Huawei P9 and P9 Lite: The best camera ever on a smartphone!

Huawei is now the world’s third largest phone manufacturer and has come a long way since its first attempts at selling smartphones outside its home territory, China.  You’ll see from the company’s promotional image, they take their inspiration from Apple and the iPhone. There are, of course, many worse paths a company could follow!    

The best smartphone camera available!

When the P9 launched recently it strongly pushed its collaboration with Leica, the iconic optical brand, and it’s clear that Huawei is aiming the P9 at people who really want the best pictures from their smartphone. The company believes the P9’s dual-lens camera will take smartphone photography to the next level because the two cameras (one colour, one mono) work together to capture every colour and detail. It offers three ‘modes’; standard, vivid and smooth and early reviews suggest it’s the best camera spec ever available on a smartphone.

Also pushing the boundaries is the P9’s fingerprint scanner, which is seen as the best to date, though placing it on the back of the phone is perhaps not the most convenient position.

 

Spec comparison P9 and P9 Lite:

Apart from the camera spec, the main difference between the models is the processor. The P9 comes with Huawei’s new Kirin 955 2.5GHz 64-bit ARM-based processor while the Lite has to make do with the mid-spec Kirin 650, though this is still an octa-core processor, so no slouch! Both phones come with a 3,000mAh battery, again, close to the best available anywhere and have 5.2-inch screens with 1080p resolution. The P9 has a higher spec screen which will give it the edge here in performance.The Lite is slightly larger all round and a touch heavier but it isn’t pretending to be anything other than a stripped-down version of the flagship phone and the design follows this philosophy, not scrimping on the materials used or chamfered edges. It has a removable battery, an FM receiver and has a higher mp rear camera (13mp vs 12mp) than the P9 but it has no front facing camera and the single camera it does have is not the Leica version on the P9. The P9 is also available in a range of colours and importantly, has an internal gyroscope which will swing mobile gamers in it’s favour.

Both models run the company’s Emotion UI 4.1 on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which means a more iOS-like interface than on most Android phones. Interestingly, Huawei is reportedly developing its own mobile OS in case its relationship with Google sours. The company reportedly has a team working in Scandinavia on the new OS, with engineers including ex-Nokia employees.

 

Should you consider a P9 or P9 Lite?

Without a doubt! These are seriously high spec smartphones. Yes, they are following in Apple’s footsteps when it comes to design and OS but they are good-looking, very well made smartphones with excellent processing power, battery life and features. If you choose the P9, you will have the best camera spec currently available on a smartphone. Oh, and because they’re made by Huawei and not Apple, prices are a fraction of those you pay for the more famous brand.

Check out our great range of P9 cases here.

Our Huawei P9 Lite cases will be arriving soon!