Any Huawei Mate 9 Owners here?

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I've been looking at getting the Huawei Mate 9 in the coming months, and I have read up quite a lot online about what to expect with the phone. I'm liking the EMUI GUI, the specs, the size, all of it.
Sadly enough, I don't believe there are any stores near me that would carry the product so I could take a test drive of it to get a real hands-on feel of it.

Does anyone here on these forums own the Mate 9? If so, what are your experiences?
 
99% sure BestBuy carries it, you can try it there. I've heard nothing but bad things about EMUI though.
 
While I do like the Huawei Mate 9, I can't consider it due to not having T-Mo wifi calling.
 
99% sure BestBuy carries it, you can try it there. I've heard nothing but bad things about EMUI though.

Same here until EMUI 5 came out on the Nougat update. All the reviews I've seen based on this software seem to show it has improved significantly in all areas except for the lockscreen where notifications seem to disappear despite still showing in the notification shade after unlocking the screen. That's pretty much the only common complaint I've seen so far on EMUI 5.

If T-Mobile offered it through their carrier and with financing, I would most likely pick up this phone. But dropping $500+ at once on a phone is a bit harsh to me, esp. when I'm still pretty happy with my 6P so far other than the premature shutdown bug that seems to be plaguing the phone across the board. I haven't reached out to Google/Huawei yet to see if they'll replace it out of warranty; I've seen comments on tech article say that they have been able to do this though.

Honestly this phone seems to have the best overall hardware out right now IMO, even compared to the GS8 that just launched. I say this because I really like having stereo speakers and an IR blaster on my phone and no other phone has offered that since HTC has on the M8 (which I had and loved) and M9 phones. The only thing that could make it better to me is an AMOLED panel, even a 1080p AMOLED because I'd rather have better performance and battery life than a nearly imperceptible resolution bump. I don't care much for camera performance (though it seems great overall) or water resistance either. This phone will murder the S8 or most other phones in battery life as well with its 4Ah battery. The only other phone I've seen that can compete with its battery is the Moto Z Play, which my wife has and that phone is so good I'm considering getting the Moto Z2 Play when it launches later on this year if I don't catch the Mate 9 on sale at some point before then.

Also, beware the bogus sellers on Amazon selling these phones at too-good-to-be-true prices. I saw some the other say going for $200-$300 and figured they were bogus, but tried to order anyways because I knew Amazon would refund me so there was little to no risk. Of course they were fraudulent and I was refunded, but it was worth a shot, hah. There are reviews on there as well of people getting knock-off models or completely different phones that may or may not work.
 
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Same here until EMUI 5 came out on the Nougat update. All the reviews I've seen based on this software seem to show it has improved significantly in all areas except for the lockscreen where notifications seem to disappear despite still showing in the notification shade after unlocking the screen. That's pretty much the only common complaint I've seen so far on EMUI 5.

If T-Mobile offered it through their carrier and with financing, I would most likely pick up this phone. But dropping $500+ at once on a phone is a bit harsh to me, esp. when I'm still pretty happy with my 6P so far other than the premature shutdown bug that seems to be plaguing the phone across the board. I haven't reached out to Google/Huawei yet to see if they'll replace it out of warranty; I've seen comments on tech article say that they have been able to do this though.

Honestly this phone seems to have the best overall hardware out right now IMO, even compared to the GS8 that just launched. I say this because I really like having stereo speakers and an IR blaster on my phone and no other phone has offered that since HTC has on the M8 (which I had and loved) and M9 phones. The only thing that could make it better to me is an AMOLED panel, even a 1080p AMOLED because I'd rather have better performance and battery life than a nearly imperceptible resolution bump. I don't care much for camera performance (though it seems great overall) or water resistance either. This phone will murder the S8 or most other phones in battery life as well with its 4Ah battery. The only other phone I've seen that can compete with its battery is the Moto Z Play, which my wife has and that phone is so good I'm considering getting the Moto Z2 Play when it launches later on this year if I don't catch the Mate 9 on sale at some point before then.

Also, beware the bogus sellers on Amazon selling these phones at too-good-to-be-true prices. I saw some the other say going for $200-$300 and figured they were bogus, but tried to order anyways because I knew Amazon would refund me so there was little to no risk. Of course they were fraudulent and I was refunded, but it was worth a shot, hah. There are reviews on there as well of people getting knock-off models or completely different phones that may or may not work.

Yeah, I took a look at some reviews between GSMArea, PhoneScoop and some other sites, and noone mentioned anything about the Notification issue. Though, I'm not overly-concerned about that, since I will have a smartwatch (Moto 360 1st Gen) paired with it. And besides, people should know better that if they HAVE to get a hold of me, to call me, so notifications are relatively insignificant. EMUI5 looks pretty slick though, andI believe the phone comes with Nougat right out of the box.

I'm no longer with T-Mobile, but Cricket Wireless (MVNO of AT&T), so I'm not concerned about WiFi calling. Besides, WiFi calling for me is a bit of a nuisance, since my calls seem to crap out mid-way anyways. I usually turn that feature off right away on the phones I had with TMo. This segues into my next point, I will be paying outright for the phone. I found one for $573, so that's a bit more believable, and sold through Amazon. I considered the new Galaxy phones, and thought about holding out for the Note 8 when it comes out, but at the same time, I'm hesitant to spend 8-900 dollars on a phone where I can get very closely similar specs (may be inaccurate, but the best I can describe it) for cheaper. I won't be making the purchase until September, and even then maybe something else will come out that catches my eye.

The biggest selling point was the camera for me. Of all the things I read up on, I legit creamed to learn that the lenses are Leica, and all the functions I can do. The photographer in me would definitely appreciate this.

I also saw the best Buy link, I'll have to take a swing by my local store to see if they have one available.
 
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Taken from BGR:
The OnePlus 5 should pack a 5.5-inch display with 2K resolution, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, 23-megapixel dual-lens camera with optical image stabilization and optical zoom, and a 3,000 mAh battery, if the rumor pans out.

OnePlus is yet to make any public announcements. But I’d stay away of the OnePlus 3T if I were you, as the OnePlus 5 will probably hit stores soon.

http://bgr.com/2017/04/14/oneplus-5-rumors-a5000-model-number/

Well, shit, that might be another option :eek:
 
While I do like the Huawei Mate 9, I can't consider it due to not having T-Mo wifi calling.

T-Mobile will never, EVER carry a Huawei device as far as I can see. They've been in a bitter legal battle for years, when Huawei stole their proprietary, confidential tech.
 
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The Mate 9 is honestly probably the best phone I've owned. EMUI 5 is on par with any other launcher I've used, and it's completely lag free. Everything opens near instantly, the battery is the first one I've used where I don't feel obligated to charge it every single night, the camera takes great pics, and it gets the best reception I've ever seen (I get service in places the wife's iPhone 7+ struggles). I was worried about the screen since I was used to 1440p oled, but I barely notice it anymore. It's a very nice lcd, overall. The only downside is lack of Tmobile wifi calling, but you do get VoLTE. Coverage near me is ok, so the wifi calling isn't too big of a loss, but I know a lot of people have to have the feature.
 
The Mate 9 won't work with Wifi calling? Afaik it's been baked into the OS since version 6, so you didn't necessarily need T-mobile to activate anything to make it work. Wifi calling works just fine on the 6P on t-mobile...
 
The Mate 9 won't work with Wifi calling? Afaik it's been baked into the OS since version 6, so you didn't necessarily need T-mobile to activate anything to make it work. Wifi calling works just fine on the 6P on t-mobile...

The phone technically supports wifi calling, but Tmobile has to officially recognize the device for it to be allowed to use the feature on their network. As of now, it doesn't work, and I doubt it ever will due to the law suit stuff between Huawei and Tmobile.
 
The phone technically supports wifi calling, but Tmobile has to officially recognize the device for it to be allowed to use the feature on their network. As of now, it doesn't work, and I doubt it ever will due to the law suit stuff between Huawei and Tmobile.

Well generally any unlocked phone not sold directly by T-Mobile won't support WiFi calling anyways. The only exceptions I know of for this are the Nexus/Pixel phones, Oneplus phones, Axon 7, and iPhones. T-Mobile supports these phones specifically and that's how it has to be even if the phone support supports WiFi calling otherwise. I was slightly annoyed when I got my wife's Moto Z Play and it wasn't supported despite T-Mobile and Moto telling me it did otherwise, but there's no Wifi Calling options on it at all with a T-Mo SIM in it.
 
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T4rd the company has to pay for T-Mobile to certify the product, as they stated "We're not going to pay tens of thousands of dollars per to certify every unlocked device available" (paraphrased). Not sure wtf is going on with the Z Play, but the G5 Plus has it enabled.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the fuss over wifi calling, but I can be an isolated case. I have perfect coverage almost everywhere I go (with the exception of inside one local restaurant and out by my wife's family in West Bumfuck, MA near NH), and wifi calling has been shitty at BEST, even over a 75mb/s FIOS connection.
 
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T4rd the company has to pay for T-Mobile to certify the product, as they stated "We're not going to pay tens of thousands of dollars per to certify every unlocked device available" (paraphrased). Not sure wtf is going on with the Z Play, but the G5 Plus has it enabled.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the fuss over wifi calling, but I can be an isolated case. I have perfect coverage almost everywhere I go (with the exception of inside one local restaurant and out by my wife's family in West Bumfuck, MA near NH), and wifi calling has been shitty at BEST, even over a 75mb/s FIOS connection.

Ahh, good to know, thanks. Forgot about the G phones as well. It's not a big deal for me either; there's only a couple places I visit where I need it because cell coverage is bad at a couple of my relative's places. I've been spotting band 12 near my area lately though, so hopefully that will extend out to those places as well soon so it's even less of an issue. WiFi calling works well for me though when it works, but there have been a lot of times when a call/text won't go through unless I toggle airplane mode or reboot my phone in order to get it to work. Same thing on my mom's GS7 too.
 
By this time next year, it won't even matter. The low band stuff they bought out is near verizon level coverage across the country.
 
By this time next year, it won't even matter. The low band stuff they bought out is near verizon level coverage across the country.

I actually read that was likely more like 3-5 years out for that full map the be realized. It's still going to be huge for Tmobile though.
 
Possibly, but they're already putting out the infrastructure now. This way when the deals are finalized, they can flip the switch and have it good to go. It might be 3-5 before it's FULLY established, but they're looking to play with the big boys, and they want to do it *now*. Not sure how I feel about it, really. I think there will be massive growing pains.
 
T4rd the company has to pay for T-Mobile to certify the product, as they stated "We're not going to pay tens of thousands of dollars per to certify every unlocked device available" (paraphrased). Not sure wtf is going on with the Z Play, but the G5 Plus has it enabled.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the fuss over wifi calling, but I can be an isolated case. I have perfect coverage almost everywhere I go (with the exception of inside one local restaurant and out by my wife's family in West Bumfuck, MA near NH), and wifi calling has been shitty at BEST, even over a 75mb/s FIOS connection.

Where in Western MA? Chicopee repesent!! :D

And it looks like I'm not alone with the WiFi calling bit. I've maybe used it twice on my Note 5 and after it crapping on a couple important calls, the feature got turned right off.
 
By this time next year, it won't even matter. The low band stuff they bought out is near verizon level coverage across the country.

Nope, it still does matter. I know of half a dozen places I regularly go to where VZWs LTE coverage does not exist. It doesn't matter what carrier you are on, they all fail to cover several areas nearby. Wi-Fi calling is the simplest solution to fix the problem, with the only other solution trying to setup a large repeater to attempt to get signal.
 
Oneplus by far.
The nice thing is, I'm setting myself a goal of 9/3 to make my decision and order the phone. Plenty of time for me to make sure money I allocated for a new, shiny phone will still be there, and plenty of time for phones to release, research quirks, what's going to work for me, what cases are available... basically, what is going to be the best bang for my buck.
 
Just bought the Unlocked Mate 9 @ Best Buy for pre Black Friday price of $399. My HTC m9 was starting to act buggy, and I am very happy so far. Bright Screen, Dual SIM (big deal for me), very fast, and BIG battery (also big deal for me).

Only complaint so far is the lack of Supercharger accessories, particularly Car charger, and supercharger compatible cables. Found one 6' cable so far on Amazon and it's perfect. Ordered Back up Huawei branded superchargers (one for US and one for Europe) from Alibaba, good price (US $18.00 plus free shipping), not received yet.

20MP phone takes very nice pictures, but there is a "lag" on shutter release. Not a big deal for me as I seldom use the phone camera.

Sticking with the preinstalled Screen saver for now, but have ordered Glass for when it's time to replace. Huawei Case was fine, but no lip to protect screen, so have replaced it with Tudia from Amazon which does job.

Fingerprint scan was big surprise for me. It's has instantaneous response, and has worked every time. Wasn't sure Id like the scanner on back of phone, but now much prefer it.
 
Finally just got the EMUI 8.0 update.... Love the phone but damn the slow updates.
 
Finally just got the EMUI 8.0 update.... Love the phone but damn the slow updates.

Ha! I have a Galaxy S7. I don't think you've seen slow updates until you've seen Samsung... ugh.

I only bought a Samsung because of the amazing deal I got on it, and the fact I had a LG G4 that I didn't love. I don't think I'll buy another Samsung.
 
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