Huawei nova 9 review
The Huawei Nova 9 is the latest mid-range offering from the Chinese tech giant. With its premium design and sleek looks, this phone has all the makings of a stylish companion for younger generations. But does it have what it takes to stand out in a crowded market? Equipped with a powerful Snapdragon 778G chip, 8GB of RAM, and a stunning 6.5-inch OLED display, the Nova 9 promises a smooth and visually appealing experience. But can its performance live up to its design credentials?
Build Quality and Design
The Huawei Nova 9 is a mid-range smartphone that boasts a premium design, with a focus on younger generations. The phone's build quality is impressive, with a glass back that provides a grippy and fingerprint-resistant finish. The frosted texture gives the phone a unique look, and the Story Blue or Black color options add to its visual appeal. One of the standout features of the Nova 9 is its attention-grabbing design, particularly at the back. The glass finish is smooth to the touch and provides a premium feel in hand. At 175 grams, the phone is one of the lightest in its class, making it easy to carry around. However, some users may find the power and volume buttons to be slightly high, which can make them harder to access. The Nova 9's design is further enhanced by its aggressive curve on both the front and back, giving it a sleek and modern look. The waterfall-like curved screen is a polarizing feature that will appeal to some but not others. While it adds to the phone's overall aesthetic, it may not be to everyone's taste. Unfortunately, the Nova 9 lacks ingress protection and Gorilla Glass for added durability. This omission is a notable drawback in an otherwise impressive design. Overall, the Huawei Nova 9 has a great design that will appeal to those who value aesthetics over practicality. However, its lack of ruggedness and added protection may deter some users. Despite these minor drawbacks, the Nova 9's build quality and design are undoubtedly impressive. Its premium feel and unique looks make it stand out in a crowded mid-range market. Whether or not this is enough to make Huawei stand out remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – the Nova 9 has a lot going for it in terms of its physical design.
Battery Life
The Huawei Nova 9 has an average battery life, according to our tests. The phone managed to last for 96 hours in normal usage, which is par with its competitors. However, we were slightly disappointed by the fact that it didn't quite reach the endurance of other phones in this price range. Huawei's decision to use a less power-hungry chipset, the Snapdragon 778G, does help to prolong battery life. Nevertheless, we would have liked to see an even better performance from the Nova 9, particularly considering the competition from devices like the Samsung Galaxy A72. While the Nova 9's battery life is not exceptional, it still manages to get through a day with moderate use, including some gaming and general usage. However, heavy users may need to charge their phone more frequently, especially if they plan on using demanding apps or playing graphics-intensive games for extended periods. Overall, while the Nova 9's battery life is decent, it doesn't quite live up to our expectations. We would have liked to see a longer endurance from this device, particularly considering its price point and the performance of other phones in this class. Still, it's not a major deal-breaker, especially for those who don't need an exceptionally long-lasting battery.
Display
The Huawei Nova 9 boasts a premium design with a unique back made of glass, available in two international colors: Story Blue and Black. The glossy plastic frame is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but overall, the phone feels great in hand, weighing only 175 grams. One of the standout features of the Nova 9 is its 6.5-inch OLED panel, which offers a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 support, and Full HD resolution. In our tests, we measured an average brightness of 433 units in manual mode and a maximum of 608 nits in auto, making it suitable for use on sunny days. The high refresh rate is controlled through a simple menu with three settings: dynamic, high, and standard. The system will also limit the refresh rate to 60Hz when watching full-screen videos in the standard setting. This ensures a smooth visual experience without excessive power consumption. While not necessarily groundbreaking, the Nova 9's display holds its own against its mid-range competitors. It's a shame that it doesn't quite live up to the expectations set by some of its higher-end counterparts, but for its price range, it's a solid effort. In terms of color accuracy and brightness, the display performs reasonably well, although we noticed a slight magenta tint on all snaps taken in daylight conditions. This issue persisted even when zooming in two times, resulting in photos that looked as if they'd been cropped and upscaled. The ultrawide camera's performance was also underwhelming, with soft images lacking detail and exhibiting narrower dynamic range than the main camera. Overall, while the Nova 9's display won't blow you away, it still offers a good viewing experience for everyday use, including some gaming. However, those looking for more premium visuals might need to look elsewhere.
Camera
The Huawei Nova 9 boasts four cameras on its back, including a 50MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. While the phone's camera performance is decent in some areas, it falls short of expectations in others. In daylight conditions, the Nova 9 captures sharp, noise-free photos with good dynamic range and pleasant colors. However, the images sometimes exhibit a slight magenta tint, which may not be ideal for those who value accurate color reproduction. The camera's performance is further marred by the lack of consistency, as some shots are soft or appear to have been cropped and upscaled. The ultra-wide-angle camera struggles to deliver impressive results, with soft, detail-poor images that lack a wide dynamic range. While barrel distortion is kept in check, contrast could be better, and colors are reproduced differently than on the main camera. At night, the Nova 9's camera performs reasonably well, capturing resolved details in shadows and highlights. Color temperature and contrast are spot on, but some shots can appear soft or out of focus. Interestingly, the difference between regular photo mode and night mode is negligible, suggesting that the latter doesn't bring significant improvements. Portraits captured with the Nova 9 look sharp, with natural colors, a wide dynamic range, and plenty of fine detail. However, edge detection is where the camera falters, as the faux bokeh effect can be too strong, and edges are sometimes rough around the corners. The 32MP selfie camera takes some excellent selfies, with good exposure, fine detail, and natural colors. The only caveat is that the subject's face can sometimes appear slightly under-exposed. Lastly, the Nova 9 records videos up to 4K at 30fps using both the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras. While the footage from the main camera has a nice dynamic range and vivid colors, it lacks sharpness. The ultra-wide-angle camera's video output is softer and with more washed-out colors. In conclusion, while the Huawei Nova 9's camera performance is respectable in some areas, it fails to impress in others. A lack of consistency, subpar ultra-wide-angle camera, and mediocre night mode are just a few areas where improvement is needed.
Price and Value
The Huawei Nova 9 is an attractive mid-range smartphone that boasts a premium design and impressive display. However, its price and value proposition leave something to be desired. Priced competitively with other mid-range smartphones, the Nova 9's vanilla version is available internationally, while the Pro model remains exclusive to China. At this price point, buyers can expect a solid device with decent specs, but not necessarily one that stands out from the crowd. One of the major drawbacks of the Nova 9 is its chipset. While it uses the capable Snapdragon 778G 4G and 8GB of RAM, many competitors have opted for more powerful chipsets like the Snapdragon 888 or 870. This puts the Nova 9 at a performance disadvantage, making it less competitive in terms of value. Furthermore, the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS) means that users will need to adjust to an app catalog and ecosystem that's different from what they're used to with Android devices. While EMUI has come a long way, this limitation still presents a hurdle for those accustomed to the full suite of Google services. In terms of camera capabilities, the Nova 9 takes decent photos in good lighting conditions, but struggles to compete with more powerful cameras found on other mid-range smartphones. The ultrawide camera, in particular, produces soft and noisy images that lack detail. Given its price point, the Nova 9 is a solid device, but not necessarily one that offers exceptional value. While it's an attractive option for those who want a premium design and decent specs, buyers should be aware of its limitations and consider whether they're willing to sacrifice performance and camera capabilities for a slightly lower price tag. Ultimately, the Huawei Nova 9 is a mid-range smartphone that checks most of the boxes, but doesn't necessarily stand out from the competition. As such, its value proposition is somewhat middling, making it a device that's worth considering, but not necessarily one that will revolutionize your smartphone experience.
Performance
The Huawei Nova 9 is the latest addition to the company's mid-range lineup, offering a premium design and impressive display at an affordable price. However, its performance is where it falls short of expectations. Powering the Nova 9 is the Snapdragon 778G chipset, which provides decent performance for everyday use and casual gaming. The device also comes with 8GB of RAM, ensuring smooth multitasking and app switching. However, in a crowded mid-range market, the Nova 9's performance disadvantage becomes apparent when compared to competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A72. The Nova 9's battery life is on par with its competitors, lasting around 96 hours in our testing. While this is respectable, it falls short of expectations given the more power-efficient Snapdragon 778G chipset. We would have liked to see an endurance of around 117 hours, similar to the Galaxy A72. One of the most notable aspects of the Nova 9's performance is its software experience. The device runs on EMUI 12, which is based on Android 11 (or possibly a modified version). While EMUI has come a long way, it still lacks Google Mobile Services, which can make app discovery and downloads more cumbersome. In terms of gaming performance, the Nova 9 handles casual games without any issues. However, more demanding titles may require some compromises in graphics quality or frame rates to maintain smooth gameplay. Overall, while the Huawei Nova 9's design and display are impressive, its performance is merely decent for a mid-range device. The lack of Google Mobile Services also adds to the frustration. If you're looking for a reliable mid-range phone with great battery life, the Nova 9 might be worth considering, but it's not the most competitive option in this price segment.
Pros
1. The Nova 9 has a premium feel and unique looks, at least as far as the back is concerned.
2. The back is made of glass and internationally you can get it in story blue or black
3. The frosted finish in the back is grippy and fingerprints don't stick in general
4. The phone feels great in the hand too especially since at 175 grams it's one of the lightest phones at this size
5. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 support, and a full HD resolution
6. The single downward-facing speaker is decently loud and sounds clean as long as you don't turn up the volume too much
7. The phone has a 4,300mAh battery that got an average score on our battery life test
8. Portraits look sharp with natural colors, a wide dynamic range, and a lot of fine detail
Cons
1. The glossy plastic frame is a bit of a fingerprint magnet
2. The power and volume buttons are a bit high for some users
3. There's no ingress protection or Gorilla Glass for more durability
4. The camera performance is okay but not competitive for the price range
5. Zoomed-in shots look just as if regular photos have been cropped and upscaled
6. Night mode doesn't make much of a difference with regular photo mode
7. The ultrawide camera lacks detail, has a narrow dynamic range, and plenty of noise
8. Edge detection in portraits is too strong for our liking