Huawei Mate 70 Air leaks: ultra-slim design, specs, launch date

It looks like Huawei is gearing up to answer Apple’s iPhone Air with an ultra‑slim flagship of its own. Leaks point to an imminent debut for the Huawei Mate 70 Air, which has already surfaced on China Telecom’s website.

According to well-known tipster Fixed Focus Digital, the official announcement is slated for the end of October, and the phone’s body will be just over 6 millimeters thick—making it one of Huawei’s thinnest handsets in recent years. Another prominent source, the blogger Panda is very bald, pegs the date as October 29.

Interestingly, Huawei is taking a different tack from Apple by committing fully to physical SIM cards. The model will not support eSIM—a decision likely to resonate in China, where the technology hasn’t gone mainstream and activation involves an in-person visit to a carrier office, a fee, and a lengthy registration. Given those hurdles, the move comes across as pragmatic rather than conservative.

As for specs, the Mate 70 Air is said to feature a 6.9‑inch display with an 18.8:9 aspect ratio and a main camera built around a 1/1.3‑inch sensor, paired with a so‑called “red maple” lens. The camera module follows Huawei’s signature circular XMAGE design. Configurations will include 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB or 512 GB of storage, and the phone will run HarmonyOS 5.

Huawei has a long track record with ultra‑thin phones. Back in 2012, the company introduced the Ascend P1 S at 6.68 mm, followed by the P6 and P7 at 6.2 mm and 6.5 mm. A decade on, the brand appears to be circling back to those roots—this time aiming to deliver perhaps the most refined and slender Mate yet.