Chinese smartphone maker Huawei on Wednesday announced the launch of its much awaited Huawei P9 in India.

The camera-centric smartphone with Leica' dual lens rear camera system is priced at Rs 39,999 (appox. $598). Indian customers can now buy the Huawei P9 exclusively on domestic e-commerce platform Flipkart starting August 18.

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"Huawei is known for many firsts. We introduced the first-ever Android smartphone of the world in India in 2011, and the launch of P9 is another feather in our cap," Huawei's India consumer business group head Peter Zhai said at the launch. "We are excited to give our valued customers the best smartphone photography experience by leveraging the unrivaled capabilities of Leica, the leader in the world of imaging for more than 100 years."

The Huawei P9 comes with a 5.2 inch 1080p full high definition display and Leica-branded 12-megapixel dual rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. It has 3GB RAM, 32 GB of expandable memory and a 3000mAh battery. The next generation smartphone runs on Kirin 955 64-bit Octa-core processor and supports dual SIM cards. It also has a fingerprint sensor.

The Shenzhen-based Chinese telecommunication giant aims to increase its presence in India's growing smartphone market. Huawei will also start manufacturing smartphones in India.

The company is planning to expand its offline reach in the country to 50,000 stores by the end of the current year. "We already have licenses for manufacturing in place. In the short term, we will announce our local manufacturing plan...in one month," Zhai said.

Clicking our moments with @cyrus_sahu.@bomanirani. @thesushmitasen & Mr. Zhai! #P9IndiaLaunch is a SUCCESS! #OO pic.twitter.com/OdwsAVZ2ZK

— Huawei India P9 (@HuaweiIndia) August 17, 2016

TagsHuawei, huawei p9, huawei india, Flipkart, Leica