Update: Now the Huawei Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus have been announced, we’ve updated our rumor story with all the official news.
Huawei has announced the follow-up to the Nova series, called the Nova 2. The company hasn’t wasted any time in coming out with a sequel, having only released the Nova and Nova Plus at the end of 2016. This time, it has restricted the release to China, at least for now, rather than the wider global launch the original Nova enjoyed last year.
There are two phones in the family, the Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus, which are separated primarily by the screen and battery size. While we can’t buy either in the U.S. or Europe yet, there’s still the chance Huawei may bring them out at a later date, so let’s examine them in detail.
Huawei Nova 2
The metal body reminds us of the Honor 8 and Honor 8 Pro, along with the Apple iPhone, due to its curved antenna bands carefully disguised at the top and bottom of the phone. A fingerprint sensor is mounted on the rear of the phone, below a dual-lens camera. The screen measures 5-inches and has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, and is covered in a piece of 2.5D Gorilla Glass.
The two cameras operate like other setups we’ve seen, including the Huawei P10, with a 2x optical zoom, and the chance to add a blurred background effect to your pictures. One lens has 12 megapixels and the other 8 megapixels, while the selfie camera has 20 megapixels. A Huawei designed Kirin 659 processor with 4GB of RAM provides the power, and it drives Android 7.0 with Huawei’s own EMUI 5.1 user interface over the top.
Other specifications include a 2,950mAh battery with fast charging, 64GB of internal storage, space for a MicroSD card, and a 3.5mm headphone socket. The phone weighs 143 grams, and is a mere 6.9mm thick.
Huawei Nova 2 Plus
Sharing the same design, processor, and operating system as the Nova 2, the larger Nova 2 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen with the same 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The battery has a 3340mAh capacity, and there’s 128GB of internal storage space, further separating it from the smaller sister phone.
The Nova 2 series comes in five different colors: green, gold, rose gold, blue, and black. If you’re in China, orders are live on June 16, and the Nova 2 will cost 2,500 yuan, or about $360, or 2,900 yuan/$425 for the Nova 2 Plus.
Huawei hasn’t made any announcements regarding international release, but we’ll keep you updated here if anything changes.
