Of Course The New Porsche-Branded Smartphone Costs Nearly $2,000

Porsche is no newcomer to the smartphone game; the company's design division has been dishing out versions of its Mate series of phones for a number of years now. In 2017 we saw the Huawei-based Mate 10 come to market with an asking price of €1,395 ($1,500), but now the marque's new high-tec RS model is here... and it's even more expensive.

With an asking price of €1,550 ($1,800 in the U.S.), Porsche hopes buyers will be willing to dish out nearly $2,000 for the cheapest version of its new Mate RS, which is essentially a lightly modified version of Huawei's P20 Pro smartphone with Porsche branding applied. There are some unique features, though, that may give buyers reason to consider it over the standard Huawei.

The most notable new element is the centrally mounted Leica camera lens. It uses Huawei's tri-camera implementation, with a 40MP RGB sensor, a 20MP monochrome sensor, and an 8MP telephoto lens. There's plenty of storage, too; the standard model has 256 GB of storage, while the more expensive version ($2,200) comes wirh an impressive 512 GB. There's also a new 6.0-inch FullView OLED display with a 2880x1440 resolution, wireless charging, and of course, appropriate Porsche Design branding throughout.

Porsche calls it the "911 GT3 RS" of smartphones, and has already rolled out a range of optional – and pricey – accessories to go along with it, just like the car itself. Buyers can pair their expensive new smartphones with either a Porsche Design Huawei smartwatch (495), a set of Porsche Design Bluetooth headphones (250), a Porsche Design Bluetooth speaker (380), or all of the above. The new Porsche Design Mate RS will be available beginning on April 12th, with either red or black backing.