The cognitive process of buying a new smartphone is a complex one. Everyone has a budget of their own where they want the best possible features available within their range and even more.
When it comes to buy a mid-range handset, we have a tendency of seeking high-end features and very few handsets meet the obligation of walking this thin line. I had a positive hunch about the latest Huawei nova 2i that it might fill the criteria of fulfilling both ends after watching the pre-booking session being closed within a few days.
When it was launched in October 2017, I carefully looked to all the specs with much anticipation.
When I first unboxed the phone to see what were inside the sophisticated packaging, I was very happy to see a screen protector which saved me the immediate spending.
The Huawei nova 2i appears more premium than its price tag suggests. It has a huge 5.9-inch screen, which is surrounded by a skinny bezel similar to this year's flagship phones. This 2,160 x 1,080-pixel display has a trendy 18:9 aspect ratio.
The matte unibody aluminum chassis has smooth curved sides and rounded corners. It has a good heft and feels dense and sturdy. There is a fingerprint sensor at the back that unlocks the phone in split seconds.
The slick build quality gives me a sense of confidence and elegance though it could be a bit tough for one-handed use. The curved edges prevent the phone from slipping as it is quite tall compared to other smartphones of this stature.
After using for a couple of weeks, I started realizing the inner strength of this device which is powered by 1.7GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor with 4GB of RAM. The phone packs 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned, the Huawei Nova 2i packs a 16-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 13-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The color tone is so smooth and to be honest, gorgeous.
The most satisfying feature are the four cameras - two in front and two at the back. The catch: the secondary cameras are both two-megapixel shooters that are used to enable depth-of-field effects, like blurring the background while keeping the foreground or subject in focus for a bokeh effect.
The ‘Huawei full view’ display exerts the appeal which I generally used to get from more expensive handsets. The 'Eye Comfort' is one feature which helps out to filter out blue light to make the display soothing to look at. You will even have the option to set the color tones according to your will.
The performance is more than satisfactory. Its eight-core Kirin chip runs Huawei's EMUI 5.1 interface smoothly on top of Android 7.0 Nougat. This interface adds some extras to stock Android, such as shortcuts that launch certain apps like flashlight from the lock-screen, and using your knuckle for gestures, like knocking the screen twice to take a screenshot. Powered by a 3340 mAh non-removable battery with price tag of BDT 26,990 only. This is the mid-range phone that I personally waited for a very long time.