Huawei readies the P9 for Australian launch

The Huawei P9 is the flagship phone for 2016 for the Chinese company which currently sits comfortably as the number 3 Smartphone brand globally and today in Bali at s regional conference they confirmed availability would begin in the region from the end of May.

Australia will be one of the first in the region to receive the device though and we expect that to be sometime in June and while pricing and carrier availability is not yet known there is an air of enthusiasm from the Huawei team so expect this device to be widely available in Australia.

It’s a stunning design, Huawei’s best yet for sure, coming in thinner than the iPhone 6s and Samsung Galaxy S7 and also featuring a camera lens that is flush with the body – no more “camera bump”.

The real feature of this device is the camera. It actually features not just two lenses, and two sensors – so in reality, two cameras.  And that’s just on the back.

But you aren’t taking two separate photos.  One of the sensors is for RGB colour, the other is for Monochrome greyscale images, and the Leica smarts and Huawei technology then combine those two images to give a richer overall photo.  We’ll test that soon.  But on face value, it certainly looks the goods.

It also means that if you love black and white photography, you can choose to just shoot in black and white.

Perhaps most impressive though is the professional modes also available.  Again, subject to getting a pro to giving it a go, the specs give you the option to customise the ISO, Focus Mode, Exposure Mode, Shutter Speed, White Balance, Metering Mode, Manual Focus and also store images in RAW format.

The P9 has a 5.2 inch Full HD display, the rear sensors are 13 megapixel the front is 8 and they’ve improved yet again their fingerprint technology.

All in all, this is everything you’d want in a flagship device, Huawei are rightly proud of what they’ve made – the proof will be in the pudding.

We’re going to pop out and get some photos now so you can see for yourself, as for the device overall it rates high on design,  performance and features – so it has what it takes to be the best.  In Australia though, having the best doesn’t always equal being the best, so it will be interesting to see how many of the Telcos – large and small – range the device when its available in a few months.

Trevor Long travelled to Bali for the P9 Regional launch Conference as a guest of Huawei– Click here for Full details of commercial interests and disclosures