Huawei’s Nova series is the pioneer of innovation in the midrange smartphones since 2017, they helped wake up giants such as Samsung, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi to step up and provide a real midrange smartphone experience. Not to be disappointed in their year-on-year delivery, the Nova 5T once again shocked the segment thanks to their strong processor, punch-hole display, appealing design, and rear quad-camera setup.
Experiencing the Nova 5T was quite pleasant, getting features such as a punch-hole display, Kirin 980 processor, and the quad-camera 48MP. All in a price point of Php18,990, the Nova 5T is a smartphone that should be on your list to consider. Why?
Design – Made to Impress
The Nova 5T is a stunner to look at, especially when you’re not using any cases. The striking light refraction that starts at the camera module gives it a premium impression as compared to most gradient smartphones. Since Huawei is the first to create a gradient finish on a smartphone, we appreciate their dedication to kick up a notch and provide something more than color this time.
Bezels of the display are slightly thicker, but acceptable in a mid-range smartphone category. The champer of the plastic frame to protect the glass and mid-frame is also curved to give a more elegant feel.
Display-wise, the 6.1″ display gives the overall compact feel you will reminisce to smartphones back in 2017. It’s not bulky, but you might find it a bit small since most smartphones in the range is already reaching 6.5″. But on the most important factor, the display is made of IPS Panel, giving good colors but not punchy as compared to AMOLED panels.
Nevertheless, the almost full screen look except for the punch-hole display is a great refresher for this price point. We commemorate Huawei for giving this price point the first punch-hole.
Performance
No jokes aside, the Kirin 980 is simply fast as Huawei is crazy enough to put a flagship smartphone on a mid-range smartphone. The Nova 5T is simply designed to outperform any other smartphone in its price point.
Playing games, multi-tasking, using intense games is no sweat paired with the 8GB RAM included. Unlike most smartphones in its price point, the Nova 5T is fast and can multi-task in our experience.
Camera
The Nova 5T’s 48MP quad-camera package is a great provider of options, it gives users flexibility and creativity to explore more than the usual portrait and normal shots, as ultra-wide and macro shots are now possible.
Night shot is incredible, despite the 5 second hold to shoot. It shows more details and lessen flares as compared to the normal shots with over exposed light bulbs.
Morevoer the camera results to colors that are slightly saturated but not exaggirated, good for social media sharing. Taking photos are fast and simply you can be a pro with the camera of the Nova 5T.
Camera interface and menu are also easy to understand, though Huawei still tends to over-deliver which makes it confusing for new users. But in our case, we like the menu style of Huawei, since it’s not intimidating to use.
Security
There is an option to use the side fingerprint scanner or facial recognition, either way, both methods are fast and ample for your needs. We liked the side fingerprint scanner that also acts as the power button, most likely you will use your thumb to recognize for the sensor.
Battery
Charging the Nova 5T’s 3,750mAh battery is fast as it uses a 22.5W Huawei SuperCharge, it can fully charge in just 80 minutes. More importantly, battery endurance is more important as the power-efficient Kirin 980 processor can get the Nova 5T from 6AM to 10PM with no charging easily.
We like how the Nova 5T was able to manage our apps without sacrificing loading, it’s definitely amazing how efficient how Huawei manages their performance and favor for battery life.
Pros
The Nova 5T has a lot of factors you will like, for us here are the most things we liked.
- Kirin 980 Processor – No jokes about the processor, fitting the 5T with a flagship processor is ridiculously crazy but makes everyone especially techies love the Nova 5T.
- Dual Glass + Metal Body – Sorry OPPO, Vivo, Samsung, only Huawei was able to be the metal body smartphone at this price point. Making this smartphone a wow upon first hold.
- 48MP quad-camera – The camera included is great for social media photos, don’t overthink of clarity as you can always enhance. But then again, the quad-camera setup is enough already for your creative juices to work.
Cons
Unfortunately, the Nova 5T isn’t all ups as they had to cut corners to still bring a mid-range price point. Though in our take, it’s honestly not a dealbreaker for us since it’s still a formidable smartphone experience.
- No Gorilla Glass – Huawei didn’t disclose the glass they are using for the 5T, upon check checking its not Corning Gorilla Glass.
- IPS Display – Visual wise, the IPS panel is simply no match with an AMOLED display. The black is deeper, colors are more vibrant, and competitors in its price point are already using AMOLED.
- Smaller Form Factor – While other brands are already reaching screen sizes of 6.4-6.5 inches with the same price point, Huawei opted to go to the route of a more compact yet stylish package of a 6.1″ display. This can be a factor in your decision, especially to male audiences that might prefer the bigger size for display real estate.
Conclusion
The Nova 5T is a must-consider in your list of mid-range smartphones, we say ignore the Google Issue as the Nova 5T is surely in the list of Huawei surely to get updates in the future. Perhaps this is Huawei’s answer to the issue as they already anticipated that they won’t be able to launch anytime soon new smartphones, so they fitted a ridiculously powerful processor, 128GB storage, 8GB RAM, outstanding design, punch-hole display, and even a quad-camera for only Php18,990.
Update: The price of the Nova 5T is now 1,000, down to Php17,990. Making it even more enticing against the OPPO Reno 2F, Vivo V17 Pro, or the Samsung A50s.
The Nova 5T is definitely a winner no matter how you criticize the phone, it’s future proof specifications is simply a no-brainer if you’re looking for the most powerful smartphone under Php20,000.