I’ve never used a Huawei phone before, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect with the Huawei Nova Plus. But as soon as I had a look at the EMUI 4.1, I knew this was going to be fun.
A lot of people have said that the EMUI is a blatant rip off of iOS. While I agree to that to some extent, this worked out in my favour since I’m so attached to iOS and that itself is a reason I never wanted to switch to an Android phone. For a lot of people, this isn’t going to please their eyes. Every phone is different, so I’ll say that if you’re a fan of iOS, there’s a possibility that you will like this software. One thing’s for sure, I’m definitely thinking about switching to Huawei.
Design and Display
Like a lot of new Android phones, the Huawei Nova Plus comes with a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone below the camera. This was my first time actually using a phone with this feature and I can understand the hype. I’m not one for putting passwords on my phone (don’t kill me) mainly because I’m lazy, but this just makes everything easier.
The phone itself is quite large (5.5-inch display), especially in my relatively small hands. It’s sleek and thin, which is comfortable, but for me, the phone was very slippery. It could just be the fact that I’m super clumsy, but this felt more delicate to me than any other phone I’ve ever held. I found myself clutching onto it whether I had to move around because I was terrified of dropping it since it manages to slip out of my hands very easily.
The Huawei Nova Plus has an impressive 1920 x 1080 IPS display, with sharp colours that pop out. It makes use of 2.5D glass and a metal curved unibody, making for some pretty good aesthetics if I must say.
Software and Performance
Running on Android 4.0, the phone makes use of the EMUI 4.1 skin which divides a lot of consumers. It mimics iOS very closely but tries to be its own product at the same time. Like I said, this didn’t bother me since I’m already so used to (and love) iOS. I can see how the skin wouldn’t sit well with others, however.
Making use of the Snapdragon 625 processor and 3GB of RAM, I found that switching through apps was pretty flawless. I didn’t have any lagging issues and the system was quite reactive. The phone even gave me alerts on apps running in the background that were killing the battery, reminding me to close them – which was pretty neat.
EMUI makes use of no app drawer, which I found interesting. It didn’t really make a difference to me, it was just different to see an Android phone without one. The skin uses Folders to manage your apps. Yes, it looks exactly like the ones on an Apple phone. But it helps keep your apps organised if that counts for anything.
The notifications tab also looks pretty neat, giving you a timeline of all your alerts. My only issue with it is that I can’t access the tab while the phone is locked – something I could do with my iPhone.
The speaker on the Nova Plus is pretty bangin’ too. It makes for decent audio play when you aren’t in the mood to plug in your earphones.
As for battery life, the phone does quite well. I managed to use the phone for well over an entire day without needing to scramble for my charger! This was with regular social media and music usage, as well as using Data.
Camera
The camera is pretty decent, I must say. The Huawei Nova Plus sports an 8MP front camera and a 16MP rear camera. Again, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by the camera (and I wasn’t) but for the quality of the phone overall, it was pretty impressive. Although it’s not the best in low light, that can be overlooked.
Some of the features include Light Painting, Beauty Mode, Good Food and even allows you to take a Time-Lapse. The HDR feature is surprisingly not terrible. I say this because I’ve found that with a lot of phones, HDR makes the images unnecessarily bright and distorts the quality. The feature is also quick! I didn’t have to hold the camera in one position for too long while it did its thing, which is fantastic!
I thought the Light Painting feature was pretty cool! I wasn’t able to get one of those aesthetic photos of car lights, so my friends and I improvised. I will unashamedly say that we had way too much fun doing these.
But let’s face it – some of you probably want to know about the Snapchat camera, and that’s okay. We’re a part of a culture where having the best camera for Snapchat is absolutely vital.
The Snapchat quality on the Nova Plus is great considering it’s a mid-range phone. I was surprised by how clear the images were and I honestly wasn’t expecting it. Sure, in low light it does appear a little grainy with tiny blue specks here and there, but it’s definitely not the worst thing. It’s not as sharp as an Apple or Samsung camera, but it does the job quite well, making for a pleasant Snapchat experience.
Verdict
I love the Huawei Nova Plus. I think it’s a stunning phone that’ll please a lot of Apple users that are looking to dive into the Android pool and I do think it’s a great diving board. It runs so flawlessly and smoothly, apps are easy to access, they start up quickly and it just left me feeling pleased. The only real beef I had with this phone was the fact that I can’t have two SIM cards in while I have an additional SD card. You can either have two SIMs in, or one SIM card and an SD, as the SD card slot is the same as the SIM 2 slot.
I’m aware that I’ve compared the phone to the iPhone quite a bit, but that’s only because that’s the phone I currently use. The Huawei Nova Plus has resonated with me well and has definitely left a huge impression – I might even ditch my iPhone for it.
