Huawei's Mate 90 RS wraps Pro Max hardware in a 12,999-yuan luxury design

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 ^[5]. GSMArena describes the back as supercar-inspired, with an octagon-shaped camera island ^[6]. Digital Trends wrote: "Hiding all that decoration under a plain case feels like an expensive way to miss the point." ^[10]

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 ^[4].

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 ^[14]. The 2TB phone costs about 46% more than the base model ^[15].

The Apple comparison comes from Digital Trends, whose headline says the RS costs as much as the iPhone Duo ^[19]. 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 ^[13].

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 ^[8]. 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].