Huawei’s ‘hole punch’ phone, the Nova 4, is coming Dec. 17

If 2018 was the year of the notch, then 2019 might be the year of the hole punch. 

Huawei’s Nova 4, a smartphone with a “hole punch” display — meaning the display only has a tiny round cutout to accommodate for the selfie camera — is set to be announced on December 17, according to a new teaser. And it might be a harbinger of things to come.

The teaser, posted by Huawei on Chinese social network Weibo (via MySmartPrice), does not reveal any new details about the device, except for the launch date. 

We’ve already seen what the Nova 4 looks like in a recent leak, though the phone was partially obscured by a case. However, both the leak and the official new image show a small but noticeable chin on the bottom of the display. 

As for the phone’s specs, expect something that’s up there with the best mid-rangers out there but not as powerful as the company’s P or Mate lines of flagship products. 

The hole punch display is doubly interesting as Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 is rumored to have a similar display. That phone’s launch is still a few months away, though. And there’s another difference — unlike Samsung’s S10, the Huawei Nova 4 is unlikely to be sold in the U.S.