Huawei P9 Plus review: the world's first smartphone with Leica cameras. Examples of photos and videos. Where to buy Huawei P9 and prices

This year, Huawei, like ASUS, have ceased to be manufacturers of just good inexpensive smartphones. Now they produce both these and real flagship devices. If earlier Huawei was purchased either because of the presence of a nexus in the line, or because of a good price and good quality, now everything has changed. You can also buy the new Huawei P9 because of its cool features.

Design and ergonomics

As always, I'll start with appearance and ergonomics. The smartphone turned out to be nice, which makes it nice to look at, nice to hold, and overall a pleasure to use. I can’t stand it when something creaks or when the body bends, this feeling of unreliability makes me angry. P9 is thin, metal, with 2.5D glass, with correctly placed elements on the body and even with USB Type C. By correctly positioned I mean the headphone jack on the bottom. But I will write a separate article about this soon!

Everything else is pretty standard: on right side– volume and lock keys, on the left – a tray for two SIM cards, one of which can be exchanged for a card Micro memory SD.

A new generation fingerprint scanner is located on the back side. This arrangement is common for Huawei, but I personally don’t like it. When the smartphone is on the table, I have to lift it anyway to unlock it without entering the password. Also, when the smartphone is fixed in a car holder, you cannot reach the scanner, and you have to either take out the smartphone or enter a password. This really annoys me, so after a few days of using the P9 I decided to turn off the scanner.

But that's all it is. But the cameras confuse me a little. There are two of them, I’ll tell you why later, but the location is not entirely clear to me. In general, the whole block with cameras is a question for me.

The two cameras are offset from the left edge, leaving an empty space there, a flash in the horizontal center, a lot of text on the right, and all this is not symmetrical. It seems like nothing too critical, but it seems to me that it could have been made more aesthetically pleasing.

There is nothing sticking out from the back: neither the camera nor the speaker, so the smartphone lies flat on any surface. It seems like a plus, but you need to keep one thing in mind. The case is thin, which makes it difficult to lift, so you often have to scurry around on the table. And this is where the flat surface comes into play. Almost always I hear the crunching of dust or grains of sand between the case and the surface on which the smartphone is lying.

Cameras

It's time to talk about main feature This smartphone is a camera. Leica was involved in the development of the core module, but not in production. That is, in essence, they shared advice. This module consists of two 12 MP Sony sensors with a pixel size of 1.25 microns, which is good. One reads information about color - RGB, the second - about light, that is, it is monochrome. What is it for? To expand dynamic range. Is this really necessary for color photos? I think no. S7 and iPhone cope without this. That is, the camera here is good, but I think two are not needed. Moreover, when photographing in color mode, I conducted experiments with an open and closed monochrome camera, there is no difference.

But when photographing in monochrome, we get gorgeous b/w photos, because the range is really wider. In general, the photo quality is at a high level, I would gladly take photographs with such a smartphone. I won’t rush into words and say that this is the best camera in smartphones, but it is really good. Soon we will make a comparison of it with other flagships.

But the video is written frankly poorly. Unfortunately, the camera does not optical stabilization, but the software somehow doesn’t work very well, sometimes the camera misses the colors where the iPhone 6s and SGS7 display the real picture, and 4K is not supported at all. It’s strange, because hardware allows it! Therefore, we are either waiting for an update for the camera that will improve video shooting, or this smartphone is worth buying only for photography.

Examples of photos and videos

8 MP front camera, no autofocus, aperture ratio – 2.4. Everything is simple here: good during the day, bad in the evening.

I really liked the camera interface. This is really convenient, and here I am no longer afraid to say that it is the most convenient. The main window displays only the most necessary information, if you need to change something, we resort to swiping. On the left are the modes: standard, monochrome, video, HDR, panorama, night photography, slow motion, long exposure or even shooting with a watermark and scanning barcodes. Below is PRO mode. In long exposure mode there are several options: lantern light, light pattern, water or stars.

Camera settings extend from the right edge of the display. There is a lot here: resolution, photo or video, grids of different formats, horizon line, audio control and more.

And above the shutter button there is a pull-out PRO mode. In it you can adjust ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, select manual autofocus, white balance, etc. In general, one standard camera application for all occasions. We will open a school soon mobile photography On Kaddra and there, specifically using the Huawei P9 as an example, we will tell you how to use all this.

Separately, I would like to note the triple autofocus system: contrast with a laser, contrast without (it’s not clear why it is needed) and phase. Works quickly and accurately.

Display

If everything is good with the camera, then the screen could definitely be better. There is an IPS panel with a diagonal of 5.2″ and Full HD resolution, it all sounds good. But the black color turns gray-pink when the smartphone is tilted to the right or left. I didn’t notice any other problems, but I somehow forgot about it when I was worried about the black color in flagship smartphones. The colors are good, the minimum and maximum brightness are also comfortable.

As I already said, the glass is 2.5D, Gorilla Glass 4. I didn’t try to scratch it on purpose, but the smartphone was not the first to come to us, and there is not even the slightest micro-scratch on the glass. On Samsung they appear quickly. There are hopes that the glass here is more rigid and scratch-resistant.

Specifications

In terms of hardware, we have a good flagship smartphone. Octa-core Huawei Kirin 955, Mali-T880 MP4, 3 or 4 GB of RAM, 32 or 64 internal memory. I have a version with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of user memory, but this is enough for any task. Moreover, you can deliver a memory card instead of a second SIM card. In benchmarks, the smartphone is not at the very top, but overall everything works quickly.

But heavy games are not its strongest side; tanks sometimes experience uncomfortable sagging. That's basically it. If you don't play demanding games, the performance will be enough.

Battery capacity – 3000 mAh. This, as I already understand, is a certain standard and, in principle, I have nothing against it. The smartphone is sleek and the capacity is normal. Then it’s up to the software to make sure it’s not crooked. Judging by experience, for a day more or less normal operation It's enough, but you have to charge it every day.

Two Leica cameras are the main pride of the Chinese. One of the cameras works as a regular 12-megapixel RGB color sensor, while the second shoots only in black and white mode. But after the cameras fire synchronously, the resulting result is processed together to produce a single image with maximum contrast and clarity. According to Huawei, the pictures are three times brighter and 50% more contrasty than usual.

The dual module is based on two identical Sony IMX286 CMOS sensors with a pixel size of 1.25 microns, a crop factor of about 6.75x, and an effective resolution of 11.81 megapixels (3968 x 2976 pixels). Both SUMMARIT-H 1:22/27 ASPH optical systems from Leica are also identical, with a fixed focal length of 4 mm (27 mm in 35 mm equivalent) and an f/2.2 aperture (up to f/16). There is laser autofocus for instant and accurate focusing, but there is no optical stabilization system (OIS) in the smartphone. The latter, according to the company’s idea, is compensated by the second camera.

Optics for Huawei smartphones are manufactured by Chinese OEM contractor Sunny Optical Technology under license from Leica - just like most lenses for compact cameras. Leica is still responsible for the quality of the lenses and their alignment, but the process is noticeably cheaper.

The feature of Leica cameras is black and white photography modes. Here Huawei P9 Plus provides complete carte blanche for creativity; some frames, especially overexposed ones, are simply indistinguishable from experiments with real film.

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In manual (Pro) mode, Huawei P9 and P9 Plus smartphones allow you to configure all parameters yourself, and even choose to shoot in RAW format. An interesting possibility is refocusing already in the shot frame, changing the depth of field of the image. True, many other smartphones can do this, even with one camera - Lumia 950, HTC 10 and others.

The HDR mode works well, especially against the background of a bright summer sky, when neither manual nor automatic settings. Without HDR, you will certainly end up with either a “knocked out” sky or a lack of halftones in the shadows. Here is an example of panorama shooting, the stitching works well.

Unfortunately, the P9 Plus's video capabilities are limited to Full HD quality (1920 x 1080). Shooting with the main dual camera shows quite acceptable results in good lighting and above average in twilight or weak artificial light. Fans of experiments will like the slow-motion and interval shooting modes. In a word, YouTube is suitable for cats, but filming a business presentation in a darkened audience, especially hand-held, will not be easy.

Experimenting with Leica film effects is great. But in normal modes, the camera is at the level of competitors who do not have such a brand behind them.

photos

Practical metal

The all-metal body with rough grinding looks expensive, a special coating prevents fingerprints, and the minimum thickness completes the look flagship smartphone. 6.9 mm is an excellent indicator for a model with a capacious battery and thin screen frames. Competitors are thicker: 7.9 mm for the Galaxy S7 edge and 7.3 mm for the iPhone 6s Plus.

photos

We photographed the Huawei flagship from all angles so you can better see the details

Most slim body impresses with the lack of protrusions of the dual camera with powerful Leica optics. Considering the negative experience of the first 3D smartphones, the lenses in the P9 Plus are wisely moved away from the edge, but you can still cover one of the lenses with your finger, especially when the device is in a horizontal position.

Huawei P9 Plus is noticeably narrower and lighter than its competitor, the iPhone 6s Plus. Even the dual Leica camera doesn't protrude.

High speed scanner

The fingerprint scanner in Huawei P9 Plus is located on the back of the case. The location has proven itself: you take the smartphone in your hand, and your finger intuitively rests on the scanner. But in the “on the table” position, you cannot view a message or other notification; you have to enter a code or lift the smartphone from the surface.

The scanner has additional settings: it can serve as a camera shutter button, help you scroll through photos in the gallery, and recognition speed takes tenths of a second: Huawei has one of the fastest scanners among its competitors.

Great screen with Press Touch

The P9 Plus screen matrix is AMOLED. So the black color is blacker than night, the contrast and viewing angles are maximum, but most importantly, energy savings compared to IPS matrices.

They didn’t chase resolution, and rightly so: Full HD with a pixel density of 401 ppi is enough: the human eye can comfortably distinguish 326 ppi (the so-called Retina resolution), and the promoted high resolution Quad HD and even 4K are needed for virtual reality gadgets.

Press Touch technology, similar to 3D Touch in iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, activates additional functionality depending on how hard you press the display. Touch the icon a little harder and a pop-up menu will appear that will help you immediately make a call, send a message, create an appointment in the calendar, or open the selfie camera instead of the usual one. But third-party Android programs do not work with Press Touch yet; the word is up to the developers.

Everyone will like the economical AMOLED screen with pressure recognition; we found no shortcomings.

Very fast, but not a leader

Huawei P9 and P9 Plus smartphones are powered by the latest 8-core 64-bit HiSilicon Kirin 955 processor using the traditional ARM big.LITTLE push-pull scheme: the main load falls on four powerful 2.5-GHz ARM Cortex-A72 cores, and in the lungs modes, four economical 1.8-GHz ARM Cortex-A53 cores operate.

The HiSilicon Kirin 955 processor is somewhat inferior in performance to the Samsung Exynos 8 Octa 8890 (Galaxy S7) and Apple A9 (iPhone 6S) chips, but at the same time it looks invigorating even against the background of the flagship Snapdragon 820 from Qualcomm, which, in particular, powers the Xiaomi Mi5, LG G5, Sony Xperia X Performance, HTC 10 and other sensational models. But in practice this minimal lag is not felt, the shell is highly optimized, heavy games run at maximum settings.

In Russia, Huawei P9 Plus will be available with 4 GB random access memory and 64 GB of internal memory, and the slot is hybrid: in addition to the main SIM card, you can install either an additional one or a microSD card with a capacity of up to 128 GB.

Below are the benchmark test results and how the smartphone compares to other competitors:

Capacious battery and fast charging

A 3400 mAh battery combined with an economical AMOLED screen sounds promising. Officially, Huawei announced for the P9 Plus two days of operation in normal mode and one and a half days with intensive use. In practice, in intensive work mode - with Wi-Fi and navigation always on, watching and listening to music and movies, playing games, taking hundreds of photos and dozens of videos, the smartphone will last throughout the day: this is an excellent result!

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Opinion site

Huawei P9 Plus brought together several innovations at once: for the first time, Huawei used two camera modules, and not just for different effects like blurring the background, but for more serious things, thanks to work with Leica. Photos in special modes are impressive! And the Leica brand is not such a big burden on the price; the Huawei Mate 8 phablet is even more expensive. For the first time - Press Touch technology for the screen, analogous to 3D Touch in the iPhone 6s. We also note great sound, an all-metal body, a super-fast fingerprint scanner and a long-lasting battery. The set is quite a flagship one. But there are still few applications that support Press Touch, and the camera, apart from special modes, is at the level of its competitors.

The official price has not yet been announced, we expect about 45-50 thousand rubles for the P9 Plus and up to 40 thousand for the P9. The regular Huawei P9 differs from the flagship in the absence of Press Touch, a smaller screen, and a more modest battery, but the camera system and body are the same. And if the expensive P9 Plus will compete fiercely with flagships Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10, iPhone 6s Plus and others, then the more affordable P9 will be a good buy.

Pros:

High quality shooting and many camera modes
AMOLED screen with Press Touch technology
Slim metal body with 2.5D glass
Hybrid slot, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB internal memory, 2 SIM cards
Fast fingerprint scanner
Capacious battery and fast charging

Minuses:

Lack of 4K video shooting mode
No optical stabilization
Shooting algorithms have room for improvement
High price at the start of sales

Case materials: metal, glass, plastic
operating system: Android 6, Huawei EMUI 4.1 shell
Network: GSM/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE Cat 6, two SIM cards (both nanoSIM)
Platform: Hisilicon Kirin 955
Processor: Octa-core: Quad-core 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A53) and Quad-core 2.5 GHz (Cortex-A72), big.LITTLE
RAM: 3/4 GB
Memory for data storage: 32/64 GB, card slot microSD memory, combined with a slot for a second SIM card
Interfaces: Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP, LE), USB Type-C connector (USB 2.0) for charging/syncing, 3.5 mm for headset, DLNA, NFC
Screen: IPS LCD, 5.2’’, 1920x1080 pixels (FullHD), automatic backlight level adjustment, protective glass
Main camera: two 12 MP modules, f/2.2, pixel size – 1.25 µm, dual LED flash (works like a flashlight), laser focusing
Front camera: 8 MP
Navigation: GPS/GLONASS (A-GPS support)
Additionally: fingerprint scanner
Sensors: accelerometer, position sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, barometer
Battery: non-removable, Li-Pol, capacity 3000 mAh
Dimensions: 145x70.9x6.95 mm
Weight: 144 g

Contents of delivery

The device is sold in a nice white perforated cardboard box. On the front side there is the Leica logo and the inscription DUAL CAMERA. The accessories are packaged in separate small boxes made of the same material as the main box. The kit also includes a metal extractor SIM tray, USB cable type C, headset (almost a complete copy of the “ears” of Apple’s EarPods) and network adapter.

Introduction

Huawei smartphone P9 was shown in early April this year in London. Interestingly, the famous insider Evan Blass, shortly before the announcement of the P9, revealed some of the data about the device, moreover, he named the date of the presentation.

Our website has already published two materials about the flagship gadget from Huawei. Artem was the first to get acquainted with the device, and Sergey wrote a short but informative text “A day in use.” All I can do is give you a little more detailed information and summarize what my colleagues have said.

From my point of view, the Huawei P9 has one main unique feature - the presence of two cameras. Moreover, unlike, for example, the LG G5 (there is one regular module, the other wide-angle), the P9 has a different meaning: additional camera It has a black and white sensor, it collects all the light, thereby increasing the dynamic range and sensitivity. In addition, thanks to the presence of a second module, you can obtain an aperture from F0.95 to F16. Of course, this is achieved in software, but it works better than competing single-camera models.

The remaining features, it seems to me, are not so interesting to the end user: a powerful chipset, enough RAM for any application, a good screen, and so on. In general, everything is like everyone else.

Price and when Huawei P9 will appear in Russia. The gadget will be available in several versions: 3 GB + 32 GB will cost 600 euros, and 4 GB + 64 GB – 650 euros. With a minimum configuration, P9 costs 45,000 rubles, and the maximum configuration costs 48,000 rubles (current exchange rate). Official Russian prices are still unknown, the gadget should be expected in June. There will also be P9 Plus (4 GB + 64 GB), it has a more severe price tag - 750 euros, that is, about 55,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

The new product from Huawei is practically no different from their previous flagship smartphone: the same shapes, the same materials, the same sensations when used. However, really, why change anything radically if many users who decide to replace their P8 with P9 will remain with the same operating experience. For example, a friend of mine is so used to the old Apple iPhone 4S, that I decided to buy an iPhone SE, despite my persuasion to take the “six” (my friend doesn’t need super cameras and mega-performance of the device), since it has a slightly larger display and is more convenient to “consume” content.

The P9 gadget has smooth body contours, currently fashionable 2.5D glass, and an ergonomic design. It fits perfectly in the hand due to the optimal, in my opinion, dimensions – 145x70.9x6.95 mm and due to the rounded edges.

As far as I remember, in P8 the front panel substrate was pure white, in P9 it has barely noticeable transverse lines. The screen is protected by glass from Corning – Gorilla Glass fourth generation. Visually, it seems as if the gadget has no frames at all, however, when you activate the display, everything falls into place: there are 3 mm frames on the right and left, which is also very good.

Oleophobic coating is naturally present. The finger glides across the screen perfectly, fingerprints are erased easily.

The side edges and most of the back surface are made of aluminum. Some elements have been polished. Frankly speaking, this appearance won’t surprise anyone now: every second chinese smartphone made of hardware in a design similar to the Huawei P9.

This model EVA-L09 is available in three colors: gold, gray and silver. There are also rose gold, white ceramic, and smoky gold. It is unlikely that they will go on sale in Russia.

On the reverse side there is a plastic insert with the inscription Leica Summarit ASPH. The design of the insert is similar to the design of the elements on the front panel.

Everything is fine with the assembly. However, the device does not have any removable parts (except for the SIM card tray) that could play or creak.

On the top of the front side there is a front camera, sensors, an indicator of missed events and a speech speaker. The speaker is loud, there is a reserve, the interlocutor can be heard clearly and legibly.

At the bottom there is a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones, a main microphone, USB Type-C and a speaker.

On the left there is a metal tray for installing a memory card and a nano SIM card.

There are models with two SIM cards – EVA-L19 and EVA-L29. On the right is a power button with notches to make it easier to find, and a volume rocker key.

At the top end there is a lone microphone for noise reduction.

On the back of the device: two cameras, two LED flashes of different light tones, a laser focus guidance system and, just below, a fingerprint sensor (it works quickly, I think, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6).

Huawei and Apple iPhone 5

Huawei and Samsung Galaxy S6 (Pierre Cardin bumper)

Display

This device uses a screen with a diagonal of 5.2 inches. Physical size – 64x114 mm, frame on top – 14 mm, bottom – 16 mm, on the right and left – approximately 3 mm. There is an anti-reflective coating, which is quite effective.

The P9 display resolution from Huawei is FullHD, that is, 1920x1080 pixels, aspect ratio is 16:9, density is 423 pixels per inch. IPS matrix without an air gap.

The maximum brightness of white color is 432 cd/m2, the maximum brightness of black color is 0.55 cd/m2, contrast is 820:1.

The matrix does not have the highest brightness levels, and the black brightness is somewhat high, but the contrast is quite sufficient so that the screen is not too “blind” in the sun.

The brightness graph is within normal limits, the gamma is excellent around 2.13, judging by the color levels, there is a clear dip in red, the temperature does not fluctuate and is around 8000 K. The data obtained exceeds the values of the sRGB triangle. This means that the colors will be rich and very bright.

The matrix of Huawei P9 has excellent performance, the only negative is that the black values are somewhat too high, that is, the black color is not pure.

Viewing Angles

White color

Grey colour

Light exposure

Battery

This model uses a non-removable lithium polymer (Li-Pol) battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh.

In my operating mode, the gadget functioned for 1.5 days: an hour of calls, constant synchronization with Wi-Fi (every day from 9.00 to 01.00, Twitter, mail, Skype, WhatsApp), 4-6 hours of LTE. The screen glows in this mode for 4 hours.

The situation with games is a little worse: the battery runs out after 3-4 hours of continuous “battle”. The video device plays for about 7 hours (HD).

In the kit you will find a 2 A network adapter. From the original: the device supports fast charging, so from 0 to 100% the battery is filled with energy in 1 hour 10 minutes.

Communication capabilities

The device works not only in 2G/3G networks, but also in 4G CAT 6:

4G TDD LTE:Band38/39/40
4G FDD LTE:Band1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/12/17/18/19/20/26/28
3G UMTS: 800(B6,Japan)/800(B19,Japan) /850/900/AWS/1900/2100MHz(Band6/19/5/8/4/2/1)
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Huawei P9 has implemented the original “Signal+2.0” function - a virtual triple antenna. The point is that several antennas are built inside the device. Depending on how you hold the phone in your hand, the antennas switch to provide best quality communications. This is on paper, but in practice I didn’t notice much of a difference, especially when compared with the Samsung Galaxy S6, Meizu Pro 5/6 and other devices.

Another feature is “Wi-Fi+2.0”. The gadget automatically connects to the most stable and powerful network (according to bandwidth) Wi-Fi.

There is also NFC (it is absent in the L19 and L29 models), the rest is standard for any expensive Android smartphone: GPS and GLONASS, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB 2.0 with OTG support.

Memory and memory card

The official website says that three modifications are available:

EVA-L09. It is equipped with only one SIM card, inside 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory
EVA-L19. The device is equipped with two SIM cards, also 3 + 32 inside (available in Russia)
EVA-L29. This gadget is the most sophisticated. It has two SIM card slots, 4 GB RAM and 64 GB Flash memory.

As far as I understand, in versions with two SIM cards the slot is shared with a memory card.

Cameras

Finally we got to the most important and necessary section of the entire review. At least, it would be more interesting for me to get information about the cameras, since the rest of the parameters and functions are the same, plus or minus, compared to modern flagship smartphones.

What revolutionary thing did Huawei invent and use in the P9?

This model has two cameras installed. This time, not to create a stereo image or not quite correctly implemented background blur (let’s say, not only that), but for very real things.

Let's start with the fact that both modules have the same resolution of 12 MP (BSI CMOS Sony IMX286 matrix), F2.2 aperture, viewing angle of 27 mm, pixel size of 1.25 µm. If you look at the cameras, the right module is designed for shooting in color, and the left one is for monochrome. The fact is that one module uses a black and white sensor. This is necessary to receive maximum quantity Sveta. Thus, the sensor receives more information about the dynamic range and greater sensitivity is achieved. The second module fixes the color. Next, the data from the two matrices is combined.

Also, two cameras are needed for more accurate focusing, despite the fact that there is both laser autofocus and standard slow contrast.

Another application of the second module is taking frames with an aperture of F0.95! Yes, this is exactly the hole in the lens that the P9 imitates. In fact, this is where software comes into play again. However, we must pay tribute to Huawei programmers: this time the function works much more adequately than in any other device with software background blur.

I think we've partially sorted out the cameras. What about the Leica inscription?

Somehow it happened that Huawei completely incomprehensibly explained the essence of the appearance of the nameplate of the famous German company specializing in the production of optical systems and precision mechanics devices. It got to the point of absurdity: Huawei was accused of being pure marketing and Leica had nothing to do with it. The answer was not expected for a long time - just the other day a joint statement from Huawei and Leica about the P9 camera was published:

“Co-development is an integral part of the product and Leica's contributions include:

joint development, evaluation and optimization of optical lens design in accordance with Leica standards;

joint development of a camera module design to reduce the effect of scattered light (“halo and flare effect”);

assessing image quality in terms of color rendering/color accuracy, white balance, stray light reduction (“ghosting and flare”), exposure accuracy, dynamic range, sharpness and noise characteristics;

image processing using Leica's decades of signal processing and optical expertise;

determining compliance with the most stringent standards for Huawei's mass production, ensuring consistently high product quality."

Now it has become clear that it’s not for nothing that Huawei mentions Leica in its product, that is, everything turned out like in the joke about spoons that were found, but the sediment remained...

Well, now about the quality of the photos.

During the day, the images are of excellent quality: accurate white balance, no artifacts, good detail. As the lighting level decreases, the quality begins to decline sharply. Noticeable monochrome noise appears, especially in bright areas, and detail deteriorates.

Overall, I can’t say that the P9 shoots better than the G8 or P8. During the day they are all great daredevils, but at night they are clearly inferior to the main flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple iPhone 6S.

Separately, it is worth noting the very fast autofocus: during the day it’s on par with the Galaxy S7 – instantly, in the evening it’s a little slower. In addition, the focus is not only fast, but also very accurate: the camera is focused even when several objects are located nearby.

To control the aperture, you need to click on the corresponding icon. The hint says that the subject should be photographed at a distance of no more than two meters. Next, specify the focus point and select an aperture value from 0.95 to 16. Naturally, all this is implemented in software. I’ve already said about the effect - the frame looks good, but quite often obvious “jambs” are noticeable in the picture: blur is in the wrong place, part of the object is out of focus, and so on. You can dabble, but it’s unlikely to be used often.

In the settings (swipe from left to right) you can see the proprietary Leica font. Frankly speaking, if I hadn’t read about it on the Internet, I wouldn’t even have understood what the joke was: well, all the words with capital letter, well, drawing font...

Present manual settings: focusing on a point, center and entire frame; ISO selection from 50 to 3200, shutter speed from 1/4000 to 30 seconds; the exposure is adjusted, the focus is selected AF-S/AF-C or manual (just like in SLR cameras - credit!), and the white balance is indicated.

The Huawei P9 smartphone can take pictures in RAW (DNG) format. Records frames only to internal memory. The files “weigh” approximately from 15 MB to 30 MB.

Concerning front camera, then she takes good photographs. The angle is wide.

The device records video in FullHD resolution up to 60 frames per second. The quality is normal. Focus is accurate and fast. But you’ll really like the sound: clear, wide stereo, that is, you can hear every detail on the right or left.

Sample photos

In early April, Huawei demonstrated in London an updated line of its fashion models, represented by the P9 and P9 Plus smartphones. The main emphasis this time was on cameras: dual camera with lenses created in collaboration with Leica should, in theory, attract Special attention public and raise the attitude of users towards the Huawei brand to a new level. We will find out during the testing process whether the Chinese succeeded in everything they planned, but for now it is also worth noting that the manufacturer has not forgotten about the “light” version of the smartphone. In the case of the ninth series, along with P9 and P9 Plus, a more affordable version of P9 Lite will be presented for those who want to save money. But the premium modification P9 Plus with the Press Touch screen function (analogous to Force Touch), as well as the simplified P9 Lite, will be discussed in other articles, and today we will turn to the central model of the new series - Huawei P9, priced for the European market at 600-650 euro, and for Russian - around 50 thousand rubles.

Main characteristics of Huawei P9 (model EVA-L19)

SoC HiSilicon Kirin 955, 8 cores: 4x2.5 GHz (ARM Cortex-A72) + 4x1.8 GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
GPU Mali-T880 MP4
operating room Android system 6.0
Touchscreen IPS 5.2″, 1920×1080, 423 ppi
Random access memory (RAM) 3/4 GB, inner memory 32/64 GB
SIM cards: Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
Supports microSD memory cards up to 128 GB
GSM networks 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz networks
LTE networks Cat.6 FDD Band 1/3/4/7/20, TDD Band 38-41
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Concurrency
DLNA, Miracast
Bluetooth 4.2
USB 2.0 Type C, OTG
GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
Direction, proximity, lighting sensors, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic compass, step counter, fingerprint scanner
Cameras 12 + 12 MP, f/2.2, autofocus, LED flash
Camera 8 MP, front, f/2.4
Battery 3000 mAh
Dimensions 145×71×7 mm
Weight 144 g

	Huawei P9	LG G5 se	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Screen	5.2″ IPS, 1920×1080, 423 ppi	5.3″ IPS, 2560×1440, 554 ppi	5.5″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi	5.5″ IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
SoC (processor)	HiSilicon (4x Cortex-A72 @2.5 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.8 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (4x Cortex-A72 @1.8 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.4 GHz)	Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa (4 Mongoose cores @2.6 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 cores @1.6)	Apple A9 (2 cores @1.8 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture)
GPU	Mali-T880 MP4	Adreno 510	Mali-T880	Apple A9
Flash memory	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	16/64/128 GB
Connectors		USB Type C (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack	Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack	Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack
Memory card support	microSD (up to 128 GB)	microSD (up to 2 TB)	microSD (up to 200 GB)	No
RAM	3 GB	3 GB	4 GB	2 GB
Cameras	rear (12 MP; video 1080p), front (8 MP)	rear (16/8 MP; 4K video), front (8 MP)		rear (12 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)
LTE support	There is	There is	There is	There is
Battery capacity (mAh)	3000	2800	3600	2750
operating system	Google Android 6.0	Google Android 6.0.1	Google Android 6.0.1	Apple iOS 9.0 (updated to 9.2.1)
Dimensions (mm)*	145×71×7	149×74×7.7	151×73×7.7	158×78×7.3
Weight (g)	144	157	157	190
average price	T-13747875	T-13804120	T-13485518	T-12859250
Retail offers Huawei P9 (32 GB, Dual SIM)	L-13747875-10

Appearance and ease of use

A little history

Without exaggeration, Huawei P9 can be described as an image model with a beautiful, thoughtful design to the smallest detail. This time the company's artists did a great job. At this point, we can recall that the beginning of the Huawei P line of smartphones, in which the emphasis has always been on the external component, was laid by the Huawei Ascend P1 model, released back in 2012. That is, the company opened its image series of smartphones, then called Ascend P, exactly four years ago.

That first model, however, did not have a metal case, and its main feature was its very small thickness. This distinctive feature is preserved in all members of the P. family.

Huawei Ascend P1

Subsequent models received both a metal rim and glass panels, but each time there was a feeling of some incompleteness in the design. This was especially true of the ridiculous rounding of the lower end, which did not want to fit into the whole image.

So smartphone cameras have hit a certain ceiling. Quality mobile cameras already corresponds to the level of medium-sized compacts, and even surpasses the junior lines. And you have to come up with something else to stand out. We have already seen smartphones with two main camera modules, but here Huawei engineers decided to distinguish themselves by making one module black and white. Thanks to the fact that the second module is not distracted by colors, it can better resolve details and also (supposedly) expand the dynamic range. After software stitching together images from two cameras, we should get a sharp, detailed image with good dynamic range.

In reality, it turns out that everything is not so great. Unstable color resolution can still be attributed to crude firmware, but problems with shooting in low light, which, according to the manufacturer, should not exist, are very upsetting. At the same time, the monochrome module itself works quite well. However, its small lead over its non-white counterparts may be due precisely to the lack of color and fewer problems with noise. However, the dynamic range of the camera is really quite good. The photos don't have the unnatural quality of HDR, but the highlights and shadows are well balanced.

Huawei P9	Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Perhaps in production samples the program will already learn how to stitch images correctly, getting the best from each module, and we will really see an outstanding result. For now, the camera doesn't show anything special. Moreover, in some places there are areas of blur in the corners that are completely unworthy of a flagship. However, the camera will cope well with documentary and artistic photography.

Here it is worth remembering one of the testaments of the modern amateur photographer, which says: “Almost any photo in black and white will look cooler.” So in this case, the monochrome module can really be used to its fullest, like Leica M-Monochrom connoisseurs. However, it is worth understanding that this module itself will not shoot like a Leica, and its dynamic range is at least worse, not to mention other quite obvious points.

Color module	B&W module

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth-generation networks LTE Cat.6 with a maximum possible speed of up to 300 Mbit/s for reception, frequency aggregation is supported if there is appropriate support from the operator’s network. Huawei says that in their next smartphone they have used not a double, but a “triple virtual antenna Signal+ 2.0.” Combined with Signal+ fast switching technology, this allows the smartphone to select the optimal communication mode and improves connection quality even while moving at high speed, for example if the user is talking while on a high-speed train.

Five FDD LTE bands are supported, including the three most common among domestic operators (B3, B7 and B20). Four FDD TDD bands (Band 38–41) are also supported. In practice, with a SIM card from the MTS operator in the Moscow region, the smartphone was confidently registered and worked in 4G networks. In general, both the connection speed in 4G networks and work with cellular networks In general, I liked the Huawei P9: the smartphone instantly reconnects after a break, does not lose connection in areas of poor reception, and provides maximum high speeds in 4G in test locations where many others perform much worse. In terms of communication capabilities, the hero of the review is at his best.

There is support for Bluetooth 4.1, but for some reason there is no NFC. It is very strange that Huawei does not consider this function necessary at least for top-end devices, while the usefulness of this technology is only growing. The smartphone supports Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize wireless point access via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. Smart Wi-Fi+ lets you automatically switch between Wi-Fi and network mobile transmission data. USB 2.0 Type C connector supports connecting external devices USB mode OTG.

The navigation module works with GPS (A-GPS), Glonass and Chinese Beidou. There are no complaints about the operating speed of the navigation module; the first satellites are detected during a cold start within the first minute. The smartphone is equipped with a sensor magnetic field, on the basis of which the compass of navigation programs operates.

It is possible to reduce in size virtual keyboard and even the entire working area of the screen for easy control with the fingers of one hand.

The smartphone, like all representatives of the P line, supports two SIM cards using the Dual standard SIM Dual Active. That is, here both cards can work in parallel and at the same time, because the smartphone uses two separate radio modules. This is very rare in modern smartphones option. It is very simple to use: during parallel conversations, you can instantly switch from one interlocutor to another by pressing just one button.

Any of the SIM cards can be designated as the main one for organizing voice calls, transferring data and sending SMS messages; When dialing a number, you can also select the desired card using the corresponding buttons. A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G/4G networks, but only one of them can function in this mode at a time. To change the assignment of slots, cards do not need to be swapped - this can be done directly from the phone menu.

OS and software

The device uses the Google Android 64-bit software platform as a system. Android versions 6.0 Marshmallow. On top of the standard Google interface, Huawei’s own shell is customarily installed, the fourth version of Emotion UI 4.1. Everything here is quite familiar and familiar: working with gestures is supported, there is an additional virtual control button that folds out on the screen into a radial menu. The navigation panel has been modified, divided into several tabs, the first of which has a convenient timeline of events, the next one you can find a quick access menu to the main settings, and by swiping up from the bottom you can call up another menu where you can find a flashlight, a voice recorder and some other useful functions and settings. It is possible to change the design themes and enable a simplified desktop mode; the bottom control row of virtual buttons can also be reassigned at your discretion.

The operation of the fingerprint scanner does not cause any complaints, you can place your finger, as usual, at any angle, authorization occurs very quickly and without errors. Using a fingerprint scanner, you can not only unlock your smartphone, but also block access to certain applications, make payments, scroll through photos in the gallery, answer calls, and even turn off the alarm clock. There is nothing new in this; the functionality is quite familiar and convenient. True, the convenience of the scanner's location on the back of the case raises questions, but this is a separate topic for discussion.

Performance

The Huawei P9 hardware platform is based on the new 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 955 SoC of Huawei's own design. This SoC is made using 16-nanometer technology and is actually an overclocked version of the Kirin 950 model. It includes four powerful 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 cores with a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz, which are complemented by four simpler 64-bit Cortex-A72 cores A53 with a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz. The quad-core Mali-T880 MP4 video accelerator is responsible for graphics processing.

The smartphone's RAM capacity is 3 GB, the built-in flash memory is 32 GB (the user has about 23 GB of free space). This volume can be increased using microSD cards, but then you will have to remove one of the SIM cards. It is also possible to connect to USB port external flash drives in OTG mode. microSD cards officially supported with capacities up to 128 GB, in practice our test Transcend card Premium microSDXC UHS-1 with a capacity of 128 GB was confidently recognized by the device.

The testing results of Huawei's new flagship platform left a mixed impression. In comprehensive tests, the SoC shows good results, although they are far from the leading positions of the latest flagship platforms from Qualcomm and Samsung. But as for graphics, in this regard, the flagships of Huawei and Mediatek (Helio X20) are at an incomparably lower level than the Snapdragon 820, Exynos 8890 and even the Snapdragon 810.

To summarize, we can say that the flagship processors from Qualcomm and Samsung retain a significant advantage over the Kirin 955. However, the performance of this platform should be more than enough to complete all tasks, including demanding games. Simple games such as Tanks can be played very comfortably on the Huawei P9; the number of frames per second does not drop below 60 fps.

Testing in latest versions comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

All the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the most latest versions popular benchmarks, we have summarized them in tables for convenience. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that at one time they passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When tested in 3DMark for the most productive smartphones It is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Huawei P9 (HiSilicon Kirin 955)	LG G5 se (Qualcomm Snapdragon 652)	Meizu Pro 5 (Exynos 7420)	Huawei Nexus 6P (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810)	LeTV 1s (Mediatek MT6795T)
3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot (more is better)	896	738	1340	1305	542
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	25 fps	19 fps	52 fps	31 fps	26 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	23 fps	25 fps	57 fps	42 fps	27 fps
Bonsai Benchmark	3866 (55 fps)	3515 (50 fps)	4130 (59 fps)	4035 (58 fps)	3785 (54 fps)

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface, obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program (the lighter, the higher the temperature):

Heating is slightly more localized in the upper part of the device. At the same time, a large area with approximately the same temperature suggests that the case distributes heat well from heating components. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was only 36 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is relatively little.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices It is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

According to the testing results, the test subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network, in this case, audio files. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720, 24fps, AAC	plays normally	plays normally
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720, 24fps, AC3		The video plays fine, there is no sound
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080, 24fps, AAC	plays normally	plays normally
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080, 24fps, AC3	The video plays fine, there is no sound	The video plays fine, there is no sound

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We were unable to test support for SlimPort or MHL adapters due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type C port, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)

Fine No 720/24p Fine No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights.

Battery life

The capacity of the removable battery installed in the Huawei P9 is as much as 3000 mAh, which is worthy, given the thin and light body of the device. A smartphone with such a battery and without an increased display resolution logically demonstrates a very impressive level of autonomy. The device confidently survives until evening charging even with an eventful day, sometimes it can live longer, but it is still better to charge it at night. Testing, as usual, was carried out without using any energy-saving modes, although, of course, the device has them.

You can use them not in the usual settings menu, but through a comprehensive application that contains a battery manager, system optimization and cleaning tools, as well as virus protection tools.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Huawei P9	3000 mAh	19:00	9:00 a.m.	4 hours 50 minutes
LG G5 se	2800 mAh	13:20	8:30 a.m.	4 hours 20 minutes
Alcatel Idol 4s	3000 mAh	12:00 pm	8:00 am	4:00 am
Moto X Force	3760 mAh	16:30	10:00 am	4 hours 40 minutes
Huawei Nexus 6P	3450 mAh	15:00	8:30 a.m.	4 hours 30 minutes
LG Nexus 5X	2700 mAh	14:30	6:00 am	4:00 am
LG G4	3000 mAh	17:00	9:00 a.m.	3:00 am
OnePlus 2	3300 mAh	14:00	11:20 am	4 hours 30 minutes
Google Nexus 6	3220 mAh	18:00	10:30 a.m.	3 hours 40 minutes
Meizu Pro 5	3050 mAh	17:30	12:30 pm	3 hours 15 minutes

Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasts a very long time, from 18 to 19 hours. When continuously watching videos from Youtube in high quality(720p) with the same brightness level via home Wi-Fi network The device operates for more than 9 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone works reliably for more than 4 hours.

Unfortunately, a copy of Huawei P9 arrived to us for testing without a complete charger. From a conventional charger with a maximum output current of 2 A, the device is charged in approximately 2 hours with a current of 1.8 A at a voltage of 5 V. Wireless charging the device does not support.

Bottom line

The declared price of the Huawei P9 was frankly upsetting: the Chinese, having put a price of 50 thousand rubles on their smartphone (in Europe - 650 euros), make it clear that they will stop at nothing in an effort to hammer into the minds of buyers the belief that the Huawei brand may not be less expensive and “premium” than market leaders such as Samsung and Apple. However, the grumbling of users (“50 thousand for Huawei is expensive”) does not stop, because for that kind of money you can buy the most desirable Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple iPhone 6. As a result, after about a month and a half of presence in Russian retail, Huawei P9 fell in price from official representatives up to 40 thousand rubles, and “gray” models can be bought for almost 30 thousand.

And in terms of product quality, the Chinese company still needs to improve. Cooperation with Leica in fact did not provide significant advantages when shooting photos over the same market leaders. But cameras and shooting quality are currently the main measure of top-end smartphones, since the rest of them are, for the most part, almost the same. And in this “rest” Huawei P9 is quite good, with its impressive design, high-quality screen, sound system, communication capabilities and good autonomy. But as for its own hardware platform Kirin, here too Huawei has not yet been able to catch up with the leaders. The platform itself may not be bad, but if you compare its capabilities with the same Samsung Exynos 8890, and add here the incredible camera capabilities of the same Galaxy S7, then the question of who will get 50 thousand from the buyer’s wallet will be resolved, rather, in favor of Samsung.

Let's start with this picture, already known to our regular readers. The interesting thing here is the detailing both in the shadows and in the light. The automatic exposure meter, as a rule, reacts to the brightest or, conversely, the darkest parts of the frame. This is when extended dynamic range makes a better photo.

Extreme conditions for the camera: I wanted to force it to give up and took a photo that every beginner is criticized for: I took a shot against the sun. I think it turned out very well.

Another photo taken against the sun.

An example of shooting in the dark. This is a garland under the ceiling of the restaurant.

Another example: a chandelier. There are many sources of light in the room, immersed in twilight, best suited for dinner.

A fragment of the previous frame in original resolution - especially for those who are too lazy to look and download pictures.

And here is a photo in the church. Frankly, this was the first time I was able to take a picture in such darkness, where the picture was not blurred due to the shutter speed being too long, and the noise level could be called quite acceptable. A few years ago, only good cameras with high levels ISO, today this is already a reality for smartphone cameras. It’s real - 5 years ago I would never have believed that such a level of quality was, in principle, achievable with a phone camera. And 10 years ago he would have laughed in anyone’s face and twirled his index finger at his temple.

On the crop, of course, everything is not so wonderful, but this is already the lot of an elusively small part of the consumer audience.

Two examples of pictures in the evening, not indoors, but outdoors. There are a lot of light sources that, in theory, should drive the camera automation crazy. But they don't.

Yes, this is Times Square in New York. The best place in the world for these types of shots.

At some point in time (more precisely at the Acer presentation in New York, by the way, all the pictures from that publication were taken on a Huawei P9 camera) I caught myself thinking that I never take pictures with zoom, since for me digital zoom is a priori this is bad. Although practice shows that, for example, for Twitter or Facebook, it is better and faster to take a photo with zoom than to cut out a frame in the editor on your phone. I set up an experiment in which I compared a photograph taken with digital zoom to a photograph in which the same fragment would have been cropped out of the frame in the original resolution. Here is this photo taken without zoom.

And now the most interesting thing: if you take a photo taken (and framed the way you would originally like) with a digital zoom and compare it with a photo taken without zoom, cutting out a frame of comparable size from its reduced copy (this is not the original scale, but a reduced one) , then the difference will be practically not noticeable.

Now I’ll translate it into normal language: using digital zoom (unless, of course, the picture is intended for some kind of photo exhibition and half-wall-sized print) is possible and even necessary. Because this allows you to get the result immediately, rather than fiddling with cutting out the frame on your phone. Minus one more fear of taking pictures with a phone in addition to shooting with outstretched arms and having to point your finger at the screen to release the shutter, which I have already come to terms with.

Let's return to difficult shooting conditions. The next three photographs were taken through glass. In these cases, glare is inevitable and in general the results always look sad. This particular photograph is also complicated by the fact that it is the corner of a skyscraper, where light comes from two sides, and a person is still standing against one of the walls. Just a reminder that this is not shooting in HDR mode.

Just an amazing view, I can’t resist inserting this photo into the review again.

The airfield at Boryspil airport is filled with thunderclouds, concrete and a lone plane. All this, let me remind you, was filmed through glass.

The next two pictures are examples of that very “arity” in the camera. Of course there are plenty third party applications, which allow you to add some captions to your photos (I personally regularly use an Instagram add-on called InstaWeather, which has many weather templates). But it’s still nice when such an opportunity is immediately available in the camera. And it’s doubly nice that the text of the templates has been translated into Russian.

True, not all, as you can see. This is a postcard from the Kyiv Botanical Garden during the magnolia bloom. The only strange thing is that there is no shooting mode using the front camera, which creates a “picture-in-picture” effect.

A few words should be said about the second monochrome matrix. It, among other things, allows you to take a separate picture (I even closed the second eye of the camera for the experiment). Black and white photographs are considered more expressive and usually have more artistic claims. Especially if you shoot ancient objects. I didn’t notice any particular difference between such a photograph and a regular one converted to monochrome, but lovers of creative experiments will definitely appreciate this opportunity.

The camera's capabilities are also usually tested on some picture with bright colors. I found one like this too. Also, by the way, a photo taken through a store window.

Finally, I can’t help but dwell on the selective focusing and dynamic aperture functions. This technology works simply: you need to take a photo in a special mode, access to which is given by a special icon on the shooting interface screen. The camera then takes a series of pictures at different focal lengths. Then you can view this series in the gallery and indicate which part of the frame you want to focus on. In order for the final photo to be shown to someone outside the phone, it must be saved separately.

Separate gallery.

Bottom line

Huawei has done a lot of work in the 3 years since it entered the Android smartphone market. The Huawei P9 smartphone looks attractive, has a pleasant heaviness due to its metal body and is tactilely not much different from the iPhone 6/6S. He has an unusual appearance thanks to two camera modules, and for the first time among Chinese manufacturers, it takes excellent pictures, although it loses even more best camera(Who among the developers knew that Samsung would come up with such a trick this year?) Galaxy S7. The company itself really believes in this phone, which ideologically reminds me of the LG G2: it also looked like an interesting breakthrough (including in the camera) and the company also gave it away in more around the world to journalists, bloggers and other opinion leaders. And there is no reason for the Huawei P9 (like its predecessor P8, by the way - repeating success is a sign of skill, not an accident) not to give it our editorial “we recommend” award.

5 reasons to buy Huawei P9:

excellent design and metal body, giving a pleasant heaviness;
Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the most complete set of capabilities to date;
excellent camera, enhanced by Leica technologies and a second monochrome sensor;
easy-to-use interface and customizable energy saving and memory management system;
technology (USB-C, biometric sensor, good headset included).

2 reasons not to buy Huawei P9:

This is not an iPhone;
no protection from water.

Technical Huawei specifications P9
Dimensions and weight	145x71x7 mm, 144 g
operating system	Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Display	2.5D, IPS-NEO, 5.2", 1920x1080, 423 ppi
CPU	8-core HiSilicon Kirin 955 (4 cores Cortex-A53 1.8 GHz and 4 cores Cortex-A72 2.5 GHz), video Mali-T880 MP4
Memory	RAM 3 GB, 32.64 GB, microSD support up to 128 GB
Main camera	Two 12 MP modules, f/2.2, resolution 3968x2976, pixel size 1.25 µm, phase detection autofocus, dual LED flash, video recording 1920x1080 60 fps
Front-camera	8 MP, f/2.4, resolution 3264x2448, video recording 1920x1080
Wireless technologies	dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS
Battery	non-removable, 3000 mAh
SIM card	nanoSIM (optional nanoSIM+hybrid microSIM/microSD)
Peculiarities	USB-C connector, metal case, second monochrome camera sensor, headset included