I have the Mate 9 and S7 edge...which one should I keep?

[djepperson1]

Cell Phones with a Carrier Contract and Unlocked Phones

You can return or exchange cell phones with a carrier contract and unlocked phones within 14 days. Like the carrier stores, we have a charge ($35) for return or exchange of these products. This return period and charge also applies if you are a My Best Buy Elite or Elite Plus member.

Best Buy Return & Exchange Policy - Best Buy

The only way it doesnt apply a restocking fee at best buy if the phone is defective then it will waive the restocking fee just FYI

 

[Master of Surgery]

I really tried to like Samsungs take on Android... but .... After several bought and returned devices ... I always come back to my Huaweis'.

 

[andrew_ackley]

I purchased both of them on the same day, both unlocked and working on T-Mobile, and I'm not sure which one to keep. I love the Mate 9's 4000 mAh battery, Android 7.0, and the 5.9 inch screen and it's definitely the best big phone I've used since the Note7, but I love the SAMOLED display on the S7 edge as well as the IP68 rating. I think the low light photos are a little better on the S7 edge as well, but that's not a big deal.

Yes, I know this is a first world problem and it's a problem most people don't get to have, but I can only keep one of the phones anyways. Which one would you keep?

The fact that this is a decision should tell u something.

 

[Gayle Lynn]

At this point in game, Huawei and wait see with Galaxy S8 couple months from now.

I always bought Samsung and had planned to pick up Note 7 in October before recall. Now glad how it ended.

EMUI 5 or Huawei has done a nice job with Android OS which Samsung I felt wasn't quite right. Reminds me more how iOS runs.

 

[stylon69]

I'm loving the Mate 9 - I came from an S7 Edge. The only thing I miss is the safety net of the IPxx rating (not that I ever used it), other than that the Mate 9 is the better phone for me. The screen is amazing, it might be a lower resolution on paper but in practice I can't really tell the difference and the extra size is really appreciated. I was never a fan of the curved screen as it just feels like wasted space and made the phone hard to grip. The Mate 9 screen feels gargantuan by comparison and that's a good thing in my book. The sound quality from the internal speakers is leaps and bounds better than the S7, not sure how they've managed to squeeze such a great sound out of such tiny speakers but I continue to be impressed by them.

Battery life is way better on the Mate 9, now that I've got over the initial 'new phone syndrome' I am able to come home from work with 40% battery left which was just unthinkable with the S7 - it would usually be on its last legs!

Someone mentioned about avoiding the Mate if you want to use Samsung Smartwatches? All I can say is I've not found that to be the case at all... I've got a Gear S3 that I was using with my S7 previously and it works just the same on my Mate 9. I can even download new watch faces and apps from the Samsung store on the Mate 9 and sync my fitness data to the S Health app on there too.

The fact it comes with a 3 year warranty and 3 month accidental damage cover is just the icing on the cake!

 

[Fun Human]

Just migrated from the Note 7 Verizon to the Mate 9 AT&T. Now a week in and I love the Mate 9. Battery life is amazing, screen turned up bright rivals the Note 7 and I finally got used to the opposite button placement. I do defiantly miss a dedicated home button and of course the loss of the stylus. The only quirks so far are the navigation key does not appear as rapidly as I would like. Wish I could change the color to something bolder.

Also when holding the phone in my left hand and typing/tapping with my right finger. The phone sounds kind of hollow. I think it might be the factory screen protector. I'm using ADW launcher 2 Beta and it's great. Oh almost forgot I carried two phones on Verizon and dreamed of a dual sim phone. The dual sim capability is AWESOME! I just have to remember to press the correct icon when returning texts. I love it.

I should also add at first I liked the Edge feature of the Note 7 but after a while I had no use for it. It actually made dragging from either side difficult since the screen protector created a multi level surface on the edge. Does anyone know how to change the sim card icon colors? Back to the topic. I would keep the Mate 9 hands down. Also apparently the S8 is coming out March 31 and with a 6.2 inch screen!! Wait for that.

 

[jeepentj]

Just migrated from the Note 7 Verizon to the Mate 9 AT&T. Now a week in and I love the Mate 9. Battery life is amazing, screen turned up bright rivals the Note 7 and I finally got used to the opposite button placement. I do defiantly miss a dedicated home button and of course the loss of the stylus. The only quirks so far are the navigation key does not appear as rapidly as I would like. Wish I could change the color to something bolder.

If you don't like the way the Mate 9 buttons are arranged, you can change them to match those of the Note 7.

 

[badMojo69]

Someone mentioned about avoiding the Mate if you want to use Samsung Smartwatches? All I can say is I've not found that to be the case at all... I've got a Gear S3 that I was using with my S7 previously and it works just the same on my Mate 9. I can even download new watch faces and apps from the Samsung store on the Mate 9 and sync my fitness data to the S Health app on there too.

It works fine if all you want is to receive notifications and not quick reply to them. I had a S3 and had to send it back. I use my watch a ton to quick reply to text I get. It's much faster than pulling out my phone, unlocking the screen, opening the text and typing the reply. And if it's quite I'll just voice reply. Not being able to do that with a $300 watch on a $600+ phone was a deal breaker.

 

[stylon69]

It works fine if all you want is to receive notifications and not quick reply to them. I had a S3 and had to send it back. I use my watch a ton to quick reply to text I get. It's much faster than pulling out my phone, unlocking the screen, opening the text and typing the reply. And if it's quite I'll just voice reply. Not being able to do that with a $300 watch on a $600+ phone was a deal breaker.

I do that too, not tried it with SMS messages as most people I know don't bother with them any more but I can quick reply from WhatsApp on my watch for sure.

 

[badMojo69]

Yea I stay away from anything Facebook related. People have to hit me up old school.

 

[Fun Human]

Hi thanks I know that you can change the tray button arrangement. I mean the volume buttons. Funny I'm migrating photos etc. from my Note 7 as we speak. And aside from being a long time Note user (Since the 3) and preferring the home button and button arrangement. I like this phone much better than the Note 7. It's funny I defected from the Note line when the note 4 was released and got a Motorola Nexus 6 for the screen size. What a dog that phone was (to much top list). The moment the Note 5 was released I sold the paper weight.

 

[thoots]

Long time Samsung user here -- I've got an S7 Edge, but I just picked up a Mate 9 this afternoon. Been playing with it for a few hours.

My situation is pretty simple: I want a big screen, but I ABSOLUTELY DETEST the Samsung "edge." And Samsung seems to be devoted to it, at least with phones available in the US. So, I thought I'd give the Mate 9 a shot.

I'm happy that I could swap the buttons around to proper Samsung order, and I'll try to live without wireless charging. That's the really big loss for me. Not that I've researched if there are any wireless charging cover options for the Mate 9 yet -- though I looked for Mate 9 cases on Amazon, and nothing like that popped up there.

So far, things are mostly going OK -- my main beefs so far are about the lock screen, which I just want to do away with completely, and just go to the home screen when I wake the phone. So far, I haven't figured out how to get rid of the ultra-annoying "magazine" message, and having to swipe to get to the home screen. I just don't see any options that say "turn that stuff off."

Otherwise, I'm pretty impressed with the Mate 9. I'm very happy with the screen and the sound, though it's a bit too early to talk about much else at this point. Oh, and I guess I goofed up on that "factory-installed screen protector" -- I figured that was the kind of protection stuff that you take off of new electronics, so I yanked that off right at the beginning. Oh, well.

At any rate, for me, it's either the Mate 9 winning the job over the S7 Edge, or it goes back to Best Buy.

 

[thoots]

Oh, my! Here's a quick update to my message, above:

I just managed to get my favorite home and lock screen background installed -- just a basic, medium-to-dark solid blue color. Did I say I was happy with the Mate 9's screen? Oh, my! It's nothing about resolution or clarity or anything like that, but rather brightness and contrast -- the S7 Edge's screen is absolutely luscious, whereas the Mate 9's screen looks utterly washed out and lifeless. I'm now hitting the Play Store to see if there's anything that'll let me adjust the contrast, as that's badly, badly needed!

 

[Dimas de Leon]

I'm loving the Mate 9 - I came from an S7 Edge. The only thing I miss is the safety net of the IPxx rating (not that I ever used it), other than that the Mate 9 is the better phone for me. The screen is amazing, it might be a lower resolution on paper but in practice I can't really tell the difference and the extra size is really appreciated. I was never a fan of the curved screen as it just feels like wasted space and made the phone hard to grip. The Mate 9 screen feels gargantuan by comparison and that's a good thing in my book. The sound quality from the internal speakers is leaps and bounds better than the S7, not sure how they've managed to squeeze such a great sound out of such tiny speakers but I continue to be impressed by them.

Battery life is way better on the Mate 9, now that I've got over the initial 'new phone syndrome' I am able to come home from work with 40% battery left which was just unthinkable with the S7 - it would usually be on its last legs!

Someone mentioned about avoiding the Mate if you want to use Samsung Smartwatches? All I can say is I've not found that to be the case at all... I've got a Gear S3 that I was using with my S7 previously and it works just the same on my Mate 9. I can even download new watch faces and apps from the Samsung store on the Mate 9 and sync my fitness data to the S Health app on there too.

The fact it comes with a 3 year warranty and 3 month accidental damage cover is just the icing on the cake!

3 year warranty from where? I got mine from Bestbuy and I purchased the 2 year geekquad plan for $149. I'm thinking I might cancel it but tell me more about this 3 year warranty and 3 month accidental damage coverage.

 

[stylon69]

3 year warranty from where? I got mine from Bestbuy and I purchased the 2 year geekquad plan for $149. I'm thinking I might cancel it but tell me more about this 3 year warranty and 3 month accidental damage coverage.

Its called "Huawei Gold member VIP service"... It's offered directly by Huawei. Unfortunately for you I think it might be exclusive to European countries. I'm in the UK...

 

[stylon69]

Did a bit of digging and here's the list of countries where you can get the 3 year benefits...

 

[Gayle Lynn]

Pick it up and just touch the ID automatically unlock

Charging is superfast with incl. Charger.

There is a charger **** but taking it off or lining it up to place on takes effort or it could take place of wireless

Screen is similar to an iPhone 6S+ in resolution and clarity.

 

[Dimas de Leon]

I have the S7 Edge Blue Coral and it was great for a month or so until that lagged came back. I need to factory reset it once a month/two months, so blah with that. I also got tired of the curved screen.

I got the Mate 9 just to give a try, thinking I most likely would take it back. I had previously bought the Axon 7 which I really liked, it had the best speakers of any phone I've owned. I was going to keep it but I had trouble sending MMS, T-Mobile nor Axon could figure out why. So I gave the Mate 9 a try and I love it and decided to keep it.

I love -
the battery life,
the screen size,
it's fast, zero lag and promisses no lag for at least 18 months,
the little options it has here and there,
screen to body ratio,
build quality,
descent speakers,
fast charge,
overall feel in the hand,
super fast fingerprint scanner,
camera not better than S7 edge but it'll do,
picture editing tools,
no issues with the screen resolution, specially if it helps with battery life,
screen capture from drop down bar,
pressing volume down twice to trigger the camera when screen is unlocked,
all the battery saving options,
navigation bar switcharoo options,
I actually like how it looks without a case

I would not go back to the S7 Edge. I have the S7 edge on JUMP ON DEMAND so I'll definitely try the S8+ when it comes out but I'm very happy with the Mate 9.

 

[anon(5630457)]

I wanted to keep the Mate 9 but T-Mobile doesn't have very good coverage in rural areas, so I returned it and went back to my blue coral S7 edge on Verizon.

Too bad the Mate 9 doesn't work on Verizon.

 

[thoots]

I'm really getting soured on the Mate 9 already. I am THIS CLOSE to boxing it back up and returning it. I would actually be doing that, but I've got a case coming, and I'll give that a shot before I pull the plug. I'm hoping (with very little expectation for a positive outcome) that the case might work like the Samsung flip cases that it resembles -- and when you open the cover, you get straight to the home screen, without further wiping or using fingerprint ID or anything. Here are some other things I have noticed:

Man, the screen is just SO much worse than the G7Edge screen. And again, it's not about "resolution" at all -- it's about contrast, viewing angles, and all that. It just looks very "washed out" in almost every situation I'd use it. It's not really something I notice when viewing pictures or videos -- which my initial thoughts were based upon -- but rather, by just using the phone, looking at normal text and such. The G7Edge screen is just in an entire different universe. Yes, the Samsung OLED screen is absolutely amazing.

The other thing I've noticed is how the Mate 9 "buttons" -- the home, back, and open apps buttons -- TAKE UP SCREEN SPACE, whereas they are BELOW THE SCREEN on the G7Edge. And in effect, the screen of the Mate 9 is NO TALLER AT ALL than the G7Edge screen. That wouldn't be the case for "pictures" and "videos," but for apps, there just isn't more screen space with the Mate 9. The Mate 9 does give you a wider screen, so there's room for a bit more text there, but call the extra screen real estate kind of "one-dimensional." In the end, there just isn't enough extra screen space to make the larger phone worth it.

So, that's where I am now. I've switched my SIM card and my MicroSD card back over to the G7Edge, and the Mate 9 will sit there until the case comes. And I rather expect that within about five minutes, I'll be packing the Mate 9 up and heading back to Best Buy.