KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — A shiny new smartphone taps into that love so many of us have for shiny things. And the phones that sell are the ones you want to show off, consciously or unconsciously.
Which is why I like doing the “friends test” with phones I review and Huawei’s Nova 2i does very well for a phone of its price range. I know I have a winner when I get an “Ooh.”
It’s one of the new breed of phones that sport 18:9 resolution displays — basically that stretch from edge to edge, leaving very little to spoil your enjoyment of the screen.
Does the Nova 2i have a nice screen? With a 1080p (Full HD) resolution display sized at 5.9-inches, it’s certainly nice to look at. Colours were vibrant and true. It’s amazing how good a screen you can get for under RM1,300 these days.
In the hand, it’s a nice, light aluminium build that is very polished considering its low price tag. Svelte and sleek, it comes in blue, black and gold (I’m partial to the blue myself). The matte finish and glossy screen combo make it a rather good-looking phone for its price. The mono speaker is also very loud, with average sound quality.
As for power, bear in mind this is a mid-ranger, albeit a very affordable one. The Kirin 659 processor is fairly capable though of course not as speedy as a high-end flagship’s but that’s not the point of this phone.
With the Kirin and 4GB of RAM, this will handle most tasks just fine though it won’t necessarily be the fastest at them. Not that the phone is slow by any means — but bear in mind this is still a mid-range phone.
It will run fine for most people except for the most demanding, power user — who really should just go buy a flagship anyhow.
Battery-wise, it’s decent, lasting almost a full day. But what might draw people is the camera or should I say, cameras.
You get two in the back and two in front. Four cameras in a phone for less than RM1,300? Sounds like a steal right?
Well, here’s where it gets tricky. More cameras doesn’t always equal more quality. In this case, the front camera with 13MP and a 2MP combo means you get pretty decent selfies with the option for that popular “bokeh” effect — blurred background to bring your subject more emphasis.
In the back, you also get a dual-camera setup but this time with a 16MP and 2MP duo. Are the pictures any good? For the price, yes. It’s a nice, more affordable option for people who like their selfies fancy. There’s even a soft LED flash in front so you won’t look as though you were ambushed by the papparazi in low light.
Still, it doesn’t work quite as well in low light (have that flash handy) with the best results created with plenty of light. The phone will also tell you it’s “sharpening” your photos so the end result will be slightly processed for a better result. Great for people who aren’t great photographers in the first place.
I’m still not in love with Huawei’s Beauty mode but Instagram tells me I’m in the minority. As for the phone’s interface, Huawei’s EMUI has to be one of the least annoying Android custom UIs around. Very polished, smooth and fairly easy to navigate.
Would I recommend this? If you want the best bang for your selfie buck, then the Nova 2i delivers. Plus points too for the very pretty screen but there is just one niggle for me -- the absence of a Type-C USB port.
Instead it sports a micro USB port which I think is a shame considering you can get Type-C on the likes of the Honor 6X and the upcoming 7X. On the bright side, you can re-use your micro USB cables if you have them.
Head over to Vmall to order the phone online for RM1,299 if you so desire.
