The Huawei P9 will definitely impress you right from the word go. The phone comes with a cutting edge design, an impressive Leica-branded dual-camera system, and a decent price tag – something that has led to some close comparisons with the iPhone, with the P9 being considered a worthy alternative to the Apple-made device. Well, how true is this? Let’s find out more…
At the time of this writing, Huawei sits comfortably in the third position as the world’s leading seller of smartphones. In recent stats, the gains the company is making should be worrying to Apple, especially after the latter announced that it is experiencing drops in iPhone sales for the first time in years. While the company’s prowess in the industry rose to fame with the partnership with Google for the Nexus 6P, this year’s Huawei P9 is a clear indicator of how this company made its way to becoming world’s number three, behind Apple and world leader, Samsung.
One thing that propels the sales of Huawei-made smartphones is the price tag they come with. Well, this is what highlights the flagship Huawei P9, featuring 2016’s flagship hardware but at the usual decent pricing, especially when compared to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7 or even iPhone 6S, depending on the region of purchase.
Huawei P9 price details
As of now, the Huawei P9 has a price tag of just $649, which is less than the $670 of the Galaxy S7 and $700 for the HTC 10. But what makes this P9 such a decent device at its price tag? Well, there is only one thing – the dual-lens camera on the phone’s back.
To make the phone a unique occurrence, Huawei decided to team up with German camera making company, Leica. As a result, the Huawei P9 houses a dual-camera setup that brings two camera lenses on the rear and lots of technology behind it. If photography is on top of your list when shopping for a new smartphone, the P9 is definitely worth looking at.
Design and display
If you have ever laid your eyes on a Nexus 6P, you will know what a great designer Huawei can be. It gets even better with the Huawei P9, however, Apple enthusiasts will be quick to say that the Chinese maker borrowed everything about the iPhone when coming in with this device. Well, call it copying or whatever you may, one thing that is for sure is that the P9 has a great, premium-looking design that anyone would dream of having around them.
The thin, all-metal housing gives the phone a sleek look. In addition, you won’t be disappointed with the size thanks to the 5.2 inches of display that means the device finds a sweet spot right between the standard 4.7-inch iPhone 6S and the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus. Huawei placed the fingerprint scanner on the rear, unlike other flagships which have it embedded inside the physical home button.
If you still dream of using your old micro-USB cables with your new Huawei P9, well, your dream is no longer valid. The P9 packs the faster and future-proof USB Type-C connector for both charging and data transfer purposes.
Performance and battery
As far as performance is concerned, the new Huawei P9 is something you’ll enjoy using. The phone runs on the latest Android Marshmallow OS, but you will still have to deal with the company’s skin that runs on top of the stock OS. Since the phone packs 2016’s flagship hardware, there is no shortage of performance, whether it’s playing 3D games, multitasking or executing any other resource-intensive process, the P9 handles everything perfectly. Huawei has even gone to the extent of enabling notifications whenever a background app is using up too much memory.
As for the storage, you will only get 32GB of onboard storage, but this can be expanded using a microSD card. There is also a decent 3000mAh battery unit that is non-removable.
Camera specs
As noted, the Leica camera on the Huawei P9 is actually its main selling point. One of the lenses on the camera takes care of color while the other handles black and white. When these two are combined, Huawei says that the two will deliver greater levels of depth and detail in photos. Furthermore, shots will be amazing even when in low-light thanks to the fact that each lens has 12MP, an LED flash as well as hybrid autofocus.
The camera app also provides a wide range of settings you can play around with to get the best pictures possible. In addition, you get 14 different modes of shooting, be it Panorama, Monochrome and so on. You won’t be disappointed with the front-facing selfie camera either as it boasts an 8MP lens.
The Huawei P9 has some of the best performance specs out there, specs that are decent enough to make the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, iPhone 6S and the HTC 10 sweat for their money. However, if it’s photography you are after in a smartphone, the P9 is one of the most solid choices out there.