Huawei unveiled two new flagship handsets in London. China’s Huawei, which is the third largest maker of smartphones, co-branded with Leica to deliver the 5.2-inch P9 and 5.5-inch P9 Plus. Although both Android phones are loaded with innovative features, the one that stands out is the dual lenses located on the rear of the device.
Although the lenses are not actually Leica, according to a company spokesperson for Huawei, the camera was co-engineered with the reputable optics maker. Even so, the Chinese smartphone maker has the legal right to use the Leica name in its marketing efforts.
While sales for smartphones have declined over the past several years, Huawei continues to beat out the competition, something evident with its 53 percent growth during last year’s fourth quarter. According to industry analysts, the primary reason is overseas brand visibility. Now that Huawei has chosen the nostalgic Leica name strategically placed on the back of its phones, it is clear that the company hopes to further increase brand visibility.
Some people are somewhat skeptical about the dual lenses, feeling that this is perhaps another ill-fated attempt at 3D photography. However, most experts disagree. The dual lenses are actually not gimmicky at all. Instead, these lenses are designed to improve color and clarity, which in turn enhances photography. The dual lenses also support other features, including refocusing.
Supporting the different photo enhancements of the P9 and P9 Plus is one RGB, as well as one monochrome lens. In addition, each of the lenses is comprised of a 12-magapixel sensor that allows the device to deliver higher quality photos by capturing more light. According to Huawei, users can create professional images using the different enhanced features, such as blurred backgrounds.
With millions of people posting images on various social media platforms, the goal of virtually every high-end Android maker is to offer consumers a stellar performing camera. Today, most people communicate with messaging apps and to emphasize points, they use images opposed to words.
To make photography even better with the P9 and P9 Plus, Huawei is trying to persuade Leica to offer filter effects as well. For instance, to support three distinct photo processing styles is the Leica Film Mode. One claim from the Leica brand that people appreciate is that colors are more true to life, something hard to find with other smartphone cameras.
As far as aesthetics, both flagship phones have aluminum encased hardware. However, battery capacity has been bolstered and for improved connection quality, triple antennas were added. Another improvement is better performance in low light situations for the front-facing lenses.
Overall, Huawei listened to what consumers wanted most from a smartphone camera and ultimately delivered. All these features, coupled with the most advanced USB type C standard and fingerprint reader have pushed Huawei to the finish line ahead of Samsung. Both the P9 and P9 Plus are solid devices that boast premium features for a competitive price.
