The Chinese manufacturer Huawei announced the launch of its mid-budget Nova and Nova Plus at the IFA event held in Berlin in 2016.
A month later, the smartphones are now ready for release to Huawei fans in over 50 countries across the globe. Interestingly, the company has included a variant of the Nova handset with a slightly better memory to its devices that it is going to reach out of the masses. However, it is not known whether the new release will be available for sale outside the home country. The mid-range smartphones do not appear to compromise in terms of specifications.
Dimensions, Weight and Body Material
As can be interpreted from the names of the Nova handsets, the size of the Huawei Nova is considerably lesser and is less heavy than its twin release Huawei Nova Plus. However, this does not make the former device very small in size. While the Nova comes with a size of 141.2 x 69.1 x 7.1 mm, the corresponding dimension of the Nova Plus is 151.8 x 75.7 x 7.3 mm. Even though both smartphones have almost the same thickness, the difference in the overall length and width is a bit more prominent. The Nova features a weight of 146g whereas the Nova Plus weighs more at 160g. Both handsets feature completely metallic bodies.
Screen Size and Display, Pixel Resolution and Density
Interestingly, the only differences between the Huawei Nova and the Huawei Nova Plus with respect to the screen parameters lie in their size and pixel density. Needless to say, the screen Nova is a tad lesser than that of the Nova Plus. The first device has a size of 5 inches where as the second one has a bigger 5.5 inches screen. Each screen encompasses a 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution and comprises the same IPS LCD Full HD display. Even as the smaller screen device has a pixel density of close to 441ppi, the bigger screen portrays a relative value of 401ppi. It thus goes without saying that owing to greater pixel density on a smaller size screen, the smaller Huawei smartphone renders better displays than the on the screen in terms of crispness and clarity.
Primary and Rear Cameras
The Huawei Nova has a 12MP rear shooter with LED flash, and records both 4K and 2160p videos at 30 fps. The handset supports almost all common camera functionalities. Although photos and videos captured in good lighting situations render decent results, low lighting outputs are just average. The Huawei Nova Plus overcomes these drawbacks with a 16MP snapper with dual LED flash. Added to this, the camera supports optical image stabilization to deliver better performances even in low or dim lighting. Video recording and other camera functionalities continue to be the same. The front shutterbugs are at par with 8MP resolution in the two handsets.
Memory, Hardware and Software
There is absolutely no difference with respect to the above parameters as far as the standard Nova and Nova Plus are concerned. Both of them have octa core Cortex-A53 central processors ticking at 2GHz, Adreno 506 graphics processors and Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 chipsets. On the memory front, they also have 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The other version of the Nova handset has a slightly higher RAM of 4GB. In all the models, a memory card can be put into the second SIM card slot to boost the 32GB by another 256GB.
The Nova smartphones are preinstalled with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system and the manufacturer’s Emotion 4.1 UI.
Battery
The Huawei Nova and the Huawei Nova Plus have non-removable Li-polymer batteries. Although the 3,340 mAh battery in the latter is a little more powerful than the 3,020 mAh battery of the former; the performance actually tends to even out. This is because of the screen size difference. However, the advantage of the battery in the bigger smartphone is that it supports fast battery charging.
Color Choices
Whichever handset you opt for, you get to decide among a prestige gold, a titanium gray or a mystic silver colored smartphone.
Connectivity and Sensor Options
The two Novas offer choices of Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n, hotspot and direct), Bluetooth (v4.1, A2DP) and GPS with GLONASS and A-GPS. Moreover, they also encompass a Type C 1.0 reversible connector each.