Huawei Mate 9, Amazon Alexa, Leica dual-camera, US launch, price
Huawei Mate 9 with Leica dual-cameraHuawei Press kit

In a bid to attract US consumers, Chinese telecommunication major Huawei has joined hands with technology conglomerate Amazon to enhance flagship Mate 9's capabilities and challenge the market leaders Samsung, Apple and Google.

Huawei Mate 9 was originally unveiled in China in November and is now ready to debut in America. The original Mate 9 variant boasts everything a flagship device should feature including a powerful processor (Kirin 960 chipset), SuperCharge technology that can deliver full day's charge in just 20 minutes, second-generation Leica dual-lens camera (12-megapixel with RGB sensor + 20-megapixel monochrome sensor) featuring Hybrid Zoom, and superior 2x magnification and other high-end features.

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Now, the US-bound model will have something special. Huawei has struck a deal with Amazon to integrate the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Alexa digital assistant in Mate 9 to take on the market leaders-- Google Assistant, Apple Siri and Microsoft Cortana.

Amazon Alexa's intuitive capabilities has been put to use in the default voice interface of Amazon Echo home assistant. And Ford cars and smart TVs will soon feature Alexa.

With Amazon Alexa UI, Huawei Mate 9 users will be able to control temperature, lights among other things at smart homes using voice commands.

"Response to Huawei Mate 9 has been extremely positive, resulting in numerous industry awards and accolades," Zhendong Zhu, President, Huawei Device USA, said in statement.

"With Mate 9, we set out to improve every element of the smartphone experience, creating a dynamic and powerful device that takes a big step forward in what consumers expect in a smartphone. We're excited to introduce the Mate 9 flagship device to the U.S. market," Zhu added.

The Huawei Mate 9 is slated to go on sale in US on January 6 for $599.99 (approx. €566/Rs. 40,812) at 600 Best Buy stores (& online), as well as on e-retailers Amazon, Newegg and B&H. It has to be noted that existing Huawei Mate 9 will receive OTA (Over-The-Air) update with Amazon Alexa feature soon.

Key specifications of Huawei Mate 9:

Models Huawei Mate 9
Display 5.9-inch full HD (1920x1080p) screen
  • 16.7M colours
  • Colour Saturation (NTSC): 96%
  • High contrast- 1500:1
  • Pixel density: 373 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS Android 7.0 with EMUI v5.0
Processor HUAWEI Kirin 960 (2.5GHz Cortex A73 x 4 + 1.8GHz Cortex A53 x 4) octa-core CPU +i6 co-processor
GPU Mali-G71 MP8
RAM 4GB
Storage MHA-L29:
  • 64GB ROM -Micro SD card slot, support up to 256GB (uses SIM 2 slot)

MHA-L09:

  • 64GB ROM- Micro SD card slot, support up to 256GB
Camera
  • Main: 20MP Monochrome+12MP RGB cameras with f/2.2, OIS (Optical image stablization), BSI CMOS sensor, Dual-tone flash PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) + CAF (Continuous Auto Focus) + Laser Autofocus + Depth, auto focus, 2x Hybrid zoom, 4K video recording
  • Front: 8MP camera with f/1.9 aperture, autofocus
Battery 4,000mAh battery with SuperCharge technology which power up the phone up to 58 percent within half an hour enough to provide full day talk time
Network 4G-LTE
Add-ons Dual SIM (model: MHA-L29), Single SIM (model: MHA-L09), fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac: dual band: 2.4GHz & 5GHz), Type C USB port, NFC (Near Field Communication), IR sensor, GPS/GLONASS
Dimensions 156.9 x 78.9 x 7.9 mm
Weight 190g
Colours Space Gray/Moonlight Silver
Price $599.99 (approx. €566/Rs. 40,812)
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