Review: Huawei P9

Another year, another nice Huawei phone. Am I becoming a Huawei fanboy? Seems so.

The P9, the successor to last year’s P8 which I reviewed, is a gorgeous phone.  It’s a smidgen smaller (I had to look up the specs to just to confirm), and thankfully the power and volume buttons are still in the same place.  Gone is the separate memory card/second SIM slot; this is now integrated into one, and is now on the top left of the phone.

P8 on the left; P9 on the right.

Headphone socket is now on the bottom (not a fan), taking over what was the second speaker grill.  As a user of the Nexus 6P, it’s nice to see this phone inherit the USB Type-C charging/data port and the fingerprint reader located centrally on the rear of the phone.  Once you get used to unlocking a phone with your fingerprint, everything else seems so antiquated.

A lot of the online reviews really don’t like the Emotion UI (EMUI) that Huawei ships with their phones, but I’ve always liked it.  It’s strict around allowing apps to run when the screen is off, and you can force close all apps with just a few taps.  Android is not known for amazing battery life, however with these features, you can extend your time online greatly.  You do need to allow a few apps, such as Google Maps, otherwise it resets everytime the screen switches off.

The phone is responsive and quick, and common complaints about the low res screen (when compared to the other similar phones, such as the Samsung S7) weren’t an issue for me.  I think it’s because I’m not after ultra high res on such a small screen (again, compared to my ginormous 6P).

The biggest change in hardware is the camera, or cameras (which sit flush with the back of the phone). Huawei have partnered with Leica, and the phone features two 12 megapixel lenses.  The camera app also has a myriad of different camera settings, which are well above the skillset of this simple user.

For me, the best phones will take the best photos in low light, and man, does the P9 take some cracker low light photos:

The last photo, for me, shows how good the camera is.  On my street at home, at night, with no flash on. Very impressive.

Another great offering from Huawei, and a nice upgrade from last year’s model.