The Chinese telecom giant launched HUAWEI Mate 8 as its flagship smartphone for the second half of 2015. It has been almost 5 years since the handset’s initial release. For context, it debuted around the time when iPhone 6s/6s Plus, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge, and Galaxy Note 5 were the talk of the town. But even after these many years, the phone is getting a new system update, which is unheard in the Android world.

Out of all the smartphones launched in 2015, the Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are the only devices to get regular software updates. These two are even eligible for iOS 14, which is set to release this fall.

Surprisingly, Huawei is rolling out a new system update to Mate 8 with build number 8.0.0.850 (C00) in China. It is probably the first time a five-year-old Android smartphone is getting an official software update from the company.

This handset currently runs EMUI 8.0 based on Android Oreo. For those unaware, it was the first Huawei device to launch with EMUI 4.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It got two major Android and EMUI updates as promised by the firm.

The new update for the HUAWEI Mate 8, which is being seeded out after the end of its software support bumps up the security patch level to July 2020. Most importantly, it adds the “Smart Charge” feature, which reduces battery ageing by adapting and preventing the battery from being continuously charged when full.

That said, the OTA update weighs 222MB in size and is currently limited to the Chinese variant of the phone with model number NXT-AL10. We expect the global variants to get it in the coming days.

It is worth noting that a similar update was also rolled out to HUAWEI Mate 9/Mate 9 Pro (2016), HUAWEI P9/P9 Plus (2016), and HUAWEI P10/P10 Plus (2017).

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The Huawei P9 was released in 2016 and has already gotten four successors. However, Huawei is not done releasing updates for the device. The latest one rolling out to the device updates the security patch and brings a new feature too.

The update which is rolling out in China has build number EVA-AL10 8.0.0.550(C00) and is about 660MB in size. It comes with the security patch for July 2020 which is rolling out to phones such as the OnePlus 7 series and the Realme 5 series.

It has also been reported that the update brings a feature called Smart Charging that prevents the device from overcharging when plugged in to charge, most especially overnight. The feature slows down charging during the night since it knows the user will be asleep. The feature also helps slow down the battery’s aging process, though we are not sure about the battery life of a 4-year old device.

The Huawei P9 has a 5.2-inch screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. There is a Kirin 955 processor under the hood along with 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage. On the back is a 12MP dual-camera setup in an RGB+B/W setup while the front is home to an 8MP selfie camera.

The device has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, NFC, an audio jack, and a 3000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. When it launched, it ran Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box and got an update to Android 7.0 Nougat.

UP NEXT: Apple and Xiaomi lose ground in China as Huawei and others thrived

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Last month, Huawei Support UK had stated that the Huawei P9 smartphone, which was launched in the year 2016, would not be receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update and the company cited hardware limitations as the reason for the same.

However, it seems that the information provided by the company was incorrect as Huawei has now confirmed that the Android Oreo update for the Huawei P9 is rolling out in its home market. The phone was launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and has received Android Nougat update.

But the company had earlier decided not to release Android Oreo for the Huawei P9 stating that the hardware limitations may lead to issues such as “system built-in function failure, device freezing, and power consumption increase.”

The company has now started rolling out the update in China in phases and will be available for all P9 users in China by 15th July. However, the update is not yet available outside China but we expect the update to be available soon in other markets as well.

The new update brings EMUI 8.0 custom user interface along with a bunch of new features such as Picture-in-Picture mode, improved notifications handling, among others.

The update is done using the membership app, which is similar to the OTA upgrade version in terms of functionality, stability, and compatibility. With this, the total number of Huawei models that have been successfully upgraded to Android 8.0 based EMUI 8 to 20.

Read More: Huawei’s new trademark confirms Mate 20 as the company’s upcoming flagship

Prior to releasing EMUI 8.0 update for 7 devices from Huawei, the company had pushed updates for 13 old models which include the Huawei P10, P10 Plus, Honor 9, Honor V9, Honor 8 Youth edition, Honor 7X, Huawei Nova, Nova 2, Nova 2 Plus, Maimang 6, among others.

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Huawei has announced the rollout of updates to seven models which would usher in EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo. The models include the Huawei Mate 8, Huawei P9, Huawei P9 Plus, Honor 8, Honor V8, Honor Note 8 and the Honor Play 6X. This isn’t the first time the models would get EMUI 8 updates but the updates have not been across the board. This is the second time and it is still for some a limited time. The updates would be available from 10 am every day from July 9 to July 15. Curiously, just 5000 units of each model will get the upgrade daily for the seven days making a total of 35000 updates for each model will be available.

All those who use the affected models and are interested in the upgrades will be able to access the upgrade page using the member service app that comes along with their phones. After the application is confirmed, the new version can be found in system update section.

Read More: Honor Play Review – A Solid TURBO GPU Smartphone!

Considering Huawei system upgrade pattern, this update which is done using the membership app is basically similar to the OTA upgrade version in terms of functionality, stability, and compatibility. So, there is no fear of bugs on this version. The update brings the total number of Huawei models that have been successfully upgraded to Android 8.0 based EMUI 8 to 20. Before now, Huawei had pushed updates for 13 old models which include the Huawei P10, P10 Plus, Honor 9, Honor V9, Honor 8 Youth edition, Honor 7X, Huawei Nova, Nova 2, Nova 2 Plus, Maimang 6, among others. These are in addition to models like the Mate 10 series which was launched with Android Oreo as well as the Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro and Mate 9 Porsche edition.

(source)

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Recently, Huawei announced the beta testing program of its EMUI 8.1 update with GPU Turbo for the users of Huawei P20 and P20 Pro. Now, the company has announced that it will soon roll out EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo operating system to its seven smartphones.

The list of older smartphones from the company that will receive the new software update includes Huawei Mate 8, P9, P9 Plus, Honor 8, Honor V8, Honor Note 8, and Honor Play 6X. The company says that the update rollout will begin from 30th June.

This is interesting given that most smartphone manufacturers drop support for devices older than two years. But Huawei is showing that it supports older devices and is rolling out new software update with an aim to further improve the performance of the older devices.

Among the list of older Huawei smartphones that will get the EMUI 8.0 update, the oldest smartphone is the Huawei Mate 8 which was launched in the year 2015. At the time of the launch, the smartphone was running EMUI 4.0 out of the box.

EMUI 8.0, which is based on Android Oreo operating system, comes with artificial intelligence that makes the software experience smarter and quicker. It packs features like Real-Time Scene and Object Recognition, Smart Tips, and AI-accelerated language translation, among others.

The company had previously stated that users can witness a faster and smarter phone experience, powered by advanced AI technological features. Huawei claims that the update significantly cuts down on the number of steps needed to achieve the desired function through its smart applications like navigation dock and smart screen, and enables the user to reach 90% of the core functions in just a single click.

Read More: Huawei Rumored To Launch Its First 5G Phone In June 2019

It also brings some artificial intelligence-based capabilities such as resource allocation, context awareness as well as user behavior prediction. Thanks to Android Oreo, users will also have access to features like split-screen interface, navigation dock, one-hand operation and smart view.

(Source)

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Recently, Huawei released a new EMUI 8.0 update for its Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro smartphones, which introduces several new features to the device. The update, which carries version 8.0.0.356 brings the trending Face Unlock feature to both the smartphones.

Along with the face unlock feature, the update also brings a few gesture-based controls like raising screens, and others. The update has also introduced a gaming assistant to the device. Apart from these new additions, the latest update also comes with bug fixes, including the issue of delayed reception of WeChat messages.

Apart from those major additions and fixes, the new update also brings optimized icons for several applications. Further, the update, which measures about 514MB in size, also comes with the latest Android security patch for May 2018.

According to the company, this new update has been rolled out to Mate 9 Full Netcom Edition MHA-AL00, Mate 9 Netcom Mobile Customized Edition MHA-TL00, and Mate 9 Pro Full Netcom Edition LON-AL00, including the Porsche Design Edition.

About six months ago, Huawei rolled out the EMUI 8.0 update for the Mate 9 series smartphones, bringing the Android Oreo operating system to the company’s previous year’s flagship devices. The update introduced several new features, including AI experience, smart split screen, among others.

The Huawei Mate 9 features a 5.9-inch Full-HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top while the Mate 9 Pro comes with a 5.5-inch display having a screen resolution of 1440 x 1080 pixels and Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection from minor scratches.

Under the hood, both the smartphones run on company’s own HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core processor. While the Mate 9 packs 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, the Pro edition comes with 4GB/6GB RAM with 64GB and 128GB storage option.

Read More: Huawei Y5 Prime (2018) Unveiled Via Official Site Listing, Likely To Feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 SoC

At the time of launch, both the smartphones were running Android 7.0 Nouat operating system with the company’s EMUI 5.0 custom interface on top. The Mate 9 and the Mate 9 Pro both are powered by a 4,000mAh non-removable battery.

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Huawei‘s Vice-president of its mobile phone product line, Bruce Lee has revealed a hidden feature which the latest EMUI 8.0 brings with it. EMUiI8 was released a couple of months back and has been updated to EMUI 8.1, announced with the Huawei P20. As a matter of fact, the P20 will be the first model to run EMUI 8.1. The new update seems to have added this new feature called Huawei Share which allows users to share files across systems.

Huawei Share is a file sharing feature which effectively turns the smartphone into a file server as long as it is on the same computer LAN  or other mobile phones can access the files on the phone, whether Windows, MAC or Android, as long as they can support the SMB protocol. Server Message Block (SMB) operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used for providing shared access to files, printers, and serial ports and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network.

Read More: Huawei’s Product Manager Confirms EMUI 8.0 On The Way For Huawei P9 and P9 Plus

EMUI 8.1 is reputed to be the first deep customisation system based on Android 8.1 OS. It comes with artificial intelligence that makes the software experience smarter and quicker. The updated version of the operating system comes with features like Real-Time Scene and Object Recognition, Smart Tips, and AI-accelerated language translation, among others. It also brings some artificial intelligence-based capabilities such as resource allocation, context awareness as well as user behaviour or behaviour prediction. Thanks to Android Oreo, users will also have access to features like split-screen interface, navigation dock, one-hand operation and smart view.

(via)

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Huawei‘s Custom ROM EMUI 8 will soon be available for users of the Honor 9 and Honor V9 smartphones. This was made known via the official EMUI Weibo page where it was disclosed that the duo would get the upgrade through the early adopter program. This means users who want to be among the first to use the new EMUI 8 which is based on Android Oreo would need to apply to be part of the programme.

The program can be entered through the Member Service app and Huawei also disclosed that there are limited slots available meaning that admission into the early adopter program would be based on first come, first served. All users of the Honor V9 and Honor 9 need do is to access the Membership Service app and request for an upgrade and EMUI 8.0 version B323 would be pushed to their smartphones. It seems, though, that the features would be limited. The compatible Honor 9 models include the Honor 9 full Network standard version with 4GB + 64GB (STF-AL00) as well as the Honor 9 full Netcom version 6GB + 64GB (STF-AL10). Others include the Honor 9 Netcom Enjoy Edition 6GB + 128GB (STF-AL10), the China Mobile 4G  version with 6GB + 64GB (STF-TL10), and the China Mobile 4G version with 6GB + 128GB (STF-TL10). The Honor V9 versions include to just the full Netcom 6GB + 128GB model (DUK-AL20) and the lower full Netcom 6GB + 64GB version (DUK-AL20) and 4GB + 64GB full Netcom version.

Read Also: Huawei Rolls Out Android Oreo-Based EMUI 8.0 Closed Beta Program For P10 & P10 Plus

The Honor 9 and Honor V9 were both released earlier this year, June and February 2017 respectively. Both models come with EMUI 5 based on Android Nougat which makes them perfect fit for upgrades to Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.0. Both models now add to the tally of Huawei smartphones that would soon get Android Oreo-based EMUI 8 upgrade. First, Huawei commenced the EMUI 8 Beta program for the P10 and P10 Plus and later the Mate 9 was spotted on Geekbench running Android Oreo. Perhaps, it won’t be long before full updates start hitting models.

(source)

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