AliExpress sellers have no qualms about offering
phones that aren’t official yet. The Huawei nova 3i is the latest example as
both 4GB / 64GB and 6GB / 64GB versions were put on sale. The prices are US$ 480
and US$ 520 respectively (€ 410/445). Three color options are available for
both versions: White, Black, Red and Purple.
The image in the listing may not be entirely
legitimate – there’s no notch. All previous leaks show a notch and the nova 3
has a notch as well (it too has a 6.3" screen, but with a notch and 1,080
x 2,340px resolution).
That said, the 1,080 x 2,160px resolution of the
6.3” screen makes for a regular 18:9 aspect ratio and most notched phones go
taller than that. Anyway, the phone promises a solid battery capacity, 3,650mAh,
despite being only 7.3mm thick and weighing 165g.
A Kirin 710 chipset will power the Huawei nova 3i
and handle all its AI-related needs. The latest EMUI 8.2 will be available out
of the box (based on Oreo). The dual camera on the rear is a 24 + 16 MP shooter and if its the
same as on the regular nova 3 model, the 24MP sensor will be monochrome (with
no zoom). The selfie camera has a 20MP sensor.
Huawei has an event on July 18, which is when we
expect the nova 3i will be unveiled. The phone should go on sale in the
Philippines by the end of the month.
