Gone are the days when flagships got all the attention. Now is the age of the upper mid-rangers and in some ways, this special category of smartphones are getting pretty solid attention. Remember the world’s first in screen (infinity O) camera smartphone from Samsung which was actually a mid-range Galaxy device? Huawei is going for a similar strategy and the newly launched Huawei Nova 4 is interesting in a lot of aspects. First, it joins the Galaxy A8S by featuring an in-screen front-facing camera, which allowed the company to make the phone nearly full screen. But Huawei claims it takes things to the next level by using the world’s smallest camera setup up front.
Huawei has added the 25MP front on the top left corner of the phone which the company claims will least interfere with the app area. The Nova 4 hides the ambient light sensor inside and uses a micro-slot earpiece to maximize the screen real estate. The company adds that the front camera on the phone is the smallest module in the mobile industry right now. It measures just 3.5mm and ensures that the overall diameter of the front camera opening is just 4.5mm, which is less as compared to competitor offerings with over 6.5mm+ diameter slits.
The front design is definitely the highlight of the Nova 4. However, even at the back, the company has ensured that fans get a lot of color options. The phone comes in special Red, White (similar to P20 Pro’s color variant), and Aurora Blue color options. Apart from this, there’s a basic black color as well.
Huawei Nova 4 Camera Specs
The phone features three camera sensors at the back, one wide-angle sensor, a primary sensor in the middle and a third small sensor for bokeh effect. There are two camera configurations available, one with a standard 20MP primary camera and a higher end model with the worlds largest 48MP (IMX586) smartphone camera sensor from Sony. We have been hearing a couple of manufacturers working on this 48MP sensor including Xiaomi, but Nova 4 is the first phone to be equipped with this super-high-resolution sensor. The upcoming Honor V20 is also going to feature the same sensor, but we are still waiting for its official launch.
The standard model comes in the following camera configuration.
- Top Sensor — 16MP 117 degrees Wide-Angle f/2.2
- Middle Sensor — 20MP Primary f/1.8
- Bottom Sensor — 2MP for Bokeh f/2.4
The higher-end model comes in the following camera configuration.
- Top Sensor — 16MP 117 degrees Wide-Angle f/2.2
- Middle Sensor — 48MP IMX586 Primary f/1.8
- Bottom Sensor — 2MP for Bokeh f/2.4
The camera setup comes with support for HDR Pro, beauty mode, 960 fps slo-mo video recording, a closed-loop motor for super fast focus, EIS, 3D Emojis, and scene + object recognition. So, pretty much what you expect from a 2018 Huawei smartphone! It’s clear that the company is positioning the Nova 4 as a very strong camera smartphone.
Huawei Nova 4 Specs
The phone comes with last year’s Kirin 970 (that’s where the company’s cut costs) with up 8GB of RAM configuration. There are other standard features such as GPU Turbo for flawless gaming experience too. The display up front is a 6.4-inch panel with 2310 x 1080p resolution and takes the screen to body ratio up to 86.3%, a solid step up from the 83% on the Nova 3 model with a notch.
While the company didn’t officially reveal the battery capacity at the event, we know the Nova 4 features a 3750 mAh battery with 9V 2A fast charging. It even supports dual standby dual 4G VoLTE connection. Further, it comes with EMUI 9.0.1 out of the box based on Android Pie.
Huawei Nova 4 Price & Availability
The Nova 4 with 8+128GB storage and 20MP camera is priced at 3099 Yuan ($450), while the 8+128GB variant with the large 48MP resolution camera is priced at 3399 Yuan ($493)! There are other variants too, but Huawei hasn’t revealed any further pricing details yet.
Pre-sale starts today at 4.08PM CST and the phone will go on sale on December 27 at 10.08AM in China.
