Huawei Mate 9 sales in the U.S. will start January 6, with the phablet priced at $600

by Luis D. / Jan 05, 2017, 1:28 AM

Huawei Mate 9 sales in the U.S. will start January 6, with the phablet priced at $600

If you are living in the States and have been lusting after Huawei's Mate 9 flagship tablet (announced in November), you are getting some good news coming your way. The Android heavyweight will reach US shores January 6, and it will be sold at Best Buy, Newegg, Amazon, B&H (and possibly other retailers as well) in gray and silver.

The $600 device features a spacious 5.9-inch 1080p resolution screen and is powered by the Kirin 960 processor – custom-built silicon by Huawei-owned HiSilicon. The powerful chip is supplemented with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Ran by a 4000mAh capacity battery, the phablet features a fingerprint sensor and a dual-camera setup.

The Mate 9 is unapologetically big and proud of it.

What's more, the Mate 9's US variant will come with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant installed. It will enable users to carry out tasks such as setting alarms, jotting down to-do lists, and checking weather information using simple voice commands. This is the first appearance of Alexa on an Android smartphone as an alternative to established services like S-Voice and Google Assistant. Huawei has also announced that the Mate 9 is now a Daydream VR-ready handset.

We had the chance to review the Mate 9 before its US launch and our impressions of the review unit are generally positive, as it offers a fun and customizable user experience, along with solid performance across the board. However, we did expect to have our minds blown by the Leica-branded dual camera, which didn't really happen. We also noted that this is a device for fans of big, monolithic smartphones who have no problems handling a phablet like this.

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15 Comments

1. Arch_Fiend

Posts: 3951; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

I think that is a good price, considering what you get. Personally I think the phone deserves a high than 8 rating.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 1:33 AM 9

2. trojan_horse

Posts: 5868; Member since: May 06, 2016

First paragraph: "If you are living in the States and have been lusting after Huawei's Mate 9 flagship tablet (announced in November)"... Phablet, not tablet, Luis D!

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 1:39 AM 2

3. SyCo87

Posts: 305; Member since: Sep 19, 2013

Asus need to learn from Huawei, to be competitive against the big boys, you have to price below them.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 1:42 AM 2

4. Arthurhkt

Posts: 723; Member since: Apr 19, 2012

Not trying to start out a flame war or something, I am genuinely curious with the the consumer of western market, how well does them to accepting the smartphone from China? Especially when it's come to brand like Huawei?

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 2:36 AM 0

5. fyah_king unregistered

Speaker sucks, so I'll skip this one. When are they going to have nice loud speakers on their phones?

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 3:07 AM 0

8. maherk

Posts: 6876; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

Speaker sucks? 1st of all, this has 2 speakers, not one 2- this has one of the best stereo speakers found on a 2016 flagship phone.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 6:33 AM 0

14. fyah_king unregistered

It's freaking tinny!!! I don't care about stereo speakers if it's not loud.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 12:00 PM 0

15. uzimafioso

Posts: 469; Member since: Jul 15, 2014

I understand your pain. I've been spoiled by M8's BoomSound. That and Sense is what I miss on my current Droid Turbo. I might just buy a Moto X Style/Pure for the stereo speakers. It has a pair even louder than M8's.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 12:41 PM 0

9. Dejavu_LT

Posts: 51; Member since: Jun 11, 2012

When you stupid human being understand that if you want nice, loud sound - buy a good pair of headphones.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 6:43 AM 1

10. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

or BT speaker... even $30 BT speaker can beat any smartphone's speaker... by wide margin

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 7:59 AM 1

13. yalokiy

Posts: 997; Member since: Aug 01, 2016

Although some phone speakers suck more then the others, they all suck by default anyway. Get yourself some headphones.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 8:26 AM 0

6. btbotimtim

Posts: 272; Member since: Dec 08, 2010

it looks good but 600 for a huawei phone in the states sounds insane unless it comes under major carriers. nowadays, even galaxy phones come with huge promotions like bogo, no interest payment plans.

posted on Jan 05, 2017, 3:14 AM 0

12. sissy246

Posts: 7111; Member since: Mar 04, 2015

I wish it was more like $450, then I might get one. I really need a second phone. We are out doors alot and on rocky ground. Always afraid I will drop my note 5 and in a few months my note 8.