Huawei Details Self-Developed Tech Behind Mate 90 and Mate XT 2, Led by XMAGE Z10 Camera
Huawei detailed the self-developed technologies behind its Mate 90 series and Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design, including the XMAGE Z10 module camera, Kirin 9050 chip and nine in-house technology brands.
The Z10 camera is the imaging centerpiece. It uses a one-inch sensor, a maximum F2.0 aperture and a 24-240mm optical zoom range, and is designed to work with the newly released Mate 90 to give phones image quality approaching APS-C cameras, according to the report. Huawei stresses that it is not a teleconverter. The module uses mature information transmission technology, phone SoC computing power and imaging algorithms to enhance telephoto capability and, from a different approach, give the phone full-focal-length imaging close to APS-C level.
Huawei now has nine independent self-developed technology brands across imaging algorithms, display, reliability, positioning and sound science. They are XMAGE Huawei Ruiying, Linglong display, Lingdun privacy display, Kunlun glass, Xuanwu architecture, Tiangong hinge system, Xingji positioning, Quiet Call and Huawei Sound. The Mate 90 series and Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design are supported by several of these, the report says.
AiFanr traces Huawei's imaging work through Mate history: Mate 9 in 2016 with black-and-white plus color dual cameras; large-sensor super night mode in 2018; commercial periscope telephoto in 2019; ten-stop physical variable aperture in 2022; and super-condensing macro telephoto in 2023. As the market focused on telephoto, Huawei chose an external sensor-equipped 10x continuous optical zoom module camera rather than a teleconverter.
Display technology includes the second-generation Linglong display on Mate 90 Pro Max, which Huawei says has evolved from 730 nits peak brightness on Mate 10 to 12,000 nits. The company first tried a Tandem display on Mate 70 RS and named the first-generation Linglong display on Mate 80 Pro Max, tackling dual-layer OLED panels, AI Pixel per-pixel calibration and full-ecosystem color science. The Lingdun privacy display on Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design puts two independent sets of display pixels into the same 10.2-inch screen, an industry-first independent dual-pixel privacy design. The report says it involved more than 50 patents, over 30 special-effect and human-factors studies and cumulative R&D funding of more than 400 million yuan.
The Kirin 9050 series powers the tri-fold model, Mate 90 Pro Max, Collector's Edition and RS models. It is described as the first mainstream consumer chip after Huawei semiconductor business president He Tingbo publicly proposed the Tao's Law definition at ISCAS 2026 in May. It draws on logic folding, high-performance mobile computing architecture and on-device AI. Before it, the last chip with lasting consumer impact was the 2020 Kirin 9000, the world's first 5nm integrated 5G baseband processor. Kirin returned in August 2023 with support from China's semiconductor industry and now underpins Mate, Pura and Nova products. The Mate 90 series has five model types and 53 SKUs priced from 5,999 to 18,999 yuan, the report says.
For durability, Huawei uses Kunlun and Xuanwu. Kunlun glass first appeared on the 2022 Mate 50 Kunlun Edition as a 10x drop-resistant screen. On Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design, the outer screen uses Xuanwu Kunlun glass with drop and scratch resistance and gradient optical stack technology for anti-reflection. Mate 90 Pro Max brings Kunlun glass to lenses for the first time, using high-bond-energy element enhancement, high-temperature composite ion strengthening and an amorphous Kunlun formula. Mate 90 Pro and Pro Max use front and rear Kunlun-Xuanwu architecture, with high-strength, high-transparency screen and lens glass, woven fiber back panels and Xuanwu bodies.
Huawei also points to Xingji positioning, Quiet Call and Huawei Sound. Xingji positioning uses HiSilicon short-range chips for GNSS carrier-phase measurement for lane-level navigation, and 3D floating antennas on Mate phones for running, skiing and indoor navigation. Quiet Call offers up to 95dBA uplink noise reduction and uses small diaphragms on the top and sides of Mate phones to actively cancel sound leakage, developed over three years and four generations. Huawei Sound spans ultra-thin four-drive bass modules, crossover tuning, multi-channel audio and NearLink low-latency sound, connecting HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility, Huawei Sound earphones, tablets, PCs and home theater systems.
In folding phones, Huawei says global cumulative shipments have exceeded 20 million units as of 2026. In the first half of 2026, it held more than 70% of China's foldable phone market, according to the report. From Sept. 12 to Sept. 29, Mate XT 2 Ultimate Design shipped nearly 100,000 units. The report traces Huawei's hinge work to the first-generation Mate X in 2020 and its eagle-wing hinge.