Huawei Mate 90 series rumored to gain ultrasonic fingerprint sensors, 10x telephoto zoom

Leaks circulating in Chinese tech circles this May point to significant hardware upgrades for Huawei's upcoming Mate 90 flagship smartphone series, detailed on the Huawei Mate series product page, with a targeted launch window of October 2026 if current rumor timelines hold. The most prominent change centers on the biometric system: Huawei is reportedly testing ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensors to replace the side-mounted fingerprint readers that have been standard across recent Mate generations, including the 2025 Mate 80 Pro Max.

Side-mounted fingerprint sensors, which double as the device power button, have been a staple of Huawei's Mate line for several generations. They are reliable, fast, and easy to manufacture, but they require users to press a specific physical button on the phone's frame to unlock the device, which can be awkward for users who hold their phones higher up on the chassis or use thick protective cases that cover the button. Ultrasonic in-display sensors work by emitting high-frequency sound waves that bounce off the user's finger to create a 3D map of the fingerprint's ridges and valleys, a method that is more secure than 2D optical in-display sensors that capture a flat image of the fingerprint surface. Ultrasonic sensors also function reliably when the user's fingers are wet, oily, or dirty, and they resist spoofing attempts using photos or silicone fingerprint replicas. For users, this means unlocking the phone by tapping a designated area on the display, no need to reach for the side button, with better security and weather resistance than previous Mate biometric setups.

The fingerprint upgrade is not the only hardware change rumored for the Mate 90 Pro Max, the top-tier model in the series. Leaks claim the device will retain a dual telephoto camera setup similar to the Mate 80 Pro Max, but one of the two telephoto lenses will support 10x optical zoom, a specification that matches the periscope telephoto setups used in recent Oppo Find X series devices. Optical zoom uses physical lens elements to magnify a subject without losing detail, unlike digital zoom which crops into the sensor's image to simulate magnification, resulting in pixelated, low-detail shots. A 10x optical zoom lens would let Mate 90 Pro Max users capture clear, sharp photos of distant subjects such as faraway architecture, wildlife, or stage performances without carrying a separate camera. For context, the Mate 80 Pro Max's telephoto setup offered lower maximum optical zoom, so this would be a notable step up for Huawei's flagship camera system.

Huawei is also reportedly evaluating a 1-inch type sensor for the Mate 90 Pro Max's main rear camera, though the company has not finalized this decision per the leak. A 1-inch type sensor refers to a sensor size that measures approximately 13.2mm x 8.8mm, with a surface area roughly 2.5 times larger than the 1/1.3-inch sensors found in many current flagship smartphones. Larger sensors capture more light per pixel, which improves low-light photo quality, expands dynamic range to preserve detail in bright and dark areas of a scene, and creates a shallower depth of field for more pronounced background blur in portrait shots. The tradeoff is physical size: fitting a 1-inch sensor into a smartphone requires a larger camera bump to accommodate the sensor and the corresponding lens assembly needed to cover its full surface area, which can make the device thicker or more prone to rocking when placed on a flat surface.

All of these hardware upgrades are designed to work in tandem with HarmonyOS, Huawei's in-house distributed operating system that powers its current smartphone, tablet, and wearable lineups. You can learn more about the OS at the official HarmonyOS site. Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors would integrate with HarmonyOS's secure enclave to support faster app unlocking, verified payments through Huawei Pay, and cross-device unlocking that lets users unlock a paired Huawei tablet or laptop using the Mate 90's fingerprint scanner. The upgraded camera system would tie into HarmonyOS's distributed computing features, such as offloading photo editing tasks to a paired Huawei MatePad Pro tablet, or instantly sharing full-resolution 10x zoom shots to a Huawei laptop without compression. For Huawei, these hardware and software integrations reinforce its ecosystem lock-in strategy: users who invest in a Mate 90 flagship are more likely to stick with Huawei's tablets, earbuds, smartwatches, and laptops, since the cross-device features work far better within the HarmonyOS ecosystem than with third-party devices.

The leaks have already sparked discussion across Chinese social platforms and tech forums, with many users expressing interest in the 10x zoom telephoto and ultrasonic fingerprint upgrades.

Huawei has maintained a consistent annual release cadence for the Mate series over the past three years. The Mate 60 launched in September 2023, the Mate 70 in October 2024, and the Mate 80 line in late 2025, so an October 2026 launch for the Mate 90 aligns with this established pattern. The company has not officially confirmed any details about the Mate 90 series as of May 2026, so all leaked specifications should be treated as unverified until Huawei shares official information.

For consumers in markets where Huawei devices are available, the Mate 90 series would represent a shift back to premium in-display biometric tech, after several years of using side-mounted sensors. The 10x optical zoom telephoto would also put Huawei's flagship camera system on par with competitors like Oppo, Xiaomi, and Samsung, which already offer high-magnification optical zoom on their top-tier devices. The potential 1-inch main sensor would be a first for the Mate line, which has traditionally used smaller sensors to keep camera bump size in check. However, as with all pre-launch rumors, specifications could change before the official announcement, especially for features still in the evaluation phase like the 1-inch sensor.

Huawei's recent Mate flagships have focused on balancing performance, battery life, and ecosystem integration, and the rumored Mate 90 upgrades continue that trend while addressing long-standing user requests for under-display fingerprint sensors and better telephoto zoom. As the October launch window approaches, more leaks will likely surface to confirm or refute these early details.