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Johannesburg - This year has so far been a controversial one for phablets and smartphones in general with Samsung's 'exploding' Note 7 taking the spotlight away from top launches.
But as the South Korean giant eliminated itself from the phablet race, the Huawei Mate 9 has taken the throne for the best large-body smartphone so far this year.
The Mate 9 is a well-designed smartphone which sets the benchmark for premium smartphones globally.
READ: Huawei eyes doubling its SA smartphone market share
One of the highlights of the device is its 20 and 12 megapixel new dual-camera – the first in a ‘Mate’ device.
Developed in partnership with German optics company Leica, the Mate 9 captures some of the best images on a smartphone with detail and clarity.
The wide aperture effect on the device, which is powered through the dual-camera, offers somewhat of a digital depth of field blur. This effect often tends to creep into the edges of the subject.
READ: Huawei's gadgets for SA at new store
However, with the aperture effect off, the camera still features a more natural and better looking depth of field.
With social networks Snapchat and Instagram on the rise, selfies in the world today take centre stage. The 8 megapixel facing camera has been reengineered and captures images with a high quality.
The selfie camera also features a zoom function.
Another highlight of the device is its new 4000mAh Lithium polymer battery as opposed to the lithium-ion battery used in many smartphones today – including the Note 7.
During the global launch event for the Mate 9, Chief Executive Richard Yu took a jab at Samsung saying: "There are no explosions," and "You don't need to walk around with a power bank."
READ: Huawei P9's game-changing mobile photography
The device’s powerful battery endures two full days on a single charge of moderate usage. However, optimised performance can’t be guaranteed after installing numerous power-draining apps.
Just less than half an hour’s charge gives the device a full day of power. Huawei further boasts it to be 15% more power efficient than the Mate 8 with its fast charge. This in turn is 400% faster than iPhone7+.
The device features the Android v7.0 Nougat operating system out of the box, powered by the new Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset with 4 GB of RAM.
The device features a sharp 5.9 inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, which is highly responsive to its user’s touch.
Yu also proclaimed that "this is the best smartphone in the world,” at the launch event for the Mate 9.
While it is definitely the best device from the Chinsese manufacturer, the Mate 9 might not hold this title for long with bigger and better devices expected in 2017, especially with Samsung looking to redeem itself with a new flagship.
The Mate 9 is a powerful device and might be the best smartphone South Africans can buy in the begining of 2017 but it might leave a dent in the consumer’s pocket, especially aftert the festive season.
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