Huawei sends invites for 26 February event to unveil a flagship device

Huawei is sending out press invites for an event that is scheduled to take place in Barcelona on 26 February, just a day before the Mobile World Congress starts.

The invite, as usual, does not talk about any product in particular, but the event would mark the unveiling of "a new flagship device".

While there has been a lot of speculation, it is more likely the company will make an announcement about a sequel to the Huawei P9 flagship handset that was launched in April last year.

Just ahead of the keynote address by chief executive officer Richard Yu at CES 2017, the company announced it had shipped more than 10 million units of Huawei P9 and P9 Plus globally, making it Huawei's first to top the 10 million mark.

The company says both the P9 and P9 Plus achieved impressive results in the premium segment, despite a sluggish global smartphone market in 2016. Since the very launch, the phones have become an instant hit in the smartphone market, claims Huawei.

Traditionally, Huawei chooses a separate event to launch its P series phones, which is usually a month or two after the MWC, reports Pocket-lint. It would not be surprising if the company announces any product other than the flagship Huawei P10. Last year at the MWC event, the company launched its latest Matebook, a 2-in-1 device powered with Windows 10.

Rumour has it that the Huawei P10 would look slightly different from its predecessors, the P9 and P8. The phone is likely to have a front-mounted fingerprint sensor. In many respects it might look similar to the Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design, with glass and metal combination and the home button. The phone might sport a 5.5in Quad HD screen instead of a full HD panel.