Huawei Mate 9 – One Year Later It’s Still A Stunner
In the fast paced world of Android phones (and iPhones for that matter), some devices age well while others seemingly die without much of a thought to them. A lot of it depends on the manufacture and their willingness to continue to develop updates for the device but also it depends on the niche in which the device attempts to be the answer.
In the case of the Huawei Mate 9, the Chinese company has continued to support the 5.9″ phablet by recently releasing their Android Oreo based EMUI 8 experience. That, along with filling the need of a large screen device for some, has let this phone age well. It’s still a powerhouse of a device that, even though it has now been superseded by the Mate 10, I don’t have a problem recommending.
I reviewed the Huawei Mate 9 back in March 2017 and at the time, I felt it was one of the fastest devices I had reviewed to that point. I felt the same way about the smaller Huawei P10 which has the same SoC (System on Chip) setup as the Mate 9. Now nearly a year later, I still feel the same way. This is a solid phone with a lot to offer despite its age. Yes, Android Oreo will likely be the last major update for the Mate 9 but that shouldn’t completely turn you away from it. It has a lot to offer and remains one of the best overall flagship phone options out there, especially now that it is under $500.
I’m not necessarily going to be re-reviewing the Mate 9 in this post but rather will highlight how the phone has performed over time. I’ll cover how the chassis has held up, how battery life has performed over time and the new EMUI 8 update for the phone to name a few things.
