PERFORMANCE: Overall the performance of the Huawei Mate 9 was very good. Its quickness, battery life, and camera quality will satisfy all but the most discerning users. Ergonomics on the Mate 9 were very good. While not the best, the touchscreen was very good and it is easy to use. You should be able to get comfortable using this smartphone very quickly. Call quality and convenience on the Mate 9 were not the best but they were very good. Sound while on a call was very good in a quiet room and with background noise. Your sound quality will vary due to many factors including background noise, if you are moving between cell towers, the quality of the phone on the other end of the call, and the quality of the cell tower and antenna.
DURABILITY: After 50 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it as excellent. An included protection cover was used in testing. There were just some minor scratches. Overall, it was in good working condition. After our more strenuous 100 drops in the tumbler the screen and body proved they can take a serious tumble. Our experts rated it as excellent. Overall, it was in good working condition.
PORTABILITY/BATTERY: The 5.9-inch screen on the Mate 9 comes in a body measuring 6.1-inches tall, 3.1-inches wide, 0.4-inches thick, and weighs 6.7 ounces. Those measurements mean the phone is larger and heavier than most. At 27 hours, it is among the longest battery lifespans we tested. Its battery is not removable and the phone doesn't support wireless charging.
CAMERA: The main rear camera on the Huawei Mate 9 measures 20-megapixels. The camera has optical image stabilization to improve your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. Overall the camera performance was good, below that of many other models but still good enough for most users to capture fine still shots. Images are evaluated on high quality LCD displays. The test photos are taken in a brightly lit studio and outdoors on a sunny day. In the viewing tests the images were rated good overall. These images offer acceptable results for color quality, exposure level, sharpness, and image noise but the images are not among the better cameras on smartphones. The Mate 9 comes with an 8-megapixel selfie cam. Overall the selfie camera quality was good.
DISPLAY: Overall the display quality was very good. The display resolution was high enough, close to or greater than 300dpi, so you see a smooth, crisp display but it didn't appear quite as crisp as our best displays. If the display does have a higher resolution, most people will not be able to tell the difference. Readability outdoors is a combination of brightness, measured in candelas per square meter, and reflectivity. The readability rating was excellent. The brightness level measured 1 meter from the screen was a very high 540cd/m² and reflective glare was minimal.
