Huawei Mate 9 review: super-bright 5.9" screen but only 1080p, fast performance, battery life is better than iPhone 7+ or Pixel XL, dual-cameras disappoint
Sam Rutherford / Tom's Guide :
Context & Ripple Effects
The Mate 9 lands ten months after the Mate 8 review flagged the same split personality: excellent battery life and performance, with display and camera leaving room for improvement. At its $776 November unveiling, Huawei pitched a 5.9-inch screen, 4,000 mAh battery, and rear dual-camera system as the flagship package.
Tom's Guide's verdict shows the pattern holding — battery life now beats both the iPhone 7 Plus and Pixel XL outright — but the two areas the Mate 8 was dinged for remain the weak spots: only 1080p on a 5.9-inch panel, and dual cameras that disappoint against rivals whose entire marketing case is imaging.
First-order effects
- Huawei's flagship pitch at $776 now rests on endurance rather than imaging or display sharpness, positioning the Mate 9 directly against the Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus on the one axis where it measurably wins.
Second-order effects
- The dual-camera disappointment undercuts the differentiator Huawei leaned on at launch, forcing the company to close the camera gap before reviewers will rank it alongside Google and Apple flagships rather than below them on value.
Third-order effects
- If the Mate 8-to-Mate 9 trajectory continues — battery and performance compounding while display and camera lag one generation behind — Huawei risks cementing a 'great hardware, unfinished polish' reputation that caps its ability to charge premium prices against Apple and Google.
The trend: Huawei's Mate line is iterating toward flagship parity on endurance and speed first, with camera and display quality as the persistent gap separating it from iPhone and Pixel incumbents.