Huawei Nova, Nova Plus and MediaPad M3
Huawei didn't
bring a new Mate to IFA. But if you're not attached to the name and you squint
a bit, the Huawei Nova Plus can definitely pass off as one. Then there's the
smaller Nova that looks like a mini Nexus 6P. And rounding things off is an
actual successor - the Huawei MediaPad M3.
Huawei Nova
Both Novas are built out of
aircraft-grade aluminum, this one is the more compact of the two. It's built
around a 5" 1080p screen (an IPS LCD), which accepts knuckle gestures.
The camera department aims to impress
with a 12 MP sensor with large pixels (1.5µm) and phase-detection autofocus. It
records 4K video, of course. Below the camera is the same fingerprint reader
used in the Huawei P9. The Huawei Nova puts battery life first
with a 3,020 mAh battery and an efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset (14nm). It will
be available in Europe this month for € 400.
Huawei Nova Plus
For the Huawei Nova Plus, the
aircraft-grade aluminum was morphed into a shape quite reminiscent of the Mate
S. The 5.5" screen further solidifies the resemblance. This one has a much bigger battery,
though, 4,000 mAh (up from the positively tiny 2,700 mAh on the Mate S).
And the Nova Plus camera is better too
with a 16 MP sensor and still has OIS. Like the smaller Nova, there's an 8 MP
selfie camera on the front. Both phones also share USB Type-C connectors,
hybrid dual-SIM design and run Emotion UI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
The Nova Plus is launching alongside the
regular Nova in September at nearly the same price - € 430.
Huawei MediaPad M3
The Huawei MediaPad M3 features the same
slender bezels as the M2 before it, but its screen is bigger and sharper -
8.4" with QHD resolution. Harman/Kardon is back with another pair
of finely tuned stereo speakers and the audio engineers have added an automatic
equalizer that adjusts to the music you're playing.
All this is housed in an aluminum
casing, naturally. A fingerprint reader has been added to the front and inside,
a Kirin 950 chipset brings upgraded performance. The MediaPad M3 starts at € 350 if you're
okay with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB storage. Doubling the storage is € 50 on top,
adding LTE connectivity is another € 50.
