HUAWEI has silently launched a new smartphone this weekend, though those familiar with the Chinese OEM’s recent outings will be familiar with this one. And it’s possibly arriving in the Philippines.

(Update, October 10: And it’s official in the Philippines! See our related article: Huawei Nova 2i 18:9 phone with 4 cameras priced at P14,990 or $292.)

This is the Huawei Nova 2i, or the Huawei Maimang 6 in China, or even possibly, the Huawei Mate 10 Lite in other territories. Regardless, the hook is the same: It’s an 18:9 phone with four — yes, four! — cameras, two on the front (13 and 2 megapixels; the latter is designed to capture depth information for bokeh-laced selfies) and two round the back (16 and 2 megapixels).

Huawei Nova 2i TV commercial in Thai

The Nova 2i first appeared on Malaysia’s Vmall, which is Huawei’s official online retailer in the country. The unit will go on sale from October 13th for 1,299 Malaysian ringgit, the equivalent of P15,655 or $308.

There’s a good chance the Huawei Nova 2i will land in the Philippines soon, as the company’s domestic outfit has begun teasing a quad-camera device with the hashtag #OOOO on its Facebook page. The hashtag #OO is currently being used to promote Huawei’s dual-lens models, including the flagship P10 series.  

The teaser that appeared on Huawei Philippines’ Facebook page just less than an hour ago

How soon can the Philippines get it is a mystery, of course, but our money is on an October launch date. Pricing will likely be similar to what Huawei is asking in Malaysia, so expect the Nova 2i to be pegged at just under P16,000 locally.

SEE ALSO: Complete specs of the Huawei Nova 2i

As for the other key specs, the smartphone has a 5.9-inch, full-view display and is powered by an octa-core Kirin 659 chipset with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The battery is 3,340mAh, while the operating system of choice is Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 on top of Android Nougat.

READ ALSO: Vivo V7+ quick review: Ushering selfie phones into a borderless future

Interestingly, the Huawei Nova 2i offers identical specs to the now-available (in the Philippines, to be clear) Vivo V7+ but incorporates two cameras on both panels. It might even arrive with a friendlier price tag to boot.

Images via Lowyat

 

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