Huawei Goes Over The Top With P9 and P9 Plus Cameras

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There is just no getting away from it, smartphones are effectively killing the need for a digital camera and for many, the camera (or cameras) in smartphones is the deciding factor when they purchase a new handset. Recognizing that the selfie is here to stay, Instagram isn’t going anywhere and every one is looking for dual camera phones this year, Huawei has teamed with Leica to give the people what they want.

Leica moves from cult following to the masses

While Leica has been in the digital market for some time, it’s difficult to forget about its cult following among professional photographers and hipsters alike.

Leica is nothing less than a prestigious camera brand and the Chinese firm has gone with this brand for its latest flagship handsets, the P9 and larger-screen P9 Plus. Following the unveiling of these two flagships, those looking forward to the best in phone cameras will see deliver of these two models in a few months.

While each of the phones boast the Leica name, it’s believed that this was no more than a collaboration between the companies and that Huawei was wholly responsible for the manufacturing of each camera gracing the two phones that were introduced at an event in London today. According to a Huawei spokesperson the companies “co-engineered” the lenses.

Both handsets are equipped with dual, 12-megapixel Leica (branded) cameras on the back of the phone. One camera is responsible for capturing color with a red, green and blue (RGB) sensor, while the other is better suited for monochrome photos. Though, with the two working in conjunction with each other, Huawei promises not only vivid colors but fantastic detail and depth regardless of how much light you have to work with when you’re shooting.

Huawei says it’s not just a matter of solely the dual-lens technology but that the phones’ dedicated depth measurement chip as well as something Huawei calls its “hybrid-focus technology that will providing consumers something special when they pull out their phones to capture a shot.

Both cameras will also ship with a front-facing “selfie” camera boasting 8-megapixels. While the primary difference between the two models is the screen size, the P9 has a 5.2-inch display and the P9 Plus comes in with a  5.5-inch display; the “selfie” cam only has “auto-focus” available on the P9 Plus.

Clearly, we’ve not had an opportunity to take either of these flagships for a test-drive so Huawei’s claims are just that, Huawei’s claims.

That’s not to say that they haven’t created a smartphone camera array that is truly special.

Additional specs for the P9 and P9 Plus

There are a few other differences beyond “auto-focus” and the display sizes. The P9 allows users to downgrade from the 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage that both phones have by offering consumers a version of the P9 with  3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Lastly, the battery on the P9 Plus is slightly bigger at 3,400mAh versus P9’s 3,000mAh.

While the design of each is not stale as much as unadventurous, these phones have quite a bit of power behind them in addition to the Leica cameras. Both will whiz through apps with a Kirin 955 octa-core chip, full HD screen, fingerprint scanner on the back and Android 6.0, along with Huawei’s own EMUI 4.1 user interface.

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