Huawei today unveiled its latest Android flagship, the much-awaited Mate 9 at a media event in Germany.
As revealed by multiple leaks over the past several weeks, the phablet features a large 5.9-inch 1080p IPS display with 2.5D glass on top. Under the hood, the Mate 9 is powered by Huawei’s latest flagship mobile chipset, the octa-core Kirin 960 clocked at 2.4 GHz. Graphics are handled by the ARM Mali-G71 MP8 GPU, which is a beast in itself. The powered SoC is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded with a microSD card.
At the back, the Mate 9 features a 20MP + 12MP dual camera setup with Leica-branded f/2.2 aperture lenses. The 20MP sensor captures monochrome images while the 12MP sensor is capable of capturing color photos. The dual-camera setup integrates 4-in-1 hybrid autofocus tech (laser + phase-detection + depth + contrast detection. It also includes optical image stabilization and a dual-tone LED flash. While there is no optical zoom as rumored, it does come with a new Hybrid Zoom feature that promises to allow users to zoom without noticing any significant loss in quality. The Mate 9 also happens to be the first Huawei smartphone to support video recording at up to 4K resolution. For selfies, the Mate 9 comes with an 8MP snapper on the front, with an f/1.9 aperture lens and autofocus.
The phablet packs a large 4000mAh capacity battery inside its metal body, supporting Super Charge with the bundled 5A charger. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11ac dual-band, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy, GPS, NFC, and 4G VoLTE. A fingerprint scanner is quite obviously included too, positioned at the back of the phablet.
Priced at 699 EUR, the Huawei Mate 9 will be going on sale initially in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. Six color options will be on offer – Black, Space Gray, Moonlight Silver, Champagne Gold, Mocha Brown, and Ceramic White.
The rumored Mate 9 Pro has been announced as the limited edition Mate 9 Porsche Design. It features a smaller 5.5” curved Quad HD AMOLED display, boasting of a 534 PPI pixel density. While the SoC inside is identical to the Mate 9, it gets 6GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage, without a microSD card slot for further expansion. Rest of the key specs remain identical to its more affordable sibling. As rumored, the Mate 9 Porsche Design won’t be very affordable. It will be available worldwide via Porsche Design Stores and Huawei Stores starting January next year for 1395 EUR.
Via: GSMArena
