Review of smartphones Huawei nova 5 and nova 5i

Today the world market has fully learned the concept of globalization and cannot exist normally under sanctions. And there are plenty of examples of this, the last of which is the tensions in US-China relations, which have led to serious consequences for well-known manufacturers in many industries. However, while Google is threatening to completely close access to Chinese smartphones to the Android operating system, Huawei engineers are working hard to create their own OS (in which almost all the giants of the Chinese industry help them) and are developing two rather interesting smartphones Huawei nova 5 and nova 5i. Everything is known about the quality of the brand's products - these are good mid-range and budget-class smartphones with very good characteristics, interesting design solutions and useful developments, and it seems that nothing has changed in this matter. And the places occupied in the annual tops and selections only confirm that the company is all right with the products, but only time will tell how it will be with the policy.

However, even those who do not want to live without the popular OS can be calm - according to preliminary information, both new items will receive the ninth version of Android. However, it's not a secret for anyone that the next update can never be expected if the situation does not improve. But the devices themselves are definitely worth the attention of buyers, and a review of the Huawei nova 5 and nova 5i smartphones will help users not only understand the main advantages and disadvantages of the models, but also thoroughly understand the characteristics of the devices.

Unofficial, but it looks like the truth

As you know, electronics manufacturers do not like to declassify in advance the appearance and parameters of their products, doing this only in extreme cases (or in order to attract attention). But, fortunately for netizens, all companies hold exhibitions and must at least show their brainchild to the public. It was at one of these events that an insider from India, Mukul Sharma, managed to make some interesting shots. And it is precisely on the basis of these pictures, as well as previously published information, that one can judge the design of the devices.

It should be said right away that both phones (both nova 5 and 5i) are very similar in many ways, which is why the review will be made in a comparison format. You can get acquainted with the "dry facts" below (for convenience, the characteristics of the devices are listed in one table). But for complete information, you will have to study the entire article.

Design nova 5

What about Huawei products? It is recognizable and popular, and therefore the company's engineers decided not to change anything and leave the "standard" design, which is why netizens have already dubbed the new items "typical Huawei smartphones." But, as it turned out, everything is not as simple as it seems.

Fans of the Chinese brand have probably seen a photo of nova 5 more than once on the pages of quite authoritative Internet resources. On them, the "five" is depicted in a variety of colors and with a cutout for the front camera on the left. In practice, the model is likely to be made in two colors - black and blue (but green, purple and red are also possible - at least many insiders are convinced of this), and the cutout for the camera will be teardrop-shaped and located in the center. The device itself will turn out to be rather large (the diagonal will be 6.39 inches), but the frames, as well as the “chin” and “eyebrow”, will be rather narrow, as in the previous models (or as they are called “frameless”). The volume rocker is likely to be located on the right edge, along with the power button. The mini-jack headphone jack will not disappear anywhere either, although now it is located on the lower end on the right, next to the USB connector and speaker (single).

Almost nothing is known about the design of the back side of the smartphone, except that in the lower left corner, by tradition, there will be a vertical inscription “huawei”. It is also clear that there will be no fingerprint scanner on the back, since it will be an on-screen one. Lovers of popular trends will surely like this solution.

Analyzing the latest rumors and the protective cases for the gadget posted on the network on the popular Suning marketplace in the Middle Kingdom, we can assume that the camera will be located in the upper left corner and will include four sensors.

However, there is some good news for those interested in buying the new item (which promises to become the flagship model of Huawei in 2019). So, the premiere of the "five" in the world will take place very soon - towards the end of June (presumably on the 21st), and you can follow updates and news not only on the official website, but also on Twitter of Mukul Sharma (an insider who posted the main page on his blog). information on the "hardware" of the smartphone), which will probably be able to please its subscribers with the next photos and news.

In other aspects of the design, there is no exact information, and all that remains is to await the release. I also want to destroy all rumors about the name of the model (information about a variety of consoles has often flashed on the Internet) - the officially registered name of the flagship in China is nova 5, but in a number of countries it can be changed to nova 5 Pro.

Design nova 5i

Despite the fact that the junior "five" is regarded as a middle peasant, this did not affect the visual differences too much. The case itself will be in many ways similar to the flagship (and even have practically the same dimensions with a diagonal of 6.4 inches). Differences will creep into little things, such as a fingerprint scanner located on the back panel, volume rockers and a power button, made on one edge on the right, as well as a selfie camera embedded in the screen and located in the left corner. Otherwise, from the appearance of the main cameras and ending with the inscription "huawei" smartphones are identical.

It should be noted that higher quality photos of nova 5i were leaked to the network than those of its older brother, which allows us to conclude that the color of the device will be a really stylish and interesting solution, familiar to all fans of the brand.

Nova 5 cameras

Without a good camera, the road to the top of the best models is closed for a modern flagship. That is why the engineers of the company have equipped the "nova" with a really good set that can please the most demanding users.

It is reliably known that there will be four main modules. And one of them will surely become a 48-megapixel photo-machine (another one will presumably have a resolution of 12 megapixels). Yes, trends take their toll, and now almost every new product is equipped with a similar sensor. However, large numbers do not always speak of quality. After all, even if you equip the phone with an excellent module, do not forget that optics or aperture play an equally important role (the bandwidth indicators of which are undeservedly ignored by many, and this is directly envious of how the device takes pictures at night, not to mention normal conditions).

However, so far there are no reasons for frustration and even, on the contrary: in the arsenal of the huvei there is only one sensor, which was used as an independent camera with a resolution of 48 megapixels. And this module was previously used only in Honor 20 and 20 Pro, so the company may well use them, because they have proven themselves from the best side.

With such a camera, the device can easily shoot video in 2160p at 30fps, as well as 1080p at 30fps. It is also reported to support the Super Night Shot mode for night shooting, which will significantly improve video quality at dusk and poorly lit places.

As for the selfie camera, everything here is also at the highest level - 25 megapixels in 2019 is an excellent result. Supposedly there will be support for HDR, and video can be recorded in 1080p quality at 30 frames.

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the diaphragms of the sensors, but they will surely correspond to the general class of devices, otherwise the meaning in such characteristics is simply lost. The first photos will be able to clarify the situation, and I am glad that the first tests will not last long.

Nova 5i cameras

Well, the nova 5i does not claim to be the best Huawei smartphone in 2019, and therefore its capabilities are more modest. However, even this fact is not a minus of the novelty, because everything is perfectly balanced in it.

So, one of the main modules will have a resolution of 24 megapixels, while the other two will have 8 and 2 megapixels, respectively. Nothing outstanding, but pretty decent considering that the approximate price for the younger model will be around $ 290 in China and 300 euros in Europe.

You can't shoot good videos in 4K here, but in HD it's easy (in 1080p quality and 30 frames per second).

But what will definitely please 5i owners is an excellent front camera with a resolution of 24 megapixels and support for shooting video at 1080p and 30fps.

In fact, it will be an excellent smartphone for fans of selfies, and photos in general, because the characteristics of the device allow you to take good quality pictures, both from the main and from the front camera.

Iron in business

It is clear that it is pointless to compare the flagship and the junior model (and it is so clear who will be better), but the results can be quite unexpected and interesting, especially for those who choose between the two devices. It should be said right away that both models are distinguished by modern components and will have good performance in benchmarks, and are suitable for active games.

Performance nova 5

If you believe inside information (which is very similar to the truth), then the Huawei flagship will receive the most advanced single-chip chipset of the HiSilicon series to date (since Kirin 985 has not yet been used in any mobile device, it is not taken into account). That is, the device will be equipped with an eight-core Kirin 980 processor (two 2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 cores, two 1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 cores and four economical 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 cores). It is worth further clarifying that the Kirin 980 is distinguished not only by good performance, but also by energy efficiency, which allows you to extend the battery life of a smartphone on a single charge and use resources rationally.

The new GPU Mali-G76 MP10 will work in tandem with the processor. A lot is known about this graphics accelerator, in particular, that it is up to 60% better than its predecessor in relation to the GPU area and at the same time is 30% more energy efficient (you can also say that the Mali-G76 MP10 supports twenty cores, but this is not relevant for this smartphone) ...Among the advantages of the GPU is the support of all the necessary protocols of the latest versions of OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.1, 3.2, Vulkan 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1, 1.2, 2.0 Full Profile. For gamers, you can make a footnote - in the popular game PUBG Mobile, this accelerator is capable of delivering 60 fps at low graphics settings and 30-40 fps at high graphics settings.

The RAM is in perfect order - it is reported that there are versions with 6 and 8 GB of RAM, which will be enough for all modern games and applications, and there will even be a certain margin for a couple of years in advance.

Information about the new line of smartphones is being updated very actively, and a day after the article was written, a new one appears, and really interesting news - one of the versions of the pure "five" will receive a Kirin 810 processor. The thing is that so far this chip has not been used in any device, and there is no data about it on any thematic resource (meaning characteristics). It is only clear that the chip's technical process will be based on 7-nanometer processors and will be the successor of the Kirin 710 (whose characteristics are four Cortex-A73 cores with a frequency of 2.2 GHz and the same Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.7 GHz; works in conjunction with an ARM Mali-G51 graphics processor MP4). It is expected that the new product will be an order of magnitude better, because the Kirin 710 demonstrates quite modest benchmarks for the 2019 flagship.

Performance nova 5i

Nova 5i is expectedly inferior to its older brother in power. So, the device is equipped with a good eight-core processor Kirin 710, which is actively used in the middle. Inside, it has four 2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 cores and the same 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 cores. The design idea of ​​the processor is similar to that of the 980 - there are high-frequency cores for complex computing tasks, and cores for normal operation, which can save battery power well.

As a GPU, the mid-budget Mali-G51 MP4 was chosen, which is also a novelty on the market (announced in 2018). Able to give good benchmarks, for gamers a similar example with PUBG Mobile: frame rate in the range of 25-30 fps at medium settings, which is not a very good result, but quite playable.

But what is really interesting is the amount of RAM. In the younger model, versions with 8 and 6 GB of RAM are also available, which allows users to forget about poor performance and slow data archiving.

Like the flagship, nova 5i supports the latest versions of all required APIs: OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0, OpenCL 2.0, DirectX 12 FL9_3 and Renderscript.

Repository of information nova 5 and 5i

This point of comparison will be common for both smartphones, since they have practically no differences in this aspect. So the nova 5 and 5i will receive 128 GB of ROM, which is now found in more expensive models (usually only 64 GB is given for this price).

With the RAM, everything is also identical: there will be two versions available with RAM 6/8 GB to choose from. It is worth saying that such solutions are always very smart, because not everyone needs a lot / little RAM.

The only difference between the "new" ones is the slot for an external memory card. So the 5i does not have the ability to increase the memory by installing an SD card, while the flagship does (support for SD up to 512 GB). It should be said that, despite the voluminous ROMs, the decision not to equip one of the models with a card slot looks rather strange.

Operating system nova 5 and 5i

Another combined point due to the complete match of the models. As you know, a very large percentage of smartphone owners regularly update the OS and are very upset if the next update has to wait for months. It should be admitted that this was not noticed for the Huawei - updates always arrived quickly or with a slight delay. However, due to the economic situation between the United States and China, can this tradition be interrupted? and it will take forever to wait for the next update. However, out of the box, users will get Android 9.0 (Pie) with the proprietary shell EMUI 9.1, which is very good at the moment.

Display nova 5

If almost no one uses some functions and sensors in smartphones, then everyone appreciates the screen. No matter how good and ultramodern the phone is, if there is a bad matrix, all the efforts of the developers will remain in vain. But here Huawei engineers did everything right.

As befits a flagship, the new Huawei will receive an excellent AMOLED display, which was a surprise for many. However, this is already a fact - a well-known Chinese manufacturer really decided to bet on a high-quality screen with excellent color rendering. The resolution of the Full HD + display equal to 1080 by 2340 pixels (the pixel density will be 403 ppi) will not let you down either. So the smartphone is great for watching movies thanks to its clear picture and good viewing angles (it is not yet known what will happen to the contrast, but it certainly will not be a subject of dissatisfaction).

The live screen of the nova 5 has a 19.5: 9 aspect ratio and a large 6.39-inch diagonal, which is ideal for watching movies and videos in high quality.

Display nova 5i

The 5i indicators are an order of magnitude easier and did not become a sensation for anyone. A good IPS LCD display with good color rendering was chosen as a matrix (it should be noted that the screen occupies 84.0% of the usable area). The screen resolution is also 1080 x 2310 (Full HD +), but the pixel density is already below 398 ppi, although this is not critical.

The screen of the "new 5i" fully corresponds to the general class of a smartphone and is suitable for watching movies in good quality (although not with such viewing angles), fortunately 6.4 inches of the diagonal should be enough for a comfortable time playing games or movies.

Battery nova 5

What users are always unhappy with is the battery life of the device. And it cannot be said that the huavei specialists have somehow fundamentally new approach to solving this problem.

The flagship received a very good 4200 mAh Li-Po battery and 44W fast charging. With such indicators, with normal optimization, the smartphone will definitely be able to last a working day (8-10 hours) in normal use (although it is not known how much the battery will drain the battery). Separately, fast charging with a capacity of 44W pleases - it can really quickly charge a smartphone.

Nova 5i battery

Oddly enough, everything here is also very good with the battery - Li-Po at 3900 mAh is a very good indicator for the average peasant. It is important to understand here that such a device can work even longer than its older brother, since it has less power-consuming hardware and a similar operating system.

Plus, the model is equipped with 10W fast charging (not great, but the fact that it is already excellent).

Technologies, communication standards, dimensions nova 5

Some revolutions rarely happen here, but it is always useful to study this section before buying in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.

• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, LTE (LTE-A), Bluetooth 5.0 (A2DP, EDR, LE, aptX HD), NFC;
• Navigation: A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS (GLONASS);
• Network and Internet: GPRS, EDGE, GSM, HSPA, HSDPA (3G), LTE (4G);
• USB: 0, Type-C 1.0, USB On-The-Go;
• SIM: Single SIM (Nano-SIM);
• Sensors: fingerprint (under the display), accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass;
• Dimensions: unknown.

Among the advantages, one can single out the fifth version of bluetooth, support for Wi-Fi 5 GHz, the presence of NFC and a fingerprint scanner located under the display. The main disadvantage is the slow USB 2.0.

Technologies, communication standards, dimensions nova 5i

• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, LTE (LTE-A), Bluetooth 5.0 (A2DP, EDR, LE, aptX HD), NFC;
• Navigation: A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS (GLONASS);
• Network and Internet: GPRS, EDGE, GSM, HSPA, HSDPA (3G), LTE (4G);
• USB: 0, Type-C 1.0, USB On-The-Go;
• SIM: Single SIM (Nano-SIM);
• Sensors: Fingerprint (Back), Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass;
• Dimensions: 159.1 x 75.9 x 8.3 mm, weight 178 grams.

The pros and cons are similar, except for the fingerprint scanner on the back.

Summing up

Now it is very difficult to give any characterization regarding Huawei smartphones. However, if we abstract from all events and focus only on dry numbers, forgetting about possible problems, the novelties of the Chinese electronics giant are definitely worth the closest attention from buyers.

But, perhaps, it's better to start with the minuses and a couple of fly in the ointment, though forgetting about USB 2.0. It is not known what will happen to the OS of smartphones in the future and this is really scary for many. At the same time, we should once again recall the recognizable colors of the brand - undoubtedly this is a plus, only now users from all over the world begin to declare that they have become typical. Essentially, the huavei simply clones the look and feel from device to device. Many were disappointed by the fact that the "loud" novelties of 2019 are not so new - all this was already fully or partially in 3i, 4i, honor 8x, honor 10/20/30 lite (as users say - only the camera changes) ...

To summarize, we can say that the company has begun a crisis of ideas amid global problems. However, this does not prevent the engineers of the Celestial Empire from still creating good things.

But the new fifth version line also has enough useful features. Just look at the price, which hovers around 300 for the 5i, and around $ 580 for the flagship. The price tags are really affordable, given that the user will receive a good processor, voluminous ROM, excellent display, NFC, Wi-Fi 5 GHz, an excellent camera and many other useful technologies and characteristics.

But the main thing in Huawei phones is not this, but a huge distribution network that allows you to buy a device in almost any electronics store, regular and high-quality updates of the operating system and fairly stable work combined with reliability. And despite the fact that many of these points may undergo serious tests and changes in the future, today it is definitely worth considering the nova series as a replacement for an outdated device. Special attention should be paid to lovers of selfies, games and watching movies - the devices cope with these fictions perfectly.

Pros and cons of nova 5

Huawei nova 5 is a great option for an inexpensive flagship smartphone with a lot of useful features and the most modern filling. Perfect for game lovers, as it has productive hardware and a voluminous battery, so as not to interrupt the gamer from online battles.

• Modern design;
• A lot of popular chips (from a sub-screen fingerprint scanner to a drop camera);
• Powerful and energy efficient processor;
• Main and front cameras;
• Fast charging 44W;
• Gorgeous AMOLED display
• Slot for SD memory card;
• Versions with different processors;
• Versions with different amounts of RAM;
• High-speed Wi-Fi 5 GHz;
• NFC sensor;
• The presence of a mini-jack 3.5 mm (for many, this is an important aspect);
• Spacious internal storage (it should be said right away that some of it will be occupied by the OS, and therefore will be available 15-20 GB less than stated).

• Bored appearance;
• USB 2.0;
• Large dimensions (not suitable for everyone);
• Case quality (standard for Huawei models);
• Potential Android update and support issues.

Conclusion: The flagship Huawei 2019 and that says it all. Inexpensive, powerful and functional - what else does a good smartphone need?

Pros and cons of nova 5i

Due to the similarities with the flagship, the 5i has similar features and problems. However, they have a more pronounced character and are in many ways characteristic of most middle peasants available on the market.

• Modern design;
• Energy efficient processor;
• The fingerprint scanner is under the display (trend);
• Very good for selfies;
• Fast charging 10W;
• Good IPS LCD display
• Versions with different amounts of RAM;
• High-speed Wi-Fi 5 GHz;
• NFC sensor;
• The presence of a mini-jack 3.5 mm;
• Acceptable price;
• Spacious internal storage.

• Bored appearance;
• USB 2.0;
• The fingerprint scanner is located at the back (this solution seems unfortunate to many);
• There is no SD card slot;
• Large dimensions;
• Case quality;
• Potential Android update and support issues.

Conclusion: a great option for those who want to get the most opportunities for the lowest price. Huawei nova 5i can rightfully be called one of the most interesting solutions of the year, because the developers managed to qualitatively compare the quality and the final cost.

The information reflected in the review is preliminary, changes are possible as the models are released.