Huawei P9 Lite

In terms of name, the Huawei P9 Lite looks like the simple brother of the P9 but that is a hasty conclusion. Lite does not stand for 'simpler' or 'smaller'. The differences, which there are, are much more subtle and less obvious than you might think. We will look at them for you below.

Definitely not a lightweight

If you compare the specifications of the Huawei P9 Lite with those of the P9, you will hardly see any differences. Perhaps the biggest is the halving of storage memory from 32 to 16 GB. But with the presence of a memory card slot where you can add up to 128 GB yourself, this should not be a problem. Where the differences lie is in the housing. Is the Huawei P9 still almost entirely made of metal, this P9 Lite is a little less metal and a little more plastic. Yet the frame is still solid aluminum. So you do not sacrifice very much in terms of quality. There are still enough curves, details and high-quality materials to make the P9 Lite a premium phone.

Lots of screen in a compact device

Like its more expensive brother, the Huawei P9 Lite features a spacious 5.2-inch display with Full HD resolution. Because Huawei uses a so-called in-cell screen, it seems to sit closer to the surface. Moreover, it delivers bright colors because the image does not have to pass through an extra layer of glass. Much larger than the screen, by the way, the P9 Lite isn't either. A whopping 76.4% of the front consists of screen which is a lot, relatively speaking. It makes the device an enormously compact one with a large screen nonetheless. If you turn the P9 Lite around, you will see a fingerprint scanner with which you can safely secure your acquisition.

Main Huawei P9 Lite specifications

• 5.2-inch in-cell screen with Full HD resolution
• 13 megapixel front camera + 8 megapixel rear camera
• Powerful octacore processor (Kirin 650) at 2 GHz & 1.7 GHz
• Support for fast 4G internet (LTE)
• 16GB storage memory (expandable up to 128GB)
• Dual SIM capabilities

Double the camera count

Above that fingerprint scanner we find a 13 megapixel camera from Sony (type IMX214) with an f/2.0 lens in front of it. Thanks to the special 'Pro-camera' mode you have full control over the camera sensor by setting things like the white balance, ISO value and exposure value yourself. Of course, there is also an automatic mode that selects the best settings for you. Whichever mode you choose, this camera should always allow you to shoot the best photos and videos. On the front is an 8 megapixel camera with a 27 mm wide-angle lens. This also has a maximum aperture of f/2.0 so that you can still take selfies in the evening and at night, possibly without flash. A separate selfie flash is not available, but the screen can provide the necessary illumination if required.

Powerful to the last drop

Like the Huawei P9, this Huawei P9 Lite has a relatively large 3,000 mAh battery. With this, on paper you should still easily make it through the day. And because Huawei uses a technique called SmartPower 4.0 that should certainly work. What also helps is that the Huawei Kirin 650 processor is naturally economical in use. This octa-core processor consists of two halves where one is powerful and one is economical. Depending on what you are doing, it switches on the right parts itself. And because Android 6.0 Marshmallow also includes various energy-efficient features, you will not be stuck with an empty battery anytime soon.

Pro and cons Huawei P9 Lite

• Many similarities with the more expensive P9
• Excellent price/quality ratio
• Premium casing despite plastic
• Relatively large battery

• Battery not replaceable