Huawei unveils Nova 2i, a budget smartphone with four cameras
Huawei's Nova 2i, AKA the Mate 10 Lite, will go on sale in Australia this month for just $499.
Ahead of the expected launch of the Huawei Mate 10 (and most likely the Mate 10 Pro), Huawei has announced the Australian availability and specifications for the Huawei Nova 2i.
The Nova 2i is essentially intended to be a successor to the Huawei Nova Plus, although this is a handset that will be sold in other markets as the Huawei Mate 10 Lite, and already available in China as the Maimang 6.
The Huawei Nova 2i's big talking point is in upping the ante in terms of camera placement, with no fewer than four cameras across the phone body. At the front, the Nova2i has 13MP and 2MP sensors to allow for cleaner selfies, while the rear of the phone has 16MP/2MP lenses, with that secondary lens in place to allow for more DSLR-style bokeh effects.
That's not a new trick for smartphones, and indeed Huawei isn't the only manufacturer to offer dual lens at a lower price point, with Motorola recently launching its Motorola X4 and Moto G5S phones with multiple cameras, albeit not four of them.
Internally the Nova2i is powered by Huawei's own octa-core Kirin 659 SoC with 64GB of onboard memory and 4GB of RAM. It runs on Android 7.0 with Huawei's own EMUI launcher on top, with an 18:9 409ppi 5.9inch display.
The Huawei Nova2i will be on sale in Australia through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman in a Dual SIM configuration on 25 October at an outright price of $499.
Vodafone will also sell the Huawei Nova 2i in a single SIM variant in November. It's not yet clear if Vodafone will also offer it on its delayed phone-cost-only contract terms, although at that price point it appears very likely.
We've had a brief chance to go hands-on with the Huawei Nova2i, and while it's undeniably a budget play in some respects, at a $499 price point it's a highly competitive one. Stay tuned for our complete review, coming directly.
Specifications
- Product Name
- Huawei Nova 2i
- Display
- 5.9in
- Resolution
- 2160 X 1080
- ppi
- 407ppi
- Software
- Android 7.0
- Storage
- 64GB
- RAM
- 4GB
- Battery
- 3340mAh
- Front camera
- 13MP+2MP, F2.0
- Rear camera
- 16MP+2MP, F2.2
- Processor
- Huawei Kirin 659
- Size
- 156.2 x 75.2 x 7.5 mm
mm
- Weight
- 164g
- Price
- $499
