Huawei invites for September 2nd event in Berlin hint at mystery ‘S’ model

Huawei has started sending out invitations to an event on September 2nd in Berlin, Germany. The invites fit in perfectly with previous speculation that the Chinese manufacturer would use IFA as its platform to launch a new smartphone. What’s interesting about these invites is that they seemingly hint at the name of the upcoming device.

With a giant 3D ‘S’ protruding from the physical invite (revealed by MyDrivers), it’s almost certain the company will use it as part of the smartphone’s moniker. Some speculate this will be the Ascend Mate 7S, or just simple Ascend Mate S. Whatever the final product name, it’d be incredibly surprising if there was no ‘S’ at the end. But that’s irrelevant compared to what the device packs internally and what it might look like.

We already have a pretty good idea about the appearance and specifications of the device, thanks to previous leaks and the TENAA images above. From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s very similar to the current Huawei Ascend Mate 7. It’s a mostly metal chassis, almost HTC One-like, with a camera, LED flash and fingerprint sensor on the back.

It’s likely to run Android 5.1.1, feature an octa-core Mali processor and a full HD display. Although, the exact size of that display is up for debate. Images make the device seem like it could be phablet sized, and other speculation suggests a 5.7-inch display. That said, the leaked AnTuTu benchmarks recently pointed to a pixel density of 480ppi which would indicate a screen size closer to 4.6-inches.

Although this is all just rumor until the official announcement next month, I’m still intrigued to see where this device fits in the market. Having already announced the Huawei P8, P8 Lite and P8 Max at the higher end of the smartphone market, where does the OEM see this unreleased phone slotting in? Is this a budget smartphone with great specs and build, or another powerful higher-end device? Time will tell.