If your phone is mostly a portrait camera that also makes calls, the Huawei nova 16s Series is aimed squarely at you. Huawei Malaysia says the two phones, the nova 16s and the nova 16s Pro, launch here on 19 November at 3pm, and the Pro brings a 200MP main camera to the nova line. Prices have not been announced yet, but Huawei has already published the launch gifts: up to RM1,956 in bundled items and services, plus a rebate of up to RM600.
Quick facts
Contents
- Malaysian launch: 19 November 2026, 3pm
- Price: not announced yet
- Cameras: 200MP, 1/1.28-inch main camera on the nova 16s Pro; 50MP front camera on both phones
- Battery: 7,000mAh (typical) on both
- Launch offer: gifts worth up to RM1,956 and a rebate of up to RM600
Huawei nova 16s Pro: the 200MP portrait camera
The headline part sits on the nova 16s Pro. Its main camera pairs a 200MP sensor using Huawei's RYYB colour filter with a 1/1.28-inch size, which is large for a mid-range phone. A bigger sensor collects more light, and Huawei combines it with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and AI stabilisation (AIS) to keep shots sharp when the light drops, at dinners, concerts and night markets.
The Pro also uses what Huawei calls True-to-Colour cameras on both the front and the back, tuned to keep skin tones natural in selfies and rear-camera portraits. The front camera adds a 0.8x to 5x zoom range, so the same selfie camera can pull back for a group shot or push in for a tight portrait without anyone moving.
Both phones get a set of on-device editing tools: AI Composition, AI Move, AI Remove, AI De-glare and AI Best Expression. The point is to fix a framing, clean up a photobomber or tidy reflections on the phone itself, without sending the picture through a separate editing app first.
5G Kirin, EMUI 16 and sharing with an iPhone
The series runs on a 5G Kirin chipset, though Huawei has not named the exact model, along with EMUI 16. One practical addition is the Petal Interconnect app, which Huawei says can move photos across operating systems, including to compatible Apple devices. That matters in a household or friend group where everyone else is on an iPhone and AirDrop is not an option. Huawei's launch visuals also advertise 100W HUAWEI SuperCharge Turbo charging.
For context, the nova 14 Series launched in Malaysia last November from RM1,299 with a 50MP portrait camera on the Pro. Moving the nova 16s Pro to 200MP follows the same direction as Huawei's flagships, after the Mate 90 Series paired a 1-inch camera with 200MP zoom in October.
Colours, launch date and gifts
- nova 16s Pro: Breathing Crystal and Starry Black
- nova 16s: Breathing Crystal, Starry Black and Sky White
- Launch: 19 November 2026, 3pm
- Free gifts worth up to RM1,956: HUAWEI Band 11 (worth RM189), a HUAWEI 100W charger (RM119), a 1-year screen protector replacement covering two claims (RM49), and HUAWEI Premium Services worth up to RM1,599, made up of a 1-year Worry-Free Care Package and a free 1-year APAC and MEA warranty
- Rebate: up to RM600
Huawei notes that terms and conditions apply to the gifts and rebate, and has not said which model or storage size gets the full RM600. The phones will be sold through the HUAWEI Official Store and Huawei's official stores on Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop. The specifications so far are on Huawei Malaysia's nova 16s Pro page and nova 16s page.
The launch runs alongside the Malaysia edition of the HUAWEI XMAGE Awards, Huawei's mobile photography competition, which marks its tenth year in 2026 and opened its global ceremony in Paris.
What it can film
Huawei Malaysia's spec pages list 4K video (3840 x 2160) on both phones, from the rear camera and from the 50MP front camera, so a talking-to-camera clip gets the same resolution as the main camera. Huawei does not publish a frame rate for that 4K mode, so we cannot yet say whether it shoots 4K at 60fps for smooth half-speed playback; there is a separate Slow-Mo mode, plus Time-Lapse, Portrait Video and a Follow Focus mode that keeps a moving subject sharp. The nova 16s Pro adds optical image stabilisation on its main camera, which helps a walking shot stay steady without a gimbal. Neither spec page lists a log or flat colour profile, so footage comes out finished rather than ready to grade.
The takeaway
A 200MP, 1/1.28-inch main camera and a 5x selfie zoom put the nova 16s Pro firmly in the portrait-first camp. Whether it is good value depends on the one number Huawei is keeping until 19 November: the price, and how much of the RM600 rebate applies to the model you want.
Images courtesy of Huawei Malaysia.
