Huawei nova 9 SE

The Huawei nova 9 SE, released on March 20, 2022, is a mid-range smartphone with a focus on design and camera capabilities.

Build Quality

The device measures 164.6 mm in height, 75.6 mm in width, and 7.9 mm in depth, weighing 191 grams. The phone's build feels solid but the materials used are not specified and it does not boast any particular IP rating for dust or water resistance. It comes in three color options: Midnight Black, Pearl White, and Crystal Blue. A side-mounted fingerprint sensor is included for convenient unlocking.

Screen Quality

The nova 9 SE features a 6.78-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2388 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 387 ppi. The screen has a 20:9 aspect ratio and a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling and animations. It does have a punch hole notch for the front camera and is protected by a 2.5D curved glass. The display supports the DCI-P3 color gamut, promising rich and vibrant colors, however, no specific brightness, contrast ratios or HDR support were provided.

Camera Performance

The phone's main camera system is a quad-camera setup on the rear. The primary lens is a 108 MP Samsung S5KHM2 ISOCELL sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and 0.70 µm pixels, capable of 9-in-1 pixel binning. This is accompanied by an 8 MP wide-angle/macro lens (f/2.2), a 2 MP portrait (depth) sensor (f/2.4), and a 2 MP macro lens (f/2.4). The front-facing camera is a 16 MP CMOS sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. The rear camera can record videos at 1080p@30fps with EIS. The camera software offers features such as night mode, digital zoom, autofocus, face detection, panorama, HDR, and a slow-motion mode at 960 fps.

Software Experience

The Huawei nova 9 SE runs on Android 11, but no maximum software version is noted suggesting that future updates may be limited. The user experience will be largely defined by Huawei's EMUI skin, though the specifics are not mentioned. The device includes an NFC chip.

Battery Performance

Powering the device is a 4000 mAh Li-Polymer battery, which supports 66W fast charging, allowing for quick replenishment of power. It also has reverse charging functionality.

Hardware and Performance

Under the hood, the phone utilizes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm) chipset, with an octa-core CPU (4x2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver) and an Adreno 610 GPU. It scored approximately 248,000 on the AnTuTu v9 benchmark, placing it in the mid-range performance category. The phone comes in various RAM and storage configurations including 6GB or 8GB of RAM, paired with 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. It does not have a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX, LDAC, SBC, and AAC support, USB Type-C 2.0 with OTG functionality, and Dual SIM Dual Standby for Nano SIM cards. It supports multiple 4G LTE bands, as well as 3G and 2G networks. The device includes standard sensors like an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and proximity sensor.

Value for Money

The Huawei nova 9 SE is positioned as a medium-priced phone, with prices for the 8GB/256GB version noted around $161.76. Pricing and availability will vary by region and retailer. This phone offers a large screen, high-resolution main camera, and fast charging for a competitive price, making it a potential option for users in this budget category. However, its lack of 5G connectivity and uncertain software update support might be a drawback for some consumers.