Huawei recently launched the world’s first quad-camera smartphone with a ‘HUAWEI FullView’ display christened the nova 2i. The phone has all it needs to be a disruptive phone in the market with the innovative camera technology & the full view display. The phone is yet to be launched in Bangladesh and I was lucky enough to receive the handset (color: black) before the launch. This article is just the first hands on impression on the device and honestly, I am quite impressed to see such high end features in a mid-range device.
The nova 2i is actually a rebranded version of the Huawei Maimang 6 which made it to the Chinese markets last month. Like the previous Honor 8 pro, the nova 2i looks classy and sleek with a metal unibody design and a sweet matte finish at the back.
Initially, I expected the device to be a bit heavy just like the iPhone 7 Plus which I am currently using. Both of them are almost of the same height but as I lifted the phone I was quite impressed to see it being light weighing only at 162g.
…but I am guessing it will be carrying a price tag of BDT 30,000.
About the design of the phone, it’s quite elegant given the fact that it’s a mid-range phone. I am not sure what the price of the device would be at this moment but I am guessing it will be carrying a price tag of BDT 30,000.
Build quality of the phone is perfect with the device having curved edges, rounded corners and a 2.5D glass on front. For some, one handed use of this phone can be quite hard but since I have giant hands as I am fat, thanks to my diet, it was easy for me to hold the device in one hand and navigate at ease. However, to pull down the notification toolbar from the top, I had to slide the phone down a bit which for others with small hands would have required the support of another hand.
The main attraction of the device is ‘HUAWEI FullView’ display with minimal bezels on the front which sums up to the device’s appeal and makes it look futuristic. The display is what I would buy this phone for. For a mid-range device to have an all-view display is just worth it. The 5.9-inch panel flows from the top to the bottom minimizing the bezels making the content in the display look gorgeous. I mean, a display of this type is something that you would normally find in an expensive device like the LG G6 or the Galaxy S8. I am yet to start playing games or watch a movie on this device and will share the details in the upcoming review. Overall, the phone has a decent viewing angle and is sharp but at times we can see the screen get bit reflective.
What’s arming the nova 2i?
Under the hood, the Huawei nova 2i is powered by the house’s Octa-Core Kirin 659 Processor armed with a decent 4GB of RAM and a 3,340mAh battery which according to Huawei, is good enough for watching a video for 9 hours, 20 hours of talk-time on a single charge and 7 hours of gaming. I did not put the phone into test yet but hoping it will live up to what the company said.
Quad-Camera
Now let’s talk in brief about the most talked about feature, 4 Cameras. On the front, there’s the 13 megapixel camera as the primary one and a secondary 2 megapixel allowing pictures to have better depth of field effects. There are in fact so many features in the camera, I would actually need to dedicate another article solely on it. After taking any shot, the images seemed to have been automatically sharpened but when I used the pro-mode, things seemed to be normal with pictures having decent amount of detail and a better dynamic range.
From the first-hand impressions, the Huawei nova 2i is one decent unique device at the mid-range level providing a good design, build quality and of course, the bezel-free display. The nova 2i does stand out from the rest but is it worth buying? Stay tuned to get the full review of the Huawei nova 2i.
