Huawei Nova review: compact benchmark. Huawei Nova review: compact benchmark of megapixels at the front

Huawei is a corporation that is a major player in the telecommunications equipment market and mobile devices. The company's smartphones and tablets are deservedly very popular due to their reliability and quite affordable prices.

This article is dedicated to one of Huawei's new products - the Nova 2 smartphone.

A little about Huawei

Few people know that Huawei gained worldwide recognition thanks to the release of smartphones and other electronic gadgets. The company began producing smartphones and other electronic gadgets much later.

Huawei began its history in 1987. The company was founded by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer who previously served in the Chinese Engineering Corps. From the very beginning, all the company's efforts were devoted to creating its own telephone switch.

To earn money for production and research, the company had to work for the first three years as a subsidiary of a communications firm from Hong Kong.

In 1993, thanks to hard work and investing all profits into the creation of a research and development center, the company introduced the first in-house switch, the C&C08, to the public. People immediately started talking about the company, because before that in China everything was represented only by foreign developments. In 1994, the company was awarded a lucrative contract to deploy a telephone network in China. This moment can be considered the beginning of Huawei’s triumphant march around the world.

Today, Huawei is a respected and well-known manufacturer in the telecommunications equipment market; the company's developments are used in 170 countries around the world.

Along with the development of telecommunications technologies, the company launched production mobile phones. The company announced its first phone in 2003, and six years later the company’s first smartphone based on the Android operating system was released. In 2011, the company's first tablet PC, Huawei Mediapad, was released.

Currently, Huawei smartphones are not behind such giants as Samsung and Apple in terms of functionality and quality.

Now let's return to the review of Huawei Nova 2, a smartphone from the Chinese company released in mid-2017.

Unpacking the gadget and analyzing the configuration

The smartphone comes in a small white cardboard box with the inscription Huawei Nova 2. Inside there are two packages with the delivery kit, as well as the gadget itself.

The following was found in the box:

1. The device itself.
2. Inexpensive bumper case for Huawei Nova 2. A very useful thing indeed. You can use your smartphone right away without fear of scratching the beautiful new case.
3. Wired headset. It's a cheap and simple accessory, nothing special, but the fact that it's included in the package is nice.
4. Power supply for the device that supports the function fast charging.
5. USB Type-C cable.
6. SIM card tray ejector.
7. Documentation including a quick start guide to basic functions and a warranty card.

The equipment, one might say, is quite good. Not every manufacturer will put a case for a smartphone in the box, not to mention a headset.

Housing design and execution

The smartphone looks very interesting in appearance, although the design of the front panel is practically no different from its predecessor. On the front there is a rounded end. The Huawei Nova 2 (the instructions will help you understand the device and functions) has an all-metal body, only on the upper and lower ends there are plastic inserts necessary for the operation of the antennas. On the back panel painted white (other colors available), in the upper left corner, there are camera lenses and a flash. A little lower in the center of the back of the smartphone is a fingerprint scanner. The back of the gadget is matte, but collects fingerprints a little. The smartphone does not have a single sharp edge. Everything is neatly rounded.

At the bottom end there is a socket for a new universal interface USB Type-C, which replaced the standard miniUSB.

Despite the five-inch screen, the smartphone cannot be called large. It feels good to hold in your hand. Gives the impression of an expensive device. Perhaps the smartphone itself is a little slippery, but that's not a problem. It is quite possible to use the bumper case that comes with the Huawei Nova 2.

Facing the people: Huawei Nova 2 screen

The new product boasts an IPS matrix with FullHD resolution. The image is bright, viewing angles are excellent. Even in bright sunshine, working with the gadget is quite comfortable, but only if the brightness level is set to the maximum value in the parameters.

In the production of the smartphone screen matrix, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon technology was used to ensure best quality Images.

The display is of high quality, so fingerprints on the screen are easily erased.

20 megapixels on the front. Selfie is our everything!

The "trick" of this smartphone is that it has a 20-megapixel front camera. Many people, reading about the front camera of Huawei Nova 2 for the first time in a review of the gadget, think that an annoying typo has crept into the description. But no! Support for a resolution of 20 megapixels is true.

With such a front camera, the gadget is a real find for selfie lovers. Huawei is positioning its device this way. Built-in software allows you to process a photo, for example, make a beautiful blur of the background in the background or apply effects to a face in a photo.

Why does a smartphone need two cameras on the back?

The main camera of Huawei Nova 2 on the rear panel is represented by a dual optical module. One of them has a resolution of 12 megapixels, the second - 8. What are these dances with a tambourine for? Well, firstly, with the help of two modules you can implement optical zoom. Although it is two-fold, it is optically complete. Secondly, this design solution is designed to provide interesting photographs in portrait mode.

When using Portrait mode, the high-quality image of the person in the foreground comes first, while everything that is in the back of the photo is software blurred for the best result. This processing technique is called the “bokeh effect”. This effect is quite often used by photographers, using specialized programs on a personal computer to blur the background in the image.

In itself, such a “two-eyed” solution is interesting and has already been used in some Huawei smartphone models.

Sound: a godsend for a music lover

The audio capabilities of the Huawei Nova 2 smartphone are superior in performance to those of many opponents. In this gadget, the company used its Huawei Histen software package, which contains improved sound processing algorithms. Don't forget about using this device audio chip with built-in amplifier AK4376A. The chip manufacturer is Asahi Kasei Microdevices.

Most sound settings are only available when connecting stereo headphones. This is understandable. An external speaker will not produce the required sound quality, and you simply cannot hear many of the necessary frequencies with such playback. But if the owner of the smartphone is undemanding about sound quality, then he will be quite satisfied with the audio data from the outdoor speaker.

When using headphones, everything falls into place. The sound of the new Huawei is simply amazing. The sound is soft, but at the same time deep, and has peculiar velvety shades.

The new smartphone does not have FM radio. Some will consider this a minus.

There is a voice recorder in the smartphone, sound recording is at a good level.

Hardware test: processor and performance

In the first generation Huawei Nova smartphone, the company used the Qualcomm Shapdgragon 625 processor. With the new model, it was decided to go for an experiment. When producing Nova 2, the corporation used an 8-core processor own development HiSilicon Kirin 659, made using 16 nm technology.

The Huawei Nova 2 smartphone showed performance comparable to its predecessor in tests. The only difference is the more stable and faster operation of the smartphone with a large number of open applications, probably due to the volume random access memory in 4 GB.

In gaming applications, the characteristics of Huawei Nova 2 allow it to stay in the middle. At maximum settings Graphics settings in “heavy” games cause picture twitching. For comfortable work with games, it is better to choose medium settings.

Wireless modules are a fly in the ointment

The Huawei Nova 2 smartphone can accommodate two nano SIM cards. It is also possible to use a memory card instead of a second SIM. Considering that the device already has 64 GB of RAM on board, expanding it with a card is quite possible. The Huawei Nova 2 smartphone has only one radio module, so the SIM cards will work alternately. The device supports 4G (LTE) networks.

Bluetooth version 4.2 allows you to connect wireless stereo headphones for comfortable listening to your favorite music, which is very cool, given the presence of an audio chip for sound processing. NFC, unfortunately, is not supported by the smartphone. The company's decision to use a Wi-Fi module with a frequency of 2.4 GHz in the new product caused confusion. In a model of this level, I would like to have a modern module with a frequency of 5 GHz.

The GPS module starts up quickly when cold, there are no complaints about its operation.

Autonomy

The smartphone has a built-in battery with a capacity of 2950 mAh. With such a capacity, you can’t expect any special miracles of autonomy. When watching a video, the smartphone will last 6-7 hours, and you can play for no more than 3 hours. Whatever one may say, with active use you will have to charge the gadget at least once a day. In such a situation, the only good thing is that the smartphone supports fast charging.

Final verdict

Huawei Nova 2 is an interesting smartphone. Nice, fits well in the hand. The characteristics of the Huawei Nova 2 are not exactly impressive, but they are enough for most users who do not require flagship performance from the device. The average price of Huawei Nova 2 is 20 thousand Russian rubles. The autonomy of the device is not its strong point, but many modern devices also cannot boast of a long operating time without a power outlet.

The strong point of the gadget is its cameras. The powerful front camera will appeal to selfie lovers, and the fashionable dual main camera will not leave others indifferent thanks to its well-implemented portrait mode.

Using an audio chip to play music made it possible to get excellent sound when listening on headphones, which will delight people who use a smartphone as a player.

Another advantage of the smartphone is the fact that it runs the modern Android 7.0 operating system in conjunction with Huawei's proprietary shell - EMUI.

Now about the unpleasant stuff. With decent characteristics of the Huawei Nova 2 smartphone and a price of 20 thousand rubles, there is a misunderstanding of the company’s policy regarding some decisions regarding wireless modules. Was it really impossible to add support for NFC and Wi-Fi with a frequency of 5 GHz?

The Huawei Nova 2 smartphone will find its buyer. Not everyone will find fault with Wi-Fi or time battery life gadget. The decisive factor in your choice will most likely be the presence of powerful optical modules and an audio chip.

After going on sale Samsung smartphone Galaxy S8 with a non-standard screen aspect ratio and frameless design, technology manufacturers are thinking about releasing their answers and variations. For Huawei, such an experiment was the nova 2i model. The smartphone has a large 6-inch display on the entire front panel with an aspect ratio of 18:9. At the same time, the price of the device is affordable and does not exceed 18,000 rubles. Well, as part of the test, we will try to evaluate the convenience of such a large screen, without forgetting about the main functions of a smart phone.

In the fall, Huawei introduced the nova 2i smartphone. The model became the first in the manufacturer’s line with the so-called frameless design. In essence, this format provides for maximum big screen, occupying almost the entire area of ​​the front part and a more comfortable aspect ratio - the smartphone is slightly elongated in length, making it much more convenient to take it with one hand.

In addition to the 5.93-inch screen, the new product has a thin magnesium-aluminum body with a fingerprint scanner and two dual cameras: the main one is 16+2 megapixels, and the front one is 13+2 megapixels. In technical terms, Huawei nova 2i is a solid average. It uses a powerful HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor with Mali-T830 MP2 graphics, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal memory. In terms of communications, the device boasts support for LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX and a slot for two SIM cards.

Technical characteristics of Huawei nova 2i

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Characteristic	Description
Case materials:	magnesium-aluminum alloy, glass
Operating system:	Android 7.0, custom shell EMUI 5.1
Screen:	diagonal 5.93 inches, IPS, resolution 1080x2160 pixels (407 ppi), recognition of up to ten simultaneous touches, protective glass with 2.5D effect
CPU:	8-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 (4 Cortex-A53 cores at 2.36 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.7 GHz)
GPU:	Mali-T830 MP2
RAM:	4 GB
Flash memory:	64 GB + card slot microSD memory
SIM card type:	two nanoSIM, one of which is combined with a slot for microSD
Mobile connection:	EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), WCDMA (850/900/1900/2100 MHz), LTE Cat.6 (800/1800/2600 MHz)
Communications:	Single-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, aptX, microUSB connector for charging/syncing, 3.5 mm headset jack
Navigation:	GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU
Sensors:	Light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), fingerprint scanner, audio with Huawei Histen technology
Main camera:	Dual: 16 MP (f/1.8) + 2 MP, LED flash, autofocus, FullHD video recording
Front-camera:	Dual: 13 megapixels (f/1.8) + 2 megapixels
Battery:	non-removable, 3340 mAh
Dimensions, weight:	156.2×75.2×7.5 mm, 164 g
Dust, water and drop protection:	No
Available colors:	Black, blue, gold

Delivery package and first impressions

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Huawei nova 2i comes in a box made of hard cardboard white. The model name is printed on the front side of the package. The accessories included in the kit are placed in separate boxes. In addition to the smartphone itself, the box contains a synchronization and charging cable with a microUSB connector, an electrical adapter, a clip for opening the SIM card tray, a wired stereo headset, a transparent plastic cover (bumper), instructions and a warranty card.

Taking the smartphone out of the box, you notice that it is very similar to previous devices in the Huawei nova line. The same rounded side edges, materials and inserts. Huawei nova 2i is very thin and quite light. Dimensions - 156.2×75.2×7.5 mm, 164 grams. The reduction in body size was achieved by reducing the edges around the display. On the left and right they reach only 2 mm.

The device surprisingly fits perfectly in the hand. This is largely due to the aspect ratio - the device seems to be elongated in length. Because of this, the width corresponds to classic 5-inch models. Holding the device with one hand is surprisingly comfortable.

Huawei nova 2i is supplied to the Russian market in four color options: blue, black and gold. I had a blue device at my disposal.

Design and appearance

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Of the 10 people I interviewed, everyone liked the appearance of the smartphone without exception. iPhone owners noted that the new product very much reminded them of the iPhone 6/6s Plus and iPhone 7 Plus. This is largely due to the similarity of the body shape and finishing materials. So, in a Huawei device rear end Made from a sheet of magnesium-aluminum alloy with plastic inserts at the top and bottom. It is in these inserts that the antennas are located mobile network, Wi-Fi. GPS/GLONASS, Bluetooth.

The use of sandblasting technology made it possible to create a surface that is pleasant to the touch and gives the body a stylish matte appearance. This coating is very resistant to mechanical stress. Abrasions do not appear on the paint if you carry your smartphone with keys in your pocket.

The rounded edges of the screen are made using 2.5D technology and allow the smartphone to fit perfectly in the hand. In general, in the hands of the device, the device is perceived as a very good and expensive device.

Almost the entire front part is occupied touch screen with a diagonal of 5.93 inches. Taking into account the thin edges on the sides, it seems as if the gadget has no frames at all. In addition, the top and bottom edges are also small. It looks very impressive. The protective glass of the display has an oleophobic coating; fingerprints remain, but are erased quickly and easily.

A speaker for telephone calls is located above the screen. Its volume is enough to communicate in a noisy room or on the road. There is a built-in LED indicator to the left of the speaker. It flashes when there are incoming messages, phone calls, low battery. It can be disabled or reconfigured in the corresponding menu item. Here you can also see proximity and lighting sensors. The front camera in Huawei nova 2i is dual. Both cameras are on the right side.

There are no buttons or other elements under the screen. Instead of them is the Huawei logo. Function keys are fully integrated into the screen shell.

On the bottom edge on the right there are speaker holes for external calls and music, and on the left there is a microphone. Here you can also see a hole for connecting headphones with a 3.5 mm jack. In the center is USB port Type C for connecting the phone to the computer and charging.

I would rate the performance of the main speaker as a strong four. The sound is quite powerful and loud, although the detail is not of the highest quality. However, the melodies do not wheeze or hiss. If you cover the speaker with your hand or finger, the volume drops by 90%. It’s worth knowing about this fact when you put the device in a handbag or winter clothes. This way you might miss an important call.

On the top edge you can see a second microphone for noise reduction. On the right side there are volume buttons and a power/lock screen key. The keys are pressed firmly, but very clearly. No false positives were detected during testing.

A tray for two nanoSIM-sized SIM cards is located on the left side surface. You can open it using the clip included in the kit, or using a regular paper clip. One of the SIM card slots is combined with a microSD memory card slot. This configuration does not allow you to use two SIM cards and a memory card at once. We'll have to choose.

On the back side you can see two camera lenses: 16 megapixels and 2 megapixels. The cameras take pictures with autofocus and have an LED flash. The cameras protrude 2 mm relative to the surface of the body.

A little lower in the center is a fingerprint scanner, which has a round shape. With it, you can not only unlock the device, but also answer calls, turn off the alarm, view the list of open applications (to do this, you need to swipe up on the sensor), open the notification panel (swipe down) and erase notifications (double tap on the sensor). Moreover, the user can create a secure area to store confidential information and classified applications, which can be accessed using a fingerprint.

The fingerprint sensor works quite quickly and, most importantly, accurately. The official Huawei website says 0.3 seconds for recognition, and this seems to be true. During testing, it accurately recognized my fingerprints and did not react to strangers. In total, you can save up to five prints in the device memory.

Screen. Graphics capabilities

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Huawei nova 2i has a screen with a diagonal of 5.93 inches. The display is made using IPS technology with anti-glare coating and without an air gap. Resolution - 1080x2160, pixel density - 407 ppi, aspect ratio 18:9. Because of high resolution The picture on the display looks great. Viewing angles are maximum. In direct sunlight, the image remains readable and the screen does not glare.

The backlight brightness is comfortable in most usage scenarios, plus auto-adjustment works correctly. The gadget is equipped with a light sensor, thanks to which it can independently adjust the brightness level that is comfortable for working in given conditions.

The picture on the display looks good, clean and believable. The frame around the screen is quite narrow: approximately 2 mm on the sides and 9 mm on the top and bottom. From my own experience, I can say that reading text from an elongated screen is much more convenient. On the other hand, reaching to the top of the screen is very inconvenient, and when watching a video you will encounter black bars on the sides. Autoscaling doesn't work here.

If we talk about the sensitivity of the screen, it responds quickly to touches and recognizes gestures without problems. In total, the device supports up to ten simultaneous touches. The gadget also easily understands touches with loose gloves.

Huawei nova 2i has a proximity sensor that blocks the display when you bring the smartphone to your ear. The user can also configure the control of individual smartphone functions using gestures on the screen.

The device has an eye protection mode that reduces the level of ultraviolet radiation from the screen. This mode prevents eye fatigue when using the smartphone for a long time. Also in the settings there is a glove control mode - it is suitable for our winter.

Hardware platform: processor, memory, performance

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The Huawei nova 2i smartphone is powered by an 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 chip (4 Cortex-A53 cores at 2.36 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.7 GHz), as well as a Mali-T830 MP2 graphics coprocessor. When under load, the smartphone body practically does not heat up. The exception in this sense is productivity games. In this case, after 10-15 minutes the case still warmed up slightly.

The smartphone has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory, of which about 56 GB is available to the user. Memory cards up to 128 GB are supported, although the connector for them is combined with a slot for a SIM card. This means that you will have to use either a card or a nanoSIM.

If we talk about the operation of the interface, during the test I did not notice any glitches or slowdowns at all. Plus, the EMUI user shell is perfectly optimized, so there were no lags or slowdowns.

All games from the standard test suite launched without problems. More productive ones also worked, but not without restrictions, although all this was not critical in most cases. FullHD video is played without stuttering, and the browser is also stable. To sum up the performance, I note that it is very, very sufficient.

It is also worth noting the use of the AKM4376A DAC. Thanks to this fact, a smartphone can sometimes please even the most discerning music lovers. With a high-quality headset, listening to music from Huawei nova 2i is pleasant.

Communication capabilities

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As I noted above, Huawei nova 2i received support for two nano-sized SIM cards. The smartphone has one radio module. This means that when any activity occurs on one of the cards, e.g. incoming call, the second goes offline. Working with SIM cards is implemented in the simplest way: after installing both SIM cards in the device, the smartphone will offer to assign which one to call, send messages and access the Internet with.

A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G/4G networks, but only one of them can function in this mode at a time. To change the assignment of slots, cards do not need to be swapped - this can be done directly from the phone menu.

The smartphone supports all modern communication networks: 2G/3G and 4G Cat. 6 on Russian frequencies (4G TDD LTE: Band 38/40 and 4G FDD LTE: Band 1/3/7/8/20), confidently receives the signal and does not lose it for no apparent reason.

It is noteworthy that Huawei nova 2i has a software option that allows you to improve the quality of signal reception, it is called “Signal+”. Huawei says that in their next smartphone they have used not a double, but a “triple virtual antenna Signal+ 2.0.”

Testing MegaFon's 4G network. Speeds according to Speedtest.Net are about 35 Mbit/s.

Talking on the phone is comfortable. The speaker has a good volume reserve, and the interlocutors did not complain about poor audibility during testing.

The device can work with wireless networks Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.5 GHz only), Bluetooth version 4.2. The modules work quickly and without failures.

The smartphone supports Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi channels or Bluetooth. Smart Wi-Fi+ lets you automatically switch between Wi-Fi and network mobile transmission data. The microUSB connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode. But there is no NFC in the device, for the same reason it does not work Android Pay.

Among the additional communication tools, it is worth noting GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou (standard Google Maps cartography is built into the smartphone). The navigation error radius during testing was about 3 meters, which is very little. The gadget copes well with the role of a navigator.

Duration of work

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The smartphone has a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 3340 mAh. Under testing conditions, with 30 minutes of calls per day, browsing the Internet for about 1.5 hours via 4G, listening to an mp3 player through a headset for about 2.5 hours a day, the device worked for 30 hours. When watching a video, the gadget worked for 7 hours 20 minutes, in navigator mode - 3 hours 40 minutes. As a result, the device has to be charged every 1.5 days. If you use the smartphone in a less intensive mode, it will work for 2-2.5 days.

In terms of autonomy, the device is slightly better than most models in the same class. However, Huawei has provided three battery usage profiles with quite self-explanatory names: productive, “smart” (auto-adjusting processor power depending on the task being performed) and energy-saving.

Charging accumulator battery about two hours. Wireless charging The device does not support it, but the “fast charging” mode is present. Fast charging technology provides a 45% charge level within 30 minutes. And if you charge Huawei nova 2i for just 10 minutes, the charge will last for 2 hours of talking or 6 hours of listening to music.

User Interface and Operating System

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Huawei nova 2i runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and EMUI 5.1 user interface.

For those who are familiar with this shell, it will not be difficult to figure it out. Work with gestures is supported, there is an additional virtual control button that folds out on the screen into a radial menu. The navigation panel has been modified, divided into several tabs, the first of which has a convenient timeline of events, the next you can find a menu quick access to the main settings, and swiping up from the bottom brings up another menu where you can find a flashlight, a voice recorder and some others useful features and settings.

Among other things, the user can select the effect when unlocking or moving between desktops, select the style of icons, fonts, and response to incoming call when you bring the phone to your ear. There is a function here to switch to silent mode when turning the screen down, as well as tilt the phone to organize widgets. In general, there are a lot of little things that especially impressionable people should like.

There are also several built-in themes with the ability to download new ones for free and for a fee, as well as very nice pictures for the lock screen. This is one of the rare cases when, purchasing new smartphone, you don’t have to change the built-in backgrounds and themes to new ones. There is a mode for automatically changing wallpaper, when the pictures are displayed in a chaotic order; To do this, you just need to shake your smartphone.

If you don’t like this look, then with one tap in the menu you can return to the standard one. Android solution with a separate application menu.

Among the preinstalled applications there are standard applications for the manufacturer: free Yandex programs, Opera browser, Clean Master, booking service Booking.com, Sberbank online application, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram.

Fans of a healthy lifestyle can use the “Health” application, which includes an analyzer of your activity, sports activities, nutrition, etc.

Camera. Photo and video capabilities

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This smartphone has four cameras! Dual modules are used: 16+2 megapixels for the main one and 13+2 megapixels for the front camera. Smartphone owners have access to functions such as post-focus (when you can change the focus on a photo that has already been taken) and background blur. Both functions work, but they work somewhat crudely, at least if you set the blur slider to the middle, or too aggressively if you turn it up to maximum.

When the lighting level is low, when zooming, the main camera turns on, that is, the image is cropped and stretched to 12 megapixels. However, special algorithms are used that try to stretch the image vertically. In this regard, minimal image distortion is observed.

Overall, the Huawei nova 2i camera takes high-quality images in almost any lighting conditions with minimal artifacts.

The camera control menu is generally familiar from previous models. A gesture on the left brings up a menu with various modes, on the right - a menu for camera settings (image resolution, button controls, etc.), and at the bottom brings up a menu manual settings shooting. In it, as usual, you can independently control focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance. In difficult lighting conditions, the HDR mode comes in handy. It works adequately, significantly improving detail processing.

The Huawei Nona 2i camera can shoot video with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080 at 30 or 60 fps with stereo sound. There is also the possibility of slow-motion slo-mo recording in 720p resolution at 120 frames per second.

The front camera takes good pictures, but it is picky about the quality of lighting. Even in light twilight, highlights begin to appear. However, the camera can be successfully used for selfies, live broadcasts on social networks, etc.

Results

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After two weeks of testing, we can say that Huawei nova 2i is a very solid mid-level phablet. It has a good quality screen with minimal edges on the sides. In addition, the device works very quickly and copes with its tasks perfectly. Numerous applications of social networks, instant messengers, mail, photos, videos, navigation, banking, entertainment - all this works without any problems. Nothing freezes or slows down. This is largely due to Android 7.0 Nougat, but Huawei didn’t spoil anything, as happens with Oppo and Vivo.

The device has an attractive appearance and excellent assembly. The device boasts of having 2 SIM cards and 4G support. There is also a fingerprint sensor here. Battery life also corresponds to market averages.

Disadvantages include a combined slot for a memory card and a second SIM card, as well as the lack of NFC and, as a result, the inability to use Android Pay contactless payments. It is also unclear why the manufacturer abandoned dual-band Wi-Fi.

Huawei nova 2i has plenty of competitors. First of all, this is the LG Q6a (also has an edge-to-edge screen), Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) and Meizu M5 Note. These models cost 2,000-3,000 rubles cheaper, although in terms of hardware they are slightly inferior to the Huawei phablet. But LG Q6, ASUS ZenFone 3 ZE552KL, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X and Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) offer similar functionality and hardware, and the price is comparable.

Advantages

Metal body

Great appearance and high-quality assembly
Good screen

Quality cameras

Support LTE cat. 6

Flaws

There is no NFC support, and therefore Android Pay does not work

No support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi band

The memory card slot is combined with a second SIM card (nanoSIM type)

Widget from SocialMart

On the day of publication, Huawei nova 2i could be purchased at a price of 17,990 rubles.

Huawei is actively expanding its expansion in the Russian market, and the Huawei Nova smartphone was created to conquer the mid-price segment.

The device can be called ideal for its category, because in many respects it surpasses its competitors. You can find out about the pros, cons and other features of Huawei Nova in our review.

Technical characteristics of Huawei Nova

• Processor: 8-core Snapdragon 625 (Cortex-A53 up to 2 GHz).
• Graphics: Adreno 506.
• RAM: 3 GB.
• Internal memory: 32 GB, microSD support up to 128 GB.
• Display: 5 inches, Full HD, TFT IPS, 423 ppi, 2.5D glass, glove control.
• Main camera: 12 MP, Sony IMX286, 1.25 μm, f/2.2, dual-tone LED flash, phase detection autofocus, video recording in 3840 x 2160 pixels.
• Front camera: 8 MP, skin imperfection smoothing function.
• Platform: Android 6.0 Marshmallow and proprietary EMUI 4.1 shell.
• Networks: 2G, 3G and 4G.
• Hybrid slot for SIM and microSD.
• GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac).
• USB Type-C and 3.5mm headphone jack.
• Fingerprint's scanner.
• Battery: built-in, 3020 mAh.
• Dimensions: 141.2 x 69.1 x 7.1 mm, weight: 146 grams.

The smartphone arrived for review without the required equipment, so in this matter we will trust the official website. Huawei Nova is sold with charger at 2A, USB Type-C cable, headset and paper clip.

Design and ergonomics

Huawei Nova combines the manufacturer's proprietary design and interesting solutions from the Nexux 6P. The front panel is standard - there is a selfie camera, a proximity sensor, an LED notification indicator and a speaker on top, and the manufacturer's logo is traditionally located at the bottom.

The panel is covered with protective glass (2.5D), the black frames around the display, although noticeable in the white version of the gadget, are very thin and cannot be compared with what we saw on Xiaomi Mi5 or LeEco Le 2.

The back panel is made in the image of the Nexus 6P. At the top of the back there is a horizontal glass insert that houses the main camera and flash. In a dark body color, this strip masks the camera and flash, but in our case it’s more likely the opposite - it makes them more noticeable. Just below you can find a slightly recessed fingerprint scanner, chrome-plated along the contour.

At the bottom of the back panel is the Huawei logo, trademarks and a small silver insert.

The power and volume buttons are located on the right and are easily accessible when operating the device with one hand. If you look closely, you will notice that the power key is surrounded by a red line. There is an antenna strip at the top of the right side.

On the left side there is a connector for the SIM card tray and memory card, which can be removed with a special clip. Above is the antenna strip again.

The bottom edge of the device contains a USB Type-C connector, holes for the main speaker, two antenna strips and two noticeable screws.

On the top edge you can find a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microphone hole.

In general, the arrangement of the elements can be called more than familiar. Using a smartphone is convenient; you hardly have to get used to anything.

As for ergonomics, Huawei Nova deserves only positive reviews. The smartphone with a 5-inch screen fits comfortably in the hand and feels solid, which is helped by the excellent build quality of the metal case. In addition, the weight of the device is only 146 grams, and the thickness is 7.1 mm. We were unable to find any backlashes, squeaks or other shortcomings, except that the volume rocker is a little wobbly, but does not make any unnecessary sounds.

The disadvantage is the display coating, which does not resist the collection of fingerprints and greasy stains, but they are easy to remove thanks to the oleophobic coating. The back of the device may also feel slippery and there is a possibility that it may slip out of your hand.

Performance

In Huawei Nova, the manufacturer decided to abandon its own Kirin chipsets in favor of the 8-core Snapdragon 625 processor, which should attract many users, because Qualcomm chipsets are popularly considered more powerful and stable. Adreno 506 is used as a graphics accelerator, RAM is 3 GB, physical memory is 32 GB.

Despite the fact that more powerful hardware is now available on the market, the smartphone copes with all tasks, from using social networks and instant messengers to playing games with 3D graphics and a large number of tabs in the browser.

It is worth noting the extremely fast interface, smooth scrolling in browsers and excellent performance in games ranging from Fruit Ninja to Modern Combat 5. Of course, after a long gaming session back panel It heats up a little, but in moderation.

Benchmark testing:

Display

A 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and a pixel density of 441 ppi, which is produced using IPS technology, provides high-quality images day and night. All this is more than enough for a mid-priced smartphone.

Minimum brightness and eye protection mode ensure comfort when using the device at night; maximum brightness is sufficient in daylight.

The viewing angles are wide, there are no obvious highlights or extraneous shades. The picture is bright, clear and simply pleasing to the eyes. In the settings you can adjust the color temperature and enable eye protection mode.

Cameras and photos

The main camera received a 12 megapixel Sony IMX286 matrix with f/2.2 aperture, autofocus and flash. The quality of the images is pleasantly surprising, and in most cases it does an excellent job auto mode. Of course, the photo quality is slightly inferior to the Huawei P9, but the latter use a more sophisticated dual camera.

Photos taken in daylight are detailed and clear.

In low light or when shooting at night, some noise may appear, but there is no graininess or obvious blurring in the image.

In general, the principle of shooting in low light conditions is simple - the more light there is on the subject, the better the picture.

The device copes well with close-up photography; during macro photography, the background is even blurred.

The front camera resolution is 8 megapixels, it takes standard pictures for the price category and, if necessary, hides cosmetic imperfections.

EMUI 4.1 interface on Android 6.0 Marshmallow

In the hands and eyes of users is the familiar EMUI 4.1 proprietary shell, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and receiving all the usual and familiar add-ons and functions that we saw in Honor 8 or Huawei Y6II.

From pre-installed applications Let's note the standard set: Sberbank Online, Ivi.ru, Yandex, Opera, Odnoklassniki, Mail.ru Mail, etc.

This is not the first time we have noted the ease of customizing the navigation bar. This is especially true when switching from another smartphone with an excellent layout of the Home, Back and Menu buttons.

Does the fingerprint scanner have additional functions: You can use it to take a photo, answer a call, turn off the alarm, open the notification panel, and scroll through photos. The sensor itself works perfectly with an accuracy of 95 percent.

Autonomy

Despite the standard battery capacity of 3020 mAh, Huawei Nova holds a charge very well and, in almost any situation, survives until the evening with a reserve. If you don't turn on games and don't constantly freeze in in social networks, the smartphone will last for two days. This is exactly what happened in our testing mode.

On sale since 2016 (October);
Weight, dimensions: 146 g. , 141.2 x 69.1 x 7.1 mm. ;
Memory 32 GB, 3 GB RAM;
Battery: Built-in Li-Po 3020 mAh battery;
Screen 5.0 inches, 68.9 cm2, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio;
OS, GPU: Android 6.0.1 - 7.0; EMUI 4.1, Adreno 506;
Price: About 300 EUR (price at the start of sales);
Color: Prestige gold, Mystic silver, Titanium Gray, Obsidian black.

Specifications Huawei nova (CAN-L01L11, CAN-L02L12, CAN-L03L13, CAN-L11, CAN-L01)

Processors, OS

Preinstalled operating system: Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) - 7.0 (NOUGAT); EMUI 4.1.
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 (14 nm).
Processor: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53.
GPU: Adreno 506.

Basic Specifications

GPS: yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS.
Wireless networks: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, access point.
Bluetooth support: 4.1, A2DP, LE.
USB characteristics: Type-C 1.0 reversible connector.
Radio: FM radio.

Instructions for Huawei nova download pdf

Official instructions for use in PDF format For Huawei nova. The file can be downloaded below - click on the “Download instructions” link and select the item corresponding to your OS, then right-click on it and find “save link as...” in the menu. You can read the instructions in a standard browser or in the program Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download this program for free at Adobe.com. PDF reading programs are usually already installed on your tablet.

cellular

2G: GSM / HSPA / LTE.
3G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only).
4G (LTE): HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - CAN-L01L11.
Data transfer speed: yes.

Sensors and additional features

Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyroscopic sensor, contactless reading, compass.
Messengers: - Fast battery charging mode
- MP4/H.264 player

- Photo/video editor
- Document editor.
Browser: HTML5.
Additionally: - Fast battery charging mode
- MP4/H.264 player
- MP3/eAAC+/WAV/Flac player
- Photo/video editor
- Document editor.
No NFC sensor (near field communication)

Video recording, photography

Main: 12 MP, 1/2.9", 1.25 Vµm), phase detection autofocus, LED flash, check quality.
Front: 8 MP.
Add. Features: Geo-tagging, touch focusing, face detection, HDR, panorama mode.
Video: 2160p@30fps, quality check.
Video recording with main camera: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
Selfie camera video recording: 1080p@30fps.
Front (selfie) camera: 8 MP ()

Screen

Emotion 4.1 UI.
Display size 5.0 inches, 68.9 cm2 (~70.6% screen-to-device ratio). Resolution - 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~441 ppi density). IPS LCD capacitive touch screen, 16M colors.

This official instructions for Huawei Nova in Russian, which is suitable for Android 6.0. If you have updated your Huawei smartphone to a more recent version or “rolled back” to an earlier one, then you should try others detailed instructions instructions for use, which will be presented below. We also suggest that you familiarize yourself with the quick user instructions in question-answer format.

Huawei official website?

You have come to the right place, because all the information from the official Huawei website, as well as a lot of other useful content, is collected here.

Settings->About phone:: Android version(a few clicks on the item will launch the "Easter egg") ["Out of the box" Android OS version - 6.0].

We continue to configure the smartphone

How to update drivers on Huawei

You need to go to "Settings -> About phone -> Kernel version"

How to enable Russian keyboard layout

Go to the section "Settings->Language and input->Select language"

How to connect 4g or switch to 2G, 3G

"Settings-> More-> Mobile network-> Data transfer"

What to do if you turned it on child mode and forgot my password

Go to "Settings-> Language and keyboard-> section (keyboard and input methods)-> check the box next to "Google voice input"

Settings->Display:: Auto-rotate screen (uncheck)

How to set a melody for an alarm clock?

Settings->Display->Brightness->right (increase); left (decrease); AUTO (automatic adjustment).

Settings->Battery->Energy Saving (check the box)

Enable display of battery charge status as a percentage

Settings->Battery->Battery Charge

How to transfer phone numbers from a SIM card to the phone memory? Importing numbers from a SIM card

1. Go to the Contacts app
2. Click on the "Options" button -> select "Import/Export"
3. Select where you want to import contacts from -> “Import from SIM card”

How to add a contact to the blacklist or block a phone number?

How to set up the Internet if the Internet does not work (for example, MTS, Beeline, Tele2, Life)

1. You can contact the operator
2. Or read the instructions for

How to set a ringtone for a subscriber so that each number has its own melody

Go to the Contacts application -> Select the desired contact -> click on it -> open the menu (3 vertical dots) -> Set ringtone

How to disable or enable key vibration feedback?

Go to Settings-> Language and input -> Android keyboard or Google keyboard -> Vibration response of keys (uncheck or uncheck)

How to set a ringtone for an SMS message or change alert sounds?

Read the instructions for

How to find out what processor is on Nova?

You need to look at the Nova specs (link above). We know that in this modification of the device the chipset is Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953, 2000 nMHz.

Settings->For Developers->USB Debugging

If there is no "For Developers" item?

Follow the instructions

Settings->Data transfer->Mobile traffic.
Settings->More->Mobile network->3G/4G services (if the operator does not support, select only 2G)

How to change or add input language on the keyboard?

Settings-> Language and input-> Android keyboard-> settings icon-> Input languages ​​(check the box next to the ones you need)