Huawei’s new Nova 5T continues making its way in Europe, releasing in the UK in November.
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After initially releasing in Spain and France, Huawei’s new mid-range device, the Nova 5T, is coming to the UK with a November release. Surprisingly, it’s been a while since we’ve last heard about a new Huawei device coming to our markets, here in Europe, with the company announcing new devices every month between the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. But the Nova 5T is set to change this. Before starting, we would like to point out that yes, this device does indeed come with Google Services preinstalled.
The Nova 5T features a high-end Kirin 980, announced in September 2018 and first seen on the Mate 20 series and then used on the P30 series. Although the Kirin 980 is starting to be dated, with the Kirin 990 replacing it, this chipset is still capable of handling today’s tasks with ease, being perfect for playing new mobile games such as Call of Duty: Mobile, or even older titles such as Fortnite, PUBG, World of Warships Blitz or ARK: Survival Evolved. The Kirin 980 is also able to handle regular tasks, such as browsing, social media, watching videos, etc, effortlessly. Storage-wise, the device comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
Now, on the camera side, we find an AI quad-camera set-up, although quite different from what Huawei’s P30 Pro offers. For instance, the main camera is 48 MP, instead of 40 MP, although keep in mind more megapixels doesn’t always mean better quality, with the P30 Pro still beating the Nova 5T. The device also features a 16 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2 MP depth assist camera and a 2 MP macro camera, allowing users to take the best shots in every occasion. As per usual, the quad-camera comes with Huawei’s Master AI, making use of the dual-NPU of the Kirin 980 to recognize multiple different scenes and automatically choosing the best settings for each shot. On the front, we find a single 32 MP camera.
Screen-wise, the Nova 5T has a 6.26” display, very thin bezels, a 1080p resolution and a punch hole selfie camera on the top left corner. We also find a fingerprint reader on the right side for fast and secure unlock, as well as a 3 750mAh battery with Huawei’s 22.5W SuperCharge, allowing to charge from 0 to 50% in barely 30 minutes.
On the software side, the Nova 5T comes with EMUI9.1, based on Android 9.0, and supports GPU Turbo 3.0. Other hardware features include Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Galileo/GPS/BeiDou/GLONASS, dual-SIM support and full compatibility with the usual bands used in Europe. Finally, for the colours, Huawei surprises us once again with three different choices: Midsummer Purple, Crush Blue and Black.
Overall, the Nova 5T seems a very decent offering for the price asked, priced at £399 in the UK, 429€ in Spain and 399€ in France. The device is also available in Germany, having launched a few days ago for the same price as in Spain. It is rather curious to see this device cost 30€ less in France than in Spain, taking in account the minimum wage in France is higher than in Spain.
In the UK, the device should be launched/presented at an event in Battersea Park, this 2nd of November, during what the company calls “London’s most spectacular fireworks show”. The company had organized a contest to win tickets for this event, mentioning in the promotion material the Nova 5T and its “Super Night Mode which shoots a vast array of colour […]”, as well as the opportunity to watch their headline artist, “Rudimental”. This contest ended on the 29th October.
Here are the full specifications of the Nova 5T:
- Kirin 980
- 6GB of RAM
- 128GB of internal storage, no support for microSD/Nano Memory cards
- 6.26” FHD+ TFT LCD (IPS), with 2340×1080 pixels resolution, punch hole selfie camera
- 73.97×154.25×7.87 mm, 174 grams
- No IP rating
- Fingerprint reader on the side
- Front (32 MP, f/2.0 aperture)
- AI Quad-camera:
- 48 MP main camera (f/1.8 aperture AF)
- 16 MP ultra-wide angle camera (f/2.2 aperture FF)
- 2 MP depth assist camera (f/2.4 aperture FF)
- 2 MP macro camera (f/2.4 aperture FF)
- 3 750mAh battery, USB Type-C Charger, 22.5W SuperCharge, 0-50% in 30 minutes
- No wireless charging
- EMUI9.1/Android 9.0
- Compatible with 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, Type-C, USB2.0, GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo/QZSS, supports NFC, dual-SIM
- No headphone jack
- Available in 3 colours: Midsummer Purple, Black and Crush Blue
- The price is as
follows:
- 6GB+128GB for £399
- 8GB+128GB unavailable in the UK
As previously mentioned, the Nova 5T should be available in November from various shops and carriers such as Vodafone, O2, Three, Amazon, Carphone Warehouse, etc, for £399.
To end this article, we would like to point out what some might have realized: the Nova 5T is actually a rebranded Honor 20 with some small differences, which is the reason why Huawei has been able to ship it with Google services pre-loaded. Having lost the possibility to certify new devices, Huawei seems to have decided to rebrand and slightly modify existing devices and re-release them under new names and different prices, likely to hold on to some market share outside of its home market for as long as possible, or until finding a roundabout to the lack of Google services. Whether this strategy will work and pay off in the long term is still unclear, although, for now, it is currently working.
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