Huawei P9: Everything we know ahead of 6 April launch event

Huawei is holding a media event in London on 6 April, where it is expected to reveal its new flagship smartphone, the P9. It is also tipped that the P9 will be a three-pronged family of handsets, made up of a regular P9 as well as smaller Lite and larger Max models.

IBTimes UK will be attending the event and bringing you all of the news as it happens, plus our hands-on first impressions shortly after. But for now, here is everything we have heard so far about the Huawei P9.

Huawei P9: A familiar design

As if often the case with smartphone these days, the Huawei P9 has leaked far and wide ahead of its official launch. The handset has been seen numerous times and without any disguise, so we are 99% certain that the phone revealed on Wednesday will look like this:

The glossy white front, metal back and square sides give it a very similar look to its predecessor, the Huawei P8. But that is no bad thing; we loved the way the P8 looked, as it truly felt like a premium handset capable of competing against the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S flagships.

Leaks claim the P9 is 6.9mm thick – 0.5mm more than the P8 – and it will likely weigh a similar amount too, at around 145g. Images published by VentureBeat show the P9 will have a USB Type-C connection, replacing its predecessor's micro USB. Although this will likely be a headache for many customers at first, due to their existing USB cables, docks and accessories no longer working, the new technology will give the P9 faster charging.

Huawei P9: Dual-lens camera

Leaked images of the P9 also reveal it will feature a fingerprint reader on the back, right below what will likely be the phone's biggest feature – a dual-lens rear camera produced by photography company Leica. Leaks claim the camera will be an update on the dual lens system used by the Huawei Honor 6, and that each lens will sit in front of a 12-megapixel sensor. The benefit of having two lenses and sensors is that the phone can change the focus point of a photo after it has been taken.

Huawei has already made some big hints about the P9's rear camera. An invitation sent to journalists resembles an old camera film, has the message "change the way you see the world" written on it, and the hashtag Huawei is promoting the event with is #OO, likely a nod towards the two lenses. A teaser image used in Huawei's Chinese marketing campaign for the new phone shows two camera lenses incorporated into the P9 name.

Huawei P9: Three screen sizes to choose from

Following Sony, Samsung and Apple, Huawei is tipped to be offering its new flagship phone in a variety of sizes. As well as the regular P9, it is understood that Huawei will offer a smaller P9 Lite and a larger P9 Max. There are also rumours of a fourth handset, called the P9 Premium, although this might only be sold in specific markets like China.

The latest rumours claim the regular P9 will have a screen measuring either 5.1 or 5.2 inches, the same as last year's P8. It is expected to have a Full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, but this could be stretched to Quad HD and 2560 x 1440 to match the Samsung Galaxy S7. Meanwhile, the smaller P9 Lite is said to measure 5in and have a Full HD screen, and the P9 Max will be a huge 6.7in and boast a Quad HD screen. Incidentally, all three phones will be graced by the dual-lens Leica rear camera.

Huawei P9: What's inside?

Several rumours claim the P9 will be powered by the same Kirin 950 processor used by the Huawei Mate 8. As for RAM and storage, product listings for all three P9s on the OppoMart website claims the regular P9 will get 3GB of RAM , while the Max will have 4GB and the Lite 2GB. Storage will be 16GB in the Lite, 32GB in the regular P9 and 64GB in the Max. All three phones will likely offer expandable storage via a second SIM card slot which doubles as space for a MicroSD card.

Huawei P9: Mixed messages

Despite the huge number of leaks, there are plenty of mixed messages circling about the Huawei P9. No one can agree on exactly how the specifications will vary between the three versions – assuming three will be launched – and it is even possible that only the regular P9 will come to the UK initially.

All we really know for sure is that the P9 will look a lot like the P8 and it will have a rear camera with two lenses. We also know Huawei will tell us more at a media event in London on 6 April. The event starts at 2pm and we will be there to see the P9 for ourselves.