Huawei Nova 8i 128 GB / 6 GB

Anti-crisis smartphone

In recent years, due to the problems associated with the sanctions imposed by the United States, Huawei has not often pleased us with high-quality new products. In 2021, the flagship P50 family completely lost the Lite version, and the models that saw the light of day are not yet sold on the international market. On the other hand, the Chinese manufacturer pleased its fans with Nova smartphones, a near-top series that includes low-cost, experimental, and advanced models, worthy of the flagship title in terms of characteristics. Huawei Nova 8i is the younger brother of the usual "eight" and is a confident middle peasant with several undeniable advantages.

The first is design: externally, the device looks more like premium models like the Mate 30 Pro and Mate 40 Pro. It has very thin, almost imperceptible frames (only 1.3 mm), a plastic case, skillfully disguised as glass and metal, and an elongated “capsule” of the front camera embedded in the display. However the camera consists of one lens, the purpose of the second sensor is unclear. In general, the design of the smartphone leaves only positive impressions, and it is also quite practical, since the back does not slip and does not leave fingerprints. The second advantage of the model is battery life. Despite the relatively modest price tag, the gadget supports 66W fast charging, and now only top-end devices flaunt such figures. The charger fully charges the 4300 mAh battery in 38 minutes, and it takes only 17 minutes to replenish 60% of the energy.

Without Google services

Otherwise, Huawei Nova 8i lacks stars from the sky, but it fully corresponds to its cost. It is equipped with a 6.67-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2376x1080 pixels and a fairly bright and colorful picture, as well as the main camera, designed as a round block, which consists of four modules. It consists of a 64 MP sensor, on the shoulders of which all the main processes fall, an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera and two additional lenses of 2 MP each for macro photography and depth estimation. In general, a good set, especially if you shoot during the day in good light, but at night noises come out. And although this is Huawei, whose devices settled on the first lines of the DxOMark rating, hardly anyone expects something supernatural from a mid-range smartphone.

It is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor, which is a rather strange choice, since this chip is usually used for cheaper gadgets. Anyway, its power reserves are enough for comfortable web surfing and watching videos, but in games you will have to tweak the graphics settings. Google services are not here — this is the reality of Huawei products. Instead, the manufacturer offers a proprietary EMUI shell and its AppGallery app store. It is also worth noting 6/128 GB of memory, no slot for a memory card, but the presence of a 3.5 mm jack for wired headphones and a side fingerprint scanner.