Huawei launches P8 with 13MP RGBW sensor and OIS

Huawei has launched its new flagship device, the P8, at an event in London today. The successor to the P7 is only 6.4mm thin and its metal body has a bigger 5.2-inch 1080p display with very narrow bezels, keeping the overall dimensions manageable.

In the camera department the new device uses a 13MP RGBW sensor that includes white filter elements in addition to the usual red, green and blue ones, which, according to Huawei, leads to better low light performance. It also comes with optical image stabilization that Huawei says can correct for stronger vibrations than the system in Apple's iPhone 6 Plus. The P8 is also one of the first phones we have heard of to come with a dedicated image processor for controlling shooting parameters and processing image output. Normally on smartphones those tasks are undertaken by the main processing unit.
Director mode is an interesting new camera mode that allows you to connect up to three additional Android devices to the P8 via Wi-Fi direct and remotely record video footage through their cameras. You can also send on-screen messages or instruction to the "camera men" operating the remote devices. The resulting final video can be saved on the P8.

Unfortunately the P8 has to make do without 4K recording as 1080p is the maximum video resolution, but at 8MP the front camera offers a high pixel count. Like the front of the camera the lens on the back is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The P8 is powered by Huawei's own HiSilicon 930 (4 x 2,0 GHz / 4 x 1,5 GHz) octa-core processor and 3GB RAM. 16GB internal memory can be expanded via a microSD port and Huawei promises the 2.680 mAH Li-Po battery allows for 14 hours talk time or 480 hours stand-by. Europe, the Middle East and South Africa will be the first regions to enjoy the new model, pricing is €500 ($530) for the 16GB version and €100 more for the 64GB model.

Key Specifications:

• 13MP RGBW sensor
• Optical image stabilization
• Dual-LED flash
• 1080p video
• 8MP front camera
• 5.2-inch 1080p display
• Android 5.0
• HiSilicon 930 octa-core processor
• 3GB RAM
• 16 or 64GB storage
• microSD-support
• 2.680 mAh battery

In addition to the P8 Huawei has launched the P8 Max which with a 6.8-inch 1080p display approaches tablet territory. It comes with the same metal unibody construction as its smaller cousin and uses a Kirin 935 chipset with a 64-bit octa-core processor. The 4,360mAh battery should be good for 2 days of normal use and on paper the larger model comes with the same rear camera specification as the P8 but the front camera only offers a 5MP resolution. The 16GB version will cost you €550 ($580) and the 64GB model is again €100 more expensive.