When news of Huawei's plans to release a follow-up to its premium flagship series, fans expected that the much-anticipated Huawei Ascend P9 will appear early this year.

Previous rumors placed Huawei to be planning a January release for the new iteration, with this year's Consumer Electronics Show as the unveiling event. The interest in Huawei's supposed plans had gotten strong when it was revealed that the China-based company scheduled a pre-CES press event for its products lineup showcase.

However, the 2016 CES came and went with the Ascend P9 a no-show. Instead, Huawei decided to showcase its current-gen premium lineups such as the Mate 8, and even threw in some of the iterations under its Honor lineups. 

Huawei also highlighted at the CES event its plans to enter Western shores, particularly the U.S. market, with its smartphone lineups. Iit was announced that the Ascend Mate 8, Huawei GX8, and Honor 5X will make their U.S. debuts this year.

Meanwhile, even if the Huawei Ascend P9 failed to appear at the 2016 CES, the rumors that it will be seen early this year have not abated. Speculations continue to rise, now saying that the new iteration might be briefly unveiled next month, at this year's Mobile World Congress.

As for its release, GSM Arena said that rumor has it that since its predecessor the Ascend P8 was launched April last year, and with the new Ascend Mate 8 just recently released, Huawei might be thinking of a March release date for the Ascend P9. The industry follower added that this targeted release period is a plausible one, to give Huawei a decent breathing room between its flagship releases.

Should the rumors prove true, fans will see the Ascend P9 as another premium iteration. Speculations place the new P9 as featuring Huawei's new homegrown Kirin 950 SoC, as well as at least 4 GB of RAM.