HUAWEI P Smart 2019 leak reveals waterdrop notch, powerful chipset

The HUAWEI P Smart was one of the better-equipped budget phones in the first half of 2018. Featuring a dual camera setup, rear fingerprint scanner and a full HD+ 18:9 display, it ticked plenty of boxes for a sub-$300 device.

We’ve seen evidence for the HUAWEI P Smart 2019 before, and now German tech website WinFuture has published images of the supposedly upcoming device. The images show us a phone with a waterdrop notch (hosting a solitary camera) and a dual-camera setup with “AI camera” branding.

The AI branding means we can probably expect scene recognition and other smart camera features on the phone. We’re also glad to see the waterdrop notch, as it’s quickly replacing the standard notch as the display cutout of choice for manufacturers.

The original P Smart’s biggest weakness was arguably the Kirin 659 chipset, as it featured an aging design with an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU layout. Fortunately, WinFuture reports that the P Smart 2019 will pack a new Kirin 710 processor instead. This 12nm octa-core chipset features four Cortex-A53 cores and four heavyweight Cortex-A73 cores, making for a big power upgrade in theory.

Other supposed specs include 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage, a 6.2-inch full HD+ LCD screen, and a 3,320mAh battery. The website also suggests it could offer microUSB connectivity and a 250 euro price tag.

We’ve seen plenty of competition in the budget sector this year though, as the likes of ASUS, HONOR, realme, and Xiaomi all delivered great budget devices. Between the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, and Realme series, it’s clear the P Smart 2019 will need to step up to stay competitive. Hopefully the final price tag and the rest of the spec sheet lives up to our lofty expectations.

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