It used to be we'd have clear winners and losers in the smartphone battles of old. For the most part, the big time players dominated the landscape and up-and-comers were barely noticed. That's all changed over the past year or two, and more smartphone makers are making quality devices.

Really nice design keeps up with mid-tier standards; great cameras

Huawei skin isn't for everyone; will need custom launcher; design isn't ground breaking and weak speaker

The Huawei P9 certainly ticks a lot of the right boxes. It's thin, has a decent sized battery, and is a good improvement over its predecessor. However all this goodness comes at a price, and it remains to be seen whether it offers enough to challenge the competition.

Good camera Nice design Fast fingerprint reader Thin bezels Build quality microSD expansion

Emotion UI might not be for everyone Lack of OIS No 4K video Fast charger not supplied in box

I've used this phone as my main handset for several weeks now. It's bloody brilliant. The handset feels premium and it acts premium. No fingerprints got stuck on it, the phone operated quickly, it has a great camera and a great battery life.

I got this phone the day it came out, and have not regretted it. First, it is an eye catcher! But there is more to it than looks. I decided to write a review because I felt Phone Arena's didn't give the phone a fair shake. The camera is amazing, but I want to list a few things PA left out.

Camera; Design; Simple Mode User Interface; Shrink Screen; Built in knock screen functionality; Scrolling Screen Shot; Screen Video; Call Recording

Slippery when on shoulder; No NFC

The Chinese company continues the success story of its P series with the Huawei P9, and consistently develops its flagship further. Once again, the great IPS panel, good performance, photo quality of the Leica dual-camera, the strong battery life and generous warranty period primarily impressed us.

fast SoC; expandable storage; wide frequency configuration; good cameras; call quality; headset included; Quick Charge; USB Type-C; decent battery life

no App2SD, LTE Cat; 6 only, no radio receiver, no infrared, no MHL or SlimPort, USB 2.0 only, DNGs cannot be stored on the micro-SD, SoC throttles under permanent load

Huawei is growing up fast and the P9 represents the best that the company can bring to the table right now. It's not a perfect phone, taken in some very specific directions in certain areas, but the end result is pleasing to look at and pleasing to use.

Beautifully thin; lightweight design; Rich camera experience; Great battery life

Huawei's collaboration with Leica, the 150-year-old camera manufacturer is a great way for the Chinese manufacturer to get their foot in the door further into the Android smartphone market in the west.

Beautiful build quality; Best in class camera; USB-C; Very good screen; Value purchase

Huawei's custom Android overlay is unnecessary; no fast charge

The announcement of the Huawei P9 was met with much fanfare surrounding the inclusion of Leica branding. The Huawei P9 features a dual camera set-up, which was claimed to have been designed in conjunction with the historic camera manufacturer.

The mobile landscape has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Companies that once reigned supreme are now struggling to stay afloat, while newcomers have arrived at the table and quickly made their way to the top.

Selling a new phone by focusing on the camera is not a new thing and we've been impressed when it's happened in the past: Nokia's Lumias did some great things (which masked Windows Phone's deficiencies) while Apple's 6S Plus impressed with its Dynamic Range and low light performance.

Stunning pictures of nearby subjects; Great value; Fun to use; Fast fingerprint reader

Battery-life; Australian price hike