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Discounted Mate 8 or new Mate 9 - are the 'improvements' worth it?

Hello guys. First of all if a similar thread like this is has been created then I apologize. I'd just like to get your thoughts if getting a new Mate 9 over a discounted Mate 8 is worth it given the differences.
I'm will be upgrading from a Note 3 btw and I can't go back to a smaller screen. The Porsche design of the Mate 9 is out of the question.
Things I'm considering:
1) Design - This is subjective for me but I honestly prefer the sharper design of the Mate 8 over the more rounded design of the Mate 9. Admittedly though I haven't held the Mate 9 personally to know what it feels like; I've only seen pictures and videos.
2) Camera - Is the dual Leica camera setup of the Mate 9 that much better than the Mate 8 and its corresponding image quality also that much better? I don't really care about the lack of 4k of the Mate 8.
3) USB type C - Am I gonna be missing something with the Mate 8 being stuck with usb 2.0?
4) Performance - I mostly choose to play games with good graphics on my phone. Is the Kirin 960+GPU that much better than the 950+GPU? For those with the Mate 8, how's the performance so far since you've bought it?
5) Audio - From the Pocketnow review, they claim that audio volume of the Mate 9 via its headphone is severely lacking. I plan on using mostly bluetooth headphones moving forward so how's the volume of the Mate 8 so far?
That's about it.. Hopefully I can get some replies. Thanks guys!

If you already have the Mate 8 then its definately not worth to upgrade, because the camera in the mate 8 is enough for daily usage. if you wait for andoird n the performance of the kirin 950 can handle most of todays games easily. for audiophiles you better buy a htc..and the mate 8 is way cheaper and bigger

It's a pretty minor upgrade, not worth the current premium over the mate 8 although you will get updates a little bit longer.
If you want a good audio phone you can do great with an Axon 7 which isn't even that expensive. There are various Android tricks with root to boost volume I believe.
No point in caring about usb c. All it really means is your old cables won't work.

The Axon 7 would've been great if they released a version with bigger screen. Anyway thanks guys for the input. Haven't been able to check out all the threads but are there still lingering issues with the Mate 8 like with notifications and doze having conflicts and the like?

I guess the guys above didn't bother to read your post as you said you have a Note 3.
I would choose the Mate 9.
No. 2 & No. 4 are no contest, the 9 is considerably better in those areas.

Different Mate 8 Versions, compatibility?
I would like to tag onto this thread, since i'm looking into a replacement for my Note 3 as well, and I really like the Mate 8.
I always bought my devices through my provider (AT&T) but because of the troubles with locked bootloaders and limited development I decided i would buy my next device unlocked.
What is important to me is the freedom to switch (GSM) carriers, large screen, and the freedom to customize the device through xposed/custom roms. (don't care much for gaming, camera quality etc, but love the large screen to browse the web, watch video, lower DPI)
Looking on Amazon, i can find a unlocked Mate 8 ranging from $367 up to $510, i'm leaning to getting the "cheapest" one: Huawei Mate 8 32GB 6-Inch 4G LTE Factory Unlocked Smartphone - International Stock No Warranty (Space Gray) hxxp://a.co/8WgbFbA
I understand this has only 3GB memory and 32GB storage, but I (think I) can live with that, my biggest concern would be compatibility with the Mate 8 development on XDA.
Can any of you guys say anything about that ? are the different versions of the Mate 8 so close they are interchangeable, or are there things to watch for?
Thanks in advance....

Hey man, I bought my mate 8 from that exact link and i can tell you that it is compatible with the xda mate 8 posts here. The model that was shipped to me was L29C636B180. I just rooted my phone a few days ago and it is working great! I am also upgrading from a note 3 att haha

It's difficult for me to handle mate8 with one hand. I do this with my pinky finger at the bottom of the phone (the phone is standing on it. The edge of the mate8 hurts my pinky.
Im not sure about mate9 though. Just wanna tell you my experience.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using XDA-Developers mobile app

As long as you get an L29 model you should be fine. People tend to get the Mate phones generally to run stock, there's a lot less flashing and custom roms than most other phones out there.
Ended up getting a Mate 9 recently. Beautiful phone. Main differences are mostly the processor, camera, and newer Rom. It's the best phone I've owned but it's fairly subtle of a difference from the mate 8.

If you play games and take a lot of photos yes, or if you are very picky of speed when web browsing etc you will notice a difference of course. Personally I will wait a little bit. I want my next phone to be bezelless and there is a few ones that are rumoured to come soon.

getting ready and done

Hi guys
for the past 2 month i have been reviewing and looking after a new phone to buy
my last list is
Huawei P9
Huawei Mate 8
Xperia Z5 Premium
and my criteria
Good performance
good battery
good screen specially under the sun light
good camera with ability to save RAW images kinda 'm a Mobilographic
and the cost
between 300$ to 400% if any suggestion beside these phones

hejawi said:
Hi guys
for the past 2 month i have been reviewing and looking after a new phone to buy
my last list is
Huawei P9
Huawei Mate 8
Xperia Z5 Premium
and my criteria
Good performance
good battery
good screen specially under the sun light
good camera with ability to save RAW images kinda 'm a Mobilographic
and the cost
between 300$ to 400% if any suggestion beside these phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me, I look for VALUE. I bought a Mate2, in 2014 on a whim. It SURPRISED me how well it worked on an SD400 with a 720p screen.
It was the FIRST phone I've owned that I never rooted. Owned it for over 2 1/2 years, never powered it off unless I was some place that
required it to be turned off. 100% stock.
Last winter, when the Mate8 came out, I LOVED it...except for one minor detail. THE PRICE. So I just kept the 2 and waited. When the
Mate9 was announced, I started watching the price on the 8. When it came down to a level I found ok, I bought it. "But, the 9 is right
around the corner". Yeah, and the price is similar to what the 8 was less than a year ago.
The dual camera, and other do-dads didn't impress me.
I've got the 8, the camera for a point/shoot is pretty good, the performance is top notch, along with another kick butt battery.
Right now, I'm a Huawei fan.

p51d007 said:
Me, I look for VALUE. I bought a Mate2, in 2014 on a whim. It SURPRISED me how well it worked on an SD400 with a 720p screen.
It was the FIRST phone I've owned that I never rooted. Owned it for over 2 1/2 years, never powered it off unless I was some place that
required it to be turned off. 100% stock.
Last winter, when the Mate8 came out, I LOVED it...except for one minor detail. THE PRICE. So I just kept the 2 and waited. When the
Mate9 was announced, I started watching the price on the 8. When it came down to a level I found ok, I bought it. "But, the 9 is right
around the corner". Yeah, and the price is similar to what the 8 was less than a year ago.
The dual camera, and other do-dads didn't impress me.
I've got the 8, the camera for a point/shoot is pretty good, the performance is top notch, along with another kick butt battery.
Right now, I'm a Huawei fan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too
i had never had a phone mid range to high end always low range phones
and now i'm gonna pay 300$ (230 JOD) to 400$ (300 JOD)
the phones i mentioned all at the price range
but have a different specification and i can't decide without seeing the user experience after all

mate 9 at my country worth 450 JOD ( 600$ ) and damn that's alot of money to put in mobile phone

Mate 8 does it support emui 4.1 and support RAW file save ?

hejawi said:
Mate 8 does it support emui 4.1 and support RAW file save ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, current stable roms include emui 4.0 and emui 4.1. beta firmwares with emui 5.0 are also available (android nougat, whereas 4.0 and 4.1 are marshmallow)
Sent from my Huawei Mate 8 NXT-AL10

jbmc83 said:
yes, current stable roms include emui 4.0 and emui 4.1. beta firmwares with emui 5.0 are also available (android nougat, whereas 4.0 and 4.1 are marshmallow)
Sent from my Huawei Mate 8 NXT-AL10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so mate 8 is it really good phone or should i go with Xperia Z5P or P9 ?

Only mate 8. P9 sucks

Note 7FE or P10+

I don't know which one I should choose
I like Note 7 FE's front (screen) but like P10 plus's back.
I prefer the one with the less heat problem.
The P10 + plus is a little bit expensive but Note 7 FE is a old phone.
Which one should you choose

Don’t waste your money on an old note... the P10+ is really nice (just try to get the international version) battery life is actually surprisingly good for an android phone... I don’t do any graphics intensive gaming, but what always turned me off about android devices was standby battery drain. The P10 does as well as my iPhone 7+ in that department...
Also, unless you really need a phone like yesterday, just wait for the Note 8...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would wait and get the note 8. The p10 is great if you get a good one but it is not worth the gamble.
Sent from my FRD-L04 using Tapatalk

I tried the Pixel 2 xl

Hi all,
Well as the title says I recently bought the Pixel 2 xl and put the mate 9 in to retirement....... For only 5 days !!
I can honestly say if you are toying with buying one don't bother. The mate 9 is an awesome phone which excels in many ways against the pixel. Yes the pixel is buttery smooth with a great camera but that's about it. Definitely not 900 pounds better than the mate 9 so it's going back to Google tomorrow.
I won't bore you with details unless you want me to but be happy in the fact that the latest and greatest android phone ain't all that.
Happily back using the mate 9 now and contemplating the mate 10 pro.

Didgedeem said:
Hi all,
Well as the title says I recently bought the Pixel 2 xl and put the mate 9 in to retirement....... For only 5 days !!
I can honestly say if you are toying with buying one don't bother. The mate 9 is an awesome phone which excels in many ways against the pixel. Yes the pixel is buttery smooth with a great camera but that's about it. Definitely not 900 pounds better than the mate 9 so it's going back to Google tomorrow.
I won't bore you with details unless you want me to but be happy in the fact that the latest and greatest android phone ain't all that.
Happily back using the mate 9 now and contemplating the mate 10 pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been pretty content with the Mate 9, tried other phones but cant back this one down, sure it may be older than some newer phones (IE Pixel 2, S8 etc) but its still an excellent phone, from software to the hardware, i think Huawei out did themselves on this one, Mate 10, ehh idk I'll wait for like the Mate 11 or something.

XERO_Racer said:
Been pretty content with the Mate 9, tried other phones but cant back this one down, sure it may be older than some newer phones (IE Pixel 2, S8 etc) but its still an excellent phone, from software to the hardware, i think Huawei out did themselves on this one, Mate 10, ehh idk I'll wait for like the Mate 11 or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had it to do over with, I'd probably would went with the Pixel 2 XL or the S8+ or the Note 8. The US version of the Mate 9 hasn't seen a single update since April 5th. Pretty lame of Huawei if ask me. Not a good way to break into the US market.

XERO_Racer said:
Been pretty content with the Mate 9, tried other phones but cant back this one down, sure it may be older than some newer phones (IE Pixel 2, S8 etc) but its still an excellent phone, from software to the hardware, i think Huawei out did themselves on this one, Mate 10, ehh idk I'll wait for like the Mate 11 or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any particular issues with the mate 10 pro apart from the lack of expandable memory and headphone jack.?
I must admit I was mildly underwhelmed when it was launched, but for the money it offers a lot in comparison to the pixel 2 xl.

Thunderbolt69 said:
I had it to do over with, I'd probably would went with the Pixel 2 XL or the S8+ or the Note 8. The US version of the Mate 9 hasn't seen a single update since April 5th. Pretty lame of Huawei if ask me. Not a good way to break into the US market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disappointing yes that they lack the updates but to me it doesnt affect me as much, never had a single problem with this device, on occasions the fingerprint reader wouldnt just work and i had to re register the print
Didgedeem said:
Do you have any particular issues with the mate 10 pro apart from the lack of expandable memory and headphone jack.?
I must admit I was mildly underwhelmed when it was launched, but for the money it offers a lot in comparison to the pixel 2 xl.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I just love the fact that the Mate 9 was already good enough as it is, while retaining a headphone jack and the expandable memory, which is a big plus in my books, and also that on the non pro version of the 10 that they moved the fingerprint reader to the front instead of the back which was really great

Which phone would you buy after a Mate 8?

Hi
About 2 years ago I bought my mate 8 on a business trip in Guangzhou/China. I loved the phone, I did not rebrand it, because I liked it to get faster updates and could live with most of the chinese textes. In two weeks I travel again to china and it's time for a new phone. Not because my mate 8 is not good enough anymore, I still love it, but my son want's a phone and I planed to give him mine and I buy a new one for my self as a christmas gift.
Unfortuantely it's hard to decide which phone should be my next daily driver. The following phones are on my list:
- Mate 10 or Mate 10 pro
- Mi Mix 2
- Oneplus 5t
Each of this phones have advantages and disadvantages. I like MIUI, therefore the Mi Mix 2 would be a good choice, but the camera is not so good. I like the stability of the Mate series, but EMUI is not really my favorit, but the camera seams to be very good. The Oneplus 5t has a nice UI as well and also the camera seams not to bad.
Which phone would you choose?
Mike

CoolMike said:
Hi
About 2 years ago I bought my mate 8 on a business trip in Guangzhou/China. I loved the phone, I did not rebrand it, because I liked it to get faster updates and could live with most of the chinese textes. In two weeks I travel again to china and it's time for a new phone. Not because my mate 8 is not good enough anymore, I still love it, but my son want's a phone and I planed to give him mine and I buy a new one for my self as a christmas gift.
Unfortuantely it's hard to decide which phone should be my next daily driver. The following phones are on my list:
- Mate 10 or Mate 10 pro
- Mi Mix 2
- Oneplus 5t
Each of this phones have advantages and disadvantages. I like MIUI, therefore the Mi Mix 2 would be a good choice, but the camera is not so good. I like the stability of the Mate series, but EMUI is not really my favorit, but the camera seams to be very good. The Oneplus 5t has a nice UI as well and also the camera seams not to bad.
Which phone would you choose?
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mate 10 or V30 are the only real choices
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk

Leo_83 said:
Mate 10 or V30 are the only real choices
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery, battery, battery! screen size/resolution, update history, build quality, CPU/RAM, XDA support, price point.. probably in that order.
I'd never go backwards in terms of battery life. Everything else would then be considered.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk

HTC u11 plus.

CoolMike said:
Hi
About 2 years ago I bought my mate 8 on a business trip in Guangzhou/China. I loved the phone, I did not rebrand it, because I liked it to get faster updates and could live with most of the chinese textes. In two weeks I travel again to china and it's time for a new phone. Not because my mate 8 is not good enough anymore, I still love it, but my son want's a phone and I planed to give him mine and I buy a new one for my self as a christmas gift.
Unfortuantely it's hard to decide which phone should be my next daily driver. The following phones are on my list:
- Mate 10 or Mate 10 pro
- Mi Mix 2
- Oneplus 5t
Each of this phones have advantages and disadvantages. I like MIUI, therefore the Mi Mix 2 would be a good choice, but the camera is not so good. I like the stability of the Mate series, but EMUI is not really my favorit, but the camera seams to be very good. The Oneplus 5t has a nice UI as well and also the camera seams not to bad.
Which phone would you choose?
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mate 10 pro is best in battery, screen size and preinstalled software (oreo). however, it lacks a headphone jack and sd card slot and the 6" screen is actually smaller than the mate 8 due to different ratio (18:9 vs. 16:9). also, if the mate 8 is any indication, huaweis update policy is a bit lackluster...
mi mix 2 is king when it comes to small bezels, however screen size and battery capacity are not acceptable. no idea about miui, from what ive seen its quite similar to emui though. just hope that xiaomi is a bit better than huawei when it comes to android support of their phones.
OP5T would ne king in terms of pricing and xda dev support. however, since the OP left his mate 8 stock, this will probably not be a valued point in this regard...
out of the above, i would probably go for either mate 10 pro or OP5T. however, ive been eyeing the mi max 2 because of its humongous screen size and battery lets see what 2018 will bring to the table, ill keep my mate 8 until then...
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-AL10 using Tapatalk

LG V30!!

I bought the Mate 9 about 3 months ago. The 8, replaced my 2....
I'll probably get the 10, about this time next year. (I sell them after I buy a new one).

I was thinking about Xiaomi Mi Mix 1 not 2
SD 821 is still a beast , 6.4 inches in a 6 inch body is appealing , humongous battery , and I don't really care much about the camera , the only thing that worries me about the Mi Mix is the phone speaker which is impeded in the screen itself and has mixed reviews about it , some good some bad
Sorry for the bad English ...

i did it, made the plunge and got myself the mi max 2. not regretting it! already used to the huge phone size, the 6.44 inch screen is absolutely lovely and the battery life...insane. seriously.
i got lineage os 14.1 installed based on android 7.1.2 and my first battery charge is heading towards 24h sot (yep, you read correctly, thats twenty-four!!!! hours of screen on time ) currently, im at 42% battery and already have 14h8min sot tucked under my belt... so thats around 24.4h sot for 100% charge
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Max 2 (Oxygen) using Tapatalk

jbmc83 said:
i did it, made the plunge and got myself the mi max 2. not regretting it! already used to the huge phone size, the 6.44 inch screen is absolutely lovely and the battery life...insane. seriously.
i got lineage os 14.1 installed based on android 7.1.2 and my first battery charge is heading towards 24h sot (yep, you read correctly, thats twenty-four!!!! hours of screen on time ) currently, im at 42% battery and already have 14h8min sot tucked under my belt... so thats around 24.4h sot for 100% charge
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Max 2 (Oxygen) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Booooooo we will miss you around here.
I was also going to upgrade my phone this fall but mostly because I dropped my Mate 8 in water last spring. Battery and screen took some damage but after replacing the battery it has been running like a charm.
I actually went so far as to having the Mate 10 in the hand before my gf stole it from me so now I will wait for next year's flagships. Very curious about OnePlus 6 hopefully with fingerprintscanner under the screen and Treble. Also the new line from Sony, who is finally getting a new design looks very interesting, the leaked renders with front facing speaker looked exactly what I am looking for.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk

Leo_83 said:
Booooooo we will miss you around here.
I was also going to upgrade my phone this fall but mostly because I dropped my Mate 8 in water last spring. Battery and screen took some damage but after replacing the battery it has been running like a charm.
I actually went so far as to having the Mate 10 in the hand before my gf stole it from me so now I will wait for next year's flagships. Very curious about OnePlus 6 hopefully with fingerprintscanner under the screen and Treble. Also the new line from Sony, who is finally getting a new design looks very interesting, the leaked renders with front facing speaker looked exactly what I am looking for.
Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, its definitely about time that sony trimmed their HUGE bezels around the screen
btw, also keep an eye out for the xiaomi mi max 3, it will follow the new 18:9 display ratio trend, but sporting thin bezels, 7 inch (!!!) screen diagonal and a whopping 5500 mAh battery. could very well be the perfect successor phone for us mate 8 lovers plus, itll also sport upgrade performance with potential SD 630/660
links:
https://www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-mi-max-3-rumors/
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Xiaom...5500-mAh-battery-Snapdragon-660.274350.0.html
https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_max_3-8963.php