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We’re on the ground in London today for the launch of the Huawei P9. Well, the reveal finally went down, and we now have our official look at everything this unique smartphone has to offer. The Huawei P9 was said to be co-engineered by Leica, who helped Huawei come up with a unique innovation with the included dual rear camera sensors.
That innovation was the ability to shoot in either vibrant full RGB color, or pure monochrome. Huawei and Leica say it’s not enough to apply a black and white filter over a color photo like most other phones do. Each lens was separately tuned to offer exceptional, sharp and vibrant photos in the color mode you prefer. It’s not quite as exciting as we originally thought it to be, but it’s cool nonetheless. Whether the camera can go 12 rounds with something like the Samsung Galaxy S7 remains to be seen, but if Leica had a hand in it we can’t say we’re expecting to be disappointed.
Huawei actually had 2 different devices: the P9, and the P9 Plus. The devices are crafted with a sleek metal unibody construction that includes an ever-so-slight curve for ergonomics, exceptional thinness at 6.95mm, a marvelously tiny bezel and camera sensors which are 100% flush inside the body of the phone.
Truth be told, we knew it was going to look good, right? Huawei has become quite proficient in that area. But what about the important stuff we don’t see on the surface? Here are the specs you care about:
Huawei P9 Specs
- Display: 5.2-inch IPS LCD 1920 x 1080
- Chipset: Huawei Octa-Core Kirin 955
- Storage and Memory: 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, or 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM
- Cameras: Dual 12-megapixel 1.76 micron Leica rear, 8MP front
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Dimensions: 145 x 70.9 x 6.95mm, 144g
- Other Features: Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, Infrared Blaster, Stereo Speakers
- Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1
Huawei P9 Plus Specs
- Display: 5.5-inch Super AMOLED 1920 x 1080 with Press Touch technology
- Chipset: Huawei Octa-Core Kirin 955
- Storage and Memory: 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM
- Cameras: Dual 12-megapixel 1.76 micron Leica rear, 8MP front
- Battery: 3,400mAh
- Dimensions: 152.3 x 75.3 x 6.98 mm, 162g
- Other Features: Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, Infrared Blaster, Stereo Speakers
- Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1
Other Cool Features
The P9 Plus seems to offer up a far more advanced experience over the smaller model. Huawei mentioned the inclusion of a “Press Touch” display, which sounds like they’ve taken another shot at pressure sensitivity. Huawei says their phones have 18 pre-installed apps which take advantage of the technology. Oh, and the P9 Plus battery takes advantage of dual-IC Rapid Charge for faster battery charging.
The company also boasts the use of more advanced fingerprint sensors that can judge the 3-dimensional depth of a fingerprint instead of the general shapes and lines. This is said to be more secure than typical fingerprint sensors as spoofing attempts would be foiled by lack of depth of information.
For software, Huawei spent a good deal of time making sure that Leica experience shined through. You can choose between simple automatic shooting modes or full-on manual controls for adjusting ISO, shutter speed and other exposure settings. They even have Leica’s signature shutter sound when you snap a photo. Neato.
Pricing and Availability
The Huawei P9 and P9 Plus will both launch April 16th. You can grab the lesser 32GB/3GB model for €599, or go for the 64GB/4GB model for €649. Want the bigger P9 Plus? That’ll run you €749. Those aren’t cheap prices, but Huawei’s betting those Leica cameras will give you a good reason to part ways with the money. The devices will be available in a multitude of colors, including Ceramic White, Haze Gold, Rose Gold, Titanium Grey, Mystic Silver, and Prestige Gold.
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