Hands-on with the Huawei Nova: With a price of around 350 euros, Huawei actually belongs to the smartphone middle class.
But the Chinese Handyschmiede shows with the Nova how cheap a good mobile phone can be. In terms of processing and performance, the device can certainly compete with premium models.
We have tested the smaller model extensively
Huawei is now the world’s number three in the smartphone market, according to Apple and Samsung.
Primarily by focusing on innovative premium smartphones, the Chinese were able to pass most of the competition. The new Nova devices are aimed at price-conscious buyers, who place emphasis on design and recharge time – and can dispense with top features.
The Nova looks very well – the magnesium-aluminum alloy feels not only great in the hand, thanks to the back-side rounded smartphones, but can really convince with its filigree ground edges and the power button.
Flotter processor Also in terms of performance, the Huawei Nova does not have to hide from the stalks of Samsung, Apple & Co. The Octa-Core processor Snapdragon 625 is not as fast as the 820, which is in nearly all flagships. For almost all tasks, however, it is sufficient.
Especially since it is much more acoustic than many high-speed chips. In the test, he performed all tasks at any time without jerks. 3 gigabytes of memory keep the Android Marshmallow OS in a good mood.
And the fingerprint reader on the back does not only react quickly but also offers helpful additional functions. So you can swiftly scroll through the image gallery, scroll down the notification window, or accept calls.
And in addition, the system provides a hub with fast accesses: you can rearrange the on-screen navigation buttons and define numerous gestures.
Strong battery and ample memory
A good figure makes the Nova synonymous with the battery: The battery has a capacity of 3020 milliamperes. For comparison: So much has the Galaxy S7, which is somewhat larger.
The iPhone 6S, on the other hand, has only a little more than half the 1715 mAh. The internal memory can be expanded via microSD by up to 128 gigabytes.
The smartphone has a USB-C charging jack that supports QuickCharge. And the display also offers a night mode, in which the blue portion is reduced. The charging is over 2 hours, however, somewhat tough – here a fast-charging technology would have helped.
Good camera
The camera makes a good figure in the test. Clearly, what the Nova is missing compared to Huawei top models is the dual-clip with Leica technology. Nevertheless, the 12-megapixel cam convinces us in daylight with a sharp image center and strong colors.
In daylight, the color brilliance diminishes somewhat, but the photo appears almost as bright as in daylight. You can see the struggle between the blur and the sound, but in the end, there are still plenty of picture details.
For flashbacks, a second photo-LED would have been helpful because some pictures appear somewhat yellow in our test.
The main camera is missing the optical image stabilizer, but it delivers good quality in bright surroundings and offers numerous adjustment options and automatic modes.
Very good: The Huawei Nova films in UHD with 3.840 x 2.160 pixels and offers numerous image processing tools such as the “Perfect Selfie”.
The ergonomically perfect, slightly recessed fingerprint sensor below the main camera unlocks the screen as in the NovaPlus.
Display
The screen measures 5 inches in the diagonal and is based on a classic IPS panel. This is also noticeable in the test, as the contrast with a ratio of 126: 1 compared to the OLED panels of the top models but rather drops.
In the test lab, we also measure a smaller color space and a slight shift in the white point. Everything sounds much worse than in everyday life, but costs Nova point. The maximum brightness of 464.6 cd / m² is at a good level.
Conclusion
The new Nova devices are aimed at price-conscious buyers, who place emphasis on design and recharge time – and can do without a few top features.
Overview of data
- Eight core processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 8 x 2.0 GHz, as well as 3 gigabytes of memory
- Sharp display: Full HD screen (1920 × 1080 pixels) with LCD panel
- 12-megapixel camera: Also 4K-video recording is possible
Size and weight: 14.1 x 6.9 x 0.69 centimeters, 146 grams - Display Size: 5-inch (Diagonal: 12.7 cm)
- Memory: 32 gigabytes, expandable via microSD card (max 256 GB)
- USB Type-C connector for faster charging and faster data transfer speed
- Fingerprint sensor: The Nova can be unlocked with a fingertip. In addition, it should be possible with the sensor to view photos in the gallery, to call the notification bar, or to answer a call
- Tap Control: The Knuckle feature starts or runs commands by tapping or tapping on the display
- Battery life: Huawei promises for the battery installed in the Nova (3.020 milliampere-hours) up to two days running time
- Fast data connections: The Nova supports LTE, Bluetooth 4.1, and WLAN-n.