For several days we have tested Huawei's Nova 8i in depth, a mid -range smartphone released in 2021 and available in Italy for a couple of months.During the presentation, Huawei Nova 9 was also launched of which we will talk to you in detail shortly and that we can consider the older brother of Nova 8i.Huawei after inevitably lost altitude following the United States Ban is trying to recover in Europe, continent where it once held a very important slice of the market.
As we well know, even in this Huawei Nova 8i there are no Google Mobile Service (GMS) that are replaced by the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) for a 360 ° Huawei experience.Supporting the lack of GMS is not a simple role outside China, consequently from Huawei a level technical data sheet is expected at an affordable price.Was it like that?
Design and packaging
Huawei Nova 8i presents a very personal design, which makes it look like a lower -end smartphone than what is actually.The back is in glossy mirror plastic with a 4D curvature very similar to a glass finish.The materials are treated and the construction of this device with the flaw that is on the back and on the front of oleophobic treatment is not very effective.
The frame frames are well optimized, practically borderless, and we find a pill hole at the top left that houses the selfie cam and the brightness sensor.Along the frame we find on the right side the volume barbell and the power and shutdown button that integrates the fingerprint sensor.In the lower part there is the main speaker, the first microphone, the USB type-c port and the slot that can accommodate two sim. Nella parte superiore HUAWEI è riuscita a inserire il sempre apprezzato jack audio da 3,5mm, il secondo speaker e il secondo microfono.Finally the right side of the frame remains totally clear.
The dimensions of the terminal are average: 161.85 x 74.7 x 8.58 mm with a weight of 190 grams which, albeit not very light, remains well balanced in hand.Ergonomics, pleasant to use thanks to the excellent touch and feel.The island of cameras, slightly protruding, is circular and large in size as it houses four modules, while the LED flash is located on the back cover.
The package presents, in addition to the phone, a powerful 66W power supply, the USB/USB C data cable and a transparent silicone cover.In conclusion we can see that from the point of view of design and Huawei materials, it continues its excellent job.The device is ergonomic and with a good aesthetic choice that aims to stand out from the devices of the other OEMs.The only weaknesses are shaking when using it on flat surfaces and the numerous fingerprints that remain on the back cover and display.
Display
The smartphone mounts a 6.67 -inch FHD+ (1080 x 2376 pixel) flat IPS LCD with a refresh rate that remains at 60Hz and a sampling frequency of the touch that reaches 180Hz.The Screen to Body report is 94.7%, very high and certainly appreciated by users.
Overall, this display convinced leaving: bright and fluid despite a standard refresher frequency.Certainly we would have liked to see at least 90Hz but in any case this panel defends itself well and in daily use this lack is better absorbed.The experience of use offered by the device based on the price to which it is proposed can be defined as promoted.Having said that we are not talking about a display comparable to that of a premium smartphone but remains in line with the mid -range devices.Not enjoying the AMOLED technology, Huawei Nova 8i does not have the Always on display.
As previously mentioned, the true quality of this display is to be practically without edges.In this way the visual experience of Huawei Nova 8i increases considerably even if slightly disturbed by the pill hole that houses the front cam.In the settings the user can set the colors of the display at his preference by choosing between two different ways: normal and intense.It is also possible to set the predefined, hot or cold temperature or choose it manually.There is also the ebook mode for reading, eye protection and dark mode.
Hardware software
Under the slutty device hosts the Snapdragon 662 Soc Qualcomm in coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage memory, not expandable.We are talking about an 11nm chipset with octa-core cpu (4x2.0 Ghz Kryo 260 Gold4x1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver).The chosen reference GPU is the Adreno 610.It is certainly not the most powerful soc on the market, but it remains a mid -range platform that offers performance in line with the phone price range.
We certainly don't talk about lightning war but this Huawei Nova 8i behaves well in daily use and has not given big problems during use if not a few small bugs.The device does not support the new generation 5G networks.Instead we find the NFC chip, the GPS, the audio jack, the Wi-Fi AC and the Bluetooth version 5.0.On the other hand, Huawei has also reasoned in terms of efficiency between performance and energy saving, one of the strong points of this smartphone.
Software side instead the device is characterized by its customization.On board we find Android 10 together with EMUI 11 but without the Google Mobile Services.In addition to the usual customizations of the Home screen such as backgrounds, widgets and various animations, it is possible to change the style of the icons.EMUI offers the possibility to view all the apps on the home screen or to create a drawer with a swipe upwards.
The presence of the Huawei Mobile Services and the apps that make it up is fundamental.Huawei's is a real ecosystem capable of keeping the data and all -information of users connected.Huawei ID is the centerpiece of the HMS and will serve to access all other applications with a simple touch.
Images, videos, contacts and all information can be saved in the Huawei Mobile Cloud and recovered in the future.No Play Store but there is Appgallery, the Huawei store in continuous development with the arduous task to say and replace Google's services.Inside the Huawei store there are numerous applications thanks to the 560 million monthly users and 5.1 million of developers and registered partners.For example, the Chinese brand uses the Petal Search search engine that I must say to be precise and reactive and is also able to search for apps from different stores and download them directly looking for them from the bar.The Petal Maps app is also very interesting, or the Huawei real -time road navigation service.
Huawei will certainly improve in the future as regards HMS but it must be admitted that the experience of use has now reached a real stability and concreteness that I was pleasantly satisfied with.
Cameras
The Multimedia sector of Huawei Nova 8i remains in line with the mid-bra smartphones thanks to such a configured quad cam:
The shots with the main cam in favorable light conditions reach a good level of detail and a fair balance of colors.The tip and shot offers a mid-bran experience, without excellence but with more than enough results for the price at which Huawei Nova 8i is offered.We are not talking about a photographic sector comparable to a high -end one but this does not mean that the images are not satisfactory.
Having said that, from a Huawei smartphone, perhaps something on the next side came to the company's great skills in the sector.
Good shots in the dark when using the Super Night Shot 2 mode.0 that completely changes the face of the images.The 8MP Ultrawide Cam is the classic that we have already seen on many mid -range devices, of quality shots during the day and also the management of the distortion of the corners was well managed by Huawei.In the dark, the quality drops considerably and the photographic noise is seen together with the loss of detail.
They also convince the macro with well -calibrated colors and a quite quick and precise focus.The 16mp selfie chamber instead did not totally convince for the difficulty of focusing and a non -optimal light management.The front camera still offers shots that adapt perfectly to social contexts or for example to video calls.
Anche sul fronte video siamo nella media, nel complesso buone le riprese a 1080p a 30fps ma purtroppo non è possibile cambiare fotocamera dalla principale alla ultrawide durante le registrazioni. Il software dell'app è il classico di HUAWEI, molto intuitivo e piacevole da utilizzare. Tra le funzioni principali troviamo la modalità ritratto, il panorama, la super macro, ritratto, notturna e pro.Battery
Autonomy is certainly among the strong points of this smartphone.Thanks to its 4 battery.300 mAh, Huawei Nova 8i manages to arrive in the evening with a good residual charge available.In addition, the device supports quick recharge from 67W which allows you to load the phone from 0 to 60% in just 17 minutes while it takes 38 minutes for the complete charge.
In the settings it is possible to activate the 'performance mode' that pushes the device to use their skills to the maximum by consuming more energy and increasing the temperature of the device.On the contrary, it is possible to activate the 'energy saving mode' in order to limit the performance of the smartphone for less battery consumption.
Price
Huawei Nova 8i has been available in Italy since September 15, 2021 in the colors Moonlight Silver and Starry Black.The device can be purchased in large consumer electronics stores and online stores at a launch price of 349.00 euros for version 6/128GB.
Huawei Nova 8i → 6/128GB → 349.00
HUAWEI Nova 8i SuperCharge da 66 W, Quadrupla Fotocamera con AI da 64 MP, Display Borderless, 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM, 4300 mAh, EMUI 11, Moonlight Silver, 6 GB + 128 GB + Freebuds 4i White
349.90 Compra oraConclusions
Huawei Nova 8i represents the relaunch of the Chinese giant in the middle band in extra Asian markets.The competition, especially in this price target, is so great and ferocious but Huawei with this device could return to say its own in Europe too.Design and drums are certainly the strong points of this smartphone and to be honest with the passing of the days I have not particularly felt the lack of Google services, a sign of the excellent work that Huawei has done for his ecosystem.
Hardware side the Snapdragon 662 is not a lightning of war but remains able to keep an excellent balance between performance and consumption.In conclusion, for 349.00 euros Huawei Nova 8i is an interesting device that tries to stand out from the mass starting from the innovative and borderless design up to the intuitive and pleasant software.
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