HUAWEI MATE 9

This is more like it.

WHAT IS IT? The Chinese manufacturer capitalising on the P9 proof of concept. Improving on an impressive camera system was never going to be easy, but the larger format Huawei standard-bearer device did it.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT? As you can tell, the camera is quite special. The 20 MP monochrome camera collects even more light detail and the algorithm seems a bit more mature. A nice graphics spec bump to the Mali-g71 GPU is also appreciated, but by far the most pleasing thing about the Mate 9 is the Nougat (Andoid 7.0)-based EMUI 5 and the debut of the app drawer on a Huawei device.

WHAT’S BAD ABOUT IT? Although the homebaked Kirin 960 chipset brings impressive power to the table, the handset was prone to severe slowdowns under load. Also, it’s a crying shame that a camera capable of truly elegant images is buried under a confusing menu system.

VERDICT: The Leica dual camera system allowed Huawei to break into the mass market and the Mate 9 is intended for the top 5 per cent of that market. Although the phone caters well to the power user, with impressive battery life and functions, it can’t quite keep pace with the dominant players in its market segment. Still, if this were a Nexus device, it would be magnificent. It’s time for Huawei to unshackle its flagship devices.