Huawei Mate 9 release date, news and rumors

A flagship phablet which could have the best specs of the year

Update: Huawei has revealed an official teaser for the Mate 9, and it's sounding ever more impressive, with rumors of a 20MP/12MP dual-lens camera that will be able to do 4x optical zoom. But the top end model could cost an enormous amount of money.

Thought all of 2016’s flagships had arrived? Think again, because Huawei has a massive phone with similarly big specs in the works, and we’re expecting to see it soon.

The Huawei Mate 9 and Huawei Mate 9 Pro might not have the brand appeal of the iPhone 7 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but with talk of a 20MP dual-lens camera, a huge curved screen, 4x optical zoom and up to 6GB of RAM, among other impressive specs, they could be even higher end.

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 being killed the Mate 9 could also prove a strong alternative to that. Read on for all the news and rumors so far.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? A phablet flagship from Huawei
• When is it out? A November 3 announcement is likely
• What will it cost? Possibly upwards of $475 (£400, AU$625)

 Huawei Mate 9 release date

Hottest leaks:

• November 3 announcement

Early rumors suggested the Huawei Mate 9 would land in December, but more recently there’s been talk from PhonAndroid of an early November launch, and Huawei has now even announced a press event on Thursday November 3 in Munich.

While the company hasn’t mentioned the Mate 9 by name, it has said it will use the event to launch a “new flagship device” according to Pocket Lint, so it’s almost certainly going to be the fabled phablet.

The image above, found by GizmoChina, is an official teaser for the event, and while it doesn't give much away the claim of 'a step ahead' certainly suggests Huawei is cooking up something impressive.

Of course you probably won’t be able to buy the Huawei Mate 9 on November 3, but hopefully the company won’t keep us waiting too long.

TechRadar’s take: With no other Huawei flagships on the immediate horizon November 3 seems all but guaranteed to be the announcement date.

 Huawei Mate 9 screen

Hottest leaks:

• 5.9-inch screen in curved and flat varieties
• 1080p and QHD resolutions

The Huawei Mate 9 is largely expected to have a 5.9-inch 1080 x 1920 screen, with a pixel density of 373 pixels per inch.

Ideally we’d like to see a sharper QHD resolution on a display of that size, but it should still be reasonably crisp.

However, there has been some talk of a QHD 1440 x 2560 resolution too, and@evleaks has posted leaked renders of the phone in both curved and flat screen varieties, leading to speculation that the curved version (likely called the Mate 9 Pro) could be QHD while the flat one is 1080p.

TechRadar’s take: The Huawei P9 only has a 1080p screen, so we wouldn’t count on a QHD one, but it would make sense for Huawei to up the resolution given that the Mate 9’s screen is larger, so there’s a fair chance that at least one version will be QHD.

 Huawei Mate 9 design

Hottest leaks:

• A full metal body
• Nine different color choices

The Huawei Mate 9 is rumored to have a metal body, a bit like the Huawei Mate 8 or Huawei P9. Leaks and renders suggest there’ll be strips along the top and bottom, possibly housing antenna bands, and that the phone will have a slightly curved rear.

It may also come in nine different colors according to PhonAndroid, including amber gold, amber gray, ceramic white, champagne gold, mocha gold, silver, pink gold, shiny black and sky gray.

The front of the phone has minimal bezels to either side of the screen in the leaked images we’ve seen, but larger ones above and below.

Oddly, images of the curved screen version show an oblong home button below the display, while the flat screen version seemingly has no button and just a Huawei logo.

TechRadar’s take: The Huawei Mate 9 is likely to have a full metal body, given that other recent Huawei flagships do, and the images we’ve seen seem believable.

 Huawei Mate 9 camera and battery

Hottest leaks:

• 20MP and 12MP rear cameras
• 4x optical zoom
• A big battery

According to MyDrivers, the Huawei Mate 9 has a Leica-branded dual-lens camera, just like the Huawei P9, but it looks like it might be getting a megapixel upgrade, with talk of a 20MP and 12MP sensor pairing, up from 12MP for both on the P9. 

Though we should point out that as ever, more megapixels doesn’t necessarily mean higher quality.

It’s likely that the dual-lenses will serve the same purpose as on the P9, with one (probably 20MP) RGB sensor to pick out colors and one (likely 12MP) monochrome one for enhanced detail if you use both lenses, or for true black and white shots if you use just the monochrome sensor.

 Huawei Mate 9 OS and power

Hottest leaks:

• Up to 6GB of RAM
• A 2.6GHz octa-core processor
• Android Nougat

There should be no shortage of power here, as the Huawei Mate 9 is said to have a 2.6GHz octa-core Kirin 960 processor and come in at least two configurations – one with 4GB of RAM and one with 6GB.

While not confirmed, it’s likely that the 6GB version would come with a curved screen while the 4GB model has a flat screen.

Very few phones yet have 6GB of RAM, with most flagships still rocking 4GB, so both models should be high-end devices.

The Mate 9 is also rumored to come running Android Nougat, so its software could be as up to date as its specs. Though it’s sure to be overlaid with Huawei’s Emotion UI, which is one of the more intrusive Android interfaces and lacks an app drawer.

TechRadar’s take: 6GB of RAM could become the new standard soon, and a few phones already have that much, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see it from Huawei, while a high-end octa-core processor is very likely given that this is a flagship phone.

 Huawei Mate 9 other features

Hottest leaks:

• Up to 256GB of storage
• A fingerprint scanner

Like most flagship phones, the Huawei Mate 9 is said to have a fingerprint scanner. 

It’s also rumored to come with 64GB or 128GB of storage coupled with 4GB of RAM, or with 256GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, according to @playfuldroid. Plus there’s said to be a microSD card slot.

TechRadar’s take: All of these features are believable, and in fact we’d almost be surprised if the Mate 9 didn’t have a fingerprint scanner.

 Huawei Mate 9 price

Hottest leaks:

• Could start at roughly $475/£390/AU$625
• Top end model might cost up to $1300 (around £1065/AU$1700)

A leaked promo image for the Huawei Mate 9, shared by @playfuldroid, gives us a hint at the price – though it’s in Chinese Yuan and a direct conversion isn’t likely to be entirely accurate.

 Huawei Mate 9 OS and power

Hottest leaks:

• Up to 6GB of RAM
• A 2.6GHz octa-core processor
• Android Nougat

There should be no shortage of power here, as the Huawei Mate 9 is said to have a 2.6GHz octa-core Kirin 960 processor and come in at least two configurations – one with 4GB of RAM and one with 6GB.

While not confirmed, it’s likely that the 6GB version would come with a curved screen while the 4GB model has a flat screen.

Very few phones yet have 6GB of RAM, with most flagships still rocking 4GB, so both models should be high-end devices.

The Mate 9 is also rumored to come running Android Nougat, so its software could be as up to date as its specs. Though it’s sure to be overlaid with Huawei’s Emotion UI, which is one of the more intrusive Android interfaces and lacks an app drawer.

TechRadar’s take: 6GB of RAM could become the new standard soon, and a few phones already have that much, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see it from Huawei, while a high-end octa-core processor is very likely given that this is a flagship phone.

 Huawei Mate 9 other features

Hottest leaks:

• Up to 256GB of storage
• A fingerprint scanner

Like most flagship phones, the Huawei Mate 9 is said to have a fingerprint scanner. 

It’s also rumored to come with 64GB or 128GB of storage coupled with 4GB of RAM, or with 256GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, according to @playfuldroid. Plus there’s said to be a microSD card slot.

TechRadar’s take: All of these features are believable, and in fact we’d almost be surprised if the Mate 9 didn’t have a fingerprint scanner.

 Huawei Mate 9 price

Hottest leaks:

• Could start at roughly $475/£390/AU$625
• Top end model might cost up to $1300 (around £1065/AU$1700)

A leaked promo image for the Huawei Mate 9, shared by @playfuldroid, gives us a hint at the price – though it’s in Chinese Yuan and a direct conversion isn’t likely to be entirely accurate.