Previewed at WWDC, launching in the fall.
Huawei's Dual-Camera P9 Hints at What Apple Might Have in Store for iPhone 7 Plus
The upcoming iPhone 7 Plus is rumored to feature a dual-lens rear camera. While we've gotten some hints of what Apple might look to do with the technology given its acquisition of LinX Imaging last year, we're still not entirely clear on Apple's plans and so we can look to other vendors to get a taste of what we might expect.
The Huawei P9 is the latest flagship from the Chinese company, and on the rear of the device Huawei in partnership with Leica implemented two 12-megapixel cameras. These function by taking a photo from both cameras simultaneously and combining them in software. One camera captures a normal color image, while the second takes a monochrome image that allows for more focus on the lighting of a scene. The advantage, Huawei claims, is a better overall image with higher clarity and professional camera-like quality.
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In this video featured on the MacRumors YouTube channel, we go hands-on to test how Huawei's dual-camera works, and to see whether this setup is worth the complexity and expense of implementing it. If you'd like to check out the full-resolution photos from the P9 compared to similar ones shot on an iPhone 6s, we've also shared galleries from both devices.
Huawei is not the first to use a dual-camera setup, and other vendors have used somewhat different combinations of cameras to achieve varying goals. The LG G5 uses two cameras to achieve different focal lengths, while the 2014 HTC One M8 used two cameras to allow for better depth perception.
We still have roughly two months before the expected announcement of the rumored iPhone 7, and we have yet to hear how Apple plans to use this system, but other rumored features include a slightly thinner build, faster Apple A10 processor, repositioned antenna bands, and the removal of the headphone jack.
The Huawei P9 is the latest flagship from the Chinese company, and on the rear of the device Huawei in partnership with Leica implemented two 12-megapixel cameras. These function by taking a photo from both cameras simultaneously and combining them in software. One camera captures a normal color image, while the second takes a monochrome image that allows for more focus on the lighting of a scene. The advantage, Huawei claims, is a better overall image with higher clarity and professional camera-like quality.
In this video featured on the MacRumors YouTube channel, we go hands-on to test how Huawei's dual-camera works, and to see whether this setup is worth the complexity and expense of implementing it. If you'd like to check out the full-resolution photos from the P9 compared to similar ones shot on an iPhone 6s, we've also shared galleries from both devices.
Huawei is not the first to use a dual-camera setup, and other vendors have used somewhat different combinations of cameras to achieve varying goals. The LG G5 uses two cameras to achieve different focal lengths, while the 2014 HTC One M8 used two cameras to allow for better depth perception.
We still have roughly two months before the expected announcement of the rumored iPhone 7, and we have yet to hear how Apple plans to use this system, but other rumored features include a slightly thinner build, faster Apple A10 processor, repositioned antenna bands, and the removal of the headphone jack.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tags: iPhone 7, dual camera
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 8 (Caution)
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Top Rated Comments
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25 months ago
These replies stink of delusional Apple fanboyism.
The company you once loved are dead - & other companies are leading the way. Fact.
The company you once loved are dead - & other companies are leading the way. Fact.
25 months ago
Looking forward to the next all new iPhone. But, have to say, these iPhone copy cats are becoming better at refining their design and they're catching up incredibly fast now since Apple hasn't done much to their design. iPhone won't even be a competitor soon. Apple is in desperate need of lifting its game. 2017's phone will need to be astonishingly lovely, no pokey cameras or joiny-join antennas. And the software will need to be smooth and even more beautiful than it is. Excessive pricing will also need to be addressed. Customers will be too savvy for overpriced hardware especially when the profit margin is entirely an expression of corporate excess.
25 months ago
If two cameras can produce a better image. I wonder if 3 cameras will do even better.
25 months ago
DSLR quality? Hmmmm
Look how big this camera "bump" is.
Phones will have Point n Shoot quality forever (which is fine).
Look how big this camera "bump" is.
Phones will have Point n Shoot quality forever (which is fine).
25 months ago
The awful bumps...
....do not effect any iPhone function.
There, completed it for you, looks like you were in a hurry and didn't complete the sentence.
25 months ago
[FONT=Arial]iPhone at one point in time was described as “It’s like a beautiful old Leica camera” by Steve Jobs. Now, Huawei apparently is co engineering with Leica.
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Phone times they are a changin' it appears. This is the same kind of stuff that was happening with the Mac years ago -- Little innovation. High pricing. Poor design principles. And then the near death experience saved at one minute to midnight.
Get it together Apple, please! And that doesn't mean partnering with other brands, it means improving your brand back to stellar heights well and above other brands. We don't want to be anywhere near midnight ever again and prefer the clock set at 9:41am instead.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]
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Phone times they are a changin' it appears. This is the same kind of stuff that was happening with the Mac years ago -- Little innovation. High pricing. Poor design principles. And then the near death experience saved at one minute to midnight.
Get it together Apple, please! And that doesn't mean partnering with other brands, it means improving your brand back to stellar heights well and above other brands. We don't want to be anywhere near midnight ever again and prefer the clock set at 9:41am instead.[/FONT]
25 months ago
These replies stink of delusional Apple fanboyism.
The company you once loved are dead - & other companies are leading the way. Fact.
I see that you must've think very highly of yourself to use your own opinion as fact.
Though seeing your past comments, you seems to be a super negative person. FACT!
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