Skip to main content

Huawei P9’s image quality impresses, video stabilization suffers

Huawei P9
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
The latest phone to make it through DXOMark’s technical image quality analysis is the Huawei P9, the much-hyped, dual-camera, Leica-branded flagship smartphone. As it carries the Leica name, it probably comes as no surprise that the phone takes great images, but DXO’s score of 80 points, while decent, seems to put it well below the class-leading HTC 10 at 88 points. So what’s going on here?

When DXO decided to begin testing phone cameras, it realized it needed a system that provided a well-rounded analysis of how a phone performs in the hands of the average consumer, while still providing a single numerical score to make it easy to see, at a glance, how good a phone is relative to its peers. While the company’s sensor tests for mirrorless and DSLR cameras focus on just three key metrics — dynamic range, color bit depth, and noise — the criteria for phones is much broader. This means a phone that excels in one area can easily have its overall score lowered if it fails in another.

And that appears to be just what happened with the P9. DXO cites the phone’s lack of image stabilization in default video mode as a major drawback. However, when looking at still image quality separate from video, the P9 puts up an impressive 84 points. It’s still slightly behind the HTC 10, but it’s right in line with the iPhone 6S Plus.

Another thing to consider: DXO’s testing doesn’t take into account the many creative advantages brought on by the P9’s dual-camera setup. Thanks to computational photography, the P9 renders very realistic shallow depth of field effects that mimic what’s possible with an interchangeable lens camera. It can even refocus photos after the shot, similar to the ill-fated Lytro Illum.

Between its great still image quality and advanced dual-camera functionality, the P9 remains one of phones on the market from a photography perspective. If you shoot a lot of video, though, it may let you down.

Editors' Recommendations

Daven Mathies
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…
Huawei P30 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus: 2019’s biggest flagships clash
Huawei P30 Pro

Huawei has finally taken the wraps off its first flagship phone of 2019, and it's a beauty. The Huawei P30 Pro is a stunning device with four camera lenses, a beautiful design, and some new software tricks. But it has competition, and the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is one of the best phones in the world right now. The P20 Pro and Galaxy S9 Plus came to serious blows last year, with Samsung's phone coming out on top.

Can the S10 Plus repeat that feat, or will Huawei's new flagship take down the Korean titan? We pit them in a head-to-head specs comparison.
Specs

Read more
Don’t buy this new Motorola phone — get this other one instead
Renders of the Moto G 5G (2024) and Moto G Power 5G (2024).

the Moto G 5G (left) and Moto G Power 5G Digital Trends

Budget phones can slip under the radar when shiny, powerful flagships launch. But if you're in the market for a smartphone that gets the job done and won't blow a four-figure hole in your bank balance, then a great budget smartphone is the way to go.

Read more
Get 32% off the cellular model of the iPad Pro 12.9 this weekend
The iPad Pro on a desk next to a stylus and AirPods.

If you've been thinking about getting the iPad Pro with cellular connectivity but you've been hoping to buy the tablet from iPad deals for a discount, this may be what you've been waiting for -- a 32% discount from Amazon's Woot on the 12.9-inch, Wi-Fi + Cellular model of the 2021 Apple iPad Pro with 128GB of storage. From $1,199, it's down to just $810, which is a steal price for this device with savings of $389. However, while there are still several days left on this offer, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the purchase immediately because there's a chance that stocks don't last that long.

Why you should buy the 2021 Apple iPad Pro 12.9
It's not the latest version of Apple's top-of-the-line tablet -- the honor goes to the 2022 Apple iPad Pro -- but the 2021 Apple iPad Pro is still a pretty powerful device by today's standards. That's because it's equipped with Apple's M1 chip, which promises fantastic speed and excellent graphics when you're working on your multimedia projects, multitasking between several apps, or playing console-level games. With its 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR touchscreen, you'll enjoy high-brightness and high-contrast content, and its mini-LED display provides deeper black levels and more vibrant colors.

Read more