Huawei P9 Lite Spotted At TENAA, Beefier Than Expected

The smartphone market seems to be adept at redefining words or making up new definitions. It coined the word "phablet" for one. Now it is changing what "mini" and "lite" mean. For example, the ZTE nubia Z11 mini is anything but small and this Huawei P9 Lite is now slouch compared to the real deal. Sure, it has some specs lower than the somewhat controversial Huawei P9, but, presuming it has a matching lite price tag, the P9 Lite could very well still satisfy some users.

Details of the Huawei P9 Lite surface thanks to TENAA, the Chinese equivalent of the FCC in the US, but with more juicy details. Although not the full picture, the entries are usually more complete, not to mention more accurate, than what leaks would give. And in the case of the P9 Lite, that is a very good thing.

Since it has the "lite" name, many would presume that the P9 Lite would be an underpowered version of the Huawei P9, and, indeed, earlier leaks have hinted at that. That's still true based on this TENAA listing, but not as much as you would think. The smartphone still has a 5.2-inch Full HD screen like the P9 itself, and even surprisingly 3 GB of RAM, just like the P9 as well. The selfie camera is even noted to be 8 megapixels. Again, like the Huawei P9.

So where does the "lite" come in? In very few places, actually. The CPU, for example, is noted to be a 2.0 GHz octa-core one, believed to be the Kirin 650. It's no Kirin 955, definitely, but it can stand proud among other mid-range processors. Storage is also halved, at 16 GB only. That might be a crime on flagship models, but on a P9 Lite with expandable memory options, the offense is less so. But perhaps the most glaring difference is the main camera. On the Huawei P9, you have a dual lens setup co-engineered with Leica. On the P9 Lite, a moderate 13 megapixel shooter. That's as far as the listing goes, however, so we'll have to wait for more details.

All in all, the Huawei P9 Lite could turn out to be quite a handsome smartphone, both in its design, which looks exactly like the Huawei P9, as well as its specs. It's not going to compete in the high end, for sure, but if the price is just right, it might still manage to steal some buyers from the P9 flagship.

SOURCE: TENAA