Huawei nova 7 5G Impressions + Early Purchase Freebies

With 5G on the horizon, Huawei's latest nova phone is a tempting deal.

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Following last month’s reveal of the nova 7 SE 5G, Huawei has launched another new nova series phone in the Philippines, and it’s the nova 7 5G. As the name implies, this phone is another 5G mid-ranger from Huawei, and it’s sort of like a big brother to the nova 7 SE 5G (in specs, not in size). While it may look very similar to the SE model, the nova 7 5G packs a more powerful processor, an upgraded quad-camera setup, and more.

What stands out about the nova 7 5G at first is its design. Much like the SE model, the nova 7 5G features a glossy back design which is almost mirror-like in how much it reflects, especially in the Space Silver colorway. Just look at the image below:

It’s practically a mirror!

Of course, the nova 7 SE 5G also comes in a variety of colors, though all the color options for the new Huawei mid-ranger have shiny backs with unique reflective light patterns.

Moving to the front, we have the 6.53-inch FHD+ Display. The nova 7 5G’s display looks very much like the nova 7i and nova 7 SE models that Huawei released this year, though it is a bit bigger than its siblings.

For photography, the nova 7 5G packs a 64MP F/1.8 + 8MP ultra-wide + 8MP telephoto (3x optical zoom) + 2MP macro quad rear camera setup, as well as a 32MP F/2.0 selfie shooter. While the nova 7 5G’s quad camera shares the main, ultra-wide, and macro shooters, the phone does have a 3x telephoto zoom instead of a depth sensor–a big upgrade. The nova 7 5G’s selfie camera is also improved at 32MP (compared to the SE’s 16MP).

While we’ve yet to test out the nova 7 5G’s camera in our full photography test, so far, the results of our initial tests are pretty good. Though it remains to be seen how good the phone will fare for low-light photography, and for photography at more than 3x zoom.

Powering the nova 7 5G is a Kirin 985 processor, Huawei’s third 5G-enabled chipset after the Kirin 990 and Kirin 820. In terms of performance, this processor should perform between the flagship-level 990 and the mid-range 820. While we haven’t tested the phone out for gaming yet, we expect the nova 7 5G to run all the games that we’ll try out; hopefully, it runs them at max settings.

Other features of the nova 7 5G include a USB Type-C port, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and a 4,000mAh battery. The only thing that’s missing though is a 3.5mm headphone jack, a feature that’s becoming a rarity in high-end smartphones. The nova 7 5G does at least come with a USB Type-C to 3.5mm dongle in case you need one for your headphones.

Specs-wise, the nova 7 5G is an upgrade over the SE model, with a better quad camera setup and a more powerful processor. Because of this, the phone is priced at PHP 23,990. While we can’t fully recommend the phone yet as we’ve only had it for a few days, we were left quite impressed with the phone in our initial tests. Even before our full review though, we can say that the nova 7 5G is a compelling smartphone option, especially with Philippine telcos gearing up for more 5G-connected areas later this year.

Huawei nova 7 5G Specs:

  • Hisilicon Kirin 985 5G octa-core processor
  • Mali-G77 GPU
  • 8GB RAM
  • 6.53-inch FHD+ Display
  • 128GB storage (expandable)
  • 64MP F/1.8 + 8MP ultra-wide + 8MP telephoto (3x optical zoom) + 2MP macro rear camera setup
  • 32MP F/2.0  front camera
  • 4G, LTE (Dual SIM, Hybrid Tray)
  • WiFi, Bluetooth
  • Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted), USB Type-C
  • 4000mAh battery with 40W SuperCharge support
  • Android 10 with EMUI 10.1
  • Price: PHP 23,990

 

Pre-Order Details

The Huawei nova 7 5G will be available in Huawei stores nationwide tomorrow, July 31, 2020. Users who purchase the phone tomorrow until August 2, 2020 will receive freebies worth over PHP 9,000. The freebies include:

  • HUAWEI Watch GT2e
  • HUAWEI 15GB Cloud Storage for a year
  • Five (5) Exclusive, and Customized Dynamic Themes on HUAWEI Themes
  • 3-month subscription of VIU Premium
  • 3-month Booky Prime
  • PHP 150 Pesoloan Cashback
  • PHP 70 GCash voucher
  • PHP 50 Paymaya voucher

As a special bonus, the first 100 nova 7 5G buyers on Lazada or Shopee will have a chance to get PHP 18,390 worth of freebies, including a HUAWEI Watch GT 2e worth P6,990 and one additional HUAWEI FreeBuds 3 worth P8,990 that lucky five (5) consumers per day can get on a first come, first served basis.