Specifications
- Screen: TFT IPS, 5″, 1920×1080, capacitive multi-touch;
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625;
- Graphics accelerator Adreno 506;
- Operating system Android 6.0;
- RAM 3 GB;
- Built-in memory 32 GB;
- Supports microSDXC memory cards (combined slot);
- Communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UMTS 900/2100 MHz; LTE: 1, 3, 7, 8, 20.
- SIM - 2x nano-SIM;
- Wireless interfaces Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1;
- Navigation GPS, GLONASS;
- Cameras - main: 12 MP (flash, autofocus), front: 8 MP;
- Light sensors, proximity sensors, accelerometer, gyroscope;
- fingerprint scanner;
- Battery 3020 mAh, non-removable;
- Dimensions: 141.2x69.1x7.1 mm;
- Weight: 146 grams.
Processor and performance
Huawei Nova is equipped with one of the most energy-efficient and heat-resistant eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, which is assembled using 14 nm technology, which guarantees minimal battery consumption even under high loads. In addition, the processor is protected from heat, and as a result there is practically no reduction in its clock frequency.
The other side of the coin is the low processing power of the cores, and this reduces the results of synthetic tests in various benchmarks and, of course, generally affects the performance of the smartphone. In simple terms, this chipset from Qualcomm is significantly inferior to its direct competitors with improved processors, and the graphics accelerator here is also quite mediocre.
As you can see, this device is not the fastest among its competitors, but its power is quite enough for everyday work with the device. Many modern games can be easily launched at medium graphics settings, and the smartphone will not heat up or glitch. But if you want to purchase a smartphone with maximum power and performance, then it is better to look for models with other processors.
Appearance
The appearance of the gadget is completely consistent with the spirit of the company’s devices. The smartphone is extremely laconic and devoid of any decorations. The gadget is made in a rectangular form factor with slightly rounded edges. The display of the device is protected by 2.5D glass.
Such glass is a relatively new phenomenon, which is increasingly gaining popularity among manufacturers. Despite the attractive appearance, it remains a big question how additional protective glass and films will look on such a screen - whether it will look sloppy or peel off over time.
The lock and volume buttons are located on the right side of the device. On the front side, in the upper right corner there is a peephole for the front camera, and there are also proximity sensors, light sensors, and a light indicator on top. All menu buttons on the device are touch sensitive and are located on the main screen.
At the bottom there is a USB connector and a speaker. Huawei engineers equipped the Nova CAN-L11 with a connector of the modern USB-TypeC standard, now when connecting the phone to a computer or charging it, you no longer need to worry about which side to insert the connector, which is certainly convenient and saves extra seconds. But since the TypeC format is not yet used in the vast majority of gadgets, it is worthwhile, when leaving home, to carefully ensure that you do not forget the original cable - where you are going there may not be such a thing.
On the left is a tray for SIM cards and a memory card, which can be opened with a paper clip. The owner of the smartphone will be able to choose to install two SIM cards or SIM + memory card.
There is a round fingerprint scanner on the back of the device. The location of the scanner is extremely good - when you take the phone in your hand, your finger “fits” into the niche.
When contacting the device, very controversial sensations arise. On the one hand, the design of the gadget is pleasing to the eye; it is non-staining, thin and light. On the other hand, the device is devoid of that very “trick” that can become a decisive factor in purchasing this smartphone.
We can safely say that the phone is primarily interesting for its “stuffing” rather than external solutions. Otherwise, the gadget showed itself on the good side: it fits comfortably in the hand and does not interfere with the front or back pocket of jeans.
Huawei Nova: review and feedback
I have long stopped being interested in the range of mobile devices on the market, keeping track of new products, and purposefully reading reviews. For two and a half years I used the stupid and annoying, but amazingly tenacious in its half-death, Highscreen Boost 2 SE.
What's wrong with Highscreen?
The slot for MicroSD cards did not last even a year, then the main battery swelled, the fastenings of the cover of the large battery all flew off, which is why this already terrible heavy bandurina has been running on double-sided tape for the second year and collecting dust inside. The phone periodically loses the network until you reboot, it can sit on charge all night and show 3% charge in the morning, and under normal conditions it takes a very long time to charge. The built-in 8 GB memory is divided into “internal memory”, which houses the OS and built-in applications, and an “SD card”, which, despite the fact that it is soldered on the board, also sometimes “falls off” and the applications installed in it become permanently stuck hang. But the hefty 6000 mAh battery still lasts a day of very active use. 
On the advice of Anton Palych, I took a closer look at Huawei (again with the letter “X”, yes) - a mid-price segment model with a good, memorable name “Nova”. There wasn’t much to compare with, because I only seriously considered the Nexus 5X, which is no longer new and, in my opinion, is still too big in size.
Specifications Huawei Nova
Thin seven-millimeter metal body with a non-removable 3000 mAh battery, energy-efficient 8-core processor, 5-inch FullHD screen, 3 gigabytes of RAM, 32 gigabytes of memory, flagship 12-megapixel main camera module with the ability to shoot 4K video, USB Type C connector, old school headphone jack, fingerprint scanner, NFC module, and so on.
Image from the manufacturer's website. The price is the same everywhere now.
This whole thing runs on Android 6 with the proprietary EMUI 4.1 shell. The manufacturer promises to roll out an update to Android 7.0 early next year, and this is good news.
Packaging and equipment
Since the model is new, there is still a lack of traditional “unpacking” on the Internet. Well, at the same time, you can evaluate photos taken from your phone in low light conditions in automatic mode.
The Nova comes in a white cardboard box with "Huawei Design" written on it.
Here and below are resize photos taken from a Huawei Nova phone without additional light and color correction (except for photos of the phone itself, because I don’t have two of them))).
The box is retractable and sealed with two pieces of tape.
Recycled cardboard, soy ink. Fine.
The phone in a protective film is tightly sandwiched between two different-sized boxes, on which icons of the contents are applied. Thus, the risk of finding a mobile device damaged during delivery by Russian Post in the box is reduced to almost zero.
Reliable, nice and understandable.
In a small “compartment” there are two pieces of paper - a Quick Start Guide in English and Russian, and a blank warranty card, which has become a formality in our time.
I still don’t understand what the second pictogram on the box means.
The second “compartment” is larger and boasts the presence of a key to open a slot for two SIM cards or for a SIM card and a MicroSD memory card with a capacity of up to 128 GB. At the same time, it is almost impossible to remove the tool without opening the box and picking the hole.
Inside the second box there is a 2-amp charger (the phone does not support fast charging, but even without it it is fully charged in three hours), a USB cable - USB Type C, the mentioned key for opening the SIM card slot and in-ear headphones made in the same image Apple's EarPods.
The quality of accessories and components feels a little worse than the “reference” ones from Apple.
The sound of the included headphones compared to the EarPods on the same Huawei Nova differs in that the EarPods have noticeably more bass and are generally louder. Otherwise, these are good headphones.
The only thing I didn’t like about the “material applications” for the Nova was the insufficient length of the USB cable, which is barely long enough to charge the phone on the table by connecting to a surge protector lying on the floor.
You can't go wrong with such a cable.
Design, assembly, materials
Huawei Nova, according to reviewers, is a smaller copy of the Nexus 6P. While the front of these smartphones is noticeably different, their backsides are indeed very similar. The same insert under the glass with a camera in the upper part (although nothing sticks out on the Nova), approximately the same location of the fingerprint scanner, rounded edges.
Nexus 6P. Photo: Engadget.
The rest of the phones are different, but be that as it may, the external resemblance to the 6P is more of a plus than a minus. The design is successful: solid, pleasant, and still modern.
Front part: fashionable convex 2.5D glass and the controversial Huawei inscription at the bottom. The power button is highlighted with a red border. To this day, when I casually pick it up, I confuse where is up and where is down - for some reason I want to grab it upside down.
The screen is equipped with an oleophobic coating, but, nevertheless, it collects fingerprints properly. I’ve been using the “Novaya” for several days now, I’m not particularly worried about its safety and appearance, I haven’t purchased any covers or protective films and don’t plan to, I carry it in my pocket - there are no scratches yet.
This is roughly what it looks like with the dust.
Grease marks may also appear on the metal back cover. Keep your eyes open 
The “glass” insert is made of glossy plastic and also collects fingerprints. The manufacturer does not recommend removing the IMEI sticker for legal reasons, but if you remove it, they say, the coating of the back cover will not be damaged.
Huawei Nova is almost entirely made of metal, and the assembly is at a decent level. Nothing creaks or plays. Some buyers complain about a sharp edge at the bottom of the case, but on my copy the sharp edge was not found there, but on the left side, where the SIM card slot is inserted, which is literally a third of a millimeter deeper than necessary, buried in the bowels of the case.
The slot for SIM cards/SIM cards+memory cards is not flush with the case.
The case is really thin, only 7.1 mm, the phone is comfortable to hold in your hand, it does not slip out and weighs a pleasant standard - 146 grams.
Nova and Boost 2 in profile. What a relief.
Impressions from use
Due to the thin body, the Nova is a little inconvenient to pick up, for example, from a table, but in a trouser or jeans pocket this “disadvantage” is compensated by the fact that the phone does not stick out and does not interfere with movement, including when you are sitting behind the wheel.
The screen is bright, with wide viewing angles, with FullHD resolution, it meets all modern requirements for good screens. The response to touches is a little “sticky”, but this is a feature of the operating system that I have not used before (Highscreen already has the ancient Android version 4.3, if I’m not mistaken).
The set of lock screen screensavers is pleasing - 42 photos that change each time the screen is activated with the power button.
I didn’t like how the automatic screen brightness adjustment works - under average natural lighting conditions and the battery is fully charged, the screen can “go dark” to a minimum, which makes using the device uncomfortable. Manual adjustment helps.
The standard EMUI design, as well as the set of wallpapers, is not very good. The user is offered a large selection of themes to choose from, but they are very amateurish and clumsy. Maybe with the seventh Android a better shell will come?
The phone does not slow down at all and is perfect for my tasks (communication, surfing, photo and video shooting). In numerous comments to the first reviews of the smartphone, mobile gamers swear at the relatively weak processor, which produces “only” 50 or 60 thousand points in the AnTuTu benchmark, but I don’t care, I hardly play on the phone. For fun, I installed Asphalt 8 - it flies with all the visual effects.
A little strange-looking EMUI is also not a problem - the main thing is that the system is balanced, optimized and properly adjusted: (for now) everything works, does not crash, does not freeze. The structure of the settings menu is surprising, but this is also a matter of habit.
I liked the good features (I don’t know, though, and I don’t want to find out - these are the capabilities of the sixth Android or the features of EMUI): for example, you can answer a call by touching the fingerprint scanner or simply raising the handset to your ear. Using the same scanner, you can open and close the notification curtain, take a photo or start recording a video, scroll through photos, and turn off the alarm clock. Not to mention, you can make your phone go quiet or completely silent by picking it up and turning it over.
It’s a pity that there is no activation of the screen by tapping on it, but this is a feature of another manufacturer... By the way, the control of “drawings on the screen” and knuckles, which was accidentally found in the Nova settings, was not mastered - please write in the comments if you know how to do it correctly.
The fingerprint scanner is fast. There are practically no recognition errors. You can register up to five fingerprints: for example, index and middle fingers and big toe.
The autonomy of working with such a screen is quite expected - the phone will easily last day and night. Maybe more. Still new.
More than a day of work and the balance is 21%: 6-7 hours of listening to music, a couple of calls, instant messengers, a browser, a dozen photos, a little YouTube and social networking applications.
Camera Features
I haven’t really tested the video yet, I just tried the slow motion mode and filmed it in the dark. When I have something to show, I’ll update the post, but for now here are examples of photographs during the day, early morning, evening and indoors (which, by the way, are posted above).
Shooting on a winter day. No questions at all.
The photos went through Google Photos and were then downsized (the post is already huge), so the photos here are for general purposes only. The Internet is full of reviews of the photo and video capabilities of the device (for example, on w3bsit3-dns.com), and almost all of them are laudatory. The camera is really not bad.
Late afternoon on a cloudy winter day. A little soapy, but OK.
One of the main features of the Huawei Nova camera module is called the flagship 6-element lens with an aperture of F/2.2, which allows you to even shoot stars in the dark (and in the camera settings there is a special mode that allows you to manually set the shutter speed and ISO values, but, of course, it’s unlikely It will turn out to be good to shoot something without a tripod).
Morning twilight and glowing windows. In my opinion, it looks good - the tree has not been darkened, and you can see something in the windows. I didn’t turn on HDR, everything was on automatic.
Another twilight photo. Here the sensor failed: the edges of the snow and sky were covered with artifacts.
Shooting subjects indoors with natural daylight. Normal
Can the camera compete with amateur DSLRs? In skillful hands in “professional” mode it is possible, but in automatic mode, objectively, no. Probably, in the future I will learn to take something better than just photos from my phone, but for now the difference between pictures on a DSLR and Huawei Nova are visible to the naked eye.
Summary
The phone is high quality, ready to use out of the box, quite productive, with a good camera by the standards of mobile devices, an excellent screen and good battery life. A little foppish. By modern standards, it’s compact, even small, well, definitely not a 5.5-inch shovel like many of its competitors. Well worth the money. I recommend.
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Display
The display diagonal is 5 inches. This is quite enough for comfortable reading or gaming, and at the same time, the phone is easy to operate with one hand. The screen resolution is 1920x1080, with a density of 443 pi - these characteristics provide a bright and clear picture, without any irregularities or pixelation.
The screen brightness is adjustable over a wide range; there are enough settings for comfortable adaptation to both working in complete darkness and in bright sun. As in other Huawei products, Nova CAN-L11 received a “comfortable reading mode”, with a decrease in blue color on the display and the ability to manually adjust the color temperature. You can select a comfortable color temperature on a special circle, which is accessed in the display settings section.
The gadget's screen has large viewing angles; even with a strong deviation, the picture is transmitted without color distortions or deformations.
Autonomy Huawei Nova 6 5G
In the Nova 6 5G, Huawei has installed a 4200 mAh battery, which should last for a long time. The phone can last a day and a half on a single charge, and if used sparingly, it will last for two days. The available fast charging technology can charge the battery from 0 to 70% in half an hour, thanks to a 40 W adapter. This device cannot be charged wirelessly.
Iron
The device runs on the Snapdragon 625 chipset. Eight cores of the Cortex-A53 processor operating at a frequency of 2 GHz ensure fast operation without stuttering even with “heavy” applications. Adreno 506 is responsible for the graphics. The smartphone can record video with a resolution of up to 4K and process the Full HD interface at up to 60 FPS.
The frame rate did not drop in any game. With Cardboard class glasses (magnetic button supported) and virtual reality applications, the gadget also performed more than worthy.
With the exception of some isolated poorly optimized VR programs, the virtual reality experience was as comfortable as possible, and no critical image lag was noticed. It is also worth noting that, thanks to the relatively large dpi value, the image in VR pleases the eye with the absence of obvious “pixelation”.
Nova 6 5G cameras
The Huawei Nova 6 5G does not have the most advanced cameras, however, the image quality is still quite high. The main module consists of a 40-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, which works great even at night. There is also an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture, 3x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel f/2.4 sensor for ultra-wide-angle shots.
Even at high magnification, the quality of captured photos is high. The dual front camera setup consists of a 32MP f/2.0 lens and an 8MP f/2.2 lens for ultra-wide-angle selfies.
Huawei Nova 6 5G vs Xiaomi Note 10
Both modules shoot 4K/30 fps video, and the main one is capable of recording videos at 60 fps and electronic stabilization.
Software
Huawei Nova CAN-L11 runs Android 6.0 OS with a proprietary add-on from the manufacturer - EMUI 4.1 interface. The user can completely change the appearance of the desktop at his own discretion. Among the design options there are both small things, for example, different ways to display battery charge, and more significant features. For example, you can change the screen grid, change the size of widgets and their location. The simplified view feature will turn the desktop interface into something resembling Microsoft's Metro UI. How popular this is is a debatable question, but someone may like it.
An interesting feature of Huawei products is their comprehensive customer support. EMUI 4.1 allows you to quickly access the smartphone user manual, as well as direct and feedback forms. Overall, the interface seems accessible and intuitive.
System and software
The Huawei Nova 6 smartphone runs on the latest version of Android 10 OS with the EMUI 10 user interface. Here, a huge number of options are available to the user, and the interface is generally common for this manufacturer.
But, there is no standard set of applications from Google here, although on the same AliExpress you can find options with already installed software from Google. And there are already instructions on the Internet on how to easily and without problems download the Play Store to this device.
Connection
The device is equipped with a good telephone module, a loud speaker copes with the load in a noisy subway, store and even a cinema. The interlocutor can always be heard clearly and clearly; an additional headset is more a matter of convenience than necessity.
The gadget detects network access points quickly, the connection is not interrupted, and no negative aspects were identified during the testing and review process of Huawei Nova CAN-L11. Searching for GPS and GLONASS takes about 20 seconds indoors and 4-10 seconds outdoors with a “cold start”.
Camera
The camera is worthy of the attention of users who like to take pictures with their phones. Many additional filters and modes provided by the EMUI 4.1 interface will allow you to get decent quality pictures. The device copes well with shooting at night and in low light conditions. There are no complaints about the quality of the macro mode, shooting in the daytime and shooting text.
EMUI 4.1 interface on Android 6.0 Marshmallow
In the hands and eyes of users is the familiar EMUI 4.1 proprietary shell, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and receiving all the usual and familiar add-ons and functions that we saw in Honor 8 or Huawei Y6II.
Of the pre-installed applications, we note the standard set: Sberbank Online, Ivi.ru, Yandex, Opera, Odnoklassniki, Mail.ru Mail, etc.
This is not the first time we have noted the ease of customizing the navigation bar. This is especially true when switching from another smartphone with an excellent layout of the Home, Back and Menu buttons.
The fingerprint scanner has additional functions: it can be used to take a photo, answer a call, turn off the alarm, open the notification panel and flip through photos. The sensor itself works perfectly with an accuracy of 95 percent.
Let's sum it up
In general, we can safely say that Huawei’s idea to create a device that claims to be a “bridge” between budget and premium products was a success. The calm appearance combines favorably with a powerful mid-range chipset, reasonable battery consumption and a good camera.
If you are looking for just a good device that should not attract too much attention, then the Huawei Nova CAN-L11 will be a worthy candidate for purchase.
Photo: Nastasya Vygovskaya
Final score: 7 out of 10.
Battery
The smartphone is equipped with a non-removable lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 3020 mAh, which, at first glance, may not seem enough. However, we hasten to note that a 5-inch display will not consume a lot of energy, and in addition, the Snapdragon 625 chipset, which is one of the most energy-efficient processors, will also help reduce battery consumption, so it makes sense to consider the Huawei Nova as a gadget that will not last long will be discharged.
According to the device autonomy rating, with standard everyday load, Huawei Nova will stay afloat for about 11 hours, and if you talk on the phone for 1 hour a day, watch videos and surf the Internet, the battery charge will last for more than three days. In addition, by turning on the energy-saving mode, you can extend the battery life by another couple of hours. Well, in standard mode, the battery will allow you to continuously watch videos for almost 10 hours, surf the Internet for up to 11 hours, and make calls for up to 28 hours.
