Out of the nearly dozen smartphones that launch this month, the two that have leaked the most are the Google Pixel 3 and the Huawei Mate 20. Nearly every day there’s new information about these smartphones. Last Wednesday, Israeli technology website Girafa published a report based on marketing slides the website had obtained. The leaked slides, which have since been removed, revealed a lot of new software features for the device. I decided to take another look at the Huawei Mate 20 firmware to see if I could corroborate this new information and/or find additional details for myself. I found evidence for wireless Easy Projection, the display panel information, the battery capacity, the presence of wireless fast charging, the presence of reverse wireless charging, and lastly more details on HiVision—Huawei’s alternative to Google Lens.
This information is based on a dump of the Huawei Mate 20’s firmware from September 13th, which we analyzed thanks to JEB Decompiler by PNF Software. This same firmware dump gave us information on the possible camera features, the wallpapers, live wallpapers, and themes, and the possible carrier partners of the device. The firmware was provided to us by FunkyHuawei.club, a service which allows users to update, unbrick, or rebrand Huawei and Honor phones for a fee. FunkyHuawei is planning to fully support the upcoming Huawei Mate 20 series and is currently offering a sale for XDA readers.
Wireless Easy Projection on the Huawei Mate 20
Last year, Huawei introduced a feature called Easy Projection on the Huawei Mate 10. Easy Projection brings a desktop-like experience by connecting your device to a supported monitor via a USB Type-C to HDMI dongle like the official Huawei MateDock. The desktop experience is based on PhoenixOS and it works on Huawei devices with USB 3.1 support which includes the Huawei Mate 10, Huawei P20, and Huawei P20 Pro. Easy Projection had a leg up on Samsung DeX, at least until the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, because it didn’t require the use of an extra accessory apart from the adapter.
Wired Easy Projection mode on the Huawei Mate 10
Now that Samsung DeX has caught up with Easy Projection in that regard, it seems that Huawei will introduce wireless Easy Projection to regain its lead. According to the information obtained by Girafa, Easy Projection will work over a 2.4GHz or 5GHz Wi-Fi connection. The report didn’t provide much more detail, but we decompiled the HwPCExplorer app in /product/app to find additional images and text regarding the feature. The images show that wireless Easy Projection can be started via a Quick Setting tile.
The strings state that there are two modes in the wireless projection mode: Desktop and Phone mode. Desktop mode lets you connect a keyboard and mouse for a desktop-like experience, while Phone mode simply projects your phone’s existing content. You can also project individual media files like photos, music, and videos. Wireless projection works on monitors that support Miracast, DLNA, or Huawei Mirror. Miracast-enabled displays support both Desktop and Phone mode. Huawei Mirror-enabled displays support Phone mode. DLNA-enabled displays support the projection of individual multimedia files only. To set up wireless projection, you simply need to turn on Wi-Fi, enable screen mirroring on the display, enable wireless projection from the Quick Setting tile, and select the display you want to project to.
<string name="wireless_first_case_tip_1">Wireless projection lets you project your phone screen onto a larger display.</string>
<string name="wireless_first_case_tip_2">In Desktop mode, you can connect a keyboard and mouse for a desktop-like experience. The display screen and phone can be used independently.</string>
<string name="wireless_first_case_tip_3">In Phone mode, your display screen will reflect what you do on your phone.</string>
<string name="wireless_first_case_tip_4">You can also project individual multimedia files such as photos, music, and videos.</string>
<string name="wireless_second_case">Which devices support Wireless projection?</string>
<string name="wireless_second_case_tip_1">You can use Wireless projection on any display screen (such as a TV) that supports Miracast, DLNA, or Huawei Mirror.</string>
<string name="wireless_second_case_tip_2">Miracast and Huawei Mirror devices support both Desktop and Phone modes.</string>
<string name="wireless_second_case_tip_3">DLNA devices only support the projection of multimedia files such as photos, music, and videos.</string>
<string name="wireless_third_case">How do I use Wireless projection?</string>
<string name="wireless_third_case_tip_1">Connect your device and external display to the same Wi-Fi network. The Miracast feature must be enabled manually.</string>
<string name="wireless_third_case_tip_2">You can enable Wireless projection from the notification panel or by going to Settings > Device connection.</string>
<string name="wireless_third_case_tip_3">Wireless projection can also be enabled in the Gallery, Music, and Video apps.</string>
<string name="wireless_step_1_tip">On the external display: Make sure that the display's screen mirroring function is turned on (different brands have different names for this feature).</string>
<string name="wireless_step_2_tip">On the phone: Enable Wi-Fi, then slide down the notification panel and touch Wireless projection to search for your external display (or go to Settings > Device connection > Wireless projection).</string>
<string name="wireless_step_3_tip">Select the external display from the device list to start projecting.</string>
<string name="wireless_more_tip_1">Miracast devices: These support both Desktop and Phone mode. They include Miracast-enabled TVs and TV boxes.</string>
<string name="wireless_more_tip_2">DLNA devices: These only support the projection of multimedia files such as photos, music, and videos. They include DLNA-enabled TVs and TV boxes. You can start projecting multimedia files directly in Gallery, HUAWEI Music, and HUAWEI Video. When a supported device is available, touch the icon on the screen to start projection.</string>
<string name="wireless_more_tip_3">Huawei Mirror devices: These only support projection in Phone mode.</string>
<string name="wireless_more_tip_4">If connection fails, try restarting the projection feature on the external display.</string>
HiVision on the Huawei Mate 20
HiVision’s app icon.
Alongside the Huawei P20, Huawei released the HiAI Engine to take advantage of the NPU in the HiSilicon Kirin 970. It’s clear that Huawei wants to continue the trend of marketing their device’s AI capabilities heavily by taking advantage of the dual NPU on the HiSilicon Kirin 980, although we’re not entirely sure what features will take advantage of the new chipset. Back in March, we provided the first details on Huawei’s HiAssistant and HiVision services. Huawei announced that HiVision would come to devices running EMUI 9, although the first set of EMUI 9 betas did not include the feature. The Huawei Mate 20 firmware that we obtained did include the latest HiVision APK, so we were able to sideload it as well as decompile it to learn more about its features.
Food Recognition
From the information obtained by Girafa, we know that HiVision is capable of recognizing food. The food recognition shows that HiVision can determine the caloric content of certain foods, much like Samsung Bixby. According to a teardown we did, HiVision uses the Azumio Food Recognition API to recognize many different kinds of foods. A file called “kirinToCalorieMamaMap” lists over a hundred foods that are possibly recognized locally for faster results. The HwServerResultBean class reveals that the app can show not only the calorie content but also results like the Calcium, Cholesterol, Dietary Fiber, Iron, fats, Carbohydrates, Vitamin content, and more from the Azumio API output.
Landmarks, Paintings, and Trips
We also know that HiVision can recognize landmarks, paintings, QR codes, text, goods, vehicles, and help you with trips. The privacy policy for the painting recognition feature states that your pictures are transferred to Artace Inc. for recognition. Artace is the company behind the Magnus app on the Google Play Store. Building identification is provided by TripAdvisor everywhere except Dubai, wherein it is handled by the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing. In Dubai, users will get a special shop sign identification function which only works in the City Walk area. The functionality is provided by TripAdvisor and Meraas Holding. Lastly, shopping results are handled by ViSenze Pte.
Translation
HiVision will use Microsoft Translator to translate text in real-time. The support languages are English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, German, and Portuguese.
HiVision running on my Huawei Mate 10 Pro running EMUI 9 beta, rooted with Magisk courtesy of XDA Recognized Developer topjohnwu. Unfortunately, the image recognition did not seem to work on my device.
Charging Details
Our first leak of the Huawei Mate 20 revealed the inclusion of wireless charging support. Another leak pointed towards a fast wireless charging accessory. Then there’s the Freebuds 2 Pro wireless earbuds, which may support being charged wirelessly via the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Within the Mate 20’s SystemUI APK, we found updated booleans for new charging modes that the phone supports which corroborate the existence of fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. A snippet of the BatteryStateInfo class can be found below where you’ll see the new “IsWirelessQuickCharging” and “IsWirelessReverseCharging” booleans.
Battery Capacity and Display Panel Information
Our initial report stated that the Huawei Mate 20 (regular, non-Pro) would have a 6.3-inch AMOLED display and a 4,200mAh battery. However, it seems that the initial firmware dump we looked at included shared files for the Mate 20 Pro and regular Mate 20. With the updated firmware for the regular Mate 20, though, we now have what we believe is the true display panel and battery capacity for the regular Huawei Mate 20. Thus, we now believe that the display panel and battery capacity information we reported earlier was for the Mate 20 Pro and not the regular Mate 20.
The regular Huawei Mate 20 will have a 6.53-inch TFT notched display at 1080×2244 and a 4,000mAh battery, as shown by the screenshots below. The panel seems to be sourced from JDI and Sharp. The battery capacity is listed as 4,000mAh, though this is likely the typical capacity while the rated capacity is 3,900mAh. This information is corroborated by Girafa’s report from last week.
RAM and Storage Information
As the phone nears launch, the regular Huawei Mate 20, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, and a third rumored Porsche Design model have appeared on Chinese certification website TENAA. The certification reveals the following RAM and storage variants:
- Huawei Mate 20 (HMA)
- 4GB RAM + 64GB storage
- 4GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 4GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 512GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 512GB storage
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro (LYA)
- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 512GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 512GB storage
- Huawei Mate 20 (EVR – Rumored Porsche Design model)
- 4GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 4GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 6GB RAM + 512GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- 8GB RAM + 512GB storage
It’s unclear which of these RAM and storage models will launch in each market. We have a list of possible carrier partners for the regular Huawei Mate 20, but we don’t know which RAM and storage variants will be carried in each country.
Other Details
There were some other details mentioned in Girafa’s report that we are unable to corroborate. According to Girafa, Huawei will unveil SuperCharge 2.0 to charge 70% battery in 30 minutes, 3D facial recognition only in the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (which explains why the regular model has a waterdrop notch design while the Mate 20 Pro has a larger notch), “Bone Voice ID” to better hear your voice in crowded areas, and IP67 water resistance in the Pro model.
Some of the other information they provided we have already talked about, such as the presence of an NM card, AI Cinema, and AI Zoom. If we learn more information about the upcoming Huawei Mate 20, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, or the rumored Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20, we’ll let you all know.
Note: Huawei has stopped providing official bootloader unlock codes for its devices. Therefore, the bootloader of the Huawei Mate 20 and Huawei Mate 20 Pro cannot be unlocked, which means that users cannot flash Magisk/TWRP/custom ROMs.
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