Shutterbugs take note. Another device has joined the short list of smartphones that stand out for the quality of their photography. Huawei's P9 screams camera the moment you pick it up and turn it over in your hand. A separated segment on the top of the device on the back has the Leica logo elegantly glinting at you, telling you to expect more than just the make-do photography you get on phones that are not among the most expensive. But before we get to that, there is more than the Leica branding to notice. The P9 is a really thoughtfully designed device, even if it costs ₹39,999.
Superb ergonomics
If there is a sweet spot in terms of phone size, Huawei has probably got it with the P9 and its 5.2-inch display. This phone is so nice to hold. It is thin, light, flat, and you can grip it well with the slightly round edges settling comfortably against your palm. Here is a phone that is not small and yet can be used one-handed. It has a smooth metal back and looks every bit a sophisticate. It is one of those devices that is just not tiring to hold, no matter for how many hours.
On the back, you also see the little square indent for the fingerprint sensor — which works promptly and reliably. The camera assembly does not stick out dangerously and looks well integrated into the device. And on the whole, the gadget is not slippery and you do not have to use a case if you do not want to.
Easy on the eye
The P9's screen is a 1080x1920 resolution Full HD LCD almost bezel-less display with 423 pixels per inch density. While that certainly is not as sharp and crisp as on the flagship devices, it is very easy on the eye. The colours pop and it's pleasing enough to look at for long sessions. There is good, but not memorable, sound to go with it from a speaker on the bottom edge.
Impressive hardware
It would have been fantastic if Huawei had reduced the presence of its EmotionUI (their own skin on top of Android) and left Android Marshmallow to itself a little bit more, but no, they could not resist, allowing it instead to come with its own preloaded apps (many of which you can throw out, thankfully) and of course, no app tray. All Chinese phone makers seem to love doing this and all power users hate the habit. The P9 uses Huawei's own HiSilicon Kirin 955 CPU, an Octa-core (4x2.5 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53). With 3GB of RAM it performs pretty well and does fine on benchmarks. It has 32GB internal storage with expansion up to 256GB. There are reports that it slows down a little with long-term use though and it does heat up slightly when pushed with a power intensive application.
The Leica camera
The 12MP dual camera co-engineered with German optics maker Leica is the highlight on the P9, though the sensor and lenses are not made by Leica. The two cameras take a colour shot and a black and white one, a trick used before on other phones to bring in more depth and detail into an image. Software puts the two images together.
It is evident right away that the P9's camera does not get to the level of Samsung's S7 series, or even recent flagships from Apple and LG. There just is not as much clarity and sharpness, nor is the focus as fast. Neither will the P9 match up to the iPhone 6s or LG's G5. Its focussing system uses both laser and phase detection but is missing optical image stabilisation, for one, and does not do 4K recording.
The app for the camera is filled with options including saving RAW format pictures, taking long-exposure night shots and using a pro mode if you have the patience. Image quality is nice in daylight, but noisy in low light and often out of focus, though 'lit up'.
The P9's 3,000mAh battery performs a little less than expected. Intensive tasks can drain it rapidly and it does not have fast charging. It uses a USB Type-C slot. The P9 supports 4G bands in India, but is only a single SIM phone.
Huawei may be among the top brands globally, when you include its home ground, but it is not the first name that comes to mind when you consider buying a high-end phone in India. That is despite it being the maker of the Nexus 6P. Given this, the asking price is too high to do the company's chances much good in India.
Love: Premium design, Above average camera
Hate: Pricey, No optical image stabilisation, Single Sim
(The article was first published in BusinessLine.)