[REVIEW] Huawei P9 – The Magical Monochrome Marvel

Battery Life

The Huawei P9 keeps the lights on via a relatively large non-removable 3,000mAh battery though it, alas,  lacks wireless charging functionality. The relatively frugal drain via the1080p display and the efficiency of the Kirin processor offers, on paper a theoretical battery life of a couple of days with actual results in the field roughly matching a full day plus or so of heavy use. After a full day with calls, heavy browsing, e-mails, texts, some YouTube videos of a particularly famous avian running on a highway with some of Arya Stark’s more recent attempts at plastic surgery and several rounds of Battle Royale, Freeblade and Call of Duty: Heroes, the P9 still managed to leg it to the finish line with 20%  to spare late after sundown at full tilt.

If things go south, the P9 has an Ultra Battery mode that dials everything down to the basics with just calls, texts and basic access to contacts. This radically extends battery life to several days at full power though you can’t browse or surf with Ultra battery mode on. Somewhat in between is an ROG power saving mode that dials the screen resolution to 720p and dials down performance on the Kirin processor to save on battery power though you still retain full phone and app access functionality. The phone also allows for very precise app control with the ability to manage which apps can run even when the screen is off to eke out a bit more juice.

Conclusion
In a battle between flagships, the Huawei P9 brings a lot to the table. Superb build quality, a potent array of hardware and a very capable camera array capable of taking the best mono shots amongst anything in this year’s smartphone crop or, for the matter, any previous smartphone along with a swift fingerprint sensor make it a tempting proposition, more so the fact that it costs RM2099, a good deal cheaper than flagships of other brands. While the lack of wireless charging is a quibble it isn’t a deal breaker. As far as bang for the buck goes, you’re getting a heck of a lot with the P9 and if you want in on an affordable high-performing flagship phone, this is it.

Specifications

What We Liked Captures superb snaps, swift and powerful hardware, vibrant display, responsive and versatile fingerprint sensor

What We Didn’t Lacks NFC, no 4K video, no wireless charging

What We Say The P9 brings a lot of value to the table with a powerful camera and hardware array along with superb build quality at just over two grand. This is excellent value for money.