News

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

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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 rose gold

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 gold

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”]

Lifestyle

Nike’s Alphafly 4 is built for the part of the marathon ~that actually hurts~

Made to protect your stride when fatigue sets in.

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Every marathoner knows the exact moment the race truly begins.

It’s not at the starting line amidst the early morning excitement, but around the 32-kilometer mark, when your legs begin to feel heavy and your form starts to fall apart.

Nike designed its latest marathon racer specifically for that critical window. The Alphafly 4 shifts the focus away from chasing sheer top-end speed, targeting instead the physical breakdown that happens late in a long run.

By studying how fatigue alters a runner’s mechanics over time, Nike rebuilt its flagship distance shoe to help athletes maintain their stride when energy starts to dip.

Holding the line when fatigue sets in

On the road, the shoe operates as a complete, unified system designed to protect your stride.

A redesigned Atomknit upper wraps the foot with breathable support, using targeted midfoot cables and an integrated heel unit to keep your fit secure without adding unnecessary weight or friction over long distances.

Underfoot, the new ZoomX LT foam layer works alongside Nike’s contoured carbon-fiber Flyplate. The lighter foam returns maximum energy with every footfall, while the plate smooths out your rolling motion.

Together with dual forefoot Air Zoom units and a durable Fast Shot outsole, the setup keeps your cadence consistent and your legs feeling fresh well into the back half of the race.

As Emily Farina from the Nike Sport Research Lab notes, their goal was to help runners stay confident, balanced, and capable from the start line all the way to the finish.

Built on the miles that came before

That focus on real-world endurance stems directly from athlete testing.

Nike developed the shoe using feedback from its Project Dreamweaver initiative and extensive trials with women distance runners, prioritizing stability and comfort alongside high performance.

The lineage carries significant weight. The Alphafly family has grounded some of distance running’s greatest moments, from historic sub-two-hour efforts to major course records.

With the Alphafly 4, that legacy translates directly into everyday marathon training, helping athletes hold their target pace just a little bit longer. Marathoners won’t have to wait long to feel the difference on race day.

The Nike Alphafly 4 drops in an early, limited release on September 17 at nike.com, followed by a wider global release on October 29 online and at select retail stores.

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Entertainment

SEGA, Netflix announce Crazy Taxi film adaptation

1st in planned slate of film adaptations, including Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN

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SEGA and Netflix have announced a new Crazy Taxi film adaptation. This will usher in a new collaboration era with the parties also developing adaptations for Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN.

Such a slate of future adaptations reflects the range of SEGA’s library as it draws on Netflix’s experience bringing beloved game worlds to new audiences.

The first project features Crazy Taxi, which will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. The beloved writing duo was behind the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun.

Also on board to help helm the production are the same visionaries behind the Sonic franchise: Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, and Toru Nakahara.

Crazy Taxi has been an arcade hit since 1999, putting players behind the wheel of a fearless cabbie racing the clock through chaotic city streets.

There’s flying off ramps, dodging traffic, and chasing tips with punk-rock energy that has become the series’ signature.

The latest title in the franchise, Crazy Taxi: World Tour, is set for a 2027 release. You can watch its trailer below:

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Finance

HONOR, Fidesmo partner for contactless payments across Europe, Middle East

Enabling contactless payments on the HONOR Watch 6

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HONOR and Fidesmo have partnered to launch contactless payments across Europe and the Middle East on the HONOR Watch 6.

Powered by Fidesmo Pay, the integration enables users to connect an existing Mastercard or Visa card to their watch and complete contactless transactions directly from the wearable device.

This brings Fidesmo’s network of over 900 banks and financial institutions to HONOR’s customers. Users can connect an existing card to the HONOR Watch 6 instantly through the HONOR Health App, which installs a unique token directly onto the watch.

Acting as a secure reference to the payment method, this token allows customers to pay without storing their actual payment details on the device. Once installed, users can tap the watch at any
contactless terminal to pay, just as they would with a card or phone.

HONOR joins a group of device partners that already includes Swatch, Polar, and Mondaine as Fidesmo continues to build momentum across categories.

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