Huawei’s Mate series has long been one of my favourite phablet ranges and with every iteration, it gets better and the Mate 9 is no exception.
“In developing the Huawei Mate 9, we started with a simple question – how can we improve every element of the smartphone experience?” said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “We know that for today’s business users, a fast and functional smartphone is just the beginning. Consumers also want a gorgeous design and intuitive features, so we created two new devices at the forefront of hardware and software innovation. The result is a device that is breathtakingly new, inside and out.”
Design
Huawei’s mobile design has improved with every device it releases. It might not be the most exciting design but the Mate 9 oozes understated style and strength making it perfect for the power user who wants their devices to look as stylish as they are powerful. If you’re looking for an even more stylish phablet, take a look at the Mate 9 Pro which oozes the kind of sexiness that is usually only found on an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
The front of the Mate 9 is dominated by a huge 5.9-inch FHD display nestled between a top bezel which houses the front facing camera, earpiece and light sensor, and the bottom bezel which houses the Huawei logo.
The metal back of the Mate 9 houses the second-generation dual Leica camera setup as well, a flash, sensor and circular fingerprint scanner.
Further down you find the Huawei logo, regulatory info and an antenna break.
The SIM Card / SD Card tray can be found on the left hand side of the phone with a volume rocker and power button on the right hand side.
You’ll be happy to know that there is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the Mate 9 and a USB type C charging port at the bottom.
Display
Many high-end phones are now packing Quad HD displays, so Huawei’s decision to fit the Mate 9 with a Full HD display is a bit disappointing. If you’re looking for a higher resolution display, then the Mate 9 Pro is the phablet you’re after.
Having said that, the display on the Mate 9 is crisp and has great colour reproduction although the screen isn’t always the easiest to see in full sunlight.
When watching movies though, the display is a dream and has great viewing angles.
Camera
The Mate 9 features the second generation dual-lens camera co-engineered with Leica and consists of a 12-megapixel/F2.2 RGB sensor and a 20-megapixel/F2.2 monochrome sensor.
The RGB sensor captures true-to-life colours, while the monochrome sensor captures intricate details and depth, and thanks to enhanced image fusion algorithms is able to combine images taken using both lenses into one. When paired with the leading dual-lens camera Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) solution and the industry’s first dual-camera pixel binning technology, the Mate 9 has Huawei calls “superior night shot capability”. The Kirin 960 is designed specifically to support the Huawei Mate 9’s second generation Leica dual-lens camera with Hybrid Zoom. The 4-1 Hybrid Auto-focus features laser focus, phase detection focus, depth focus and contrast focus.
Battery
Battery life has always been one of the Mate series strengths and the Mate 9 combines a 4000mAh high-density battery with Huawei’s all new SuperCharge technology. The company claims that with its advanced power saving technology, the Mate 9 increases battery life to provide over two days of uninterrupted performance.
Supporting 5A fast charging, SuperCharge technology enables a 50 percent improvement over the previous generation – 10 minutes of charge provides enough power to watch two full movies. Most importantly, the battery sets a new standard in charging technology including Super Safe 5-gate protection, which offers real-time voltage, current and temperature monitoring to eliminate safety hazards and safeguard battery life.
Overview
The Mate 9 is a showcase for some of the best mobile technology that Huawei has on offer.
It has a fantastic camera, great battery life and a relatively good screen. The only things that I would like to see, is a stylus and a Quad HD display.
Score: 8/10
The Huawei Mate 9 is available from R9 199.00
Technical specifications:
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Space Gray/Moonlight Silver/Champagne Gold/Mocha Brown/Ceramic White |
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5.9″ FHD Display 1080p (1920 x 1080), 373ppi 16.7M colors, Color saturation(NTSC) 96% High contrast 1500:1 (typical) |
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HUAWEI Kirin 960, Octa-core CPU (4 x 2.4 GHz A73+ 4 x 1.8 GHz A53) + i6 co-processor, Mali-G71 MP8 |
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Android 7.0 |
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MHA-L29: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM Micro SD card slot, support up to 256GB (uses SIM 2 slot) MHA-L09: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM Micro SD card slot, support up to 256GB *Some of memory is occupied by OS and preloaded content. |
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MHA-L29 SIM1: 4G TDD LTE: Band38/39/40/41(100MHz) 4G FDD LTE: Band1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/29; 3G UMTS(WCDMA)/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: Band 1/2/4/5/6/8/19 3G TD-SCDMA: Band34/39 CDMA EV-DO Rev. A: BC0(800MHz), only for China Telecom 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz SIM2: 3G UMTS(WCDMA): Band 1/2/4/5/6/8/19 CDMA: BC0(800MHz),only for China Telecom 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz MHA-L09: 4G TDD LTE: Band38/39/40 4G FDD LTE: Band1/2/3/4/5/7/8/9/12/17/18/19/20/26/28/29; 3G UMTS(WCDMA)/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: Band 1/2/4/5/6/8/19 3G TD-SCDMA: Band34/39 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz |
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GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
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Wi-Fi 2.4G/5G, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with Wi-Fi Direct support BT4.2, support BLE USB Type C (High Speed USB) |
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Fingerprint Sensor, G-Sensor, Gyroscope sensor, Compass, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall sensor, Barometer, IR |
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Main camera 20MP Monochrome+12MP RGB, F2.2 OIS (Optical image stablisation) BSI CMOS Dual-tone flash PDAF+CAF+Laser+Depth auto focus 2x Hybrid zoom 4K video recording 8MP AF, F1.9 |
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Audio decoding formats MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-WB, WMA2-9, RA, PCM, OGG, and FLAC Audio file formats MP3, MP4, 3GP, WMA, OGG, AMR, AAC, FLAC, WAV, MIDI, and RA |
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Video decoding formats 4K video, H.265, H.264, H.263, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, RV7-10, Xvid, VP8, WMV9 Video file formats 3GP, MP4, WMV, RM, RMVB, and ASF |
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EMUI 5.0 |
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4000mAh |
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MHA-L29: Dual SIM MHA-L09: Single SIM |
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NFC supported |
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Handset×1 Headset×1 Charger×1 USB-C Cable×1 USB-C to Micro USB Adapter ×1 Eject tool x 1 Quick Start Guide×1 Matte Case×1 |
