There are now so many smartphones on the market that it is difficult for individual models to stand out from the crowd. Huawei is trying to do this with its new Nova 10 Pro smartphone with an extraordinary front camera.
Smartphone manufacturers usually try to outdo each other with better and better cameras. But then we are talking about the main cameras on the back. The focus is less often on the front counterparts. But not with the Nova 10 Pro, which Huawei presented at IFA 2022.
60 megapixel front camera for the selfie generation
The smartphone comes with a front camera with two sensors that offer a resolution of 60 and 8 megapixels. Normally, the selfie cameras of other smartphones allow resolutions of up to 32 megapixels. The model in the Huawei Nova 10 Pro is supported by instant autofocus and Quad Phased Detection (QPD), in which each individual pixel is responsible for photography and focus. According to Huawei, focusing should be up to 30 percent faster and make it possible, for example, to hold objects close to the camera during video recording without losing sharpness.
The reason the manufacturer chose to focus on the front camera is simple. It lies in the target group that the Huawei Nova 10 Pro aims to address. And these are young people for whom selfies, Instagram and TikTok videos are almost part of everyday life. Huawei has introduced special modes for them that allow, for example, fine bokeh effects and clear, high-quality portrait shots.
The front camera sits in a pill-shaped notch in the upper-left corner of the OLED display. The screen has a large diagonal of 6.78 inches, a resolution of 2652 x 1200 pixels and offers a fast, adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. It also curves slightly around the side edges of the smartphone, giving a full-view impression arises.
Also read: The smartphones with the best cameras
Huawei Nova 10 Pro with striking design and solid performance
On the back is the design that Huawei has been relying on for a long time – the large camera with the so-called Star Orbit ring. The camera looks relatively bulky and stands out clearly from the back. Overall, the color scheme used is convincing thanks to the golden accents. The main camera has a total of three sensors, with the wide-angle 50 megapixels, the ultra-wide-angle with macro mode 8 megapixels and the portrait sensor with bokeh effect 2 megapixels. The RYYB filter used by Huawei should ensure particularly good exposure even in difficult lighting conditions.
So that the Huawei Nova 10 Pro also has enough power for the camera functions, it was equipped with a Snapdragon 778G. In terms of performance, the octa-core processor is in the upper midfield and has four powerful Cortex-A78 cores with up to 2.42 GHz and four energy-saving Cortex A55 cores with up to 1.8 GHz. Incidentally, the same chip was also used in the predecessor, the Nova 9. It only supports 4G, so users cannot transmit via 5G. Huawei relies on 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory for storage, which, however, cannot be expanded. Because the Huawei Nova 10 Pro only has two nano SIM slots, but there is no micro SD slot.
Another special feature of the smartphone is its battery, or rather the fast charging technology. Because the 4500 mAh battery can be fully charged with up to 100 watts in just 20 minutes. Another positive aspect is that the manufacturer includes the matching 100 watt power adapter and a matching plastic case. This has now become a rarity.
The data at a glance
| Huawei Nova 10 Pro | |
|---|---|
| screen | 6.78 inch, OLED, adaptive 120Hz, HDR10 |
| resolution | 2652 x 1200 pixels, 429 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G (6nm) Octa Core (4 x 2.4GHz A78 + 4 x 1.8GHz A55) |
| Storage | 8GB RAM 256GB (not expandable) |
| main camera | 50 MP (wide angle) 8 MP (ultra wide angle+macro) 2MP (Portrait) |
| front camera | 60MP + 8MP; Instant AF, QPD, up to 5x zoom |
| battery pack | 4500mAh Fast charging with 100 watts, in 20 minutes to 100 percent |
| software | EMUI 12 |
| connectivity | WLAN a/b/g/n/ac/ax 4G Bluetooth 5.2 + NFC GPS USB-C (USB 2.0) |
| Colours | Black silver |
| Miscellaneous | Stereo speakers, dual SIM, fingerprint sensor in the display |
There are no Google apps on the Huawei Nova 10 Pro
However, there is one important point about the Huawei Nova 10 Pro that users should be aware of. And that’s less positive. Because the smartphone has to do without Google apps. Instead, Huawei relies – as with all of its current smartphones – on the specially developed Huawei Mobile Services, HMS for short. The system is based on Android (here in version 12), but the most important apps known from Google were more or less reprogrammed. Accordingly, a different map app, a browser and a different app store are used than users are actually familiar with from Android. According to Huawei, the in-house store, the App Gallery, now offers more than 173,000 apps.
Huawei has been building its system and more and more apps for years to convince users in Germany of the HMS. However, the manufacturer does not have an easy time with this, as well-known applications often do not work and alternatives are available that users first have to get to know. It remains to be seen to what extent they will dare to take this step with the Huawei Nova 10 Pro. Especially since the smartphone competition is very big.