The Huawei P9, P9 Plus have launched – Here’s what you’ll pay

Huawei’s got a new phone or two heading your way and they’re hoping you’re going to pay for the camera tech that they’ve got in store. The camera-focused Huawei P9 and the Huawei P9 Plus both launched in South Africa last night and we’ve got the specs and the prices for you right here.

The Huawei P9 starts at R12,000, while the P9 Plus is going to set you back R13,500. Those are some Samsung-level prices so the company had better be able to back it up. As we mentioned, the camera technology is supposed to be the decider, as Huawei has teamed up with Leica AG to create its new dual-cam shooters. Though it’s unclear how much of a role Leica had in the actual hardware, beyond the vague “co-engineered with” label Huawei’s been eager to throw about.

The P9 totes dual 12MP rear cameras with the mystery Leica bits (before Apple — it is rumoured — was going to pull the same partnership stunt, 10 points to House Huawei), phase detection autofocus, and a dual LED flash on the rear. The front camera isn’t quite as spiffy, but it’s still an 8MP selfie shooter, which ought to cut it, as long as you turn down the turns-you-into-a-Barbie-doll beauty mode.

As to the rest of the details, the P9 is available in SA in 32GB (with 3GB RAM) and 64GB models (with 4GB RAM), with one of the company’s own Kirin 955 processors at its core. There’s a 3,000mAh battery in there and also a microSD slot (up to 128GB) if your storage needs expanding. You’re going to have to give up one of your two SIM card slots to use it though.

The P9 Plus is much the same, except that you’re swapping the P9’s 5.2-inch screen for a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED panel and it’s only available in a 64GB/4GB RAM combination. The camera, processor, and OS (Android 6 under Huawei’s Emotion UI 4.1) stay the same, but the Plus scores a 3,400mAh battery to run things and, if it’s anything like the Mate 8, should offer some outstanding battery life.

Do the new handsets justify the Samsung-like pricing? Find out soon, once we go hands-on with Huawei’s newest flagships.