Huawei P9: Release date, specs and pricing expected from rumoured dual-camera phone

The Huawei P8 was one of the most talked about phones in 2015 with many comparing its look and design with the iPhone 6. Huawei recently teased an event, scheduled to take place on 9 March in Berlin, where it was thought the company would announce four new models in the P series - P9, P9 Lite, P9 Max, and an enhanced version, the exact model name for which is not known.

However, fresh reports claim that the event will only be a get together for developers and bloggers, and the P9 series launch will in fact take place post March but before June with the exact month not yet known.

"We are aware that rumours have been circulating about a possible Huawei launch event next week," the company clarified recently to Tech Radar. "We are delighted to see the excitement around our brand and the anticipation for our new products, but we wish to clarify that we do not have any launch activities planned for 9 March in Berlin."

Here is a round-up of the rumoured specifications of the upcoming series P9:

Design and display

Like the P8, its successor may come with a 5.2-inch screen although the premium version may even feature a 6 to 6.2-inch screen. The resolution numbers are not quite clear but the company is slated to switch from a full HD resolution to a Quad HD resolution on the P9, putting it in the same league as the recently announced LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7.

VentureBeat leaks show the rear of the phone will host a fingerprint sensor similar to that of the Huawei Mate7. The front of the device shows it will have thin bezels and the body of the phone is likely to be metallic.

Giz China also leaked what it claims are press images of the P9 showing four colour variants: pink, silver, gold and white.

Processor, RAM, storage and OS

While most smartphone players in the market have opted for Snapdragon's 820 chipset, the P9 may have an updated version of the HiSilicon Kirin 930/935 which tipsters say could be the Kirin 950 which we saw on the Huawei Mate 8, the company's last flagship. The 950 contains an octa-core processor running at 2.53GHz and 1.8GHz, respectively. The higher models could run on 2.53GHz.

The RAM is expected to vary according to models but the base model will have a 4GB RAM and the premium version could have a 5 or 6GB RAM. An FCC approval recently showed that a Huawei phone code named EVA-L09 will feature a 2,900 mAh battery which means at least one of the models will have this battery capacity. The premium version with high RAM may have a more upgraded battery capacity.

The image leaks also show a USB Type-C port which will secure faster charging speeds for the P9. Storage capacities will also vary according to the model version ranging from 32GB to 128GB.

As for software, like most launches this year, the devices will likely come pre-installed with the latest Android Marshmallow version.

Camera

The leaks show that the P9 will feature a dual camera of 12-MP and 13-MP and Leica-made lenses. However, it is not known for which model the leaked pictures are for, so the base models may not feature dual-cameras. The front camera of the P9 has yet to be speculated upon but the P8 currently has an 8-MP front snapper which means if not higher it will at least stick to this specification.

In terms of pricing, the Huawei P8 entered the market at around $530. Hence the Huawei P9 (premium version) price will probably also be around the $500-550 mark making it about $100-50 lesser than the recently unveiled Galaxy S7.