According to a new report from Korea, Huawei has
placed orders for 6.9" AMOLED panels with Samsung Display. These are
intended to be used in a device launching in the fourth quarter of this year or
the first quarter of 2019.
That timing makes us think about the upcoming Mate
20, as members of this family have traditionally been launched around Q4 of
each year. The panels in question will be flat, not curved. If the Mate 20 does
end up sporting a 6.9" display, it will easily win the screen size battle
between high-end flagships. Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note9 is said to go with
a 6.38" panel, and Apple's new big iPhone will have a 6.46" screen.
Huawei's reasoning for such a shocking move
apparently has to do with its home market. It's currently the leading brand
there, and wants that status quo to continue. Chinese consumers prefer bigger
screens on smartphones than people elsewhere, perhaps at least in part because
of the large text area occupied by the Chinese characters.
In fact, Apple's 6.46" iPhone coming later this
year has also been developed with the Chinese in mind, and Huawei doesn't want
to allow the American company to encroach upon its territory. That's what the
unnamed sources behind today's report claim.
