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The Huawei Nova 7 5G is among the latest smartphones released in Malaysia. It's known as the higher-spec model to the Nova 7 SE 5G, with better internals and better capabilities. Freshly launched, we were excited when we got our hands on it–and we must admit that we were truly impressed by it.
Keen to find out more about this phone? Read on for a breakdown of the phone's features!
Phone Specifications
| Processor |
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| Display |
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| Memory (RAM) |
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| Storage |
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| Main Camera (Rear) |
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| Front Camera |
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| Battery |
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| Connectivity |
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| 3.5mm Jack |
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| Operating System |
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| Other Features |
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Screen and Battery
The Huawei Nova 7 5G houses a 6.53-inch design with ultra-slim bezels. It utilises Huawei's latest-Gen OLED HUAWEI Punch FullView Display that offers 2400 x 1080 resolution and cinematic DCI-P3 color rendering. The phone's display has also been TÜV Rheinland-certified to be more comfortable on the eyes.
The phone's battery is 4,000mAh in size, and supports 40W fast charging over USB-C. Furthermore, the 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge, (also certified safe by TÜV Rheinland) is said to be able to restore power to 75% in just half an hour.
Design and Built Quality
The phone is available in three colours – Space Silver, Midsummer Purple and Black – and features a holographic-finish which projects different shades of colours when light is reflected off of it. It has a sleek design with the word 'Nova' printed all over on its back. Although there is no headphone jack, the phone comes with a dongle supplied in the box.
- Fingerprint Sensor
Like most phones today, the Nova 7 5G has an in-display fingerprint sensor located at the bottom of the phone's screen. While the sensor is fast and responsive, it's positioned slightly lower on the screen, which means that unlocking the phone can only be done successfully as long as your hands are angled in a certain way. As we found this frustrating at times, we assume others might as well.
Camera
The Huawei Nova 7 houses a 64MP AI Quad rear camera. Apart from the 64MP high resolution main shooter, it also has an 8MP ultra wide lens, 2MP macro lens and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The zoom boasted with the rear cameras are 20x zoom. Considering how small the sensor is, we were really impressed by the details produced from the cameras on this phone.
- Image Processing
| Zoom Test |
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| Ultra Wide-Angle Test |
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| 64MP High Res Test |
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| Night Shots |
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- Video Processing
| Front Camera Test (4K @ 30fps) |
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| Back Camera Test (4K @30fps, main shooter) |
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| Back Camera Test (1080p @30fps, UWA lens) |
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- Dual View
We're not too sure how long this feature has been around, but the Nova 7 was the first time we ever came across Dual View. This feature essentially allows users to shoot using the front and back camera simultaneously, and even splits the screen into two while doing this. It's also possible to zoom in on one screen, and not the other. All in all, this was an extremely cool and helpful feature, and we really liked it!
App Gallery
The Nova 7 is the first phone we've looked at following the Google and Huawei split. Thus, it was our first time trying out the App Gallery. The experience was pretty decent, and it offers users suggested apps to install.
Out of habit, we attempted to install Call of Duty Mobile (for the performance test) but found that we couldn't do so. There was only the option to add it to our wishlist. The same happened for PUBG Mobile, so we decided to install one of the games from the Game section instead – this was Asphalt 9. We hope in time the app gallery expands its selection of apps and games in the Google Play Store.
Performance (Gaming Test)
The Nova 7 is powered by a Kirin 985 processor, and has 8GB of RAM expandable up to 256GB.
As previously mentioned, we usually prefer loading Call of Duty or PUBG when testing out phones' processors as they are generally heavier with their graphics. Despite this, Asphalt 9 is still graphics packed enough to place a strain on the processor. Nonetheless, we did not experience any lag issues with the Nova 7 and the gameplay experience was extremely smooth.
Users can expect the same kind of performance when using the phone for other uses. Switching between applications is generally pretty smooth with no lag or stutter.
Who Is This Phone For?
If you're looking for a smartphone within the 5G realm while staying within an affordable range, the Nova 7 is a great option to consider. We thought the camera was underrated because of how impressive it is in terms of performance and features. In our opinion, it might just be the phone's greatest selling point.
Additionally, the phone has great performance. The one thing potential users ought to be aware of is that this phone does not come with Android’s Google PlayStore and users will have to rely on Huawei’s AppGallery. This, however, seems quite promising and we're certain that it will be continuously improved.
