HUAWEI Mate X isn't even out in West, but Mate Xs is confirmed for 2020 launch

The HUAWEI Mate X has only just launched in China, coming in at ~$2400, but the company is already looking forward to 2020.

HUAWEI announced the Mate XS at the Chinese Mate X event this week, according to Droidholic (and subsequently confirmed by HUAWEI in an email to Android Authority). This particular model differs from the standard Mate X by offering a Kirin 990 chipset instead of the older Kirin 980. The Kirin 990 debuted in the brand-new Mate 30 series, while the Kirin 980 appeared in the Mate 20 and P30 family.

This isn’t the first time we heard about a Mate X with a Kirin 990 though, as the company’s Richard Yu told journalists at IFA 2019 that it was considering a chipset upgrade.

There’s no word on any other changes between the HUAWEI Mate Xs and Mate X, so those wishing for periscope zoom or the Mate 30 Pro‘s 40MP ultra-wide camera will need to keep wishing.

HUAWEI confirmed to us that the tweaked foldable phone would launch in March 2020. It’s unclear if this is a Chinese or global launch, but the US trade ban situation would likely play a big part in determining this. HUAWEI is unable to pre-install Google services on its new devices as a result of the ban. But a global launch would certainly be more likely if the ban is lifted by then, allowing HUAWEI and Google to work together once again.