Huawei Honor 3 smartphone review: saving drowning people

If you need a smartphone that looks interesting, then the Honor 3 is definitely not for you - for beauty you should look to the Huawei Ascend P6. But here everything is simple, almost without frills. If you take another thirty white Chinese smartphones from smaller manufacturers, cover them with logos and mix them properly, you will not find Honor 3 among the others in your life.

Theoretically, Honor 3 also exists in black, but for some reason only white ones are imported to Russia - they probably harmonize better with the snow (or contrast better with it, if we talk about Moscow snow).

For some reason, some naughty guy from the design department painted the sides with mother-of-pearl paint (it’s hard to see in the photographs, but take my word for it - it’s mother-of-pearl), so in the end it’s not even clear to whom this smartphone is addressed. On the one hand, everything is so boxy and utilitarian, on the other – white and with mother-of-pearl. A very strange combination.

The smartphone is equipped with a 4.7-inch display and has a fairly thin frame - so the body dimensions are moderate, and Honor 3 fits well even in a small palm. The back is slippery and glossy, but the slightly rougher mother-of-pearl sides give hope that the smartphone will not slip out of your hand at the most inopportune moment.

The touch buttons in Huawei Honor 3 are dedicated, with neat white backlighting

The buttons are not located very well: the space between them is small, and the size of the buttons themselves is too small. As a result, it is quite difficult to determine by touch what is under your finger - the power or volume button. You can probably get used to this, but it would have been better to space them on different sides of the body.

As mentioned above, the smartphone is protected from dust and moisture according to IP55 and IP57 standards. That is, it is dustproof (IP5x), withstands jets of water (IPx5) and short-term immersion to a depth of one meter (IPx7). The Japanese, as a rule, make protected models monolithic, but in Honor 3 the back panel is removable - it has a seal that fits into a groove that runs along the perimeter of the battery compartment.

Sony prefers to cover everything except the audio jack with plugs, so that you don’t have to deal with a plug every time you want to listen to music. Huawei did exactly the opposite: they plugged the headset jack, but left the micro-USB connector unprotected - we hope the designers know what they are doing.

The outer panels of the case are made of plastic, but inside, apparently, there is a magnesium frame that gives the smartphone the necessary rigidity. At the very least, Honor 3 cannot be accused of excessive flimsiness.

⇡#Technical characteristics

Review of the Huawei Nova 3 smartphone

The nova line of smartphones appeared in the Huawei portfolio later than others. The first representative of the new family was presented only three years ago during the MWC 2021 exhibition. By that time, not only did the Huawei P and Mate lines already exist, but the Honor brand had managed to spin off into a separate brand, successfully copying some of Huawei’s own products and offering them lower prices. Against the backdrop of this diversity, the very idea of ​​releasing another line of Huawei smartphones seemed, to put it mildly, strange and redundant. However, the manufacturer continues to support it to this day, although it does so as slowly as possible. At least, this is how it looks against the backdrop of the rapid growth of other families.

As for positioning, nova stands somewhere between the middle and top segments, that is, in terms of characteristics, these smartphones are higher than models with the “Lite” prefix, but lower than “Pro”. The cost is appropriate, nova models in this regard cannot compete with most representatives of the Honor brand, and at a price of 30 thousand rubles they cannot be called “balanced in the middle,” but such smartphones are certainly of some interest. Today we will take a closer look at the latest addition to the series – the Huawei nova 3.

Main characteristics of Huawei nova 3 (model PAR-LX1)

• SoC HiSilicon Kirin 970, 8 cores: 4×Cortex-A73 @2.36 GHz + 4×Cortex-A53 @1.8 GHz
• GPU Mali-G72 (MP12)
• Operating system Android 8.1, EMUI 8.2
• Touch display IPS 6.3″, 2340×1080 (19.5:9), 409 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB, internal memory 128 GB
• MicroSD support up to 256 GB
• Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
• GSM/WCDMA/HSPA+ networks
• LTE Cat.12/13 FDD networks (B1/3/5/7/8/20)
• GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
• Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, aptX, aptX HD
• NFC
• USB 2.0 Type-C, USB OTG
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Main camera 16 MP (f/1.8) + 24 MP, 4K video
• Front camera 24 MP (f/2.0) + 2 MP
• Proximity and lighting sensors, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope, step counter
• Fingerprint's scanner
• Battery 3750 mAh
• Dimensions 157×74×7.3 mm
• Weight 166 g

Appearance and ease of use

Huawei nova 3 looks the same as most modern Huawei/Honor mobile devices. This is a catchy, shiny device that shimmers in the light with a gradient color, varnished slippery and easily soiled surfaces and streamlined shapes.

Some of these models have a more thoughtful shape of the side edges, by which you can hold the device more firmly, but here the situation is completely deplorable: the sloping edges of the rear glass smoothly merge with the same smooth, slippery and overly convex side frame. Because of this, the smartphone is extremely “fidgety” in the palm of your hand, spinning in your hands like a bar of soap.

The camera module on the back side protrudes outward, the smartphone sways when you touch the screen, and lies unsteadily on a hard surface. The camera on the back of the body is dual, but the flash is single, but quite bright.

The fingerprint scanner area is located on the back wall; it is tactilely clearly visible, since it is slightly recessed. There are no complaints about the scanner's performance.

The screen on top received a cutout in the form of a classic (rather large) “bang” (aka “unibrow”), there was a place in it for a dual camera and an LED event indicator, which is built right under the speaker grille. The corners of the screen are strongly rounded.

The side keys are installed on the same face, they are almost indistinguishable tactilely, although this was the idea, since the power button has a small corrugated pattern (in practice, it cannot be felt with your fingers).

The card slot is hybrid; you can install two Nano-SIM cards at the same time or replace one of them with a microSD memory card with a capacity of up to 256 GB. Hot swap supported.

At the top end there is nothing except an auxiliary microphone; the smartphone does not have the usual IR transmitter for emulating a remote control for Huawei devices.

The set of interface connectors at the bottom is as follows: the USB port is represented by a modern Type-C connector, while the usual 3.5 mm audio output for headphones is retained. The main speaker and conversational microphone are also located here, at the bottom end.

The choice of colors for the model was initially scarce: in addition to the gradient purple color shown in test photographs, only a completely black version could also be found on sale. However, a little later, Huawei released a model in red, the same thing it did earlier with nova 2. The device did not receive protection from dust and moisture.

Screen

Huawei nova 3 is equipped with an IPS display with 2.5D protective glass. The screen dimensions are approximately 67×146 mm, with a diagonal of 6.3″, and a resolution of 2340×1080 (aspect ratio 19.5:9, pixel density about 409 ppi). The width of the frame around the screen on the sides is about 3 mm, the indentation at the bottom is about 7 mm high, and at the top it is only 4 mm (not counting the “bangs”).

You can adjust the display brightness manually or use automatic settings based on the ambient light sensor.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev . Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Huawei nova 3, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Huawei nova 3 is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 121 versus 128 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Huawei nova 3 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating, which is better in efficiency than that of the Nexus 7, so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

With manual brightness control and when the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 440 cd/m², the minimum was 1.3 cd/m². The maximum brightness is quite high, therefore, given the excellent anti-glare properties, screen readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at an acceptable level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker grille). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider: with it the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If you do not interfere and leave the default settings, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 10 cd/m² (normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 145 cd/m² (suitable), in very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 440 cd/m² (to the maximum, as needed). The backlight brightness level depends on the position of the slider in dark and average conditions, and in very bright environments it is always set to maximum. The default result suited us, but for the experiment we moved the slider a little to the right in complete darkness and for the three conditions indicated above, we got 20, 130 and 440 cd/m² (and this option is not bad). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which identical images are displayed on the screens of Huawei nova 3 and Nexus 7, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.

There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.

And a test picture:

The colors on the Huawei nova 3 screen are clearly oversaturated, and the color balance varies between screens.

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on the Huawei nova 3 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the greater highlighting of blacks.

And a white field:

The brightness of the screens at an angle has decreased (by at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Huawei nova 3 screen is still a little brighter. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a red-violet hue. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is excellent:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1300:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 20 ms (9 ms on + 11 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 35 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.00, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:

This device has a dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness with a non-obvious dependence on time and on the nature of the displayed image. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - (however, as always) when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. In general, such non-disabled brightness correction does nothing but harm, since constantly changing the screen brightness can at least cause some discomfort.

The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:

Let's look at the spectra:

The spectra of the components are quite well separated, which determines the wide color gamut. For a consumer device, a wide color gamut is not an advantage, but a significant disadvantage, since as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photographs above.

However, not everything is so bad: when you select the Normal , the coverage is compressed to the sRGB boundaries.

Colors in images become less saturated (and color balance changes slightly):

The balance of shades on the scale is a compromise, since the color temperature is approximately 9000 K, which is significantly higher than the standard 6500 K, but the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is about 7, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. This device has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the hue on the color wheel.

The graphs below show the data obtained after selecting the Normal and shifting the point on the circle to the position indicated in the image above. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

It can be seen that the change in balance corresponds to the expected result, since the color temperature approached the standard value and ΔE decreased. There is some benefit from this correction - however, the maximum brightness has decreased to 400 cd/m². Note that this function is implemented more for show, since there is no numerical reflection of the correction and there is no special field for measuring color balance.

There is a fancy setting that allows you to reduce the intensity of the blue component.

Marketers tried to intimidate the user in order to show the level of care of the manufacturer. Of course, there is no harmful UV radiation (see spectrum above), and there is no eye fatigue caused specifically by blue light. In principle, bright light can lead to disruption of the circadian rhythm (see the article about the iPad Pro with a 9.7-inch display), but everything can be solved by adjusting the brightness to a comfortable level, and there is absolutely no way to distort the color balance, reducing the contribution of blue sense.

To summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. Also, the advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, high contrast, excellent uniformity of the black field, sRGB color gamut (when choosing the right profile) and good (after a small correction) color balance. The disadvantages are the low stability of black to the deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane. Taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered high.

Cameras

For the front camera, Huawei nova 3 uses a dual module. The main camera with a 24-megapixel matrix resolution and an f/2.0 aperture lens is complemented by a simple 2-megapixel module for measuring depth of field and creating a background blur effect in portrait mode.

When shooting self-portraits, the front camera of Huawei nova 3 recognizes more than 200 types of different scenes in eight categories, including “sky”, “greenery” and “beach”, and tries to select the optimal set of parameters, adjusting the frame based on the work of AI.

The shooting quality is decent: the pictures are bright and with good detail. True, there are often overexposures and there are spots of blur across the field of the frame, but when viewed on the screen of the smartphone itself, such a picture looks very good.

As for the main camera, everything here is also quite decent. This dual camera has sensors with a resolution of 16 and 24 megapixels, however, the functions of the modules are already atypical today: the 16-megapixel has an RGB sensor and a six-element lens with an f/1.8 aperture, and the 24-megapixel is monochrome, it is responsible for details . There is a single-color bright LED flash and fast, adequate hybrid autofocus. There is no optical image stabilization or optical zoom here.

While the main camera is working, artificial intelligence also analyzes the picture, identifying more than 500 different scenes in 22 categories. A special algorithm recognizes object contours, textures, gradients, lighting patterns and applies this information during image processing, also using data on the depth of objects and the scene. According to the developers, the AI ​​even takes into account facial expression, the nature of clothing, pose and direction of lighting, independently correcting the images, but all this can be turned off.

There is an advanced manual mode in which you can manually select light sensitivity, shutter speed, focusing method and white balance. In this mode, it becomes possible to save pictures in RAW.

In general, the image quality is also quite decent, but nothing more, the camera is of average quality. With sufficient lighting, everything is fine with detail and sharpness, but with the slightest darkening of an area of ​​the frame, traces of noise are immediately visible, the dynamic range is narrow, the camera is not always able to focus on close objects, tree branches merge into a mess. A good margin in resolution helps; as the resolution of the images decreases, the quality, as expected, increases. In general, not bad, but cannot be confused with flagship cameras.

The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 4K at 30 fps, as well as in 1080p at 60 fps. As standard, you can choose which codec to use: H.265 (HEVC) or H264. There is no optical stabilization. The video comes out with decent detail and color reproduction. Autofocus sometimes lags or adjusts on the fly. The sound is recorded clearly, the noise reduction system works adequately and does not introduce distortion.

Video examples:

• Video #1 (107 MB, 3840× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 2 (107 MB, 3840× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 3 (45 MB, 1920× [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)

Telephone and communications

Huawei nova 3 supports all common frequencies of the LTE FDD Cat network. 12/13 (Band 3, 7, 20). In practice, within the city limits of the Moscow region, the device demonstrates reliable operation in wireless networks, does not lose connection, and quickly restores connection after a forced interruption.

The device also supports operation in both Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), there are no complaints about the operation of the Wi-Fi module. There is an NFC module; it can work with Troika travel cards and the My Travel Card application. Everything is familiar to Huawei smartphones; communication capabilities are maximum and will please anyone.

The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS), and with the domestic Glonass, and the Chinese Beidou. The first satellites, even during a cold start, are detected quickly, within the first seconds, and the positioning accuracy does not cause any complaints. The smartphone has a magnetic compass, necessary for navigation programs.

The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. Methods for sorting and displaying contacts are standard for the Android interface.

In the conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor is clearly recognizable, the sound is loud and clear, there are no extraneous noises. The vibration alert is average in power. VoLTE supported.

The platform supports active standby of both SIM cards in 3G/4G simultaneously. That is, the SIM card can be in active standby on a 3G/4G network, and not just on 2G, even if another card is assigned to transmit data on 4G. The cards operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode, there is only one radio modem.

Software and multimedia

As a software platform, Huawei nova 3 uses Google Android 8.1 with its own proprietary shell EMUI 8.2 with the ability to update over the air. Users familiar with Huawei mobile technology will not discover anything new here: both the design and capabilities have not changed radically.

The sound of the nova 3, frankly speaking, is rather weak in comparison with the top-end Huawei devices of the P and Mate series. Both in headphones and even through a loudspeaker, the sound is of average volume, inexpressive, dim and without a clear presence of low frequencies. Huawei Histen audio effects technologies are also implemented here, but they are not able to radically improve the sound. The voice recorder demonstrates good sensitivity; there is no FM radio in the device.

Performance

Huawei nova 3 uses the HiSilicon Kirin 970 single-chip system, manufactured using a 10-nanometer process technology, as its hardware platform. The SoC configuration includes two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A73 with a maximum frequency of up to 2.36 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, the storage volume is 128 GB, of which about 114 GB of flash memory is free. The ability to expand memory by installing microSD cards is also provided.

HiSilicon Kirin 970 is not a flagship platform, but it is very powerful, it is a conditional lower top level, clearly above average. Of course, it does not outperform the top Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, but it is superior to the same Snapdragon 710 in everything. In real use scenarios, there are still no obstacles for this SoC. She confidently copes with any tasks assigned to her, including the most demanding games. True, our test unit experienced overheating in almost every benchmark, but its performance level still remains high.

All the games we tested, including Injustice 2 and PUBG, run confidently at high settings without the slightest slowdown. Huawei nova 3 is a powerful smartphone, it has a performance reserve for future updates.

Testing in complex tests:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in game tests:

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

AndroBench memory speed test results:

Heat

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface obtained after 15 minutes of fighting with a gorilla in the game Injustice 2 (this test is also used to determine autonomy in 3D games):

The heating is localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 43 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is slightly higher than the average value in this test for modern smartphones.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

Further testing of video playback was performed by Alexey Kudryavtsev .

This unit does not appear to support DisplayPort Alt Mode for USB Type-C—outputting image and sound to an external device when connected to a USB port—which was discovered using USB Type-C → HDMI adapters from Choetech and Tronsmart CTHA1. Therefore, we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself.

To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips have green ratings, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect comfort viewing. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is very good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly at the height of the screen (in landscape orientation), one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: all shade gradations are displayed in shadows and highlights, which is required for correct playback of typical video files. Note that this smartphone has support for hardware decoding of H.265 files with a color depth of 10 bits per color, while the output of gradients on the screen is carried out with slightly better quality than in the case of 8-bit files (however, this is not proof of true 10-bit resolution). bit output). HDR files play back, but colors appear too pale.

Battery life

The non-removable battery installed in the Huawei nova 3 has a high capacity of 3750 mAh, but the hero of the review does not demonstrate such an outstanding level of autonomy; it barely surpasses the same Honor 10 with its 3400 mAh battery in this indicator. Obviously, the whole point is in the not very economical hardware platform on which both devices operate.

In real life, the device behaves the same as everyone else: it survives until evening charging, it can last a day, but you can’t count on more.

Testing has traditionally been done at normal power consumption levels without using power-saving features.

Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) with auto-scrolling lasted about 15.5 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality ( 720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates for up to 11 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone can work up to 6 hours, depending on the specific game.

The smartphone supports SuperCharge fast charging; it charges from its own AC adapter in about 2 hours with an initial current of 1.8 A 9 V; towards the end of charging, these values ​​naturally drop.

Bottom line

The official price for Huawei nova 3 in Russian retail was 30 thousand rubles, and although after the New Year it dropped to 27 thousand, it is obvious: Huawei has stopped pleasing Russians with affordable prices, believing that “they will buy it anyway.” Honor, in the same price niche, has the Honor 10, which is as similar in characteristics as possible, so there is nothing unique about the Huawei nova 3. Appearance, filling, cost - everything is at the level that has already become familiar to Huawei/Honor. The smartphone is not bad in its own way, but we couldn’t find any “zest” in it. We expected increased autonomy with such a battery, but these expectations were not met, and the camera doublets were not impressive. Nova 3 is a good smartphone, higher and more expensive than the average, but it is interesting to purchase only in promotions and with bonuses.

⇡#Iron and communications

In terms of hardware, Huawei Honor 3 is a copy of the fashionable Huawei Ascend P6. The same HiSilicon K3V2E processor, the same 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of flash storage with a slot for MicroSD cards. The processor is not very fast by today's standards.

Of course, four Cortex-A9 cores are generally better than the same number of Cortex-A7 cores. But the “customized” architecture of Qualcomm Krait, even in the previous generation version, handles K3V2E without straining. Of course, comparing expensive flagship smartphones with the affordable Honor 3 is not entirely correct, but we do this in order to show: not all quad-core chips are equally useful.

The same can be said about the graphics. Compared to those video adapters that are equipped with cheap chips from MediaTek, the Vivante GC1000 looks pretty good. But put it against a serious opponent - at least against last year's Adreno 320, not to mention the current Adreno 330 - and it has no chance.

As for the radio module, Huawei decided not to spoil the buyer with the latest achievements of the cellular communications industry - and even the penultimate ones did not bother them. Honor 3 is equipped with the well-deserved Intel XMM6260 platform (for example: the same chipset was installed in the Samsung Galaxy S2). There is no talk of LTE support, and 3G is far from the latest version: speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s “down” and 5.76 Mbit/s “up” are available.

MicroSD and microSIM card slots are located in the battery compartment

The range of bands is also scanty: although all four world bands are supported for 2G, for 3G there are only two - 900 and 2100 MHz. This will be enough for Russia, China and Europe, but if you often visit the USA, then Honor 3 will not suit you - there you are guaranteed to be left without mobile data transfer. It is worth noting that this is typical for Chinese smartphones: the exact same radio module with support for exactly the same frequencies is installed in the significantly more expensive Meizu MX3.

GPS reception a minute (left) and a minute and a half (right) after a cold start, balcony of an apartment building

Against this background, it was unexpected and pleasant to see that Honor 3 supports not only the mandatory GPS, but also GLONASS. That is, the navigation module in the smartphone is quite new and advanced; it can use two satellite navigation systems at once, thanks to which orientation on the ground is really fast. Otherwise, everything is average: there are Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n adapters on board, but, of course, there is no infrared port or NFC module; There is also no question of supporting the fashionable 802.11ac - however, you shouldn’t worry too much about it.

Design and screen

Externally, Band 3e resembles the Xiaomi Mi Band, and the capsule is inserted into the strap in the same way. At one end of the capsule there are contacts for charging. The case is protected from water up to 5 ATM, that is, up to 50 meters. The dimensions of the device are 40.5 * 14.8 * 11.2 mm, and the weight is only 17 grams.

The bracelet is equipped with a monochrome 0.5 inch PMOLED screen with a resolution of 88 * 48 pixels. It’s impossible to call it the brightest. Of course, it is readable indoors, but in bright sunlight it is very difficult to see anything. Although, it is a little brighter than the screens of Xiaomi Mi Band 2 and Mi Band 3.

The screen is not touch-sensitive, and switching between functions is done by touching the touch button at the bottom of the capsule.

⇡#Display

The display in Honor 3 is of very decent quality. It has a diagonal of 4.7 inches, with a resolution of 1280x720 this gives a completely satisfactory pixel density of about 310 pixels per inch. Such characteristics were the standard for flagships the year before, so for a device in the mid-price category in 2014 this is quite good. Upon closer inspection, the raster is visible, but if you do not hold the smartphone close to your eyes, the picture looks very smooth and detailed.

Despite the low price of Honor 3, the smartphone also has a polarizing filter that reduces glare and light from external light sources, and an oleophobic coating

The display is equipped with a non-switchable brightness adjustment system depending on the image that is currently displayed on it. This system works in a very intricate way: the brightness of the backlight not only depends on the number of black dots in the image, but also changes when the main color is changed - that is, it depends on a certain average brightness of the picture. We saw a very similar algorithm in the LG G2, so we can assume that the LCD matrix in Honor 3 is made by LG.

The maximum brightness of the display is not a record, but quite sufficient for any circumstances in which the owner of Honor 3 may find himself: about 400 cd/m2. There is a polarizing filter in the display, so the level of illumination from external light sources is lower than in devices without such a useful additive - even in bright sun the image remains quite visible.

The contrast due to the presence of the above-described system is dynamic: when the screen is completely filled with black, the backlight is noticeably dimmed, and when it is completely filled with white, it is turned up to the maximum. So with this method you can measure a higher value than it actually is. If measured using the correct method - that is, by displaying a picture of black and white fields of the same size on the display - then the fair value is about 760:1. Very, very good. For an inexpensive smartphone - especially in combination with a polarizing filter - it’s simply wonderful.

Due to dynamic image adjustment, it is extremely difficult to correctly examine color rendition. So this time we will do without measuring gammas. As for the color gamut, it is somewhat narrower than required - about 96% of sRGB. But still, the colors are well tuned: even if green and red are slightly lacking in saturation, at least they have not turned into carrot and some kind of lime, respectively.

The white point is quite strongly shifted towards cool tones and is slightly below the Planck curve. In practice, this means that the white color has a slight bluish-purple tint. Not quite ideal, but we've seen worse settings. In any case, this is forgivable for an inexpensive smartphone.

In general, if they asked for about 20 thousand rubles for a smartphone with such a display, we would say that the manufacturer did not try hard enough. But Honor 3 costs only 12,990 - and this radically changes things. Perhaps, among the products of any well-known brands, it will be difficult to find a device for that kind of money with a display of the same or higher quality.

⇡#Software

Like all smartphone manufacturers that claim one of the main roles in the market, Huawei uses its own shell, called EmotionUI. Perhaps its main difference from the standard Anroid launcher is that there is no application menu: shortcuts to installed programs fall directly on the desktop. In general, Chinese manufacturers love to do this, so for those who have been using smartphones from the Middle Kingdom for a long time, this should be familiar.

As a result, the main tool for putting things in order on the desktop are folders - of course, no one forces you to use them, but with a large number of applications you can’t do without them.

Branded widgets turned out to be surprisingly bulky - even if the widget visually looks compact, as a rule, there is a considerable “forbidden zone” around it. As a result, you either have to come to terms with the fact that very few shortcuts fit on the main screen, or you will have to tinker in search of the most compact widgets.

Huawei widgets are like icebergs: they are actually much larger than they look. Why this was done is completely unclear

Another interesting feature of the Huawei shell: all branded icons have the same shape - squares with strongly rounded corners. And all non-native icons are placed on a “pedestal” of exactly the same shape. It looks a little more neat, but an excess of details creates information noise - because of the substrates, it takes a little more time and mental effort to find the right label.

From an aesthetic component, everything is pretty good. Unlike another Chinese supergiant, Lenovo, Huawei manages to create harmonious interfaces. The shell could have been more comfortable, but let’s not quibble - after all, it’s not a serious nuisance.

Huawei Band 3e Settings

The bracelet doesn't have many settings:

• Reminder. After enabling this function, the bracelet will vibrate if the user remains motionless for more than an hour.
• Alarm clock (with smart alarm function).
• Do not disturb.
• Notifications. Here you can select from which applications notifications will come.
• Bluetooth disconnect notification.
• Setting up functions.
• Activate the screen by raising your wrist.
• Switch functions by turning your hand.
• Wearing method (On the arm or on the leg. You can select automatic detection).
• Software Update.
• Reset.

⇡#Camera

Huawei Honor 3 uses a camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels - like most flagships from 2013. We would venture to assume that the matrix is ​​the same - from Sony, with back illumination and a fairly large format. True, as we remember from reviews of some other Chinese smartphones (and not only Chinese ones), a good sensor is not a guarantee that the camera will shoot the same way as others. Because processing algorithms and all sorts of useful additives like an image stabilization system play an equally important role (Honor 3 does not have it).

The Huawei Honor 3 camera handles daytime shots quite well. Color rendition is not the most pleasant - the system often makes mistakes with white balance. In this case, it received a pinkish tint. But at least the footage does not have obvious flaws - compare this, for example, with what Yotaphone creates.

The HDR mode also works relatively well: periodically the picture doubles a little, the frames have a distinct taste of being “oversharpened,” but there is no effect of unnatural “cartoon” colors, which is inherent in many “Chinese” cameras. In general, it is quite possible to use it without the risk of getting a Pandora landscape as a result.

Of course, the camera has its own quirks - especially in terms of color - but overall, in good lighting, it shoots about the same as many modern flagships. The same LG G2, which we took for comparison, provides a more pleasant picture in such conditions - but not so much that the difference hurts the eye.

But everything changes as soon as the light becomes scarce. The absence of a stabilization system in Honor 3 is probably not the fastest aperture optics and not the most advanced algorithms immediately make themselves felt.

The HDR mode in such conditions is no longer able to improve anything - it only makes the picture even more soapy and even darker.

The smartphone can record video in Full HD format and copes with this task quite well - although it is inferior in quality to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with which we compared it.

Samsung Galaxy Note recording example

Example recording Huawei Honor 3

⇡#Battery

The battery in Honor 3 is not too different from that installed in the ultra-thin Ascend P6, the capacity is some 7.5% larger. The Ascend has a 7.4 Wh battery (2000 mAh, 3.7 V), and the Honor 3 has an 8.2 Wh battery (2150 mAh, 3.8 V). Obviously, if this reserve of energy was barely enough for the first, then it will not be enough for the second either.

To somehow smooth out this drawback, Huawei has optimized power consumption quite well, especially in standby mode. Even on average, of the three available energy saving modes, a smartphone can lie on the shelf for more than a week. However, it is worth keeping in mind that this is done at the expense of reduced productivity. And the smartphone falls asleep quite thoroughly: it turns off Wi-Fi and does not receive notifications. So if you bring Honor 3 out of hibernation after a few days, it will spend the first couple of minutes dumping all the accumulated events on you.

Things are going quite well even with an average load on the system - for example, Honor 3 allows you to watch HD video at the maximum level of illumination for almost six hours (however, let's not forget that the smartphone has dynamic brightness control, and in our test video there is a lot black - on lighter videos the results will be slightly worse).

But if you turn on the processor fully, the Honor 3 battery becomes empty very quickly: in the AnTuTu Battery Test, this smartphone scored only 438 points. In general, the processor is not too fast and quite power hungry at the same time - not a very advantageous combination of qualities, due to the advanced age of the chip.

In general, if you don’t rely heavily on resource-intensive applications, your smartphone will survive until the end of the day. But if you use navigation a lot or play games, then it’s better to play it safe and have a charger with you.

Hardware and performance

The main responsibilities in terms of performance were taken over by the MTK6735M processor with a clock frequency of 1000 MHz. Such a chip is extremely economical, and scores up to 22,000 points in AnTuTu. This is a rather weak result, but in reality the situation is not so dire. The device functions quickly, and the brakes begin to show themselves only when using three or more applications at the same time or launching games with beautiful effects.

Since this is a purely budget gadget, then there is a minimum of internal memory - 8 GB. But using the MicroSD slot, you can independently expand the drive up to 32 GB with appropriate cards. Huawei U3 II runs on Android 5.1 along with EMUI 3.1 Lite interface. The amount of RAM is 1 GB.

⇡#Conclusions

Like most smartphones in the price category from 10 to 15 thousand rubles, Huawei Honor 3 is a compromise. On the one hand, the aged processor and well-deserved radio module do not add to its attractiveness. On the other hand, a good display, serious protection from water and dust, as well as a good camera, combined with a very affordable price, could convince many that this is the smartphone of their dreams.

But this will be greatly hampered by one circumstance, namely design. It’s quite difficult to imagine who exactly a smartphone with such an inexpressive appearance is designed for, while being sold only in white and with mother-of-pearl buttons on the sides. For girls it’s too boring, for boys it’s too exciting. For boys who are not really boys, it’s boring again. In general, it’s not clear...

Huawei Y3 2021 review

Huawei Y3 2021 is an inexpensive smartphone that represents the manufacturer’s youngest line. The device was announced in April 2021. Its main feature is the price, which is set at a minimum level.

Appearance and ergonomics

The body of the affordable Huawei U3 2021 phone is made of plastic. Its shape resembles a classic rectangle with rounded corners. There is a decorative frame around the perimeter that imitates metal. At the back there is not only the main camera, but also a logo, a multimedia speaker and a flash.

There are no different elements under the display, as only virtual buttons are used for navigation. The device is comfortable to hold in your hand because it is light and small in size, and its body has an ergonomic shape. Available colors: white, pink, blue and gold.

Display

The Y3 2021 smartphone is equipped with a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 854 by 480 pixels. The display is made using IPS technology. Although its resolution is minimal, the picture quality does not suffer much from this. Viewing angles are good, and the image indoors remains of very high quality.

Hardware and performance

It is worth noting that the U3 2021 is available in two versions at once - with a MediaTek MT6580 processor (1300 MHz) or with a MediaTek MT6737M chip. These are modern quad-core solutions. But the latter option has a lower frequency (1100 MHz), but a powerful Mali-T720 MP2 graphics accelerator. The amount of RAM is 1 GB, and the internal storage capacity is 8 GB. There is a separate slot for a memory card (maximum capacity 128 GB).

The device cannot boast of high performance, so it is hardly suitable for modern mobile games with colorful special effects. But it copes with everyday tasks, but multitasking can still be a problem. The Android 6.0 operating system with EMUI 4.1 shell is offered to the user right out of the box.

Communication and sound

The multimedia speaker in Huawei Y3 2021 is quite simple, purely budget (lots of high frequencies, but few lows and mids). At the same time, it’s pleasant to talk with your interlocutors; there is no discomfort from communication. A more advanced version of the device with the MediaTek MT6737M chip supports LTE networks.

Camera

The Huawei U3 2021 has a main 8-megapixel camera, which takes decent pictures during the daytime. There are additional settings, as well as interesting functions that will help diversify the shooting process. The front 2-megapixel camera is suitable for photographing documents and simple self-portraits.

conclusions

The new Y3 2021 turned out to be quite an attractive option for anyone who wants to buy their first Android smartphone. Also, this $60 model is suitable for the younger generation who cannot spend a lot of money on flagships.

Pros:

• Very low price.
• Nice design.
• Excellent ergonomics.
• Beautiful EMUI shell.
• Availability of LTE (in the older model).

Minuses:

• Relatively low performance.
• Small amount of memory.