Newsletter
The Huawei Mate 9 series has reportedly begun receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in the form of EMUI 8.0. The new firmware version should be available on Huawei Mate 9 units bearing the model numbers ‘MHA-AL00’ and ‘MHA-TL00,’ the Mate 9 Pro with the model number ‘LON-AL00,’ and the Porsche Design Edition of the same device. The update is currently rolled out over the air and should be accompanied by a notification, and otherwise, users should be able to acquire the update by performing an upgrade request inside the Huawei Mobile Service application.
Android 8.0 Oreo was spotted online running on the company’s Mate 9 several months ago, and Huawei recently confirmed that the update is planned to be launched for the entire Mate 9 series following a beta test. Fast forward to today and all smartphones in the Huawei Mate 9 lineup are now making the jump to EMUI 8.0 based on Android Oreo, promising better management of system resources, improved performance and stability, as well as various new user interface elements. The update also includes a split-screen mode for improved multitasking, as well as a PC Mode allowing users to experience a pseudo-desktop mode when connecting the device to an external monitor. In addition, the inclusion of the new Dynamic Wallpaper allows for automatic wallpaper changes based on the time of day, and also included in the update is built-in support for LinkedIn, giving users the option to sync their contact lists with their LinkedIn accounts.
The Huawei Mate 9 was released roughly one year ago in December, whereas the Mate 9 Pro and Porsche Design Edition were launched this January. All three smartphone models share many similarities across the board including various hardware components such as the HiSilicon Kirin 960 chipset, and as far as software is concerned, they were all released running EMUI 5.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat. For readers who may be unaware, Huawei did in fact jump from EMUI version 5.x based on Android Nougat directly to EMUI 8.0 based on Oreo, so if your Mate 9 is still running EMUI 5, don’t worry about having missed any major software upgrades in recent months. Huawei’s rollout of Android 8.0 Oreo is expected to take several weeks to be completed.