The Huawei Nova 2S is the upgraded next iteration of the Huawei Nova and Nova Plus. And boy is it upgraded. With a screen a whole inch bigger than its predecessor, the Nova 2s is a worthy upgrade. Priced at roughly Rs. 40,000 the Nova 2s challenges popular phones like the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro.

Glass and Aluminum – the combination that can’t go wrong

Most manufacturers are always trying to innovate with new design materials. There used to be plastic, then metal, then glass. It seems like we’ve hit the sweet spot, with the front of the phone being made of glass and the rest of the phone from aluminum. The back gives off a shiny look like the HTC U11.

The front of the phone is mostly taken up by the huge 6-inch display. Despite the minimal bezels, Huawei has still managed to fit in a front mounted fingerprint scanner into a physical home button. Above the display are the standard sensors and front facing dual cameras. The back is clean save for the presence of the dual cameras and LED flash in the top left corner and the Huawei logo in the middle.

Bigger screen is better?

Since the trend of 18:9 displays started with the Galaxy S8, every phone manufacturer has made it compulsory to have on in their phone. The advantage of 18:9 displays can be seen in the Huawei Nova 2s, as it has a huge 6-inch screen whilst still being manageable to hold. The screen has a resolution of 2160*1080, or FHD+ as it’s called. The pixel density calculates to 403ppi, which is excellent. The type of panel used is an IPS LCD one, meaning you’ll get great viewing angles.

Why only rear dual cameras when you can have them on both sides

The Huawei Nova 2 S obviously houses a dual camera setup, but not only on the back. That’s right, there are 2 cameras up front too. With such thin bezels on the front it is quite surprising that 2 cameras were actually fitted. Anyway, the front setup comprises of 20MP + 2MP sensors and an LED flash. The 20MP camera has an aperture of f/2.0 so you can focus on objects more clearly. Video recording maxes out at 1080p.

The rear setup has a 16MP RGB sensor and a 20MP monochrome one for your portrait shots and black and white affects. The monochrome sensor has an aperture of f/1.8. Phase detection autofocus is also present.

Hardware that makes the Nova 2S a compelling buy

The Huawei Nova 2s comes in 3 versions. Two with 64GB of storage and 4GB/6GB of RAM and one with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Besides that, Huawei’s own custom processor is making things tick: The Kirin 960.  A powerful chip with 8 cores, 4 running at 2.3GHz and 4 at 1.7GHz for better efficiency.

More than appreciated is the fact that the Nova 2S comes with Android 8.0 Oreo right out of the box. A 3340mAh battery keeps the lights on.

Huawei Nova 2S pros:

• It has a big and beautiful screen
• There is lots of RAM for your multitasking purposes
• It has a stunning design that will make you feel you’ve bought a premium phone
• Comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box

Huawei Nova 2S cons:

• Might be too big for some people

• A bit pricey even though it has great features