Huawei announces Nova 5 smartphone with Kirin 810 soc

Huawei has announced the Nova 5 and Nova 5 Pro. The Nova 5 is the first smartphone with the new Kirin 810-soc for midrange smartphones, which Huawei has made at 7nm. The Nova 5 Pro has the Kirin 980.

In addition to the Nova 5 and Nova 5 Pro, Huawei has put the Nova 5i on its site, but this is a 2019 P20 Lite with Kirin 710 under a different name, according to Gizmochina. The Nova 5 is a completely new device and the first with a Kirin 810-soc. This is a 7nm produced octacore with two Cortex A76 cores at 2.27GHz and six more efficient Cortex A55 cores at 1.8GHz. In comparison, the Nova 5 Pro’s Kirin 980 has two Cortex A76 cores at 2.60GHz, two A76 cores at 1.92GHz, and four A55 variants at 1.80GHz.

There is also a difference in the versions. The Pro has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the Nova 5 has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The other specifications are almost identical. The smartphones have a 6.39″ screen with an OLED panel and a narrow notch for the front camera. They run EMUI 9.1.1, which is based on Android 9. It is unclear whether they qualify for Android Q. In any case, they are not on the list of smartphones that Huawei is testing with Android Q. Google has revoked Huawei’s Android license due to the trade boycott of the US, which makes it unclear which smartphones will receive upgrades.

The front camera is a 32-megapixel model with f/2.0 lens. On the back are four cameras, a 48-megapixel camera with a Sony IMX586 sensor, a 16-megapixel camera with ultra-wide angle lens, a depth sensor and a macro lens with a resolution of two megapixels. The already announced Honor 20 and 20 Pro also have such a camera with a macro lens.

Furthermore, the new Novas have a battery with a capacity of 3500mAh and support for fast charging with a capacity of 40W, which allows them to be charged to 85 percent of their capacity in half an hour. The smartphones also have WiFi-ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C and a 3.5mm audio connector. The question is whether the Nova 5 models will be released in the Benelux. The Nova 4 from late last year did not appear here. That smartphone had a hole in the screen for the camera.

Update, 14.50: Added information about the operating system.