Huawei P9 Flagship Will Rock A Leica Camera For Superior Smartphone Photography

Menchie Mendoza, Tech Times 03 April 2016, 08:04 am

China-based smartphone maker Huawei is launching the upcoming P9 flagship with the camera technology of German company Leica, one of today's most respected names in the world of camera making.

It was in late February when Huawei announced that it is partnering with Leica in a move that would enhance the company's premium smartphone lineup.

"We are going to launch our flagship P9 phone very soon and this is a product that we worked with Leica to produce," said Huawei deputy chairmen Guo Ping at the company's press conference in Shenzhen.

Details on the handset being equipped with a Leica camera were first revealed by Steve Hemmerstoffer of nowhereelse / onleaks. In a tweet, Hemmerstoffer showed the P9 bearing the name Leica right next to the handset's dual-camera setup on the rear.

"#Huawei #HuaweiP9," tweeted Hemmerstoffer (@stagueve).

Oliver Kaltner, CEO of Leica Camera AG, said in an interview that the company is committed to always deliver products that will continue to be appealing to consumers. He added that one of the company's aims will be to find the technological solutions that will allow the best integration between the camera and the WLAN environment.

"Our mantra at Leica is to concentrate on the essential," said Kaltner. "And the essential element of photography is the image. As long as we keep this focus, we will always deliver products that appeal. Will there be a reshuffle in the product categories? Yes! Will we see mergers of different products? Absolutely! Is it my wish that the camera will be a part of this world of mobile devices with tablets, phablets and smartphones? No doubt! Therefore I must aim to find technological solutions that best integrate the camera into the WLAN environment."

Early in March, we reported that more leaked images of the Huawei P9 were seen online along with some notable specs details offered by the upcoming flagship.

The Huawei P9 Lite version will purportedly run on a Snapdragon 650 SoC and will be packed with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage.

The Huawei P9, on the other hand, will run on a Kirin 950 chipset and will have a bigger 3 GB of RAM and more storage size of 32 GB.

The Huawei P9 handset and the Huawei P9 Max will be the top-of-the-line versions. Both are said to run on Kirin 955 chipset and will come equipped with a whopping 4 GB of RAM. As for the storage, the handsets will reportedly carry 64 GB, the biggest storage option in the lineup.

Huawei is expected to officially announce the P9 on April 6 in an event which has the tagline "Change the way you see the world." Pricing options will range from $299 (P9 Lite), $499 (P9) and $699 (P9 Max).