Huawei has been building its own ecosystem from scratch for years, forced by the US veto to manufacture its own chips and live without Google. The new Mate 80 appear at a complicated time: Samsung has just presented the Galaxy S26 and Apple continues to be the undisputed reference in the Western high-end. The context could not be more demanding.
The improvement over the Mate 70 is tangible: Kirin 9030 chip, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, 3D facial recognition and IP69 resistance throughout the range, with Harmony OS 6 as operating system. Although it should be noted that Huawei still does not offer independent benchmarks of the Kirin 9030. The promise of a 42% improvement over the previous generation comes exclusively from the company itself, and its own data should always be read from a distance.
Huawei Mate 80: the solid foundation
The entry model does not skimp on the essentials. It has a 6.75-inch flat OLED panel with second-generation Kunlun Glass and adaptive refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz. The processor is the Kirin 9020, the same one that the Pure 70accompanied by a 5,750 mAh battery and 66 W wired charging.
In photography, the second generation of the Red Maple imaging system debuts: 50 MP main sensor with variable aperture (f/1.4-f/4.0), 40 MP wide angle and 12 MP periscopic telephoto lens with 5.5x optical zoom. For some 573 euros in Chinais a reasonable proposal, although the difference with the Pro is noticeable both in performance and loading speed.
Huawei Mate 80 technical sheet
- Screen: 6.75″ LTPO OLED, FHD+ (2,832 x 1,280 px), 1-120 Hz, PWM 1,440 Hz, Kunlun Glass 2nd gen
- Processor: Kirin 9020, 12/16 GB RAM
- Storage: 256/512GB
- rear cameras: 50 MP f/1.4-4.0 OIS + 40 MP wide angle f/2.2 + 12 MP periscopic telephoto lens f/3.4 zoom 5.5x OIS
- front camera: 13 MP f/2.0 + 3D depth sensor
- Battery: 5,750 mAh, 66W charging, 50W wireless
- Connectivity: 5G, WiFi 7, BT 6.0, NFC, Beidou satellite
- Software: Harmony OS 6
- Dimensions: 161.85 x 76 x 7.95 mm, 217 g — Resistance: IP68/IP69
- Price: from ~573 euros (China)
Huawei Mate 80 Pro: the Kirin 9030 enters the scene
The Pro is where the most relevant change in the range comes. Incorporates the Kirin 9030 with built-in AI capabilities for tasks like video object removal or real-time translation. The load rises to 100W per cable and 80 W wireless, and adds two-way satellite communication via Beidou. The periscopic telephoto lens of the base model gives way to a 48 MP (f/2.1) macro sensor with 4x optical zoom, more aimed at portraits and close-ups.
This is the only model with an official price in Europe: 1,299 euros in its 16 GB and 512 GB version. He places it in front of the Galaxy S25 Ultrawhich starts from 1,329 euros, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The relevant difference is that its competitors have the Google ecosystem and guaranteed updates for years. Huawei offers flashy hardware, but giving that up comes at a real cost.
Huawei Mate 80 Pro technical sheet
- Screen: 6.75″ LTPO OLED, FHD+ (2,832 x 1,280 px), 1-120 Hz, PWM 1,440 Hz, Kunlun Glass 2nd gen
- Processor: Kirin 9030 / Kirin 9030 Pro, 12/16 GB RAM
- Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB
- rear cameras: 50 MP f/1.4-4.0 OIS + 40 MP wide angle f/2.2 + 48 MP telephoto macro f/2.1 zoom 4x OIS
- front camera: 13 MP f/2.0 + 3D depth sensor
- Battery: 5,750 mAh, 100 W charging, 80 W wireless
- Connectivity: 5G, WiFi 7, BT 6.0, NFC, Beidou satellite
- Software: Harmony OS 6
- Dimensions: 161.85 x 76 x 7.95 mm, 219 g — Resistance: IP68/IP69
- Price: from 1,299 euros (global)
Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max: the heavy artillery
The Pro Max pushes the specs to the limit. The screen grows to 6.9 inches with dual-layer Tandem OLED technology and a peak brightness of 8,000 nits, a figure that is unrivaled right now and leaves behind the 2,600 nits of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The camera system includes two simultaneous 50 MP telephoto lenses – one for medium distances (f/2.1) and another periscopic for long range (f/3.2) -, along with the main variable aperture camera and a battery of 6,000 mAh. It is also the only model in the range with full satellite calling via Tiantong.
In China it starts from about 976 euros; The European price is not yet confirmed. The underlying problem, however, is the same for all three models: HarmonyOS has maturedbut outside of China continuing without the Google ecosystem continues to be a daily sacrifice that no technical specification can fully compensate for.
Technical data sheet of the Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max
- Screen: Tandem OLED 6.9″, FHD+ (2,848 x 1,320 px), 1-120 Hz, PWM 1,440 Hz, 8,000 peak nits
- Processor: Kirin 9030 Pro, 16GB RAM
- Storage: 512GB/1TB
- rear cameras: 50 MP f/1.4-4.0 OIS + 40 MP wide-angle f/2.2 + 50 MP macro telephoto f/2.1 OIS + 50 MP periscopic telephoto f/3.2 OIS
- front camera: 13 MP f/2.0 + 3D depth sensor
- Battery: 6,000 mAh, 100 W charging, 80 W wireless
- Connectivity: 5G, WiFi 7, BT 6.0, NFC, Tiantong + Beidou satellite
- Software: Harmony OS 6
- Dimensions: 164.4 x 79 x 8.25 mm, 239 g — Resistance: IP68/IP69
- Price: from ~976 euros (China, global price unconfirmed)
