Earlier this week, reports in sections of the online tech media claimed that the dual rear-camera setup on the recently-launched Huawei P9 and P9 Plus is not really a product of the German optics company but regular, standard-issue third-party units that have little or nothing to do with Leica apart from a licensing deal signed by the two firms that allows the Chinese tech giant to use the Leica branding in its smartphone cameras. Stung by such damning allegations, the two companies in the midst of it all, Huawei and Leica, have now released a joint statement which aims to refute such charges, saying that “Leica has been deeply involved in the development of the camera module of the P9 and P9 Plus”.
As per the statement released earlier today, “both companies have been working closely to co-engineer” the Huawei P9’s camera modules, which are apparently the result of an “intensive technological collaboration between Huawei and Leica”. The statement goes on to point out a number of areas where the German optics gurus helped in developing and optimizing “the optical design (lens calculation) in compliance with Leica standards”. However, the one thing that wasn’t denied through the statement was the claim that the manufacturing of the camera modules was in fact, outsourced to a third-party manufacturer called Sunny Opticals. The two companies had originally announced their “long-term strategic partnership” back in February this year and the Huawei P9-series is expected to be the first of many future Huawei smartphones that will feature optics from the German company.
The Huawei P9 and the P9 Plus at the center of the current controversy are the latest flagship smartphones from Chinese telecom equipment and consumer electronics giant, Huawei Technologies. The company unveiled the two devices earlier this month at an event in London, UK. The company has since announced yet another device in its P9 lineup, but the Huawei P9 Lite, as it is called, will be more of a mid-range offering compared to the two premium devices, and will not feature the all-important ‘Leica’ dual-camera setup that has been the object of so much debate and discussion on forums and chatrooms and message boards over the past few days.