Earlier today, Huawei took to the stage in Munich, Germany during their latest event to show off the Mate 9 to the world. Following the Mate 9 is what many have come to know as the Mate 9 Pro, which is officially being announced today as the Mate 9 PORSCHE DESIGN Edition, which will be a very limited edition, and cost a lot more than the standard Huawei Mate 9 does. Featuring the PORSCHE DESIGN name and logo on the front and back of the phone, this is very much the Mate 9 with a few changes here and there that may or may not change the overall device experience for users.
The PORSCHE DESIGN Huawei Mate 9 edition has been designed to deliver “an equilibrium of aesthetics and function” and Huawei say that a tweaked user experience under-the-hood of the new device goes a long way to ensure this, and the overall design of the device takes the Mate 9 look and feel further. The 5.9-inch display found on the Mate 9 has been changed to a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display, just like the one found in the Galaxy S7 Edge. Unlike the 5.9-inch 1080p display in the Mate 9 however, the PORSCHE DESIGN version gets a sharper Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440, other than that however, the specifications here are very similar. The same 4,000 mAh battery with Super Charge, USB Type-C port, Huawei’s own Kirin 960 and Emotion UI 5.0 are all here, too. Of course, the RAM has been bumped to 6GB of RAM and there’s a whopping 256GB of storage here as well. All of which pairs the same two Leica cameras found on the mate 9, one of which is a 20-megapixel camera with a monochrome sensor and the other a 12-megapixel RGB sensor, both of which worth together for better shots in all conditions and a lot more dynamic range and contrast. The fingerprint sensor has also been moved to around the front here, too.
As is often the case, this collaboration with PORSCHE DESIGN feels like more of a brand partnership than it does a completely separate product. The 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage go nicely with the Quad HD curved AMOLED display, but are these upgrades while the price tag of €1,395, a massive increase from the Mate 9’s €699 price tag? That much would be up to you, but those looking to get their hands on the new device can do so from Huawei stores in select regions, but be featured in European PORSCHE DESIGN stores by late December, and around the world starting January 2017.
