Huawei Mate 9

The Mate 9 follows closely in the footsteps of the Mate 8 in terms of design, last year's model itself resembling the Ascend Mate7 from two years ago. The Mate 9 is undeniably large, but that's what got you ogling it in the first place, admit it. The glass carries no commercial name though, nor does Huawei mention anything about protection.

The Leica dual camera setup has taken the place of the single shooter on the Mate 8, and unlike the P9 the two cameras here are arranged vertically. read more →

Huawei has set itself apart from its competitors by making an actually smart phone that can adjust its performance based on your habits. The Mate 9’s machine-learning algorithm prioritizes resources to apps that it anticipates you’ll use, making your overall experience smoother. But this handset’s most appealing features are actually its stellar battery life and spacious 5.9-inch display. Unfortunately, though, despite the company’s continued collaboration with Leica, the Mate 9’s camera still struggles in low light. read more →

If you hold the Huawei Mate 9 just right, it can almost look like a Galaxy Note7.Granted, you probably don’t want it to look like a Note7 after all it went through, but there’s no denying the character and craftsmanship that Samsung’s phablet exuded. And while there are distinct differences between the two handsets, the sturdy, svelte build of the Mate 9 instantly conjures images of the Note7 in happier times. read more →

The phone runs Android 7.0 Nougat with Huawei's EMUI skin, although the company has pointedly made the skin a little more accessible to US users by making the settings window shade look a lot more like standard Android, and offering an option to restore the traditional Android app drawer.

There's an 8-megapixel camera on the front. On the back, you find the fingerprint sensor and dual cameras a 12-megapixel color one and a 20-megapixel black-and-white one. They work together to create high-quality 12MP images. read more →

The Huawei Mate 9 hits a lot of strong notes: it's fast, has tons of storage, and offers a really large screen for the size of the handset. And while we wish that the display was higher-res and a little better balanced, the fact that it's incredibly bright is a big plus. Audio performance isn't overlooked either, and the use of multiple speakers helps the Mate 9 stand its own against its peers. read more →