Review of Huawei Nova 3 - a smartphone with good battery life, cameras and performance

Review and technical specifications of the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone

2018 was a real breakthrough for Huawei, because it loudly declared itself first with the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, and then with the even more successful P20 and P20 Pro series. The latter became a real breakthrough in terms of photography and was recognized as the best camera phone this year .
To achieve this task, the manufacturer used three main cameras with good aperture and high-quality algorithms, which yielded results. But there are also lesser-known devices, including the mid-budget Huawei Nova line. Many have not even heard of it, but in vain, because the device feels confident within its price category, offering good technical characteristics, autonomy and a screen that is a pleasure to use.

Huawei Nova 3 is a real phablet with a 6.3-inch display, the characteristics of which are slightly below the level of flagships. It has all the main trends of 2021 on board - a beautiful frameless body made of tempered glass, two cameras on the front and back, a USB-C port, an artificial intelligence system with machine learning, as well as a face unlock function and an analogue of animated Animoji. Performance, battery life, photo quality and memory capacity do not disappoint. Almost everything about the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone is good, and to find out the full picture, we recommend reading our review.

Unlike OnePlus 6, Huawei Nova 3 does not claim to be a flagship; for this, the company released the P20 Pro, which successfully copes with its task and occupies the top sales line. But if you compare the full technical specifications of the Nova 3 and P20 Pro, the differences between them are minimal, but the cost is two times different. The main advantage of the P20 Pro is its advanced triple camera, recognized as the best in the world, an OLED display and a more capacious battery. In other respects, Huawei Nova 3 is on an equal footing, so you need to think carefully before making such an overpayment. Well, let's conduct a full review of Huawei Nova 3 in Russian and see how good the smartphone is in real use.

Specifications:

Kirin 970 processor (4x Cortex-A53 1.8 GHz + 4x Cortex-A73 2.36 GHz, 10 nm)
Mali-G72 MP12 graphics
RAM 6 GB
storage 64/128 GB
Supports SD cards up to 256 GB
6.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels (IPS, 409 ppi, 85% front panel)
dual rear camera 16 + 24 MP (f/1.8 + f/2.0, 4K video)
dual front camera 24 + 2 MP (f/2.0, video in 1080p format)
battery 3750 mAh
OS Android 8.1 Oreo
EMUI 8.2 shell
sensors: gravity, lighting, proximity, fingerprint scanner, compass, gyroscope
Connectors: USB Type-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack
dimensions: 157 x 73.7 x 7.3 mm, weight 166 grams

Performance and equipment

Processor: Kirin 970
RAM: 4 or 6 GB
Built-in memory: 128 GB (+ microSD up to 256 GB)
NFC
Android 8.1 EMUI

Despite the fact that Huawei Nova 3 is not positioned as a flagship, the gadget runs on a top-end 8-core Kirin 970 processor. The same chipset is installed in the P20 Pro, Huawei’s coolest model at the moment. In terms of performance, the processor is comparable to the Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 8895. The test results in the AnTuTu benchmark inspire confidence: the gadget scored more than 205,000 points and even overtook the Galaxy S8+. The smartphone can easily handle 3D games and demanding applications, not to mention web surfing.

The basic version of Nova 3 is equipped with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory, 112 of which are available to the user. If you delete numerous applications and games, you will be able to free up a couple more gigs. In addition to banal instant messengers, Sberbank and Yandex, there is an interesting application called “Party Mode” - in it you can link several Huawei smartphones and set up synchronous music playback. We tested this function on the Nova 3 - Honor 10 combination and consider the test successful: colleagues gathered to the sounds of the “party” and demanded that the banquet be continued.

The smartphone works with two SIM cards, but instead of one of them you can install a memory card with a capacity of up to 256 GB. Nova 3 supports a large set of wireless interfaces: NFC, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz). Bluetooth 4.2 works with aptX and aptX HD codecs for high-quality music sound wirelessly. In addition to GPS, the model can navigate using GLONASS and Beidou.

The gadget runs Android 8.1 and will most likely receive an update to Android 9.0 Pie. Android here is not “pure”, but in Huawei’s proprietary shell – EMUI. The system interface is clear and user-friendly, and all the necessary settings are located in the same place as in regular Android. The arrangement of icons and main menu buttons can be customized to your taste. There is also a navigation button, voice and gesture control functions and a whole list of commands for the fingerprint sensor.

The latest build of EMUI 8 has a PrivateSpace feature, with which you can create a separate space on your smartphone with your password and applications. For example, here you can install a second Facebook and log into it under a different account.

In addition to the fingerprint scanner, the gadget supports unlocking via face recognition. The function works clearly and quickly activates the smartphone, and it does not have to be held level in front of your face. Thanks to the IR sensor, which is hidden in the bangs, recognition works even in the dark.

Huawei Nova 3 design

Externally, Huawei Nova 3 looks very nice, but its design cannot be called unique. It includes the best features of all phones released in 2021 and the main feature of Huawei smartphones - an iridescent back cover that looks different depending on the angle from which you look at it. I took for review the version with a purple body, which is very similar to the twilight color of the Huawei P20.

Now all phones look the same from the front and Nova 3 is no exception, offering minimal frames around the entire perimeter and a characteristic cutout on top, which is popularly called a unibrow. The top notch is noticeably larger than in the flagship P20 and Honor 10, which is due to the use of a dual front camera and a more advanced face unlock mechanism, which is built using a more accurate infrared sensor, as in Xiaomi Mi8. Due to this, recognition occurs successfully even in absolute darkness.

It was possible to integrate a dual camera, light and proximity sensors, as well as a metal mesh for the earpiece into the top notch. By the way, underneath there is an indicator of missed events, which will light up while the device is charging or if there are missed calls/SMS. In the settings, you can set the color with which it will shine depending on the nature of the notification, or even customize it separately for each contact and application. The only thing is that the color is too dull, which is why in some conditions you can simply not notice it, which negates all the benefits of this technology.

The body of Huawei Nova 3 is made of glass, as became fashionable in 2018, but unlike its competitors, it does not support wireless charging technology. Huawei Nova 3 review shows that the side edge is made of metal for greater reliability and rigidity of the body. The body is coated with glossy paint, which makes it very slippery. When you try to lift it off the table with your fingertips, it can easily fall out. This can be compared to trying to pick up slippery soap that is trying to slip out of your hand. There is only one solution - start using a case, which will simultaneously protect the device in case of a fall and make it more practical.

All mechanical control keys are located on the right side - the power button and the volume rocker. They are easy to find tactilely and have a clear response. The power button has a unique structure, which makes it easy to find it blindly and not confuse it with other keys. The keys are metal and are pleasant and convenient to use.

The left side is occupied by a hybrid tray. Alas, once again we are forced to choose between additional memory and a card from a second mobile operator.

A USB Type-C port is located at the bottom, with an external speaker and microphone installed symmetrically on either side. The good news is that they retained the 3.5 mm jack, which is also located at the bottom.

The upper corner of the back of the device is occupied by a dual main camera, in addition to which there is one LED flash. Under the camera there are two horizontal inscriptions - AI camera, which indicates the presence of artificial intelligence and the Huawei logo. Closer to the center of the case there is a fingerprint scanner pad. It is made in a recess, which makes it easy to find tactilely.

The build quality of the case and its design are at a traditionally high level, which is what you would expect from a manufacturer of this level. In purple color, the Huawei Nova 3 64gb smartphone looks especially beautiful. The only drawback of the design can be considered the lack of moisture protection, which will never be superfluous.

Display Huawei Nova 3 64gb

By tradition, we’ll start our review of the Huawei Nova 3 64gb display with characteristics that are pleasantly impressive - we are offered a high-quality IPS LCD matrix with a 6.3-inch diagonal and FullHD+ resolution (2340X1080 pixels). Taking this into account, we get 409 ppi, which gives a clear and well-detailed image. The 19.5:9 aspect ratio allows you to fit more text on the screen, but the standard 18:9 aspect ratio is, in my opinion, much more convenient. If you are of the same opinion, then you can switch to it at any time by adding a black background on the sides of the bangs, which transforms the design of the front side of the device.

The display of Huawei Nova 3 3/32gb cannot be called special. Of course he is good, but nothing more and does not pretend to be the best. At factory settings, the screen displays predominantly cool tones. The situation can be corrected by switching the color profile to “Normal” or any other profile of your choice, of which there are several. In “Normal” the colors are closest to the basic sRGB color parameters. If you don’t like any of the profiles, you can manually adjust the color temperature to suit you.

After customizing and fine-tuning the display, the picture became more natural, but even so, it lacks the color accuracy of Samsung or OnePlus smartphones. But the difference will only be noticeable if you put the competitor next to it and make a comparison. Overall, this is an excellent matrix with a good reserve of brightness and maximum viewing angles, which will be a pleasure to play or watch a movie on. The screen occupies 84.47% of the entire area of the front panel - a good job in reducing the bezels.

Blacks don't look as deep as on AMOLED panels, which is the main drawback of IPS technology. Therefore, even if you hide the bangs in the settings, they will be visible, since they are slightly different in color from the black shade that fills the space around them. The brightness reserve is sufficient for comfortable work with the Huawei Nova 3 32gb gray phone on a bright sunny day, but it is noticeably inferior in this regard to the OnePlus 6. The latter has an AMOLED matrix, which produces much brighter and more saturated colors. All the shortcomings of the screen are associated with the peculiarities of IPS technology, with the exception of color rendition, which, during factory calibration, is shifted towards cool shades. If we take into account the price category, the display is excellent and loses only to more expensive flagships that use AMOLED or OLED technology,

Large display

The Huawei Nova 3 smartphone is equipped with a 6.3-inch IPS display with a relatively unique aspect ratio of 19.5: 9. The screen is characterized by Full HD + resolution, which according to the specified parameters gives a pixel density per inch of 409ppi. In practice, the value means good quality of displayed fonts and small icons. Even at close range, you won't be able to see the jagged edges on the icons.

As I already mentioned, the smartphone has a thin bezel around the display, and this is true. On three sides we have very narrow edges, and in the upper part there is a notch (bangs), which some people like, but others - the opposite. I'm neutral on this issue and the presence of the cutout doesn't bother me in any way. Of course, after a few moments you will get used to it. The important thing is that the cutout can be “hidden”. Just find the option in the settings that darkens the space on the sides.

When it comes to adjusting content to unusual proportions, there are no problems - most programs automatically scale, while others can do it manually. Here we have an IPS display, which is characterized by pleasant colors, good viewing angles and contrast. It is worth mentioning the brightness - both minimum and maximum. In the sun I had no problems reading the content displayed on the screen, and at night I also did not feel any discomfort.

In weaker lighting conditions, we can optionally enable a blue light filter, which is very convenient for reading at night. There is also a light sensor, which did not cause any problems during testing and worked as it should. In the Nova 3 screen settings we can change the display mode and font size, color temperature, and also reduce the resolution to HD+. There is a smart resolution feature that automatically reduces it to save power.

It is worth mentioning that after removing the device from the box, it already had a protective film on it, so scratches will not appear on the screen. If the question is whether this has a negative impact on the responsiveness of the panel, then I did not experience any inconvenience here.

Huawei Nova 3 performance and specifications

The characteristics of Huawei Nova 3 were not difficult to predict, because all the latest new products are powered by the flagship processor of its own design - HiSilicon Kirin 970, which is distinguished by good optimization and the presence of artificial intelligence. The same processor is used in the flagship P20 Pro, so the appearance of a chip in the mid-budget segment can already be considered a huge achievement.

But no matter how good this Huawei Nova 3 processor is, in terms of performance, especially in games, it is inferior to competitors on the Snapdragon 845. The chip is manufactured using a modern 10-nm process technology, which is characterized by minimal consumption of battery capacity and heat generation. The processor structure includes 8 cores, 4 of which are high-performance and accelerate to 2.36 GHz and the same number are energy efficient and are used to perform simpler tasks (up to 1.84 GHz),

Gaming performance is good. The recently introduced Huawei GPU Turbo technology helps here, which is available out of the box in the new Huawei Nova 3. However, so far it only works in two games, one of which is PUBG. You can play most games with maximum graphics and consistently high fps. There are two memory options - 3 + 32Gb or 4 + 64Gb. I would recommend paying attention to the older modification, since the possibility of expanding the memory capacity may be provided by the manufacturer, but for this you will have to sacrifice a second SIM card.

Test Huawei Nova 3 in Antutu

To unlock the Huawei Nova 3 3 GB 32 GB smartphone, you can use an ultra-fast fingerprint scanner or face unlock, which is no longer based on the front camera, but thanks to a more technologically advanced and reliable infrared sensor. Infrared light is used to scan the face, which increases the safety of the technology and allows it to be used even in complete darkness. The recognition accuracy is at the highest level, but in terms of speed the IR sensor is inferior to OnePlus 6, where the front camera is used for this purpose.

Cameras

The cameras are another thing that is more than impressive when you look at the specs of the phone. According to the good tradition of Huawei, the dual main camera consists of a main color and an additional monochrome module. This time it's an impressive 16 and 24 megapixels respectively. Few cameras can boast of such parameters in this mid-budget range.

In addition, support for recording video in 4K format is announced, which will also allow the smartphone to compete well in light of the presence of a maximum of 1080p cameras in many rivals. Unfortunately, the new camera does not have digital stabilization, which is unfortunate. Instead, the strengths of the smartphone are its smart autofocus and F/ 1.8 aperture, which will allow the owner of the phone to feel confident when shooting in low-light conditions.

The front camera is now also dual at 24 and 2 megapixels, respectively, and has an aperture of F/2.0. Honestly, after manufacturers have accustomed us to the mass phenomenon of 5 megapixel front cameras, it’s hard to perceive a 24 megapixel front camera even figuratively. But no, in Nova 3 this is more than reality. The preliminary images seemed to us to be of very high quality, but, of course, in the future this issue will have to be dealt with in a more similar way. The second 2 megapixel camera is used to measure the depth of the frame and create a background blur effect. At first glance, its usefulness is rather doubtful, but in practice, the influence of the second camera on the final result is quite difficult to measure, so we’ll trust Huawei engineers in this matter.

Battery life of the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone

The review of the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone moves on to testing its battery with a capacity of 3750 mAh and support for proprietary SuperCharge fast charging technology. For the huge diagonal of the display and its resolution, the capacity is not outstanding, but the battery life simply amazed me. Even with active use, by the end of the day at least 40% of the charge remains with 5-6 hours of display activity. All tests were carried out without the use of energy-saving algorithms, so if desired, the battery life of Huawei Nova 3 can be increased even further. On a single charge, the smartphone will last much longer than the OnePlus 6, but the latter charges much faster.

SuperCharge technology is still far inferior to its competitors, forcing you to wait about 2 hours until the coveted 100% charge. In 30 minutes of charging, only 25% of the charge accumulates, and after an hour it will be about 55%. This is the main difference from competitors’ technologies, where at first the charging process is much faster, which can save you when you urgently need to leave home and take your smartphone with you, charging it at least a little. The Huawei Nova 3 32 GB phone charges evenly, which is very strange, because this is not what you expect from fast charging.

Huawei Nova 3 interface

The review of Huawei Nova 3 moves on to its interface, which is based on Android 8.1, on top of which the proprietary EMUI 8.2 shell is superimposed. For a long time, EMUI frightened us with its overload and poor design. But recently the system has begun to change for the better.

All installed applications are on the desktop. If you like the classic application menu, you can activate it in the settings. The shell offers extensive gesture control capabilities and a huge selection of parameters that you can customize for yourself - change the list of shortcut icons in the notification shade, change the theme, etc.

Huawei Nova 3 camera review

Huawei Nova 3 2021 uses dual main and front cameras, which means you can count on a full Bokeh effect in any situation. At the back there is a 16 MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture and an additional 24 MP monochrome module with f/2.0 aperture. The front uses a main 24 MP lens (f/2.0) and an additional 2 MP lens, which is necessary for determining depth when shooting Bokeh.

The camera application has received an interesting set of basic and additional functions, including HDR, AR objects, and even a black and white mode, when a photo is taken only with a second monochrome camera. In the upper right part there is a button for controlling artificial intelligence, which is enabled by default, but if you wish, you can turn it off and show your professionalism in manual settings.

Huawei Nova 3 3/32gb introduced Animoji, which use your facial data to create animated characters. They turn out to be very funny and similar to you, but the function will be interesting only the first time. Having played enough, you simply forget about it. Pro mode gives you access to additional settings - ISO, shutter speed, white balance, exposure and manual focus. But working with the camera is greatly complicated by the inconvenient application interface, which hides all the parameters deep in the settings, which is why you have to waste time searching for them.

The first problem with the Huawei Nova 3 camera was the AI, which is enabled by default. When enabled, photos appear oversaturated in most situations. It is supposed to detect the scene and set the optimal settings depending on this. The algorithm seems to be simple, but for some reason the colors almost always turn out oversaturated and noticeably different from what you see in front of the lens. The best solution would be to disable the AI, at least until the manufacturer corrects the situation.

When AI is turned off, you can take pictures with more natural and predictable color reproduction. Photos on Huawei Nova 3 are distinguished by good detail, optimal white balance, color rendition and contrast. HDR can be used to improve shadow detail, which it does very well. The picture turns out more natural, you will be satisfied with the result.

The main feature of the Huawei Nova 3 camera is the monochrome mode, for which an additional 24 megapixel module is used. It is able to capture more light under equal conditions, which is its main advantage. Therefore, you should not be surprised that the photos taken with it are of better quality than with the main 16 MP lens under equal conditions. Better dynamic range and less noise even in dark rooms. This is the best camera of the four, with which you can always get a shot with excellent sharpness and detail. It is a pity that the monochrome module cannot be used in every situation.

Example photo on Huawei Nova 3 camera

The review of the camera of the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone moves on to video recording, which is carried out in 4K quality. The test videos have a common drawback - weak dynamic range. Another disadvantage is the lack of any image stabilization, which is why even when you shoot in a stationary position, the result is not particularly high-quality. In the future, Huawei promises to introduce electronic stabilization, but at the time of writing this review this had not yet been done.

Conclusion

Huawei Nova 3 is the main competitor to OnePlus 6, but unfortunately it loses to it in almost every respect.
The phones are very similar to each other - they offer premium body materials, where glass is combined with metal side faces, have excellent screens and decent cameras. Huawei Nova 3 will be better in terms of battery life, which will be a deciding factor for many. It also beats out the competition with its vibrant design that looks great. Especially the back cover, which effectively shimmers when exposed to sunlight. But in everything else, OnePlus 6 has a winning position. It has a waterproof body, a more advanced and faster shell, charges faster to 100% and is much better suited for gaming. In addition, its external speaker is much louder, and the display has better brightness and color reproduction. But the main difference lies in the processor - the Snapdragon 845 is not a competitor to the Kirin 970 and outperforms it in every way. Nevertheless, Huawei Nova 3 is a worthy representative of the mid-budget category, which can be forgiven for its shortcomings for its affordable price tag, good cameras, design and autonomy.

Advantages:

High resolution screen with good viewing angles;
Battery life;
Cameras;
Spectacular design;
Dual not only main but also selfie camera;
Premium body materials.

Flaws:

Hybrid slot;
Lack of moisture protection and wireless charging;
The Kirin 970 processor is much inferior to the Snapdragon 845 and cannot provide such a high interface speed. In games, the advantages of Snapdragon 845 are revealed even more.

Where can I buy?

Buy a smartphone at the best price

Comments for the site
Cackl e

Huawei Nova is one of the best in its class

Huawei P20 Lite - review of the lightweight version of the flagship

Huawei Nova 2 is a smartphone whose main feature is its cameras

Huawei Nova 2i is the world's first smartphone with four cameras

Huawei Mate 10 Lite review - a simplified version of the flagship that has a lot to offer

Review of Huawei Mate 20 Lite - what is interesting about the simplified flagship?

Huawei Mate 8 is a contender for the title of best flagship of 2021 with top-end hardware and bright appearance

Huawei Honor 3C is a modern smartphone with excellent characteristics

Huawei P Smart review - how good is the budget phone?

Huawei Honor 7A Pro - review of a budget phone in a plastic case with an 18:9 screen and a single main camera

Full review of Huawei P30 - the best in terms of photos and battery life

⇡#camera

The main camera in Huawei nova 3 consists of two modules: an RGB sensor with a resolution of 16 megapixels with an ƒ/1.8 aperture lens and a monochrome sensor with a resolution of 24 megapixels and a lens of the same aperture.

The optical stabilizer is left for the older Huawei P and Mate series, but nova 3 is nevertheless quite combat-ready not only in daylight (even budget smartphones can cope with this today), but also in the dark - due to the combination of fairly high-aperture optics and a dual-chamber circuit with monochrome sensor.

There is also a hybrid zoom - the lenses do not differ in focal length, the difference in matrix resolution is used; As a result, we get a 2x zoom with a slight, but not critical, decrease in quality compared to a photo without using zoom.

Like the entire last year, Huawei is pushing the presence of artificial intelligence in the smartphone - it helps the operation of the operating system (trying to optimize the ongoing processes) and manifests itself in the camera. When you click on the AI icon in the shooting application, the smartphone diligently recognizes a variety of scenes (it knows 22 of them) and tries, with varying success, to adjust settings for them: making warmer tones in sunset scenes or raising the blue saturation for the sky in the frame and deciding to blur background, if he sees that you are doing a portrait.

The work of artificial intelligence is really noticeable, another thing is that it sometimes tries too hard, making pictures bright, saturated, but unnatural - which is very popular in Asia, but not always appreciated here. It is worth saying that the system began to work noticeably more correctly and a little less intrusively than in the past, and at any time, if desired, the artificial intelligence module can be turned off.

More about Huawei: 4 Ways to Transfer an Android Application to a Memory Card