Huawei’s latest flagship, the Mate 90 series, has brought back a beloved feature that was notably absent from its predecessor: Smart Rotation. This intelligent display functionality, first introduced with the Mate 30 series in 2019, automatically adjusts the screen orientation based on facial direction, ensuring a seamless user experience.
The Return of Smart Rotation
The Smart Rotation feature debuted with the Huawei Mate 30 series, allowing the phone to detect the user’s face and intelligently switch between landscape and portrait modes. For instance, if you’re reclining with the phone, the screen remains in portrait, but if you turn it horizontally, it rotates to landscape. This intuitive feature quickly became a staple in Huawei’s flagship devices, including the P40 series, Mate 40 series, and the P50 Pro (Kirin edition).
However, the Smart Rotation function was conspicuously missing from the Mate 50 series, much to the disappointment of many users. The recent launch of the Huawei Mate 90 series, however, marks its triumphant return. Users who have acquired the new Mate 90 models can re-enable this feature by navigating to ‘Settings’ and searching for ‘Smart Rotation’.
To verify that the feature is functioning correctly, users can place the phone horizontally while viewing a photo in the gallery. If the photo automatically switches between landscape and portrait orientations in sync with their head movements, the function is working as intended. It’s important to note that in certain scenarios such as gaming, navigation, or low-light conditions, the screen rotation will rely on the gravity sensor rather than facial recognition for stability.
Huawei’s Expanding Smart Sensing Capabilities
The reintegration of Smart Rotation is part of a broader effort by Huawei to enhance its smart sensing capabilities across its product lines. The company has been steadily bringing back and innovating in this area. Previously, features like air gestures (for screenshots and scrolling) and intelligent always-on displays have been part of Huawei’s smart ecosystem.
In recent years, Huawei has also introduced novel smart sensing technologies such as Air Transfer and Smart Grip sensing. The effectiveness and advanced nature of these technologies were highlighted in August 2025 when CCTV reporter Xu Dezhi demonstrated the Air Transfer technology to Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, and other foreign journalists at the UN. Edith M. Lederer, a senior UN correspondent for the Associated Press, reportedly remarked on the impressive technological prowess on display.
The return of Smart Rotation on the Mate 90 series signifies Huawei’s commitment to refining and reintroducing user-centric features that enhance the overall mobile experience. This move is expected to be welcomed by long-time Huawei users who appreciate the convenience and innovation these smart sensing capabilities offer.
