I own several cameras of my own, from a DSLR to a simple Point and Shoot Camera, but I don’t often bring them out with me as they can be bulky and inconvenient. However, the one thing that I always have with me, is my phone! Now you can have all the features of a pro camera in the palms of your hand with the new Huawei Nova 2i.
The Camera
The Huawei Nova 2i has a stunning camera. A total of 4 cameras! It’s front and back dual-lens camera provides for exceptional photographs. It picks up the vibrancy of the environment, unlike anything I have ever seen from a phone before. The photos taken by my old phone indoors and at night are mostly blur and grainy. If you see the photo I took below you can tell my previous phone does not pick up as much of the same colour range as the Nova 2i.
Talking specifications, the front camera is at 13 megapixels and the back camera is at 16 megapixels, an additional 2 megapixel sensor is included in both the front and the back to create a depth of field effect. This means that regardless if you want to take a portrait or a selfie you would be able to take a depth of field shot. Below are examples of the photos taken with and without the bokeh effect.
With the effect, you are able to make the focus point ‘pop’ and the background is blurred. It’s safe to say that with or without the effect it still takes really nice photos.
In the age of selfies, Instagram and Snapchat, the ultimate question would be does it take good portrait photos?
Regardless if you are indoors/outdoors, or it’s day/night, the cameras on the Huawei Nova 2i boast incredible clarity and just the right amounts of softness to make you look good. Say goodbye to all the photo editing apps you have. However, one thing to note is that indoor selfies on the phone would give a slight pink tint and you can’t really do much about it, then again it could also be the effect of the warm indoor lighting. When I tested taking selfies with cool or natural lighting it doesn’t have this issue. You also won’t have this issue if you used the back camera as you can adjust the colour temperature of the photo in the pro camera setting.
Screen Size and Resolution
Not to get too carried away with the phone’s camera, I also need to discuss some of its other specifications. It has a huge screen size of 5.9 inches (diagonal) and has a stunning resolution of 2160 x 1080 at 407 pixels per inch. I’m not a tech guru by any means but the resolution is nearly as clear as the MacBook I’m currently typing this on, which has a resolution of 2304 x 1440 at 226 pixels per inch. Is that close? I think it’s pretty close.
Aspect Ratio
Another feature is the aspect ratio of the screen which is 18:9, said to provide a stunning full screen viewing experience. As most phones have an aspect ratio of 16:9, that means that most, if not all apps are created to follow this aspect ratio. Therefore, in full screen mode, part of what should be displayed may be cut off, it’s a simple enough issue to fix in the settings as you can adjust whatever app you’re using to the appropriate screen size.
Battery Life
The battery life is at 3340 mAh, what the means is that if you don’t use it excessively it should easily last for two days. Yes, you read that right. Two days! Who needs a portable charger when you have this phone! To test the phone, the other day I used it for 18 hours before it got to 10%, of which 4 hours were used to watch 1080p videos and play multiple video games at the same time. It got a little hot during that test so I would suggest not putting your poor phone through all of that.
Other features
The phone has an internal storage of 64GB, the most storage I have ever had on my phone. It is dual sim compatible and an external SD card can be inserted to increase the phone’s storage. It also has a button at the back of the phone used as a finger print scanner and it works (unlike all my older phones). In the box that the phone comes in, it also comes with a clear phone case so you won’t have to buy one separately.
Conclusion
Overall, the phone takes some getting used to but its pros far out way its cons. The retail value of the phone is S$448 in Graphite Black and Aurora Blue. If it’s time for you to re-contract your mobile plan, you should be able to get it for a lower price depending on the plan you choose. Try it out for yourself, you won’t regret it.