REVIEW: Huawei Nova 2 Plus a budget-friendly beast

Those blue and green colours give the Huawei Nova 2 Plus a really refreshing look.

'Selfie superstar'. That's how Huawei has billed its newest offering for those who just couldn't survive a minute without that self-adoring shot.
At 6.9mm, it's not the thinnest smartphone out there, but it does beat out the phone it resembles quite a bit, the 7.1mm iPhone 7. And it also beats its Apple counterpart in the bezel-thinness race by, well, a hairline, so to speak - though you will readily notice it. The 5.5-inch IPS LCD display also makes sure it'll be for your viewing pleasure. BTW: the Nova 2 Plus has a smaller brother, the five-inch Nova 2 - save for the size, they're both the same.
And it has a similar layout just like the last Huawei phone I reviewed - the P10 Plus: power and volume buttons on the right, SIM/microSD card tray to the right, and USB Type-C, 3.5mm audio jack and speaker grill below. The fingerprint scanner is dead centre just below the camera on the rear, and you won't find any physical home key below, as we have the usual back-home-recent apps virtual buttons featured here - though some may feel that they're a bit too close to each other.
Hmmm... which makes me wonder: is the Nova 2 Plus a cheaper version of the P10? Seems so; let's run through it more.
One of the stars of this mobile is its rear dual-lens camera: one's a wide-angle lens that gives you more scenery, while the other is a telephoto lens that focuses on subjects that are farther (hello, bokeh!). Here's the main difference: it doesn't have the P10's Leica tech, but it still is able to produce decent shots, even in low-light - not surprising given Huawei's expertise in this segment. The camera app itself is pretty simple: swipe right to see the modes, and swipe left to reveal the settings; ditto for the front snapper. And you can even take photos when smiles are detected (unsuitable for serious-looking shots).
And speaking of that last one, presenting this device's superstar: the monstrous 20MP selfie shooter. However, conventional wisdom says more pixels don't guarantee sharper shots, though this machine does fairly well - though if you zoom in to your shots, they tend to be a bit smudgy especially in bright light. And that's if you zoom in too much, BTW.
As for the interface, Huawei's custom Android 7.0 Nougat is pretty simple to work around: by default, from the lock screen, swiping in any direction on the screen will take you to your home screen. However, if you swipe from the lower bezel, you'll see a control panel, which has two levels: the bottom is for shortcuts (hello, flashlight!), and the top is for Magazine Unlock, an exclusive for Huawei's EMUI 5.0 (the Nova 2 uses 5.1). Basically, this feature is for displaying images on your locks screen based on subscriptions to different categories like travel, sports, etc, which you can customise. Unique, but purely aesthetic.
Its battery will get you through a whole day; a one-hour video at full brightness will knock off around 20-25 per cent of juice, so might as well bring a power bank if you're travelling with it (and don't forget to charge the bank, of course). It also has a fast-charging system that'll boost its battery up to 43 per cent with just 30 minutes of charging. And as for its sound, Huawei, for the first time, has blessed this baby with its Histen algorithm, which includes 10 targeted modules for various sounds, such as 3D stereo.

AND SO...
Going back to that P10 question earlier, the Huawei Nova 2 Plus is, basically, a lower-specced, cheaper version of the former. But that doesn't mean it's a pushover: personally, I like it, since it offers you better value for money, if you don't mind not having the P10's top-end features at all. However, it may directly tangle with Huawei's own sub-brand, Honor. Isn't it great to have choices?


THE LOWDOWN