No, Huawei hasn’t forgotten about the P9 Lite, but it’s missing the P9’s best feature

If you’re expecting the P9 Lite to have the same Leica camera as the P9, then sadly you’re about to be disappointed, because Huawei has chosen a single lens 13-megapixel camera for the rear of the P9 Lite. It has a dual LED flash and autofocus, and a manual mode for fine tuning, but none of the Leica magic that makes the P9’s camera such a winner. On the front is an 8-megapixel selfie cam.

It’s still wrapped up in an aluminum body, giving the P9 Lite the chance to compete with other mid-range specced devices with so-called ‘premium’ builds, and it’s thin at 7.5mm and weighs 147 grams. This is slightly thicker, and a couple of grams heavier than the P9. Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Huawei’s own EMUI user interface over the top is displayed on the 5.2-inch touchscreen. It shares the same 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution as the P9.

There’s less power on offer, as you’d expect, from a 2GHz quad-core Kirin 650 processor with 3GB of RAM. Internal memory is just 16GB, but there is a MicroSD card slot to bump this by 128GB. A 3000mAh battery matches the P9, and there’s a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. Certain models come with NFC, but annoyingly not all.

Huawei has listed the P9 Lite on its website, but it’s not up for sale through the Vmall online store yet. A May release is expected in the U.K., and it’ll be sold through the O2, EE, and Vodafone networks, plus Carphone Warehouse stores. The price hasn’t been confirmed, but we’ll keep you updated with details when they’re announced.

Previous updates: 

Updated on 05-27-2016 by Andy Boxall: Removed rumors and updated with official release details

Updated on 04-21-2016 by Andy Boxall: Added in information on the P9 Lite from the TENAA certification website