Huawei P9 and P9 Plus hands-on: First look

Huawei P9 Plus camera samples

We managed to snap a few samples with the Huawei P9 Plus dual 12MP camera. Since the lighting wasn't particularly favorable and the software of the units at the venue wasn't finalized we will reserve judgement for later.

What we can say at this stage though is that the samples shows plenty of promise and we really hope Huawei is able to extract as much of it as possible by the time a retail units comes to our office for a full review.

Huawei P9 Plus camera samples

We also tested the bokeh feature, which allows you to apply selective focus. This is to say it blurs the background, while maintaining your subject in focus for a more dramatic effect. It's a thing that small sensor smartphone cameras have always struggled to achieve, but that can be achieved by leveraging on the two sensors to measure the distances to all objects and the frame and applying selective blur.

The P9 Plus does a decent job - notably better than the HTC One M8, which debuted the feature with its dual camera two years ago. However, things are far from perfect and the edges of objects that should normally stay sharp do get blurred a bit.

You can adjust the strength of the blur

The best part about the feature is that the phone retains all the info from the two cameras, so you can return to the gallery later on and readjust the focus as you please.

Switching the focus point is possible at any time

Huawei TalkBand B3

At the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus premiere today, the company also revealed the TalkBand B3 band and we got to spend some time with the refreshed accessory. Just like on its predecessor, the band is passive and is a holder for the Bluetooth earpiece, which sits on top of it. The earpiece itself is the smart part, while the band is merely a stylish way for carrying it around while not using it.

Huawei TalkBand B3 Active version

Huawei touts it to be more ergonomic and has a high-grade chipset resulting in better audio performance, but unfortunately there was no way for us to verify that. We could see the improved design though as the Corning Gorilla Glass-covered curved band really looks better than its predecessor.

Huawei TalkBand B3 Classic version

The bracelet itself is available in three different version - the sporty Active rubber version available in black and white and featuring a simple clasp, the leather Classic (Brown, Gold) with its more stylish buckle and the full metal Elite (Rose Gold).

Huawei TalkBand B3 worn on the hand