Huawei Mate S is official, packs 5.5-inch display, all-metal body and Force Touch

After weeks of speculation and leaks, Huawei has finally announced the Ascend Mate S, what many see as a direct competitor to the likes of the iPhone 6 Plus and HTC One. It has a bunch of flagship staple features as well as a couple of unique selling points which will get you talking, if nothing else.

Huawei’s latest all-metal phone boasts a full HD 5.5-inch display on the front, with a fingerprint sensor and a 13MP f/2.0 snapper on the back kitted out with optical image stabilization and a dual-tone LED flash. On the front: an 8MP f/2.4 camera with LED soft light for ‘more beautiful’ selfies. Inside is the Hisilicon Kirin 935 octa-core processor paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage. It has a 2,700mAh battery and is only 7.2mm thin.

What makes it unique: Huawei has managed to fit a Force Touch feature to its phone before Apple, and even had the nerve to call it ‘Force Touch’. The pressure sensitive screen can be used to do things like zoom in to specific parts of images, or even be used to weigh stuff (like oranges). Like the Huawei P8, the screen also has the weird knuckle detection feature for launching apps and taking screenshots. It’s been updated to let you draw letters to launch the camera, or instant messaging.

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The all-metal design looks very high end, and has been designed with ultimate comfort in mind. Its edges are under 3mm thick, with the thickest point being just 7.2mm, and being curved means it sits in your hand perfectly. Or at least, that’s what Huawei claims. What’s more, the fingerprint on the back can be used for more than just unlocking your phone. It accepts gestures and lets you swipe through screens, control the notification bar or accept phone calls.

Huawei’s Ascend Mate S is going to be available in 30 markets worldwide, with pre-orders starting in Europe this month. Sadly for those looking forward to some Force Touch action, the phone equipped with the Apple-like feature will only be available in select markets. Non-Force Touch models will cost around €649 ($729) and €699 ($785) for the 32GB and 64GB models respectively.