News

Huawei’s new P9 and P9 Plus phones take a swing at low-light photography

Published

April 7, 2016

Monch Lopez

Huawei, it seems, is really into making premium phones now. Fresh off giving the world the Google Nexus 6P and Huawei Mate 8, the leading smartphone brand in China and number 3 worldwide, having shipped more than 100 million phones in 2015, has unveiled yet another high-priced product in the 5.2-inch P9 and 5.5-inch P9 Plus.

Whereas the Nexus 6P and Mate 8 were all about providing a speedy user experience and pushing the limits of screen size in somewhat manageable form factors, the P9 series’ most marketable quality can be found around the back. To be clear, that’s not to say the P9 and P9 Plus lag behind the curve, or other phones in Huawei’s portfolio for that matter (but we’ll get to this shortly).

A pair of 12-megapixel, Leica-certified cameras sit flush on the back of the P9 and P9 Plus, and Huawei is confident that you’re going to want to use them as soon as you get your hands on its latest creations.

Huawei P9 in rose gold

One of the rear cameras feature a monochrome sensor, while the other packs a traditional smartphone-camera sensor. When they work brilliantly together, just like the Wonder Twins from Superfriends, or for the younger crowd, Batman and Superman in the last act of Batman v. Superman, they’re supposed to produce brighter, clearer shots in low light.

Huawei says they can let in three times more light information and increase contrast by as much as 50 percent. And to that we say: Let’s leave it for consumers and experts in the tech community to determine whether or not the dual-camera setup is worth the money.

We do applaud Huawei’s efforts to try and get smartphones to do a better job of taking photographs where light is scarce. But adding another rear-facer and making the back of a very personal device look at you with horror, like you just plugged a 110-volt hair dryer into a 220-volt socket, isn’t what we had in mind. It certainly doesn’t help that the P9’s fingerprint sensor resembles an open mouth, thus completing the look of a shocked rear panel.

Huawei P9 Plus in gold

Huawei has also thrown in a laser autofocus module, two-tone flash, and optical image stabilization for less shaky photos and videos into the P9 range’s admittedly expansive set of photography-related features. For the selfie-obsessed youth, the 8-megapixel front camera should suffice.

The P9 and P9 Plus don’t skimp on computing power and memory options, either, with both phones sporting an in-house HiSilicon Kirin 955 chip — the fastest in a Huawei smartphone to date — with as much as 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage (for the higher-end P9 variant and P9 Plus).

The P9 has a 3,000mAh built-in battery, which is slightly less than the 3,400mAh cell packed into the back of the P9 Plus. But regardless of which P9 variant you go with, you’d be happy to know that there’s a USB Type-C connector with fast charging on the bottom of either handset.

The P9 and P9 Plus resemble last year’s P8, and to a lesser extent, the Nexus 6P, and the company says the phones make use of a metal unibody for a more cohesive and seamless construction.

They’re only 6.95mm thick and have bezels that measure 1.7mm, so Huawei continuing to build fairly compact handsets with big displays isn’t a trend that will likely fizzle out any time soon. A resolution bump to 1,440 x 2,560 pixels (from 1,080 x 1,920) would have been a welcome development, but unfortunately the P9 carries the same, full-resolution display as its predecessor.

The Huawei P9 is priced at £449 ($630 or Php29,000) in the U.K., while P9 Plus retails for £549 ($780 or Php36,000). Shipping starts mid-May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPwpFojqFww

[irp posts=”2258″ name=”Huawei P9 and P9 Plus gear up for Southeast Asia release”]

Related Topics:Huawei P9 P9 Plus smartphones

Gaming

2026’s The Game Awards will stream live on Disney+

Published

November 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Annually, The Game Awards have become a sort of second Christmas for gamers. Besides a celebration of the past year in the world of videogames, the event hosts trailers for games of the upcoming year and beyond. Though it’s already free on several platforms, viewers can now tune in to Disney+ to watch this year’s Game Awards.

Hosted as always by Geoff Keighley, 2026’s The Game Awards will happen on December 10 at 7:30pm ET. Most of the event will award the best titles of various categories for the year. Several publishers and developers also use the event to announce their upcoming titles. It’s for these reasons that a lot of gamers catch the event every year.

This year, The Game Awards is streaming live on Disney+. This is in addition to its usual platforms including Twitch and YouTube. The Disney+ stream will be available in the United States and select territories internationally.

For now, gamers can also vote on their picks for various categories via the event’s website.

On the other hand, Disney+ has been pushing live events more adamantly. In the Philippines, for example, the platform is the home for live NBA coverage. Though it’s not as strong as Netflix’s gaming push with its assortment of free games, Disney+’s addition of the annual awards show is a worthy go for gamers.

Enterprise

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang resigns after scandals

Published

November 12, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

NVIDIA’s week is finally and mercifully coming to an end. After being implicated in two extramarital affairs, now-former NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has resigned from his position.

It’s been a terrible week for Huang’s personal life. Last weekend, a bombshell report revealed that Huang engaged in an affair with Alice Huang, who is reportedly involved with Chinese intelligence. Quickly realizing the heaviness of the allegations, the CEO admitted quickly to the affair.

However, barely 24 hours ago, another report revealed that Huang had a second extramarital affair. Though he was clear of any more espionage allegations, his romantic affair of choice was another executive within the company. NVIDIA’s board of directors quickly debated whether Huang should be fired for his actions.

Now, Huang has voluntarily resigned from his position. The former CEO leaves behind his spot at the head of the table since cofounding NVIDIA in 1993.

In his stead, the board of directors have named incumbent CFO Colette Kress as the company’s interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. Despite her interim role, Kress will continue her duties as CFO.

Additionally, the board has named Harvey C. Jones, a member of board since its founding, as its first chair of the board.

Though the company will leave most of the controversy behind with Huang’s departure, its next chapter is about to begin. Will its new direction maintain the company’s tenuous balance between AI and gaming, or tip the scales towards one segment?

News

St. Peter reunited people with their deceased loved ones through tech

The new “If Heaven Could Write” campaign generates letters from the imagined perspectives of loved ones.

Published

November 11, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Grieving can take many forms. Sometimes, it manifests through a desire to hear a loved one again. We look at their old clothing, a gust of wind, or a butterfly, and imagine them talking to us one more time. This year, St. Peter, through the power of technology, gave 11,000 people that chance through its new “If Heaven Could Write” campaign.

During St. Peter Deathcare Week, which ran from October 27 through November 2, the deathcare provider started the “If Heaven Could Write” campaign, an interactive digital experience that offered participants a chance to reunite with their deceased loved ones. It was available in 37 St. Peter Chapels and 76 cemeteries nationwide.

Upon scanning a QR code which took them to a portal, participants answered questions about their loved ones. Then, the portal generates a personal letter from the imagined perspective of the participant’s loved one, giving them one more chance to converse.

Of course, an imagined letter can’t replace someone who passed away. Still, the experience affords us a way to grieve and process the loss. No, the letter isn’t really from your loved one, but you can imagine what they would have said while reading through it. And sometimes, that’s all we need.

Though St. Peter Deathcare Week has already come and gone for the year, those interested can still participate in the campaign through its link.