Huawei Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro Unveiled; Mild Refreshes With Camera Downgrades

Earlier today, Huawei launched the Nova 8 series on schedule. The premium mid-range line features the Nova 8 and the Nova 8 Pro. Even though the Huawei Nova 7i and other nova editions came out in April this year, the Nova 8 series is a mild refresh, not an upgrade. This new duo runs on the same Kirin 985 chipset as the Nova 7. We’re gonna take a look at both.

Huawei Nova 8 5G

The Nova 8 5G is built with a focus on performance and visuals. We’re looking at a curved, 6.57” OLED display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, at 1080P. Better contrast is ensured by HDR10 support. An in-display fingerprint reader handles biometric security. 

Huawei’s Kirin 985 processor, 8GB of memory, and 128GB/256GB of non-expandable storage are at the heart of the Nova 8. It’s a solid configuration, save for the 3800 mAh battery (trimmed down from 4000 mAh).

But, the cell charges over a whopping 66W — promising a full recharge in only 35 minutes. The previous-gen EMUI 11, based on Android10, powers the hardware.

Huawei also cut corners on the camera system. The Nova 7 had an 8MP telephoto lens (featuring 3x optical zoom), which has now been lopped off and replaced with a generic 2MP depth sensor. The 64MP standard wide, 8MP ultra-wide, and 2MP macro array remains unchanged. As does the 32MP selfie camera. The Nova 8 starts from CNY 3,299 (~ Rs. 80,999). And it comes in blue, green, white, and black colors.

Huawei Nova 8 Pro

The Nova 7 Pro 5G had an 8MP periscope-style telephoto lens — with support for optical image stabilization and up to 5x lossless zooming. It’s gone now. And another inessential 2MP ‘depth-mapping’ sensor takes its place. 

The rear camera setup is shared with the Nova 8. The only feature that makes the Nova 8 Pro’s camera ‘pro’ is an additional 16MP wide-angle camera on the front.

The Kirin 985 chip, memory/storage options, and 66W fast charging technology are carried over to the Nova 8 Pro. The battery capacity here is 4000 mAh.

To house two front cameras, the Nova 8 Pro has a capsule-shaped hole in its corner. Its 6.72” screen peaks at a resolution of 1236x2676 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The Nova 8 Pro is available in the same color options as the Nova 8 and starts from CNY 3,999 (~ Rs. 98,000).