Huawei - Mate 9 4G LTE with 64GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Space Gray

When I saw that Huawei released the Mate 9, I had to immediately run to Best Buy and get my hands on this amazing phone. Let me say that I was previously an iPhone owner for many, many years since their 1st iPhone came out. After having the Apple 7 Plus for a month, I was bored and fed up with their rehashing of old technology and removal of things I NEED like a headphone jack. I sold my iPhone and bought a Samsung S7 Edge. Needless to say, that phone lasted a whole 60 days before I bought the Huawei Mate 9. I need to also mention that when I bought my S7, I also bought the Samsung Gear watch. That went back to the store less than 12 hours later where I exchanged it for the Huawei Watch. That, by far, has been the best decision I ever made. The Huawei Watch is a stunning piece that makes full use of the large round screen, is extremely responsive, stunningly gorgeous, and gets compliments all of the time. People can't believe that they can get such an amazing smart (and I do mean smart) watch at such an affordable price. So, needless to say, having such a stellar experience with their watch, I decided that I would give their Mate 9 a go. AMAZING! This phone is so well designed and thought out. The design and engineering on this phone is by far the best I have seen in any smart phone. I especially love the fingerprint reader on the back because it's what makes the most sense. When you grab a phone, your index finger is precisely where the reader is and the responsiveness of the reader is instant. Oh my, the camera! Holy (something I can't say here)! The capabilities of the camera are out of this world. Let's face it, they have partnered with an industry leader in optics, lenses, and photography. I'm familiar with the Leica brand due to the scanners they design that forensic investigators use to preserve crime scenes, so I knew that the camera had to be rather spectacular, and indeed it is. They have incorporated a second-generation Leica Dual Camera with a 12MP RGB sensor and 20MP monochrome sensor. This allows the cameras to work together to capture the absolute fine details of an image. You can make on screen adjustments prior to taking a picture by focusing on an object and then another circle on the screen allows you to focus the light elsewhere. Once your picture is taken, the editing capabilities are out of this world. Also, this has the capability to shoot in 4K. I'm a total gadget geek, own an IT/Network Engineering company, and I write my own tech blog - I have tinkered with many, many devices to the point where I drive my husband insane with my "must have" of the latest technology out there. I can definitively say, that this is by far the most impressive smart phone I have had the pleasure of laying my hands on. Understand, I am in no way affiliated with Huawei or have been given anything at all by them. I just feel strongly about giving credit where credit is due, and Huawei deserves it. Also, for someone like me, a business owner who is always out and about on projects, it's absolutely pointless to have a business line in my home office. Well.....wouldn't you know that you can have 2 sim cards in this? I admit, I didn't know that was "a thing", so when I saw this was a feature on this phone I was beyond excited because now I can completely separate my personal line from business line. I am to understand its not common practice in the U.S, but it is in Europe and Asia. Now, if you're one of those who feels turned off by the 1080p display.....DON'T! The colors a vibrant, the images are sharp, and with the 5'9" FHD display you will not even notice the difference. For audiophiles, like my husband and I, this phone fully supports flac (file and decoding). This is a very big plus. The Mate 9 also has a 4000mAh battery and under normal use can last up to 2 days. Granted, not the biggest in the market but the reason those others can do that is because they lack features that the better named brands have, including Huawei. Even when you look at these other brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Microsoft, etc. they come in at 3,000 mAh. The iPhone 7 Plus is rumored to have only 900mAh but good luck finding that on their page. The stats come from a MacRumors teardown of the phone. So, with this said, the Huawei Mate 9 definitely gives its competitors a run for its money. Now, let's talk money......$600 UNLOCKED! That is what I call bang for your buck. The Mate 9 does have other versions such as the Mate 9 Pro That can run you a little over $850, but it reminds me too much of the S7 edge and that's not my preference (also has a 5.5" AMOLED screen). There's also the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9 Luxury Edition at $2,800 with 6GB Ram and 256GB ROM and 5.5" Curved AMOLED Display, but that's way out of my price range and still reminds me of the S7 Edge. Now, Huawei has done something with the Mate 9 that completely impressed me with the Huawei Watch, and that is their packaging. Now, I know...it's only packaging. However, it is very elegantly packaged giving you that high quality feel that the phone does actually have. Also, it appears to already have a screen protector in place, which is very nice, as I can never get those things on properly myself. Huawei has also included a Matte Case, which is nice because it protects the back of your phone without making it bulky. Overall, I think that the Huawei Mate 9 is by far one of the best quality phones I have owned. Paired with the Huawei Watch, it is absolutely perfect and exactly what I have been looking for in my quest for a smart phone and smartwatch that meets all of my needs and expectations. DISCLAIMER: The watch band pictured is NOT what comes with the watch. The Huawei Watch comes with a Black Suture Leather Strap. This is one I purchased from another retailer. I wanted something that resembled the Double Tour Hermès strap. I wish I could add more pictures but that'll have to be left for my blog. If you want to see more images, you can find them at www.techtalk.pro

I usually carry two phones, one being iOS and the other being Android. For a while for the Android side, my go-to had been HTC devices due their very nice build quality, but a couple years ago a friend gifted me a Mate 7, and I've been hooked since mainly due to crazy battery life, staying true with the Mate 8, and now the Mate 9. One of the things I do is I travel quite a bit and I always have mobile hotspot enabled so I don't multiple carrier plans for two phones and often a tablet or laptop computer. The crazy part of the Mate phones is I can go often two days with hotspot enabled and it doesn't seem to affect the battery life at all! That's awesome. The Mate 9 is like this and the range is also much more than my other devices. Performance of this device is quite unmatched, never seen a slowdown, and don't have to deal with constant restarting. My Galaxy S7 edge reminds me to reboot which is kind of sad because honestly if I didn't it really slows down. I can use my iPhone from one update to the next without needing to restart, and the Mate line of phones are the only ones that's been able to hold a candle to that ability if not exceed it. My Mate 8 went two months before I needed to restart due to updates and my new Mate 9 has not needed to be rebooted since I got it. There are also tons of other features, like an incredible camera, excellent build quality, dual-SIM capability (I can keep my China Mobile and AT&T SIM inside and works seemlessly when I travel supporting all the TD-LTE and TDS-CDMA in China that nobody else seems to use). The fingerprint reader on the back is a no-brainer to use and it's easy one-handed since you're not fumbling to use some button on the bottom of the phone. For UX, the old Mate phones has an interface that was quite annoying to use, but the new EMUI 5 is quite improved. It's faster and you can finally have an app drawer (without resorting to a third-party launcher like Nova) and offers a good degree of customization. One of things I like is you can swap the placement of the touch buttons for home, back, and menu. Lots of good UX improvements. The only concern I have is there doesn't seem to be any information on what covers the back camera and as I don't use a case I'm wondering how scratch-proof the camera cover is. Overall I couldn't be happier and I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a new phone.

This is an awesome awesome phone! I was pretty excited to buy this phone to upgrade from my Nexus 5X. I really wanted a larger screen phone with a big battery. I tried a bunch of phones for a week or two, the HTC 10, G5, Pixel XL, and the V20. The Mate 9 is really my favorite by far! I really never expected to like it this much. I'm an android nut. I spend a ton of time on reddits android page. With this being Huawei's first big Flagship in the USA I think they hit a home run! They really need to advertise this beast because thats really what is it. Its a beast! Screen: The screen is way better than I expected. It being a 1080p screen and LCD I half expected it to be not as sharp as other QHD screen phones I tried out but man I was wrong. The display is very sharp and really bright. The colors pop. I really like that you can control the color temperature to make it as warm or cool as you like. I really prefer a cooler display. Having the Pixel XL for 2 weeks I can say this Mate 9's screen is great compared to it. The Pixels screen might look a bit better its very close and you get the battery saving on the mate 9 since it displays it in a lower more efficient resolution. Having the 5.9 inch screen is just sweet. The Phone is the exact same or very very close as the iPhone 7 Plus. If you can hand an iPhone plus then you can handle this. Camera The dual cameras on the Mate 9 are really a treat. Its equiped with one 12MP color camera sensor and one 20MP black and white camera sensor that work in tandum to capture great lowlight photos and photos with great dynamic range. The black and white sensor 20mp sensor captures more detail and the highlights in pictures and they the colors are placed back on the photo from the 12mp sensor. All you need to know is they look great! Also having 2 sensors gives you 2x hybrid zoom similar to what the iphone 7 plus does. It also has a wide aperture camera setting that lets you blur out the back ground in pictures like you can with DSLRs. Its pretty similar to the iPhone 7 plus's portrait mode. Video can be captured in 4k 30fps and 1080p 60fps. The camera also has ois that works very good to smooth out videos. Overall this phone is such a beast and much more than I every expected. It charges crazy fast, you can literally watch the percents tick up 2% every minute. With the 4000mah battery this phone is very capable of lasting 2 days or more. The dual speakers sound great and are very loud. The fingerprint sensor is the fastests I have ever used. The OS is lightning quick with no lag. The phone also never gets hot or warm even when charging! In the end, if you want a large screen phone with a great camera, a fast phone, long battery life, and great phone for gaming, this phone is def for you. I decided to return my Pixel XL and keep this instead its so good!

I favored this phone mainly because I had a Nexus 6P and fell in love with the design of it, the camera and all so I decided to give the Mate 9 a try. 1. I must first say the rear cameras are amazing and the colors pop, there are plenty of filters built in to the phone and you can boost the color output when taking photos. The front camera is just as great, I've taken selfie after selfie with it. 2. This phone is a dual sim unlocked phone, of course you'll need a nano SIM, I'm using mine with T-Mobile, the second SIM slot looked like a micro SIM slot so I'm not sure. 3. The speakers are AMAZING super loud and vibration strength is loud, battery life is greater than great, the microphone picks up the direction of your voice when in a phone call or recording a voice memo. 4. Display is amazing like super super amazing, I honestly thought it would be a drawback when I got the phone but let me tell you, I've had a Nexus 6P, LG G4, and HTC 10 and there is literally no difference in quality! 5. This phone is a big boss, HUGE 5.9inch screen comes with a case in the box, micro USB to Type C adapter, earbuds and the charger of course, overall this is my new favorite phone and 64GB internal is enough for me but I may get another 64GB micro SD card..... And yes this big guy is expandable. 6. I'm a music junkie so I think it's worth mentioning the phone sounds great with Bluetooth and wired headphones in, the earbuds that come with it are like Apples Earpods but these are more rounded so beware they made fall out from time to time. This phone does support Bluetooth battery status, it just means if you have Bluetooth headphones paired, there is a battery life indicator for that connected device that shows up in the phones status bar. 7. The user interface is easy to use and very customizable, font and icon packs are supported as well as separate lock screen and homescreen wallpapers. 8. This phone charges very fast, the USB cable is extremely secure once plugged in to the device and I mean it, you'll need to use both hands and a bit of a push to plug in the supplied USB Cable. 9. I can't think of anything negative about this phone, my only advice is for a beauty like this, get yourself a stylish case maybe a few, get Bluetooth earbuds and a tempered glass screen protector and maybe an extra charging cable too and you'll be all set.

I didn't want to replace my old phone, a Sony Z Ultra, because I love that device. My top choice for a replacement was the Sony XZ Premium. I didn't love the XZ Premium and couldn't see paying that much for something I wouldn't mind replacing in a year or 2. So after a lot of research I was settling on the Huawei 6X (X6?) as a dirt cheap replacement, the Honor 8 as a pretty option, or this Mate 9. This was more expensive but at less than a year old, it was about half the price of brand new models. It's hardware should keep it useful for the 2+ years I'd like to have it. Durability is my main concern, it's not waterproof, and the pre-installed screen protector is already a little scratched in less than a week. I don't intend to use a case or replace the screen protector once I remove this one. I rarely use anything more than a power case down the road when the non-removable (officially, anyway) battery starts showing its age. The included case is nice enough and offers some protection. The only real complaint I have, aside from wanting a bigger and higher resolution screen, is the battery. This has a large battery but I've been draining it pretty fast. I'm starting to adjust the settings to extend it but I think I just expected more from such a large battery. Although it charges crazy fast so I can't complain much. The screen really is impressive considering it's not quadHD (4k). And unlike my Z Ultra, this should fit in a typical VR headset. Obviously it's hard for me to express how great the device is, I have little to compare it to. But the approximately $400 I paid (open box) seems worth it so far. Tough call, my Z Ultra was $300 but that was in 2014 when it was a year old. Looking at everything on the market, this really seemed like a solid buy. The IR blaster is great and not many mobiles have them. Decent stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack and pretty good (IMO) included headphones. Bluetooth 5.0 and waterproofing would've been nice but I'll survive. I do like the simplified, near stock Android UI Sony (and some other brands) use, so I was concerned about Huawei's EMUI. So far EMUI hasn't been problematic. The device is fast and I don't feel like I need to plan on installing custom firmware. Cameras seem good, as does call quality. If only they used that spiffy Honor 8 glass back on this, that'd have been sweet. This is a great mobile for the price, and a pretty good one regardless of price. I'm sure the Mate 10 will be a step up in specs (the 970 processor is impressive) but I didn't want to wait for it or pay that much. I'm satisfied with the Mate 9 so far. I'm not loving it like my Z Ultra. Of course this has better specs and is currently functional. My Z Ultra just felt premium (with only a few caveats) while the Mate 9 feels high-midrange/near-premium. I expect Huawei will be on my radar when I'm in the market to replace this. Good job Huawei, you tempted me away from Sony (sorry Sony).

Just wanted to start off and say wow what a great phone. I am normally a HUGE htc fan and always bought HTC products. I also buy and sell a lot of phones on ebay. I have used Motorola, Samsung, HTC, LG, and Nokia phones. What I got accustomed to was quick charging, wireless charging, waterproofing, stereo speakers and great build quality. What I really disliked was being carrier locked and having very buggy software. I was looking for a phone that would replace my S7. The S7 is just a slow buggy phone after awhile. This phone has everything you would want in a flagship phone without the always on display, waterproofing, wireless charge. You will learn you can live without these features. What you do get is a fantastic 5.9" Full 1080 display. The display I would say is similar to a nexus 6 screen panel. The screen is not AMOLED but it is a good IPS display. The colors are accurate and the viewing angles are good. The camera is good in daytime but at night it is just average. I don't really care to too much about the camera, its good enough for what the average consumer needs. Software EMUI 5.0 is Huawei's skin over Android 7.0 Nougat is a lightly skinned stock android. It does not have crazy overlays for being a non stock google phone meaning the menus are easy to understand. You can download any launcher you want and keyboard to make this phone feel like a Pixel phone. You can also download themes from the theme store [emui theme factory]. This phone is also promised to get Android O. I would say this phone mimics a IPhone 7 plus dialer, menus, ect. This phone delivers almost Nexus like smoothness and performance without being a Nexus phone. The phone also will let you know which apps to turn off that are eating up a lot of battery. Great feature! No need for greenify. No need for root either. Everything stock runs amazing. No LAG. You can uninstall almost any software on the phone. Great! Not just disable junk and hide it from the memory. Multimedia This phone has amazing stereo speakers setup like the iPhone 7 plus. I would not put the quality to like say a Nexus 6/6p, HTC 9/10/11, IPhone 7 plus. The quality on the speakers I would say are like on stock hi-fi speakers in a car with a decent headunit the sound is clear and loud but it is no Bose or Clarion. I would say mid range sony speakers with a frequency response of 50-50hz. Overall Impressions Get this phone if you are on the verge of getting something that has Type C SUPER FAST charging, 4,000mAH battery lasting all day with heavy usage, IR blaster, great stereo speakers, silky smooth performance, unlocked GSM, great metal build, future updates.

Well, as many already know, the core Blackberry device era is long over, so I decided to replace my tried and true Blackberry Passport with the Mate 9. My decision to go with the Mate 9 was made after checking our tons of online written and video reviews. Let me tell you, this is the absolute fastest smartphone I have ever owned. Period! Some may ask, why did I not get an iPhone 7, or 7 Plus. Well, it's because I didn't want to be controlled by the Apple eco system,...and my 128GB MicroSD card was a must,...plus the Mate 9 has a larger screen,...larger battery than the iPhones, and it has just as fast processor as the iPhones! That said, and as my review title reads,...The Mate 9 is a serious and powerful contender to any premier manufacturer's smartphone device. Also, the goodies include in the package were a nice surprise,...as in an already perfectly applied screen protector,...a back case protector skin! When I saw those,...my immediate thought was 'Awesome'! Moving on,...Charging! Yes, the fast charging tech works,...like crazy it does! About the Fingerprint Reader! I can confirm that the Fingerprint reader of the Mate 9 is bar-none,...the fast on any device made to this date - 22Aug17! It unlocks the device the INSTANT you place your finger on the reader! Huawei should market their fingerprint reader to other manufacturers! Or,..perhaps not! Anyway,...Cheers to all. So, some of you may be wondering how come I didn't give it 5-Stars,...well, I wanted to give it 4.5,..to 4.75 Stars,..but the rating system won't allow. So, what is my 'ding' on the Mate 9? It because I've yet to get 2 days of use between charges. Although the 4000mah battery will get me through a day,...as in typical battery level around 29% at 11:20'ish PM, etc. If you're going to say your device should last two days on one charge,...then it should! Afterall,..it's Huawei's claim, not mine. Other than that,...the Mate 9 is one Boss smartphone device!! Cheers.... (JMD)

A little background first. I traded in my Samsung Note 4 for the LG V20, but was not impressed. Then Huawei came out with the Mate 9. I loved all of the features of this phone. The screen size, speakerphone volume and camera features were all great. It is especially very fast and responsive. I noticed the difference between the Mate 9 and the LG V20. I purchased the Mate 9 on March 11, 2017. I decided to wait a while before writing as comprehensive a review as possible, so here it is. I absolutely love this phone and persuaded my brother to purchase one also. I had no complaints until this past weekend in October 13, 2017, when I noticed that the battery started to deplete very rapidly. It would only hold a charge for a couple of hours. I had to keep plugging in the phone. I am such a Huawei believer that I purchased the Huawei smart watch in December of 2016 and persuaded my daughter to buy one also instead of going with the Samsung Gear Watch 2. I noticed that the Mate 9 somehow affected the battery strength of the Huawei watch also, and the watch also began to lose its battery power equally rapidly if not more so. I recognize that I have to reset it or whatever it takes, perhaps send it back to Huawei factory because it does come with a one-year warranty, however, I needed a replacement in the meantime. I am very disappointed that the Mate 9 lasted less than a complete year before shutting down completely. I even put the phone in ultra battery saver mode, to no avail because the battery continued to drain rapidly still. Two days ago I purchased the Huawei Honor 6X to use because I am hoping the Huawei will reach out to me and recommend what my next step should be to repair this phone. I am jaded, but I do love everything about the Mate 9 except for the continuous drain on the battery right now. And I need my phone to be available and working 24/7. All of that being said, I would still recommend the Mate 9 because it has a lot of bells and whistles. I have used Samsung for years since I switched from the iPhone, and refuse to go back to either phone, so I am hoping Huawei can redeem themselves with some assistance and fix the battery issue because, once again, the Mate 9 is a beautiful, fast, responsive phone, and takes great photos. I do still think it's a great phone at a great price with great features. There is no need to spend $900 to $1,000 on a phone when you buy the Mate 9. Huawei, please help me to resolve the battery issue, this is the reason for 4 start rating.