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Huawei's Mate 90 RS wraps Pro Max hardware in a 12,999-yuan luxury design
Huawei is selling the Mate 90 RS Ultimate Design from 12,999 yuan, about $1,940, with the same core hardware as its Mate 90 Pro Max. Apart from a few hardware extras, the premium pays for a patterned glass back and titanium frame that a case would hide.
The Product Desk · Product desk
What happened
- The 1TB version costs 14,999 yuan and the 2TB version 18,999 yuan, both with 16GB of RAM, above the 512GB base model.
- GSMArena lists three hardware differences from the Pro Max: storage up to 2TB, IP69 water protection and satellite connectivity.
- The RS works with Huawei's Ruiying Z10 external camera, a 1-inch, 50MP module sold separately for 5,999 yuan.
- Digital Trends reports that Huawei has not listed a US release date or US price, so the dollar figure is only a currency conversion.
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Why it matters
- decision With about 19,000 yuan to spend, a buyer has to choose between the 2TB phone and the base phone plus the 1-inch Z10 camera, because the two cost within one yuan of each other.
- exposure An owner who trusts the IP68 and IP69 ratings and still gets water inside pays for the repair, because the warranty does not cover liquid damage.
- contradiction Digital Trends says China sales began October 1, while GSMArena expects shipments to start November 11, so an importer cannot plan timing from either report alone.
A buyer who puts the Mate 90 RS in a case on day one covers up the part Huawei is selling. The rear panel is what Huawei calls dynamic grating Kunlun glass, with a pattern based on the idea of climbing upward and polished titanium around the edges [7]. GSMArena describes the back as supercar-inspired, with an octagon-shaped camera island [8]. Digital Trends wrote: "Hiding all that decoration under a plain case feels like an expensive way to miss the point." [9]
Under the glass, the phone is a Mate 90 Pro Max. According to GSMArena, the two share the Kirin 9500 Pro chip, the 6.9-inch tandem LTPO OLED display and the 6,800 mAh battery [3]. The cameras match too, led by a 50MP main sensor and a 200MP periscope with 4x optical zoom [3]. So the RS sells its design on top of a full flagship spec. Huawei has sold this kind of variant before. GSMArena calls the RS a nod to previous Ultimate Design phones [6].
Storage drives the price. Going from 512GB to 1TB adds 2,000 yuan, and going from 1TB to 2TB adds another 4,000, so the second step costs twice as much as the first [1]. The 2TB phone costs about 46% more than the base model [2].
The Apple comparison comes from Digital Trends, whose headline says the RS costs as much as the iPhone Duo [10]. Neither report gives a price for the iPhone Duo or the Mate 90 Pro Max, so neither can show how much of the 12,999 yuan pays for the design [1].
You also pay in weight. Digital Trends calls the RS a substantial device at about 248 grams and 8.4mm thick [12]. It runs HarmonyOS 7.0, and Digital Trends advises anyone importing one to check that their essential apps work and that it is compatible with their carrier first [14].
Two questions sort out a design-tier phone like this one. The first is whether the owner will use the hardware the RS adds over the Pro Max [4]. The second is whether the back will be on show or in a case. An owner who needs the extras and leaves the back bare gets everything the price covers. Someone who needs them but uses a case is buying a 2TB or satellite phone, and the decoration just comes with it. If the owner needs neither and will use a case, the Pro Max is the phone to price. That leaves the owner who wants the design and will leave the back bare, and that is who Huawei built the RS for. I'd recommend the RS to that buyer and to anyone who needs more than 1TB. The tradeoff for both is carrying a 248-gram phone every day [12].
What to watch
- A US or international listing from Huawei would turn the $1,940 conversion into a real price to compare with Apple's.
- The Mate 90 Pro Max's China price would show how big the RS design premium is in yuan.
- Independent tests of the 200MP telephoto, which Digital Trends says are needed before the camera specs count as a reason to buy.