Huawei Nova 11i 8GB RAM 128GB ROM

The Huawei nova 11i is the company’s most affordable offering from the latest nova 11 series. Its trendy design, accentuated by the captivating “double star orbit rings” in camera design, instantly grabs attention. Not only does it boast a capable processor, long-lasting battery life, and turbo charging, but it also impressively strikes a balance between performance and affordability.

I have tested the Huawei nova 11i for weeks now and I’m glad to share with you my thoughts and insights about this new and budget-friendly smartphone in the market. Join me in this review to help you determine if this phone is the right choice for you.

Key Specifications

6.8-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display

90Hz refresh rate, 270Hz touch sampling rate, 16.7M colours

Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm)

2.4GHz Octa-core processor

Adreno 610 GPU

8GB RAM + 128GB ROM, 8+256GB

Dual rear cameras: 48MP main + 2MP depth

16MP front camera

Dual SIM

WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS

Includes: phone unit, pre-installed screen protector, transparent case, SIM eject tool, 40W adapter, USB-C cable, documentations

EMUI 13

Fingerprint (side-mounted)

Why you should get it

Large screen real estate

Long battery life w/ Turbo charging

Good selfie camera

Awesome build and design

Appealing price point

Design

The Huawei nova 11i is a good-looking smartphone that’s built with high-quality plastic material. As soon as I laid my eyes on the backing, I instantly love the minimalist yet elegant aesthetics. It comes with a satin finish accentuated by its frosted texture; the back is quite effective in negating fingerprints and project several color tones when seen on different angles. It’s also durable with its solid build. There are two color options for this handset: the starry black and mint green. I’m fortunate enough to get the Mint Green review unit which is the poster boy for the nova 11i.

I commend Huawei for integrating the “double star orbit rings” into their camera design. The design is very eye-catching when these circular enclosures shimmer with light reflection. These rings are directly integrated to the panel without the traditional boxy camera module.

Moving on the sides, the frame has a slightly darker tone and comes with angled edges, where you can find the volume button and power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner (right), SIM tray and secondary mic (top), primary microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille (bottom). There’s no headphone jack here which reflects the current design trend seen in premium phones, considering that most of us now rely on wireless headphones for audio connectivity.

Flipping the phone, the front panel is defined by a hole-punch design, provisioned for the front camera. Additionally, the slim side bezels on the nova 11i maximize the screen real estate, offering an expansive display.

Overall, the Huawei nova 11i’s visual appeal looks expensive with its high-grade plastic material. Despite its size, measuring 164.6 x 75.55 x 8.55 mm and weighing 193 grams, the phone offers a moderately comfortable handling experience. While it’s worth noting that the nova 11i lacks waterproofing, it is quite understandable considering its price point.

Display

The nova 11i implements an IPS LCD panel with FHD+ 1080 x 2388p resolution and 385 ppi density. With my time using the phone, I love the fact that it comes with a large display. The screen is a 6.8-inch panel which is generous enough if you’re a fan of content streaming and web browsing. Not only that, the slim bezels and punch-hole further push the screen-to-body ratio to an impressive 94.9%.

The nova 11i also comes with 90Hz dynamic refresh rate which is expected to be competitive in this segment, especially with other competing brands throwing phones in the market with high refresh rates. It gives smoother perception when you’re navigating through your phone and it’s also good for gaming.

The phone also supports useful software features like eye comfort to filter out harmful blue light, reader mode, e-book mode, and 10K-Level Smooth Light Adjustment. These are great features for students who make the most of this phone’s generous screen size when engaging with their reading materials. Moreover, you can adjust the screen’s color to normal or vivid according to your liking.

Internals and Performance

The Huawei nova 11i is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm). It’s the same chipset used in the nova 10 SE from last year, which we also had gotten the chance to review. The device runs on an octa-core processor with four Cortex-A73 clocked at 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A53 clocked at 1.9 GHz. For graphics processing, it has the Adreno 610 GPU which is also a mid-range mobile GPU.

This device has 8GB of RAM which can harness an additional 3GB of virtual RAM from its built-in storage. With a generous 256GB of native storage, it provides ample space for majority of users. Nevertheless, as a content creator, I would have truly valued the inclusion of a storage expansion option. Should you need additional storage, Huawei offers its own cloud storage service for a nominal fee.

The SoC handles basic tasks with ease. Running multiple apps simultaneously and switching between apps are also quite smooth, this is due to its ample memory. It also performs well in terms of gaming. In fact, it can handle most of our favorite mobile games, like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Ultra graphics is supported in MLBB, but I suggest you settle with smooth to high graphics settings only for an enjoyable gameplay.

However, when we talk of graphic-demanding games like Genshin Impact, the phone could still run these apps but you’ll notice a dip in performance. This is quite understandable; in fact, the nova 11i is quite a worker in its own right at this price range.

It also features Histen 8.1 audio solution and the capability of reaching up to 88dB volume. In my experience, I agree that the loudspeaker could get loud enough, but the whole soundstage clings to higher frequencies which is not balanced, and lacks bass. Nonetheless, the mono speaker is good enough for sharing tunes and watching movies with friends.

Camera

The Huawei nova 11i sports a dual rear camera, featuring a 48MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture. Alongside it, there is a 2MP depth sensor that enhances the camera’s ability to capture bokeh portraits. On the front, the device is equipped with a 16MP selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture which delivers good quality photos for sharing on social media platforms.

Photos taken with ample lighting have good detail, color saturation, and contrast. The dynamic range may need a little improvement, but I’m amazed how the phone processes each scene with the use of AI. On top of that, the sharpness is okay but there are times that it tends to be overwhelming. As for the bokeh shots, the camera offers decent separation of subjects and the background.

Battery

The Huawei nova 11i features a 5000mAh Li-Po battery with smart power management that ensures extended usage without having to worry about running out of power. Based on actual usage, it typically lasts a full day before needing a recharge. However, power-hungry tasks like gaming, video streaming, or using resource-intensive apps can noticeably affect battery life, requiring more frequent charging for uninterrupted usage.

We’ve done a charging test and discovered an interesting feature: the handset is equipped with turbo charging capabilities. When you plug in the phone, it immediately notifies you, offering the option to activate Turbo charge. It’s important to note that using this feature may result in a slight increase in the handset’s temperature. Therefore, we suggest utilizing Turbo charge when you’re simply leaving the phone to charge and avoiding resource-intensive tasks during the charging process. Here are the results when Turbo charge is activated: