A New Dark Horse Emerges – Huawei Ascend P7 to Launch with Rumored ...

The iPhone 6's feature list, according to rumors, has often included sapphire display front row center as one of the main come-ons for customers planning to purchase the next-generation flagship. However, that hasn't often been the case as of late, as several reports have separately claimed Apple may not have it within itself to include sapphire displays on this year's 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6. With rumors of a sapphire display-sporting iPhone 6 now losing traction, it appears that an unlikely competitor may be stealing Apple's thunder and launching a device that comes with a sapphire screen as a selling point.

Though it almost surely won't be enjoying a widespread release outside of Asia, the Huawei Ascend P7 has just been confirmed to include a sapphire display - that's right, it's that iPhone 6 feature said to provide extreme scratch resistance as opposed to good old-fashioned Corning Gorilla Glass. There are, however, a few caveats, if you can call them that. First is Huawei's confirmation that the sapphire-rocking Ascend P7 will be a limited-edition variant. Second, and more obviously, the phone will only be available via the Huawei website, making it harder than ever for those outside China to buy the special Ascend P7.

Release information on the sapphire Huawei Ascend P7 is still quite lacking, but assuming it launches at next week's IFA 2014 conference in Germany, there's a solid chance it could beat the iPhone 6 to being the first smartphone in stores with a sapphire screen, even if such a display is included among the iPhone 6's features when it drops by mid-September. But that's purely speculative, and it also must be noted that other Chinese phone makers including Xiaomi are also planning devices with a similar scratch-resistant feature.

Specifications of the sapphire Ascend P7 will be the same as the conventional version; these basic specs would include a 5-inch, 1080p display, a quad-core HiSilicon processor clocked at 1.8 GHz and paired with 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and that best-for-selfies 8-megapixel front camera that's been getting its fair share of buzz.

In the news: