Huawei unveils two gorgeous new Nova mid-rangers with exceptional cameras
The Huawei Nova 16s Pro incredibly comes with a 200MP primary rear-facing camera, and the non-Pro Nova 16s is no pushover either.
How could you not love the breathtaking design of the Nova 16s Pro? | Image by Huawei
While Huawei is unlikely to ever go back to its glory days when it used to threaten and even briefly took over Samsung's top spot in global smartphone shipments, the Chinese company's reputation and mobile industry position have slowly but steadily been strengthened in the last few years.
That certainly wouldn't have been possible without groundbreaking foldables like the Mate XT and impressive "conventional" high-enders like the Pura 90s Pro and Pura 90s Pro Max, but the lower-end Nova family is also playing a crucial role in Huawei's Phoenix-like rise from the ashes across key European markets in addition to China.
And the latest entries in this increasingly popular mid-range lineup are absolutely breathtaking from a couple of different standpoints.
These are the remarkable specs of the Huawei Nova 16s Pro
- 6.84-inch LTPO OLED screen with 2856 x 1320 pixel resolution, 120Hz refresh rate technology, and up to 6000 nits of brightness;
- Kirin 9010S processor;
- HarmonyOS 6.0;
- 256 and 512GB storage variants;
- 12GB RAM;
- 200MP primary rear-facing camera with OIS and f/1.8 aperture;
- 50MP secondary periscope telephoto sensor;
- 50MP tertiary ultra-wide-angle lens;
- 50MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture;
- 7,000mAh battery;
- 100W charging capabilities;
- IP65 water and dust resistance;
- 163 x 78 x 7.1mm dimensions;
- 218 grams weight;
- Isle Blue, Breathing Crystal, Starry Black, and Sky White color options.
And this is what the slightly humbler Nova 16s is all about
- 6.68-inch OLED screen with 2800 x 1280 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate technology;
- Kirin 9010S processor;
- HarmonyOS 6.0;
- 256 and 512GB storage variants;
- 12GB RAM;
- 50MP primary rear-facing camera with f/1.9 aperture;
- 50MP secondary periscope telephoto sensor;
- 50MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture;
- 7,000mAh battery;
- 100W charging support;
- IP65 water and dust resistance;
- 159.6 x 75.5 x 7.3mm dimensions;
- 199 grams weight;
- Isle Blue, Breathing Crystal, Starry Black, and Sky White color options.
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The cameras, battery, charging speeds, and the designs are the key selling points
That's a lot of major strengths for two new mid-rangers that are unlikely to cost more than something like Samsung's instantly forgettable Galaxy S26 FE, for instance, and without a doubt, the biggest quality of the higher-end Nova 16s Pro is a main camera that sounds like it could give the Galaxy S26 Ultra's 200MP primary snapper a run for its money.
Of course, that's unlikely to be the case in real-world photography performance, although Huawei is unsurprisingly advertising the 200MP RYYB (Red-Yellow-Yellow-Blue) "Ultra-Large" sensor on the back of the Nova 16s Pro as a big industry breakthrough "tailored to solve real-world outdoor photography challenges" and deliver "consistent, stunning results in unpredictable natural lighting."
Would you buy one of these new Nova phones?
0 Votes
You'll obviously have to wait for us to comprehensively review the new handset to see how these bombastic marketing claims hold up in day-to-day use... unless you already know someone who's tested the China-exclusive Nova 16 Pro. That's right, this European model appears to be identical to that product unveiled in Huawei's homeland around three months ago, and the same is true for the Nova 16s and Nova 16.
But that doesn't make the Nova 16s Pro and Nova 16s camera systems any less impressive, and the same goes for the hefty 7,000mAh cells remarkably squeezed into ultra-thin 7.1 and 7.3mm bodies, the blazing fast 100W charging, and the undeniably gorgeous exteriors of Huawei's latest mid-range devices.
What do we know about pricing and availability?
For the time being, absolutely nothing, but I expect everything to be officially confirmed soon. In the meantime, it might be important to remember that the Nova 14 Pro was released across the old continent at a retail price of €599 last year, and the Nova 15 Pro never reached the Western Hemisphere for some reason.
You may want to adjust your expectations for the Nova 16s Pro accordingly, as this is clearly not a derivative and boring new mid-ranger like Samsung's Galaxy A57 5G, for instance.
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