Although the expected Mate 9 flagship did not show up during the 2016 IFA, speculations suggest that Huawei is still targeting a 2016 release for the lineup, with the new iteration coming out by December.

According to Phone Arena, noted analyst Pan Jiutang has pegged the last month of the year for the Mate 9's release. This is already expected, given that previous leaks also allegedly mentioned that the next Huawei flagship will come out before 2016 ends. In addition, the late-year release is consistent with the timeline for previous Huawei's Mate launches. The current-generation Mate 8 launched in November last year, while the previous-generation Mate 7 rolled out in October 2014.

Meanwhile, as a late 2016 release, it is expected that the Huawei Mate 9 will come out with top-tier specs and features. The supposed details for the new flagship include the upcoming Kirin 960 chipset, as well as 6 GB of RAM. While the former is already expected — Huawei is known to provide its flagships with its next-generation homegrown processor — the latter is only a prediction. However, having 6-GB RAM on a Huawei flagship is certainly possible, since most China-based competitors have already come out with their own 6-GB RAM device lineups.

It is also expected that the Huawei Mate 9 will come out with Android Nougat onboard.

In addition to top-tier specs, the new Huawei Mate 9 is also expected to come out with another innovation, a higher-quality dual-camera setup. Huawei has started the trend with its P9 release, and it is said that the new Mate 9 will also have the upgrade. According to rumors, Huawei will be featuring a 20-MP dual-cam setup for its main shooter. Its selfie camera could possibly get an upgrade as well. However, it is unclear if the Mate 9 will feature the same, Leica-engineered assembly that Huawei has put into its P9 lineup.