The Mate 9 is a phablet with all-metal body. It uses a 5.9-inch display with Full HD resolution and sloping 2.5D shielded glass. The Mate 9 also included an FPC1025 fingerprint sensor, which is produced by Fingerprint Cards of Sweden. The fingerprint sensor uses a 4-level security system for speed and accuracy. The Mate 9 has an octa-coreHiSilicon Kirin 960 chipset, which features an ARM Cortex-A73/A53 Octa-core CPU and Mali G71 Octa-core GPU, which reduces power consumption by 15 percent. According to Huawei, the chipset is "the fastest built." It includes 4,000 mAh high-density battery with Huawei's SuperCharge technology, which allows 58 percent charge in half-an-hour and a full charge in 90 minutes. The battery provides the Mate 9 with over two days of battery life. It supports GSM, UMTS, LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD networks. In some countries, the Dual SIM version is available. The Mate 9 supports Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and NFC. The dual camera module is powered by Leica. The rear camera is compounded with f/2.2 12-megapixel color camera and one f/2.2 20-megapixel monochrome camera, which lets users take two images together to produce an image with more detail. The monochrome lens can be used separately. It also includes “lossless zoom” and “4-in-1 hybrid focus”, which allows users to zoom in on a subject without worrying about degrading the quality of the photo, and a combination of laser, phase detection, depth, and contrast focus. The Mate 9 also features 4K video, and a front-facing 8MP camera. The Mate 9 comes in Space Gray, Moonlight Silver, Champagne Gold, Mocha Brown, Ceramic White and black. It's equipped with 4 GB RAM, 64 GB ROM, and microSD support up to 256GB. It also provides 4GB+32GB and 6GB+128GB versions. There is a mono SIM version with lower camera sensor. Huawei also released the Porsche Design Limited Edition of Mate 9, which combines Porsche Design's signature aesthetic with Huawei's technology. It's equipped with 6 GB RAM, 256 GB ROM and a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display, with WQHD resolution and AMOLED technology. The edition is available in Graphite Black only.
Software
The Mate 9 is preloaded with Android 7.0 "Nougat" and Huawei's Emotion UI 5.0, which improves the system's performance over previous versions. In February 2017, the phone is scheduled to gain Amazon Alexa support in the United States. The Mate 9 is the first phone to feature the optical flow-based video stabilization "Vidhance" from IMINT Image Intelligence AB. In October 2017 Huawei launch a beta testing program for the EMUI 8.0 update, based on Android Oreo. It began to roll out for customers in the United States on 31 January 2018.
Release
The Mate 9 is available in the following first-wave launch markets, include China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. The Mate 9 is priced at €699, and the Porsche Design Limited Edition is priced at €1395.
Reception
The Mate 9 has received generally positive reviews. In Tom's Guide, Sam Rutherford said "Huawei's Mate 9 is the kitchen sink of phones. You get a boatload of features, such as an IR blaster, clever stereo speakers, a fingerprint sensor, and a big, bright, 5.9-inch screen...it would still be the fastest Android phone on the market." while TechAdvisor said, "Huawei’s Mate 9 has the potential to be the best in the Huawei line-up, boasting an impressively large battery alongside powerful internals, an improved dual-camera setup and a sleek, gorgeous design." Shaan Haider on Geeky Stuffs said, " Huawei Mate 9 is a great phone and score brilliantly in every aspect. It comes with a big and beautiful screen, great camera with additional features like dedicated monochrome sensor, top quality fingerprint sensor, feature-rich and productive EMUI along with a moderate battery life."
