can enjoy clear conversations from up to 3 meters away.”
The phone, according to him, was designed to be “the perfect device for the global business traveler.
“The Huawei Mate 8 supports global connectivity and more bands than any other dual-SIM phone, including four 2G bands, nine 3G bands and eighteen 4G bands in 217 countries and regions with 1,334 operator settings,” he added.
It’s not available for sale in Nigeria yet but will be by mid-February 2016. The phone first launched in China in November 2015 with a base retail price of $470.