Bearing in mind the current problems between Huawei and the US Government, we don’t currently review Huawei smartphones here due to their lack of Google Services. However, the Huawei Nova 5T is an exception as it is one of their last phones to include Google Play – so you can get all your usual apps safely.
The mid-range smartphone market is now very saturated with models from Samsung, Google Pixel, Xiaomi and Oppo all competing for your attention. So, does the 5T stand out from the crowd? Well, it certainly holds its own and is well worth considering.
Quad array camera produces good images
With a 6.26” screen, glass back and aluminum frame the phone looks good and feels premium in your hand. The LCD screen has a 84.2% screen to body ratio due to utilising a punch hole selfie camera to minimise lost screen estate.
Speaking of cameras, the 5T has a quad rear array and a 32MP selfie lens. The main array consists of a 48MP f/1.8 wide main lens, 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 2MP f/2.4 wide (macro) and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. This produces good images comparable to many flagship phones.
Too many Huawei apps
The Nova 5T is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin flagship 980 processor, supported by either 6 or 8GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage. All this is supported by a 3750 mAH battery with fast charging that gives you 50% in 24 mins.
Shipping with Android 9 and Huawei’s EMUI 9.1 on top of it, the 5T comes with a lot of Huawei apps that duplicate Google ones and cannot be deleted. While the existence of these apps is understandable, bearing in mind the uncertainty of the future relationship between them and Google, the fact that you can’t delete them is a real pain.
The 5T protects access with a fingerprint sensor on the on/off switch on the right hand edge of the phone.
What’s wrong with it?
To finish off, lets look at the bad bits of the 5T. Firstly, the screen is only LCD, whilst this won’t bother most people, you certainly notice the difference when you put it next to an OLED one. Secondly. It does not support wireless charging and lastly it does not have a headphone jack.
If these three things don’t bother you the Huawei Nova 5T is well worth considering if you are looking for a mid-range priced smartphone with premium specs and looks.
