Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro Review, Pros and Cons – Huawei launches the two new devices of the family in the Nova 8 series. The Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro smartphones are the new members of the mid-range Nova series. With the leadership, these phones are destined to be isolated in their home country, China. It may be at the end of 2020, but Huawei’s Christmas present looks incredible. Although the US ban affects their global reputation, they are closing the doors of the international market, except their home territory.
However, nothing can be said, as there is no way for Huawei to close anytime soon. Either way, the Huawei Nova 8 and 8 Pro are ready for sale from December 31st. So, let’s see what specifications and features these models have.
Table of Contents
Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro Review
Highlights
- Both models feature an OLED panel with a high refresh rate screen, HDR 10 certification next to the 1B colors, and contrast aspect.
- They are available exclusively for the Chinese phone market.
- An elliptical-shaped camera plate is inserted into the rear frame, led by a 64 MP quad-camera configuration.
- On the second note, a 66W fast charging is blessed by the Huawei Nova 8 and 8 Pro smartphones.
- The color options that fix the eyes are the trademark of Huawei devices and the color schemes have the charm of impressing the public.
- Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro powered by the Kirin 985 chipset, the same chipset used by the Honor 30.
Design and Display
Being the best in the game for a long time gives you privileges for superior use and an understanding of what a user is looking for as a mid-range smartphone. Huawei presents a fascinating design and structure in an impartial way with your device. The same goes for the Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro phones. In addition, the exciting factor of an oval camera cutout provides an elegant yet refreshing feel. If we remember correctly, the same impression comes from the Huawei Mate 40 Pro, however, the design is a little different.
The phones would appear with several options to choose from, such as shades of silver, purple, green, and black. Each shade offers a premium quality look and an impressive look on the hands. But specifically, the silver gradient color stands out and fits as the first choice due to its lovely shiny layout.
Other than that, the special about the two smartphones is that, although the superior model Nova 8 Pro obviously receives an OLED screen of 6.72 inches and 120 Hz, the younger brother Nova 8 chooses not to be silent and presents a 6.57 inch and 90 Hz, screen with identical panel.
In addition, the thin frame provides a professional and elegant appearance at first sight. The new layer of the canvas provides more than 1 billion colors, which is surprising. In addition, the high refresh rate exponentially increases touch sensitivity in the right way.
Memory and Internal
Bringing software support for Android 10 firmware to enhance the essential background features of phones. The physical appearance of the EMUI 11 interface comes with the HMS system, which is quite popular in China. Either way, you won’t see any Google apps for sure. At the same time, the company’s pre-installed applications and services took the place of the Google ecosystem. Browsing the application library for applications is quite smooth due to the advanced level update frame rate.
Surprisingly, the two models are shaped with the power of the Kirin 985 5G chipset, which equips a 7 nm fabrication that increases the processing speed. The main jobs are improved by configuring the octa-core. Single-core performance is also quite efficient for playing sophisticated games in an elegant way and handling adverse conditions with your hands.
On the other hand, the rest of the cores were assigned to different jobs, such as image processing and support for the software section. In graphic terms, the Mali-G77 graphics unit comes with it, and, interestingly, it also has an eight-core configuration.
Thanks to 8 GB of RAM, you won’t see any performance bottlenecks or hiccups when you get 128 GB or 256 GB of space. Both Huawei Nova 8 and 8 Pro phones have identical memory specifications, although they do not support secondary storage. No problem, as storage would be satisfactory for storing a lot of data.
Camera
The camera software is one of the main selling points of Huawei smartphones. Yes, it is true in most aspects of photography. You will have many features and adjustments to improve the image quality. From the surface, the native camera app offers different modes. Now, speaking of the technical aspect, the newly equipped 64 MP quad-camera card offers a whole new horizon. As usual, to maintain the phone’s value, the 64MP primary snapper sounds almost enough as a medium-range tag.
The main sensor can appear large and covers space. Still, the 8MP wide-angle has a precise configuration on the system, which guarantees the ability to take pictures of wide landscapes. In addition, you can also define images in square format. On the other hand, the 2MP depth lens handles bokeh effects, while the 2MP macro lens works great on close-up images.
In addition, you can also add more value to the aspect of videography by recording 4K video with intact stabilization features. In addition, you can also do Time-lapse and Slow-motion without specific problems. Finally, the most anticipated feature – the night mode. Both phones get decent sets of software. So, rest assured that you will receive an incredible low light snapshot experience.
In addition to the main wing, the selfie camera includes impressive hardware. There is a slight difference between the Nova 8 and the Nova 8 Pro phone, as the Nova 8 creates a single hole for a 32 MP selfies camera while Nova 8 Pro houses a dual-camera configuration in a cell shape, 32MP, and 16MP wide-angle lens.
However, the number of lenses did not determine the actual value, the recent line of pixels is also a great example. Although Nova 8 has a smaller construction and does not have a large lens on the front, still inside, the image and video processing software is of excellent quality, and there is no need to worry about that.
Battery and Others
A high-tech refresh rate that powers both the Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro smartphones, so having a quick battery drain is not a big surprise. That’s why the company is more focused on providing a 66 W charging block to supply power faster and better than previous technology models. However, fast charging is a double-edged sword that affects only long-term battery life.
In the cutting-edge variant Huawei Nova 8 Pro phone, the Li-Po 4000 mAh battery is implanted inside the body. The 66 W block can power half the battery in a quarter of an hour while fully entering the phone, requiring a few more minutes in half an hour. All of these things are almost similar to the Nova 8, as it arrives with a 3800 mAh battery, like the professional variant. So, in summary, there will be a small difference in loading time, that’s all.
Now, getting to the critical part of the review – the price point. The price of the Nova 8 has been reduced to $ 500 (43,000 INR) to 128 GB, while the 256 GB variant costs approx. $ 560. But on the bright side, the starting price for the Huawei Nova 8 Pro is $600 (35,000 INR), which goes even higher if you want to choose the most storage. The overall cost aspect according to specifications and features is in perfect balance.
Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro.
| Specifications | Huawei Nova 8 Pro | Huawei Nova 8 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G | Same |
| Announced | December 2020 | Same |
| SIM | Dual SIM | Same |
| Dimensions | 6.43 x 2.92 x 0.31 inches | 6.43 x 2.92 x 0.31 inches |
| Weight | 184 g | 169 g |
| Size | 6.72 inches | 6.57 inches |
| Display | OLED touchscreen HDR10 19:5:9 ratio ~439 PPI density 120Hz | OLED touchscreen HDR10 19:5:9 ratio ~392 PPI density 90Hz |
| Protection | No | No |
| Resolution | 1236 x 2676 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| OS | Android 10, EMUI 11 no Google Play Services | Same |
| Chipset | 7 nm – Kirin 985 5G | Same |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×2.58 GHz Cortex-A76 3×2.40 GHz Cortex-A76 4×1.84 GHz Cortex-A55 | Same |
| GPU | Mali-G77 | Same |
| Card slot | No | Same |
| RAM | 8GB | Same |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB UFS | Same |
| Camera | 64MP (wide) 8MP (ultrawide) 2MP (depth) 2MP (macro) LED flash, panorama, HDR Gyro-EIS 4K@30fps | Same |
| Selfie | 32MP (ultrawide) 16MP (wide) HDR 4K@30fps | 32MP HDR 4K@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Same |
| 3.5mm jack | No | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/a/6, dual-band Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Same |
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP, LE | Same |
| GPS | Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes | Same |
| Infrared port | No | Same |
| Radio | No | Same |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go | Same |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Same |
| Battery | Li-Po 4000 mAh battery Fast charging 66W Reverse charging 5W | Li-Po 3800 mAh battery Fast charging 66W Reverse charging 5W |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green, White | Black, Blue, Green, White |
| Expected Price | $ 600 (43,000 INR) | $ 500 (35,000 INR) |
Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro Pros and Cons
Down below you can see the list of pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of the Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro smartphones.
Pros
- 66W provides a tremendous fast charging speed.
- OLED with vivid colors and contrast settings.
- Performance-oriented hardware.
- Future-proof 5G connectivity technology.
- Next level of photography experience.
- High refresh rate display panel present.
- Slim body structure with a beautiful design.
- Incredible color options
- 4K video recording from both rear and front selfie camera.
- The dual selfie camera comes with Nova 8 Pro.
- Under display fingerprint sensor.
- 5g support.
Cons
- Without IP certification or protective coating.
- Charging too fast may decrease battery life.
- Without secondary storage support.
- Without Google services.
- No wireless charging capability
- No sound output and 3.5 mm jack port
Conclusion
In short, both Huawei Nova 8 and 8 Pro models achieved cutting edge specifications in each section, with exceptional performance aspects, making their place at the top of the mid-range market. However, you cannot neglect the disadvantages if you are looking for high-performance software. Having these perfect ones is common, while some are based on the industry standard. Even so, there is no specific flaw that gets in the way of this pair.
To make a long story short, the vanilla variant Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro are prominent choices if you want to spend money that is worthwhile. They acted in terms of specifications as well as other features.
