Huawei P9 Lite, we have tested it

Good 3000 mAh battery together with interesting mid-range features, for only 330 euros : this is the  Huawei P9 Lite , the “little brother” of the Huawei P9. It is a phone that incorporates Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow as standard , in addition to Huawei's own user interface , Emotion UI , in version 4.1 .

It is worth noting the main 13 - megapixel camera and secondary camera of 8 megapixels , which offer very good quality results in good lighting conditions.

In low-light environments, high-zoom photos lose sharpness , but this is a problem that can be solved with a tripod and using the special Super Night mode . It also has a professional mode to manually configure all kinds of parameters and obtain better photos.

In terms of performance, the Huawei P9 Lite is a fairly fast and powerful phone , capable of offering fluid work thanks to the 3 GB of RAM and the HiSilicon Kirin 650 8-core processor . In addition, since the smartphone user interface also adds a phone optimizer, the Huawei P9 Lite is quite efficient in managing its resources and does not slow down or allow unnecessary activation of applications in the background.

Finally, star among its features we should mention the battery , with 3000 mAh stands up to other high - end phones (eg Samsung Galaxy S7 also features a battery of 3000 mAh).

Below we review our experience of using this smartphone from the Chinese brand Huawei, paying attention to the details that we consider most relevant. And we also offer you a small comparison with its predecessor, the Huawei P8 Lite , to understand in which characteristics the advances are most noticeable.

Sleek and attractive design

The Huawei P9 Lite measures 146.8 millimeters long x 72.6 millimeters wide x 7.5 millimeters thick . It weighs 147 grams and has a 5.2-inch touchscreen with hardly any side edges . The phone is available in three colors (black, white and gold) and has a completely smooth back, where only the main camera lens , its LED flash , and the fingerprint sensor stand out .

The front part, as we have commented, barely presents lateral edges for the screen , but leaves quite a gap at the top (where we find the secondary camera lens) and at the bottom (the Huawei logo appears on a smooth surface and without buttons).

In short, the Huawei P9 Lite offers an elegant and attractive design, simple and with hardly any elements that stand out from the smooth appearance . The grip of the device, therefore, is quite comfortable with one hand. Of course: the speakers are located on the bottom, so you could cover them if you grab the phone in landscape mode and handle it this way  (for example, for a game).

In this lower part we also find the USB 2.0 connection, while the volume buttons are located on the right side. The tray for inserting the two nanoSIM cards and the microSD memory card is located on the left side (it can be removed with a specific hook or key, but another sharp object such as a paper clip can also be used).

Finally, on the upper edge we find the 3.5 mm minijack to connect headphones or an auxiliary audio cable . You can also listen to the high-quality sound through the stereo speakers, if you don't want to connect headphones.

5.2-inch touchscreen and Full HD resolution

The Huawei P9 Lite incorporates a 5.2-inch IPS LCD capacitive screen and Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) , with an interesting density of 424 pixels per inch . This is a significant improvement over its predecessor: the Huawei P8 Lite had a 5-inch screen and HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels) with a density of 294 pixels per inch.

The protection is maintained, of course: the screen of the device has Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass , following the line of other models of the Huawei brand .

Camera and capture modes

We have little advancement in cameras compared to the lenses on the Huawei P8 Lite . The main 13-megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus is maintained , as well as video recording in Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) . Improves secondary lens, passing 5 megapixel to 8 megapixels .

Generally, you get very good image quality in well-lit conditions, but you lose quite a bit of sharpness at night (especially when zooming) . The best way to compensate for small mismatches is to use specific capture methods, as we will discuss below.

Photo mode

From this mode, we can access different functions: from superimposing light filters to change the appearance of our images , to selecting specific details to obtain better quality in specific circumstances. Let's review:

• The Panoramic option allows us to obtain elongated images by superimposing different frames. You just have to place the phone where you want to start capturing, and then move it to the side or vertically to cover the entire route that interests you. To maintain the necessary reference, the phone shows you an arrow that must be exactly on the blue line that appears on the screen .

• Super Night mode : This is perfect for capturing scenes with low lighting (for example, if you want to photograph buildings removed at night), but you should be aware that the images will lose sharpness if you use the zoom or if your pulse trembles a little. It is recommended to use this mode only if you have a tripod to support your Huawei P9 Lite so that it does not shake during capture.

• HDR mode : perfect for sharpening small details in your images. You will need to hold the phone firmly or use a tripod to get the best possible results.
• Professional Settings : activating this option will open up a new world of possibilities that you can take advantage of to customize all the capture settings (such as ISO or exposure, among others). Everything you need to get the most out of the Huawei P9 Lite lens .

• Full focus mode : allows you to sharpen the focus to focus exclusively on a specific detail in the image. The rest of the details of the plane will appear slightly out of focus. This option can be very useful if you want to photograph objects and highlight one over the other.
• Watermark : this mode uses your Internet connection and your location to capture some specific data on the image, such as the city ​​where you are, the date and the weather at that time (the temperature and the corresponding icon, be it sun, rain, clouds and clearings ...)
• Document readjustment : this is one of the most interesting options of the Huawei P9 Lite camera . You can use the lens to "scan" documents and then crop the image to your liking, with irregular shapes, to keep only what is important (it does not matter if the folio was slightly skewed at the time of photographing). After adjusting the document, the phone saves the original file and the trimmed / adjusted file.

Light painting mode

This is one of the most artistic sections of the Huawei P9 Lite . With this mode, you can capture trails of light and the movement will be perfectly reflected in the image without causing sharpness problems. You can choose between four different options:

• Light trail : this is the ideal one to capture the lights of moving cars and obtain a special image of your city.
• Light Graffiti : This is the option you need to capture trails of light in dark environments and record a photo with a bright message.
• Soft water : a function that allows you to capture the flow of moving water with a soft effect.
• Star trail: with this mode you can capture the trail of the stars in the sky at night.

Video mode

The main camera of the Huawei P9 Lite can record video in Full HD at 30 fps , and it also has options such as the Slow Motion mode  that allows you to give a special effect to your clips.

In the video section you will also find the possibility of establishing a tracking of a specific object , so that the phone always keeps the camera focused on it even if you move the device (or even if that object moves). In this way, you can for example keep the focus on a car and record its movement for a few seconds: it will appear sharp in a more out-of-focus environment.

Beauty mode

This is a section specifically designed for face photographs, whether they are taken with the main camera or if you use the front camera (although in that case it is more recommended that you choose the Enhance selfie option  in the Camera Settings  menu  ).

Sequences mode

Who doesn't like timelapses? With this mode of the Huawei P9 Lite you can let the phone take pictures automatically at regular intervals of time to later form a video with all the images, passed at very fast speed.

Other options

You can also access  Settings within the camera to configure other options and some details that can make it easier for you to take pictures and manage the images. We highlight:

• Timer
• Volume up key configuration : you can use it as another way to shoot to take a photo, or as a button to adjust the zoom, for example. These settings are very interesting because they make the camera application much easier to use if you are holding the mobile horizontally.
• Enhance selfie : is a specific face beauty mode to improve the quality of images and the level of detail of faces when using the front camera.
• Save in : you can select the folder where the images will be saved by default. Ideally, you should select the external microSD card so that your photos and videos are automatically stored there. This will avoid space problems on the phone.
• Capture modes : you can activate options such as automatic smile detection, with which the phone will shoot only when it detects smiles on the faces that appear.
• Object tracking (for when you shoot movies with a lot of movement) : The camera will keep in focus on the object you specify, even when there is movement during recording.

Gallery

Own applications

If you like smartphones with very few applications added as standard, you will like the Huawei P9 Lite for its simplicity. We only find very basic apps to facilitate the use of the phone and to add useful tools:

• Weather : an application to know the weather forecast daily. It is based on the location of the device to update.
• Calculator .
• A file manager to easily navigate the various directories on your phone. In addition, you will find all the content divided by category: videos, photos, applications, etc.
• Notepad .
• Sound recorder .
• Compass .
• HiCare - This is Huawei's customer service and technical information application . You will find important details such as the status of your warranty, the addresses of the nearest assistance centers and a telephone number to speak with company agents in your country.
• Flashlight - A simple button to turn on the main camera flash and keep it on until you tap the screen again.
• FM radio : for many, an essential detail and that unfortunately is not available on all smartphones today.
• Compass .
• Download manager : it is a direct access to the Downloads folder of  your device, where all types of files and documents that you download from the network are automatically stored (images that you download from social networks, PDF documents, etc.).
• Own music and video player, with direct access to your multimedia files.
• Application to manage the backup in your Huawei account : in addition to your backups in Google, you can also have an account in Huawei and activate the backup as an extra preventive measure, to avoid losing your data in case of theft or lost phone.

Since Huawei's user interface incorporates a system optimizer , you will also find on your Huawei P9 Lite an application called  Phone Manager , which allows you to check data consumption and RAM status in real time "" you can optimize it from here "" and the percentage of remaining battery. You can also select specific applications to allow them to run when the phone has the screen off (by default, the system will block most of the apps when the screen is not in use).

The jewel of its own applications is  Mirror , which activates the front camera and allows you to play with your reflection in quite fun ways (and you can take a screenshot at any time to save your selfies with the added effects). To mention an example, you can blow towards the microphone to “fog” the screen, and then you can demist it by sliding your fingers across the surface until all the fogging effect is removed .

Autonomy of the Huawei P9 Lite

As we have already mentioned at the beginning, the battery is one of the strengths of this smartphone. The phone is located, due to its characteristics and price, in the mid-range market, as a "mini version" of the Huawei P9 . However, the impressive battery of 3000 mAh puts up to many high - end smartphones in terms of autonomy (as is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S7 ).

One of the most interesting functions that the EMUI user interface adds is precisely a device optimizer, which seems to also play an important role in keeping the energy consumption of the device under control. The SmartPower 4.0 system , for example, improves the management of applications in the background to reduce waiting time and avoid wasting resources on processes that the user does not control. In addition, the RAM is constantly refreshed with the automatic FHD setting .

The result of all these factors is a smartphone with up to 630 hours of autonomy in idle, or more than 31 hours in conversation .

On the other hand, with applications that consume a lot of phone resources it is common to notice a heating of the device. With some high resolution games, it seems that the cooling system that this model incorporates is a bit short .

Antutu Results

To check the real battery life, we have used the Antutu Tester application with the phone's battery fully charged. After the long process of testing, this is the result we have obtained:

As you can see, the Huawei P9 Lite is very well placed in the ranking. It is clear that the 3000 mAh battery places it at a much higher level than other mid-range smartphones because, as we have already mentioned, the autonomy can be compared to that offered by other higher-end devices.

Improvements over the Huawei P8 Lite

If we compare the Huawei P9 Lite with respect to the Huawei P8 Lite (its predecessor in this range of the Chinese manufacturer), we can make a quick review of the improvements that the new model has introduced:

• We went from a 5-inch screen with HD resolution to a 5.2-inch screen with Full HD resolution . The density improves significantly: it goes from 294 pixels per inch to 424 pixels per inch .
• There is an impressive battery upgrade, going from 2200 mAh in the Huawei P8 Lite to 3000 mAh in the Huawei P9 Lite .
• It also improves the front camera : from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels.
• The Huawei P9 Lite offers more RAM (3 GB, compared to 2 GB in the Huawei P8 Lite ) and also improves the processor: we went from a HiSilicon Kirin 620 to a HiSilicon Kirin 650 .
• It also improves the standard operating system, as the Huawei P9 Lite comes from the factory with Android 6.0 and version 4.1 of the Emotion UI .

Recapping ...

The Huawei P9 Lite is a very interesting purchase option if you are looking for an Android smartphone with good performance and you don't want to spend a lot of money. In relation to quality-price, it is evident that this smartphone is in a very competitive position in the market, and you will also have the advantage of having a 3000 mAh battery: it is very likely that you will not have any autonomy problem if you have to spend a lot hours away from home.

On the other hand, the  Phone Manager  ensures a fairly smooth operation of the device, without

Huawei P9 Lite strengths

Sleek and attractive design

3000 mAh battery

Very smooth performance thanks to the phone optimizer

DualSIM

Very competitive price for its range: 330 euros

""

Could improve ”¦

It's easy to cover the speakers when holding the phone in a horizontal position.

Appears to overheat easily when using resource-intensive applications

HUAWEI P9 LITE

screen

Design

Camera

Multimedia

software

Power 

Memory

Connections

Autonomy

+ info

Price 330 euros