It's finally official, Huawei's P10 lite will be hitting the shelves on March 31. The announcement finally puts an end to speculations of the smartphone's existence.

The online chatter spread three weeks ago with several European retailers. Allegedly, a Dutch retailer leaked the phone when it appeared on their pre-order page.

Huawei set its sights in creating a phone that balances performance and affordability. It's taking aim at the mid-tier smartphone market dominated by Samsung and LG.

According to GSMArena, the handset will have a vivid 5.2-inch display coupled with a 1080p resolution. The phone will also equip a Kirin 658 chipset powered by an octa-core A53 processor. Other hardware specifications include:

Mali-T830MP2 GPU

4 GB of RAM

32 GB Internal Storage (Expandable up to 256 GB via MicroSD)

12MP main camera with f/2.2 lens & 8 MP secondary camera with autofocus, f/2.0, 1080p

Nonremovable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery with 18W fast charging

The phone will run on the latest Android Nougat OS with EMUI 5.1. It will include several software features like knuckle gestures and "Quik integration." Other optimization features include "Power Saver 5.0," memory optimizations, and better performance.

The P10 Lite is available in two ceramic colors, Midnight Black and Platinum Gold. Pre-orders are now available in several UK retailers. Carphone Warehouse, EE, and Vodafone now accept pre-orders. The device cost £299 ($370.73).

Overall, the phone brings good a balance of performance with its price tag. Samsung and LG currently dominate the mid-tier smartphone market. Huawei is hoping to gain global notoriety by releasing the P10 Lite on March 31. It's bigger brother, the P10 Plus will also be hitting the shelves a week later (April 7).

Several consumers have already expressed their excitement over the news. The P10 Lite would like to follow up with its predecessor's success, the P9 Lite has earned good praise from several smartphone critics. Huawei is hoping that it will share its success.