Huawei has been hotly tipped to launch its next flagship phone during MWC 2018 at the end of February, but a new report suggests that it will delay things until April. Look a little deeper though, and things don't seem to add up.
Reported by Korea IT News, it's claimed that Huawei "will hold an event for introduction of its new products in Europe during April and introduce [sic] P20 then."
The reason for the delay is apparently down to Huawei preparing for a more concerted entry into the US market, and spending extra time improving its rumored triple camera technology.
However, there's no source provided by the publication for this information. We contacted the author, who said the information came from an internal Huawei employee. It gives the report more credibility, but our guard is still up.
Then there's the location of Huawei's press conference at MWC.
Set for February 25, Huawei has opted to hold its event at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona. That's significant because it's a huge space used by Samsung to launch both the Galaxy S5 in 2014 and Galaxy S6 in 2015 – both during MWC.
It's the sort of the location where you show off a major new addition to your product line at the world's biggest mobile show, not a few mid-range devices and a hybrid laptop or two.
Possible explanations
There are a few scenarios where the report could still be true. First off, it may be entirely correct and Huawei has indeed delayed the launch of the Huawei P11 (or P20, depending on which name it sticks with).
A couple of reasons (other than those suggested in the report) are 1) it doesn't want to compete with Samsung, who is set to launch the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus at the show, and 2) it had a slightly embarrassing time last year as it couldn't fit all the invited guests into its press conference.
With the bigger venue it should reduce the queues and disappointment, and by avoiding a flagship reveal it immediately prevents any direct comparisons with Samsung, and potentially falling to the wayside as the Galaxy phones look to steal the limelight.
Another option is the leaked information actually refers to the Huawei P11 release date, rather than its launch, with handset still potentially appearing at MWC, but not hitting stores until April.
However things play out, we'll be reporting live from the Huawei press conference, and the whole of MWC 2018 at the end of February, to bring you all the latest launches, news and features from the show.
