Ganging up on Apple? Flagship phones of Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Honor are all scheduled for release in September. The most exciting new phone wave in history is coming.
Don't rush to buy a phone just yet. A new generation of flagship phones is about to make their collective debut.
This year, many phone manufacturers have advanced the release time of their new flagships to September to compete with Apple. According to a tip from @Digital Chat Station, the new phones powered by SM8850 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Extreme Edition) are basically scheduled to be released at the end of September. MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 chip will be released earlier than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Extreme Edition, and the new phones using this chip are likely to be launched at the end of September as well.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
Shortly after the new flagships hit the market, the Double 11 shopping festival will follow. Friends who need to buy a phone can wait a little longer. Lei Technology has specially compiled a list of new flagships that mainstream manufacturers will release in the second half of this year.
Huawei: At Least 3 Flagship Phones to Compete with Apple
As the only Chinese phone manufacturer that can compete with Apple in the high - end market in China, Huawei will release at least three flagship models in the second half of this year. The earliest - to - be - released model is the triple - fold phone, Mate XT 2. Digital blogger @Super Dimension World said that the official name of this phone is "Mate XT 2 Master of Excellence", and its chip, imaging system, and battery will all be upgraded.
Another digital blogger @Smart Pikachu revealed that, similar to its predecessor, the Mate XT 2 is tentatively scheduled to be released around September and is currently being tested for the low - orbit satellite Internet system. The Mate XT series is the highest - positioned and most expensive model in Huawei's phone product line. For consumers who pursue a high - end and extra - large - screen experience, it is still the only choice at present.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
In October, Huawei's large - foldable screen phone will also be updated. The new Mate X7 is expected to be equipped with the latest Kirin 9030 chip. Currently, there is not much information about the Mate X7 series. The relatively accurate information is about its battery capacity. @Digital Chat Station said that the battery capacity of Huawei's new phones will not be very large, and the typical capacity of the Mate X7 is about 5500mAh ±.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
Huawei is one of the few manufacturers that choose to equip large - foldable phones with high - end components instead of simply pursuing thinness and lightness. Most parameters of the new phone are expected to be the same as those of the Mate X6, with upgrades in imaging, performance, and battery life.
@Digital Chat Station exposed two batteries filed by Huawei, both of which are high - silicon single - cell batteries with a 4.53V cathode material. One has a typical capacity of about 5750mAh ±, and the other has a typical capacity of 6000mAh. Considering the single - cell characteristics of these two batteries, the models equipped with them are likely to be the Mate 80 series.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
@Digital Chat Station also revealed that the Mate 80 Pro will be equipped with a certain brand's 590 - series main camera, which is based on a 22nm process, has 50 million pixels, a 1/1.28 large - sized sensor, 1.2μm unit pixels, supports QPD and native 4K 120FPS, and has a very large dynamic range and aperture. Judging from the parameters, this sensor is most likely the SC590XS. The standard version of the Mate 80, which is positioned slightly lower, may have a slightly weaker imaging system. The difference in other configurations between it and the Mate 80 Pro will not be significant. The Ultra model, which is positioned higher, is expected to be equipped with a 1 - inch main camera.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
In addition, @Smart Pikachu also revealed that the Mate 80 series will be equipped with a newly - customized double - layer OLED eye - protection screen, which takes into account color, power consumption, and eye - protection effects. The blogger previously reported that Huawei was testing small - screen models and performance phones and was expected to equip the products with cooling fans. There are also rumors online that the entire Mate 80 series will return to the straight - screen design, but whether these designs will be implemented in the Mate 80 series cannot be determined for now.
The cost of flagship phones is higher than that of mid - and low - end models, and the risk of adopting a multi - model strategy is greater. The reason why Huawei can release one flagship phone per month is that the positioning of these phones is clearly differentiated, avoiding excessive internal competition.
Of course, the most anticipated thing about Huawei phones is still the HarmonyOS 6 operating system. At the HDC 2025, Huawei announced the upgrade points of HarmonyOS 6, including stronger inter - connection capabilities, the Hongmeng intelligent agent framework, AI functions, etc., focusing on the daily life experience with the goal of achieving cross - app and cross - device collaboration capabilities. However, the release time of the Huawei Mate 80 series is relatively late, and it is likely to miss the Double 11 shopping festival, with a relatively higher purchase cost.
Apple: High Refresh Rate Finally Becomes Standard, Only Regular Upgrades for the Standard Version
According to information compiled by overseas blogger Apple Hub, the iPhone 17 series will offer four versions: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
(Source: Apple Hub)
The lowest - positioned iPhone 17 is equipped with a 6.1 - inch screen and an A18 chip, with a memory capacity of 8GB. It has an aluminum alloy + glass body, a 24 - megapixel front - facing camera, and a rear - facing camera combination of a 48 - megapixel main camera + a 12 - megapixel ultra - wide - angle camera. To be honest, it's a bit hard to understand why it doesn't use the A19 or A18 Pro chip. This model may be the least worthy option in the iPhone 17 series.
The iPhone 17 Air is equipped with a 6.6 - inch screen, an A19 chip, and 12GB of memory. Its body is made of titanium + glass, with a 24 - megapixel front - facing camera and a single 48 - megapixel rear - facing camera. It's worth noting that while other models in the iPhone 17 series are equipped with Qualcomm basebands, the iPhone 17 Air uses Apple's self - developed C1 baseband. This model features a thin and light body, so it uses a single - camera design. However, it is positioned higher than the standard version, with stronger performance and larger memory.
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max have most of the same configurations. They both have an aluminum + glass body, are equipped with an A19 Pro chip, have 12GB of memory, a 24 - megapixel front - facing camera, and a rear - facing camera combination of a 48 - megapixel main camera + a 48 - megapixel ultra - wide - angle camera + a 48 - megapixel telephoto camera.
(Source: Apple)
It's worth noting that the entire iPhone 17 series comes standard with a 120Hz refresh rate. In an era when high refresh rates have been popularized in Android phones priced at just a few hundred yuan, Apple has finally decided to add a 120Hz refresh rate to the iPhone 17.
In terms of hardware, the iPhone 17 series only has regular upgrades. In terms of software, iOS 26 is said to be the most changed system in thirteen years, but the test version has not received good reviews. The Beta 3 version has almost removed the most significant change, the liquid glass effect, and now it has a frosted glass texture. Regarding AI Siri, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple has given up the idea of self - developing AI Siri and will choose either Anthropic or OpenAI as the provider of the AI Siri technology solution.
From the consumer's perspective, whether AI Siri is self - developed by Apple is not important. What matters is the user experience. If Apple seeks technical support from third - party companies and can accelerate the launch of AI Siri, we will naturally welcome it.
Different from other manufacturers that are in fierce competition, Apple phones generally develop at their own pace without blindly following the industry trend. The price is that the experience of some Apple features has been surpassed by Android manufacturers. Apple, which is expected to cooperate with Anthropic or OpenAI, is likely to gradually catch up with Android manufacturers in the AI field.
Xiaomi: Four Models in the 16 Series, All with Straight - Screen Design
According to @Digital Chat Station, in addition to the Ultra version, the Xiaomi 16 series will also have a standard version, a Pro version, and a Pro mini version (the name is not yet determined), all standard with a LIPO four - narrow - bezel straight screen. Yes, you read that right. Xiaomi is also going to launch a Pro mini version.
The blogger said that both the Xiaomi 16 and the 16 Pro mini are equipped with 6.3 - inch screens, while the Xiaomi 16 Pro has a 6.8 - inch large screen. In terms of design concept, the Xiaomi 16 remains basically unchanged, while the Xiaomi 16 Pro/16 Pro mini use a large horizontal matrix camera module, and the entire series is equipped with a 5X high - pixel periscope lens. The system also adds a Dynamic Island UI.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
Digital blogger @Factory Director Guan said that the Xiaomi 16 will be the first to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Extreme Edition, and the release time is around September 25th - 26th. @Smart Pikachu revealed that the battery capacity of the small - screen models in the Xiaomi 16 series will reach 6800mAh - 7000mAh, eliminating users' concerns about battery life.
Since the Xiaomi 12 series, Xiaomi has targeted the small - screen flagship market when small - screen phones were not yet popular. From the fourth quarter of 2024 to the present, small - screen flagships have been launched in large numbers, giving consumers more choices. Xiaomi has launched a Pro version with higher configurations based on the standard version, which is expected to be favored by consumers who value the feel of a small - screen phone and also have high requirements for photography and battery life.
OPPO: Comprehensive Configuration Downgrade, the Most Sincere Standard Version?
Zhou Yibao, the product manager of OPPO's Find series, said on Weibo that the new flagship will be divided into four versions. Among them, the Find X9 and Find X9 Pro will be released in the second half of this year, while the small - screen flagship Find X9s and the top - end flagship Find X9 Ultra will be released in the first half of next year.
(Source: Screenshot from Weibo)
Although Zhou Yibao did not announce the specific release time of the Find X9 series, considering that this model is equipped with the Dimensity 9500 chip, it can be predicted that the Find X9 will be released in September, and it may even be earlier than the Xiaomi 16 series.
In terms of configuration, @Digital Chat Station said that the standard version of the OPPO Find X9 is equipped with a 6.59 - inch four - equal - bezel screen, with a periscope lens, wireless charging, ultrasonic fingerprint recognition, full - level waterproofing, and a large - capacity battery. The main camera of the engineering prototype has a 50 - megapixel sensor with a 1/1.4 - inch size. Due to cost issues, in this generation of flagship phones from various manufacturers,