Specifications: HiSilicon Kirin 970 octa core, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable, hybrid SIM slot), 6.3-inch IPS LCD (2340 x 1080 pixels; 409ppi), dual rear camera (16MP f1.8 + 24MP monochrome f1.8), dual front camera (24MP f2.0 + 2MP f2.0), rear fingerprint scanner, face unlock, 4G with VoLTE, WiFi ac, BT4.2, FM, 3,750mAh battery, 166 grams
Pros: Flagship level performance, quad camera with AI features, high quality display, offers good value, feature-rich interface
Cons: No optical image stabilization, generic design, loads of pre-loaded bloatware, partially hidden notification LED, no NFC
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Huawei’s latest phone is a solid effort to take on the might of OnePlus, a company that is now leading India’s premium smartphone market (40% share in phones above Rs 30,000, according to a new report by Counterpoint Research). The Nova 3 brings all the features you expect in a premium phone: notch-style display with thin bezels, flagship level processor, high RAM and storage (the fast varieties), glass-metal design, fast charging and great cameras.
The notch is also a little bigger than usual but there’s a good reason for that. Firstly, there are two front cameras in it apart from the usual earpiece, proximity and ambient light sensors. And for face unlock to work in any light, Nova 3 has an infrared emitter to illuminate your face — this is located in the notch too. As if that wasn’t enough, they also crammed in an LED notification light — but it shares space with the earpiece.
Located behind the earpiece grill, the LED drops out of sight when viewed from the side, defeating its purpose. In terms of overall design, it is clearly premium but also very glossy. The glass back is available in either black or purple - our black unit is clearly the more staid version. It’s a simple, glossy, mirror-like black while the purple is the more flamboyant, more attractive and more youthful. The right side has a textured power button and volume rocker.
At the bottom you’ll see the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB type C port and speaker. Around the back, there’s a vertically aligned dual camera module and a fingerprint scanner (placed a little too high up on the phone for our liking).
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The interface is Huawei’s EMUI running atop Android 8.1. It feels fast and offers loads of customization, many display settings, options to hide the notch, motion/gesture control, knuckle gestures, one hand UI and multiple fingerprint gestures (touch & hold to take photos, answer calls & stop alarms, swipe down to show notifications, swipe left/right to browse photos).
One notable extra is voice control: you can wakeup the phone with voice, quickly call contacts with voice (even with screen off) and answer calls by voice. There are quite a few preloaded apps though: 7 games and 7 apps apart from Huawei’s own suite of apps.
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Some of the things we did find useful include the theme engine, party mode (sync music across multiple devices), call recording and phone backup. Thanks to the top-spec hardware, we got excellent performance and decent battery life to boot (6hrs plus screen on time and a full day of heavy use).
The camera is obviously the highlight — four cameras with artificial intelligence (AI) features. The rear camera takes an approach we’ve seen before from Huawei: a secondary monochrome sensor. Both of the lenses have a wide f1.8 aperture so you can expect some good results in low light.
The camera app too has so many options that you’ll need a lot of time to explore them all. There’s aperture mode (adjustable aperture, can also be adjusted after capturing), portrait mode with different 3D lighting effects, cinematic portraits, adjustable beauty mode, pro mode, slo-mo, panorama, monochrome (a real monochrome, not a colour photo with colours removed), light painting, time lapse, filters and more. Then there’s the AR lens (augmented reality) mode that offers 3D Qmoji (animated emoji characters), effects, overlays, 3D objects and backgrounds.
All this in the stock camera app is kind of overwhelming! That said, the camera does its job well, capturing accurate colour, nice bokeh (with good edge detection) and a nice amount of detail.
Ultimately, the Nova 3 gets a lot of things right. It’s competing in a space with one established leader (OnePlus 6, Rs 34,999 onwards) and a new challenger (Asus Zenfone 5Z, Rs 29,999 onwards) with enough grunt and features to take them on.
We kept wishing for optical image stabilization (especially since both Zenfone 5Z and OnePlus 6 have it). The Nova 3 is mostly banking on the strength of quad cameras — something the others don’t have. And if you don’t like notches, think about stretching to the excellent Vivo NEX (currently Rs 40k after bank offers).
Oppo Find X, Xiaomi Mi 8 & Other Upcoming Phones Worth Getting Excited About
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July is turning out to be one of the most interesting months for smartphone launches. We’re going to see a lot of action across price segments says Karan Bajaj, as he does a round-up of the most interesting ones.
In Pic: Oppo Find X (L) and Xiaomi Mi 8 (R).
July is turning out to be one of the most interesting months for smartphone launches. We’re going to see a lot of action across price segments says Karan Bajaj, as he does a round-up of the most inte..
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The Find X was launched just a few weeks ago and India is expected to be amongst the first lot of countries to get it. The Find X has a beautiful glass body with a motorized camera module. The front has a 6.4-inch curved Amoled display (without a notch) giving it a screento-body ratio of 93%. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and a 3,730mAh battery. The motorized camera module hides a 16MP + 20MP dual rear camera and a 25MP front camera. It also has a 3D face scanning face ID feature (with infrared emitters, similar to the iPhone X) and VOOC fast charge support. Other features include dual SIM slots, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 60,000 onwards(Image: oppo.com)
The Find X was launched just a few weeks ago and India is expected to be amongst the first lot of countries to get it. The Find X has a beautiful glass body with a motorized camera module. The front ..
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The Zenfone 5Z will be the second smartphone to be available in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display in 19:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2246 x 1080 pixels. The phone is expected to be launched with 6/8GB RAM and 64/128/256GB storage options. In the camera department, it has a 12MP + 8MP dual camera setup with OIS on the rear and a 8MP front camera. Other features include 3,300mAh battery with fast charge support, Hybrid dual SIM slot, expandable storage, rear fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, and Android 8.0 with Face unlock. Asus seems poised to take on OnePlus and we therefore expect them to undercut OnePlus prices by a significant margin, making it one of the cheapest Snapdragon 845 phones around.
Price: Rs 29,999 onwards
(Image: asus.com)
The Zenfone 5Z will be the second smartphone to be available in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display in 19:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2246 x 1080 p..
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NEX is the other unique phone expected to arrive in India this month. Doing away with the screen notch, the phone has an 8MP selfie camera module that pops out on top. It has a 6.59-inch amoled display giving it a screen to body ratio of 91%. The phone comes in two variants: NEX A and NEX S — we expect Vivo to only launch the topend NEX S in India because they’re gunning for the premium market. The NEX S runs a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and has a 4,000mAh battery with fast charge support. It also has a under screen fingerprint scanner, 12MP + 5MP dual rear camera with OIS, dual SIM slot, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 50,000 onwards
NEX is the other unique phone expected to arrive in India this month. Doing away with the screen notch, the phone has an 8MP selfie camera module that pops out on top. It has a 6.59-inch amoled displ..
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Xiaomi’s previous premium device in India was the Mi Mix 2, launched last year. The company has announced the Mi 8 in China as their new flagship and it is expected that the phone will launch in India this month. The Mi 8 features a notched 6.2-inch amoled display in 19:9 aspect ratio and a 7000 series aluminium frame. It comes with an 3D Face unlock similar to the iPhone X (with infrared), rear fingerprint scanner, dual SIM support and runs the latest MiUI 10 based on Android 8.1. Hardware includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM, 64/128//256GB storage and a 3,400mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0 support. It has a 12MP + 12MP dual camera setup with OIS and dual pixel phase detection autofocus on the rear while the front has a 20MP selfie shooter. The Mi 8 is also the first phone in the world with dual-band GPS (purported improved accuracy of 3 to 5 times).
Expected Price: Rs 35,000 onwards
Xiaomi’s previous premium device in India was the Mi Mix 2, launched last year. The company has announced the Mi 8 in China as their new flagship and it is expected that the phone will launch in Indi..
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Motorola’s E range of smartphones have always focussed on the budget conscious buyers. The upcoming smartphone in the range, Moto E5 Plus, features a 6-inch 18:9 aspect display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and weight of 197 grams. The primary reason for the 197 gram heft is probably the massive 5,000mAh battery. Other specifications include a Snapdragon 425 processor, 2/3GB RAM and 16/32GB storage. Motorola has also paid extra attention to the camera on the E5 Plus — it has a 12MP rear camera with f2.0 aperture, phase detection and laser autofocus. On the front, it has a 5MP camera with LED flash. Other features include fast charge support, dual SIM slots, expandable storage, rear fingerprint scanner and Android 8.0.
Expected price: Rs 9,000 onwards
Motorola’s E range of smartphones have always focussed on the budget conscious buyers. The upcoming smartphone in the range, Moto E5 Plus, features a 6-inch 18:9 aspect display with a resolution of 1..
