Our first guess was right, after all. We believed that the smartphone we spotted a couple of weeks ago on the website of TENAA, China’s communications commission, could arrive in the Philippines as the Huawei Nova 2 Lite. And today, Huawei Philippines has made the device official.
(Update, March 12: The price of the Huawei Nova 2 Lite has been revealed!)
SEE ALSO: Nova 2 Lite vs Nova 2i, V7, A83, ZenFone Max Plus, Redmi 5 Plus
As the name suggests, the Nova 2 Lite is the more affordable sibling of the Nova 2i. It’s hard to tell the two apart from the front; they look almost the same. But the back is a different story, with the Lite’s dual rear cameras placed horizontally at the topmost left of the panel.
If not for the placement of the Huawei Nova 2 Lite’s dual cameras, you’d think this is a Huawei Nova 2i.
The Huawei Nova 2 Lite is targeted at the younger, budget-conscious set who are looking for a smartphone with a capable camera. Its 13-megapixel main sensor is paired with a 2-megapixel one to bring that ability to take photos with bokeh effect to the less-pricey segment. There are seven levels to the blur effect, and you can adjust it even after taking a picture.
The Huawei Nova 2 Lite’s wide-aperture dual-camera setup is arranged horizontally, unlike the one on the Nova 2i.
Up front is an 8-megapixel front camera with toning flash for selfie lovers. It supports augmented reality, so you can spruce up your photos by adding different effects to them.
The 5.99-inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio is on-trend. Less bezels and more of the display? That means seeing more content, and it makes watching videos and playing games more enjoyable. After using a nearly bezel-less handset for the first time, we never wanted to go back to owning a device with huge bezels. True story.
READ ALSO: Huawei Nova 2 Lite vs Huawei Nova 2i: Specs comparison
The Huawei Nova 2 Lite uses a Qualcomm chipset — a Snapdragon 430 clocked at 1.4GHz, in particular — instead of a Kirin processor made by the company. The chip is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card. It has a 3,000mAh and will ship with an Android 8.0 Oreo-based EMUI 8.0 out of the box.
You have two ways to secure the phone. One is through Face Unlock, and the other is through the rear-mounted fingerprint reader we mentioned earlier.
SEE ALSO: How to join Android Oreo beta program for Huawei Nova 2i
It will come in three color variants: black, gold, and blue. The latter is our favorite because it has an elegant, glossy finish; yes, we like our unit shiny, fingerprint marks be damned.
Huawei Philippines told us that the Nova 2 Lite will be its cheapest dual-camera smartphone. How affordable is “most affordable”? Unfortunately, the company has not revealed the price yet.
READ ALSO: Here are the preorder details for the Huawei Nova 2 Lite
If the beefier Huawei Nova 2i is selling at P14,990 (roughly $288) — P13,990 ($269) on its official store on Lazada — then based on the specs difference of the two, is it safe to assume that this one will go for P8,990 (or $173, our “wishful thinking” guess) or P9,990 (or $192, the most likely price), same price tag as the OPPO A83‘s, once it’s rolled out to local stores? We’ll find out soon enough. (Updated on March 6 because there are reports saying the phone will retail at P11,990 or $231, which we don’t believe.)
Huawei Nova 2 Lite specs
- Android 8.0 Oreo, EMUI 8.0
- Dual SIM, dual standby
- 5.99-inch HD+ IPS 18:9 display, 1440 x 720 pixel resolution
- 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor
- Adreno 505 GPU
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via microSD
- Face unlock, fingerprint scanner
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
- HSPA+, 4G, LTE
- 13-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash
- 2-megapixel secondary rear camera
- 8-megapixel front camera with toning flash
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Proximity sensor, accelerometer, ambient light sensor
- 158.3×76.7×7.8mm
- 155g
- Matte black, blue, gold
- 3,000mAh non-removable battery
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