Huawei confirms plans to launch the metal-built GX8 phone in the US, unveils all-new MediaPad M2 10.0 tablet

Huawei has officially unveiled two new devices being added to their family at CES 2016. First up is the Huawei GX8. You might recall that this device is nearly identical to the Huawei G8 launched late last year. The only difference is that the GX8 is being aimed squarely at the US market, and thus has the appropriate LTE bands for use with the country’s various carriers.

This 5.5-inch device is doused in metal and features some solid internals:

• Display: 5.5-inch 1080p (401 ppi) TFT display
• Operating System: Android 5.1 + EMUI 3.1
• Processor: 1.5 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 615, Octa-core, 64 bit
• Memory: 16GB ROM / 2 GB RAM microSD expandable up to 128GB
• Camera: 13.0MP rear, 5.0MP front
• Battery: 3000mAh
• Dimensions: 152mm x 76.5mm x 7.5mm; 167 g
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, MicroUSB 2.0, GPS/AGPS w/ Glonass
• Sensors: Accelerometer; Proximity sensor; Ambient light sensor; Compass, Fingerprint scanner

Huawei says they’ll be selling this thing through Best Buy and Amazon, as well as their own website, for $349.99. No release date on it just yet, but expect it to arrive at some point in Q1 2016.

The company also had a brand new device to show off today. The Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0 is also built with a metal exterior, though good looks aren’t the only thing it has going for it. The Gold version of the MediaPad M2 10 (which has 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, as opposed to 16GB and 2GB on the Silver model) ships with a pressure-sensitive active stylus, which is akin to that which you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy Note line, the Apple iPad Pro’s Apple Pencil, or the stylus that ships with Microsoft’s Surface line.

It also features a fingerprint scanner, and a nice 10-inch 1080p display serves as your window to the Lollipop experience. Here’s the full list of specs you can look forward to:

• Display: 10-inch 1080p LCD IPS display
• Operating System: Android 5.1 + EMUI 3.1
• Processor: 2GHz Octa-Core Kirin 930
• Memory: 16GB ROM / 2 GB RAM (Silver); or 64GB ROM / 3 GB RAM (Gold), expandable up to 128GB
• Camera: 13MP rear, 5MP front
• Battery: 6660mAh
• Dimensions: 239.8mm x 172.75mm x 7.35mm; 500g
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac, microUSB 2.0, GPS/AGPS
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Light Sensor, eCompass, Fingerprint, Active Stylus

The MediaPad M2 10 is also slated for a Q1 launch, though Huawei didn’t yet have any details as to price or retailers.