7 Years with the Huawei Y9s: The Last of the Google-Era Giants

I’ve always had a soft spot for Huawei smartphones and their accessories, so when I first laid eyes on the Huawei Y9S, I was sold almost instantly, and yes, I went ahead and bought it. From the sleek design to the overall software experience, it quickly became one of my favorite devices. But fast-forward to 2026: the big question is, does it still hold up today?

The Huawei Y9S was among the last Y-series devices to ship with full Google support, just before the U.S. trade ban during Donald Trump’s first administration changed everything for Huawei.

In this article, I’ll be breaking down how the phone has held up over the past seven years, what still works, what doesn’t, and whether it’s still worth talking about today. Let’s get into it.

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The Design and Build: A Notch-Less Relic

The Huawei Y9S has really stood the test of time. 

The most distinctive feature of this phone is its motorized pop-up camera, which, surprisingly, still works so well to this day. This feature was once considered a fragile gimmick back in the day, when many people were still skeptical about its longevity and whether it would hold up over time, given that factors like dust and water would impact its reliability.

Here we are, 7 years later, and I'm happy to report that the mechanism is still holding up well.

The display is also really interesting, as Huawei likes to call it the uniterapted display. The display has very thin bezels all around, almost symmetrical, and no camera notch since the camera was motorized.

It featured a 6.59-inch LCD display with a 60Hz refresh rate, but the 120Hz refresh rate and AMOLED were reserved for flagship phones at the time.

This phone has been through a lot in terms of durability and wear. First, it features glass on both the front and back, with plastic frames.

I’ve broken the back glass once and the front glass three times, safe to say I wasn’t exactly careful with it back then. Each front glass replacement set me back just under $60 (around KES 7,700). That said, the phone has actually held up pretty well. The motorized pop-up selfie camera still works like a charm, and even the buttons retain that satisfying, clicky feel.

One thing about the back glass is that it’s a heavy fingerprint magnet and scratches easily. To solve this, I resorted to using a protective case.

What I Still Love About the Y9S

When I bought the Y9S, the battery held up like a champ. The 4000mAh battery lasted about 6-7 hours while playing light games, scrolling through social media, and making and receiving calls.

Right now, I have to carry a power bank with me because the battery lasts only 4-5 hours while scrolling through social media, and when I play games, it doesn’t last past 3 hours.

On the security side, the phone has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which I have to admit is better than a slower optical in-display scanner. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is blazing fast, just one tap and you are in.

Since the phone shipped with full Google Mobile Services (GMS), everything just worked out of the box and still does. Core apps like Google Play Services, Google Maps, and Google Drive integrate seamlessly, making the overall experience feel smooth and familiar even today.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that Huawei is aggressively pushing its own services. I have flashed the phone a couple of times and each time I find Huawei’s own apps scattered all over, including teh app gallery, which is similar to teh Play Store.

The Y9S launched with Android 9, skinned on top was EMUI 9.0. The furthest in terms of software support the phone has received is Android 10 and EMUI 10, and the last security patch was in December 2021.

One thing, though, the software is really fluid, not in today’s standards, but it’s not laggy or jittery, and this can be attributed to the fact that I have way fewer apps right now. In fact, I mainly use WhatsApp and YouTube music alone, you know, just to keep the experience fluid.

What I Don't Love Anymore

First of all, the processor: a couple of years ago, the Kirin 710F (12nm) was blazingly fast, but now it's caught up, and it’s a bit slower. I haven’t experienced any app crashes, but when using the phone with too many apps open in the background yo can start to feel some jitters.

With 6GB of RAM, the phone manages background apps well, but some apps refresh after a while.

I don’t expect Y9S to receive further software updates; it launched with Android 10 and EMUI 10, and that is the last of it.

On the cameras, the phone had a 48MP main shooter and an 8MP ultra wide, and at the front, it featured a 16MP selfie snapper.

The shots taken with the camera are good, but you can definitely tell the quality is off by just looking at the pictures below. I found the selfie snapper to be quite good and usable, but the dynamic range leaves more to be desired.

The Y9S launched with 6GB of memory and 128 GB, and by today's standards, it’s not a lot. The RAM is okay, provided you don’t multitask a lot.

The Huawei Ban: How It Changed the Market

Before the USA ban on Huawei, the company was known to be among the top, competing with the likes of Samsung and Apple; other brands like Xiaomi and Oppo were not even close to Huawei in terms of sales and branding.

However, this ban left a void behind, where brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Tecno, and Infinix stepped up to fill the gap in the mid-range market that Huawei once dominated

After the ban, Huawei dropped to the bottom. Over the years, the company has reclaimed its position at the top in China, outpacing bigger brands like Oppo.

Conclusion: Time to Upgrade?

The Huawei Y9S isn’t a glorified paperweight, as many smartphones end up being; it still functions well, but it's no longer a daily driver due to a degraded battery, not-so-good performance, an LCD display, a slower refresh rate, and slower 10W charging. 

It has now become my backup device for receiving calls and playing music.

If you are looking to get this phone, you will hardly find it in the market as brand new; you might get it second-hand. If you are a collector, go for it.

For how long have you been using your smartphone, and are you planning to do an upgrade soon?