Any links to online stores should be assumed to be affiliates. The company or PR agency provides all or most review samples. They have no control over my content, and I provide my honest opinion.

Huawei’s most recent release is the Nova 5T which landed in the office to review this week. At first glance, it is an impressive device with flagship-like specs including a Kirin 980 chipset and quad camera all for a bargain price of £399.

Perhaps more impressive is that Huawei has managed to launch a phone in the UK with Google App even though they couldnt do this with their flagship phone the Mate 30 Pro.

The reason behind this is the similarily it shares with the Honor 20, which was announced back in May and barely scraped through the trade bad to get its Google Certification.

When we compare the specification in the table below you will see not only do these phones have a striking resemblance, they don’t just share similar specs, it is the exact same specification.

During my early benchmarking of the Huawei Nova 5T when you load 3D Mark up, it identifies the phone like the Honor 20.

It is not the first time something like this has happened, the Honor 10 Lite and Huawei P Smart 2019 are also effectively the same. Huawei are not the only company that does it either, though they perhaps are the most blatant. Looking at the Oppo Reno Ace vs Realme X2 Pro they also bear a striking resemblance both in the specification and looks, however, in this case, they have at least differentiated themselves slightly with a different camera spec and charging functionality.

I assume the logic behind this is two-fold. Most consumers don’t pay that much attention to specs and having two phones on a shop floor increases the odd of Huawei winning that customer. I suspect that was the case back for the Honor 10 Lite and Huawei P Smart 2019.

This time around is perhaps more important. Huawei will want to be seen as carrying on as normal. Tech geeks may be quite aware of what is going, but your average punter will probably just hear that Huawei can’t launch phones with Google anymore. So by releasing the Nova 5T they can be perceived as still being in business (with Google).

The one issue here is that even though the phone is superb value for money, the Honor 20 was launched months ago and that means it has dropped below RRP. Thanks to Amazon being Amazon, you can bow buy the Honor 20 for just £310 whereas the Huawei Nova 5T is £399.

So at the moment, the Nova 5T is dead on arrival, at least until it drops in price further.

On the bright side, this has highlighted just what a good deal the Honor 20 is, this puts it £90 cheaper than the oft-recommended Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, or £40 more than the less powerful Xiaomi Mi 9T.

[content-egg module=Amazon template=list]

Huawei Nova 5THonor 20
Announced2019, August2019, May
StatusAvailable. Released 2019, SeptemberAvailable. Released 2019, June
Dimensions154.3 x 74 x 7.8 mm (6.07 x 2.91 x 0.31 in)154.3 x 74 x 7.9 mm (6.07 x 2.91 x 0.31 in)
Weight174 g (6.14 oz)174 g (6.14 oz)
BuildFront/back glass, aluminum frameFront/back glass, aluminum frame
SIMDual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
TypeIPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsIPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size6.26 inches, 96.2 cm2 (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio)6.26 inches, 96.2 cm2 (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~412 ppi density)1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~412 ppi density)
Protection
OSAndroid 9.0 (Pie), EMUI 9.1Android 9.0 (Pie); Magic 2.1
ChipsetHiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm)HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm)
CPUOcta-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)Octa-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPUMali-G76 MP10Mali-G76 MP10
Card slotNoNo
Internal128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM
Front Camera48 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF48 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF
16 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1"16 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1"
2 MP, f/2.4, 27mm (wide), dedicated macro camera2 MP, f/2.4, 27mm (wide), dedicated macro camera
2 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor2 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor
FeaturesLED flash, HDR, panoramaLED flash, HDR, panorama
Video2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS
Selfie32 MP, f/2.0, 0.8µm32 MP, f/2.0, 0.8µm
FeaturesHDRHDR
Video1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS
LoudspeakerYesYes
3.5mm jackNoNo
Active noise cancellation with dedicated micActive noise cancellation with dedicated mic
32-bit/192kHz audio32-bit/192kHz audio
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE
GPSYes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS
NFCYesYes
Infrared portNoNo
RadioNoNo
USB2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
SensorsFingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compassFingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
BatteryNon-removable Li-Po 3750 mAh batteryNon-removable Li-Po 3750 mAh battery
ChargingFast battery charging 22.5W (50% in 24 min)Fast battery charging 22.5W (50% in 24 min)
ColorsBlack, Crush Blue, Midsummer PurpleMidnight Black, Sapphire Blue, Icelandic white, Phantom Blue
Price

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *