The Huawei Nova Plus is the second of the two mid-range Android phones unveiled by the company at IFA 2016. The company sent us the Nova Plus smartphone for review a few days ago.
The Nova Plus features a 5.5-inch screen and offers a 1080p Full HD resolution. The overall design and build quality of the device is quite good. In terms of specs, the Huawei Nova Plus comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage, which is further expandable through use of a microSD card.
In terms of the looks, the Huawei Nova Plus features the familiar design that mimics other devices from the company. It comes in an aluminium chassis with a bead-blasted finish and shiny, polished chamfered edges. It’s nice to look at and feels well-made.
On the front, you will find the 5.5-inch screen with no mechanical buttons, along with the front camera. Turn it around and you come face to face with a 16-MP camera at the back. The top edge plays home to the 3.5mm jack, while the bottom edge features a Type-C connector and two identical grilles, of which, only one is a speaker.
The Nova Plus is powered by a 2-GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. The phone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, with Huawei’s very own EMUI 4.1 skin on top of it. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Huawei Nova Plus packs a 16-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The phone also comes with a 4000mAh non-removable battery. The phone in itself is a dual SIM device that accepts micro-SIMs. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM, 3G, 4G. Sensors on the phone include a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope.
Overall performance of the device is quite good, even though the company has positioned the Nova Plus as a mid-range device. Games may take longer to load than the most high-end phones out there, but animations are smooth and fluid. This essentially means that Huawei has done a good job of ensuring its software is well optimised to feel snappy and reliable on any device.
The fingerprint sensor on this one is accurate and quick when it comes to unlocking the phone. The battery life on the Nova Plus is good, too. On a single charge, you can expect to get more than a day’s worth of battery backup and a standby time of almost 3 days. Quality of images shot using the 16-megapixel sensor is quite good for a mid-range smartphone. The Nova Plus comes with built-in OIS (optical image stabilisation) to ensure that your shots are rarely blurry, and the 4K video recording ensures footage is sharp.
The display on the Nova Plus is bright and crisp, and the build quality is similar to that of a flagship smartphone. The 16MP rear camera with OIS is also an attractive point, allowing users to take crisp, sharp and detailed photos and smooth videos. The biggest question is – is it worth the money? At a price point of AED 1249, Huawei’s Nova Plus is indeed a very good smartphone.
Price: AED 1249
