Huawei introduces a smartphone that shoots long exposures and a fitness tracker that converts into a headset

It is hard to make an Android smartphone that stands out from the crowd, but Huawei takes a stab at it with the P8 which has innovative camera features. The camera is a 13-megapixel model with built-in optical image stabilization. The sensor is a four-color RGBW (red, green, blue, white) sensor which is claimed to provide better low-light performance and produce better pictures with high contrast scenes. One of the more interesting features of the camera is a light painting mode (which is essentially a slow shutter speed mode) that allows you to record, for instance, light trails from moving cars.

This mode requires that you lock down the phone to a tripod so that your hand movements won't introduce unintended blur in the shot. Other notable features of the P8 include the company’s own Hisilicon Kirin 930 64-bit octa-core processor running at 2.0GHz with 3GB RAM and dual LTE SIM slots.

One of the standout features of the P8 is that it has a very thin bezel on the left and right sides of the 5.2in (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) screen, making it a little smaller in size than its competition.  Huawei has also included some unusual gesture controls not found in other Android smart phones – for example, double-tapping the screen with your knuckle will take a screenshot while drawing a circle will capture part of the screen.

For the more budget conscious, there’s the P8 Lite, which as the name suggests, is the more affordable version of the P8. The P8 Lite has a slightly smaller screen (5.0in) with a lower resolution of 1,280 x720 pixels. It also runs on a less powerful processor – Kirin 620 1.2GHz 64-bit octa-core – but supports the faster CAT4 LTE network.

The rear camera on the P8 Lite is a 13-megapixel model but with a regular RGB sensor instead of the RGBW of the P8 but has a relatively bright f/2.0 aperture for better low-light capture. The front-facing camera is 5 megapixels. Finally, Huawei also announced the availability of the TalkBand B2 Classic and TalkBand B2 Elite, which are essentially fitness trackers that you wear on your wrist.

However, unclip either device from your wristband and it will turn into a Bluetooth headset. The difference between the TalkBand B2 Classic and Elite is that the Classic comes in silver or black with matching rubber strap, while the Elite is finished in a gold color with a leather strap. The Huawei P8 will be available in mystic champagne and titanium grey colors. All models are available at Huawei authorized stores.