The Huawei Mate 9 represents a real maturation of Huawei in a number of areas – most importantly in the company's dedication to a solid final product. What we've seen from Huawei in the past is a set of fairly good or really great components mixed with questionable execution.

Impressive responsiveness; processor performs very well; Back-facing camera is amongst best on the market; Bright; colorful display; Expandable storage; IR blaster

Not available through US-based carriers (must buy SIM separate; Pre-installed screen protector scratches easily; Speaker quality not top-notch at highest volume; Display just 1080p across 6.2-inches

The past 12 months or so have seen Huawei transform from a budget Chinese phone maker into a flagship smartphone powerhouse. The company's two major 2016 handset releases – the Huawei P9 and Honor 8 – were both fantastic pieces of hardware with attractive price tags to boot.

Excellent SoC and storage performance; Beautiful aluminum unibody design with slim bezels; Fantastic battery life; Improved dual camera system can take good photos

Display is below par; EMUI (software) is improving, but still needs work; Camera underperforms in weak lighting

Huawei has a small market share of smartphones here in the states, but not enough to make an impact like Samsung or Apple or HTC. It's another story overseas in China as Huawei was the second top smartphone vendor there last year, slightly behind OPPO.

The build quality and design are nice and with a curved back, it adds grip to the device so you don't drop it; The display is great even with it being 1080p; The sound and camera quality are good

Max volume had some crackling noise and music doesn't sound the same; A few times the camera would have colors look as if they're faded

Huawei's Mate 9 is the kitchen sink of phones. You get a boatload of features, such as an IR blaster, clever stereo speakers, a fingerprint sensor, and a big, bright, 5.9-inch screen. It also has some of the best performance we've seen from a mobile processor.

12 hours of battery life; Superbright 5.9-inch screen; Fantastic performance; Dual SIM tray with microSD slot

Dull design; Not water-resistant; Grainy low-light photo; Restricted to GSM carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile

If the Galaxy Note 7 was still on the market, Samsung would be facing significant competition. But since that device went up in flames, the Mate 9 stands alone without any major phablet competitor. The iPhone 7 Plus makes comparable promises, but it is Apple.

High performance; Long battery life; Fast charging; Better value than the competition; Stereo sound in landscape mode; Excellent reception

Not waterproof; Very large; Mediocre gaming performance; Display not recommended for VR

In many markets around the world, this might be one of the only options for a truly large screen premium phone. It handles this responsibility with grace. I'm not personally a fan of big phones, yet this Huawei has been one of my favorite phones to review this year.

Improved software skin; Excellent battery life; Excellent camera hardware; Very good stereo speakers; Well accessorized out of the box; Premium fit and finish; Good display brightness

We'd prefer a higher resolution display; Camera software is complex to navigate; No enhanced water protection; Poor headphone audio

The Huawei Mate 9 is great big phone in every sense of that term. It delivers the strong performance and epic battery life we've come to expect from the Mate series, in a slightly more compact form factor, with trailblazing internals.

Top-notch build quality; Big; attractive screen; Fast performance throughout; Great battery life and super-fast charging

Lower screen resolution than rivals (regular Mate 9; Camera not quite effortless as GS7/Pixel; Finicky capacitive buttons (PD Mate 9

The Huawei Mate 9 is currently available for $600. That is a reasonable price considering all you get. The design is understated, but has a very polished look and feel. I just wish it was water-resistant as well. The rear-facing fingerprint sensor might be the best one I've ever used.

Design Clean, understated aluminum unibody shell with some nice accents; Extremely small bezels, Battery Fantastic battery life; Almost three full days of usage for me, Cameras The Leica-branded dual cameras are better than previous versions and produce overall excellent shots.

Software again There's a bit of bloatware pre-installed; and Huawei still needs to fix the EMUI lock screen; Charging The Mate 9 uses a Huawei-specific fast-charging tech called SuperCharge.

Huawei's Mate 9 is an incredible big-screen behemoth that'll make you forget all about the Note 7.

Surprisingly compact body; Amazing dual-lens Leica camera; Revised and improved software; Alexa support; Big battery

Not water-resistant, No U.S; release date yet, Uninspired design

The Huawei Mate 9 is an unashamedly big phone, and that's becoming an increasingly rare thing since the demise of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 . For the albeit pricey RRP of ￡600 you get a huge screen, beefy battery, brand-new CPU and plenty of storage and RAM.

Impressive battery life; Lovely screen; Much improved software; Plenty of power

Slightly dull design; Still some annoying software quirks; Camera not always reliable