Huawei Nova 4 vs Nova 3: What’s Changed?

Huawei took a lot of people by surprise by launching their latest Nova series smartphone just a few months after they released the Nova 3 series. Today, we’re looking at the Nova 4 which comes with interesting innovative design and camera feats. So what has changed compared to the last model? Check it out below.

Here are their detailed specs:

Specification	Huawei Nova 4	Huawei Nova 3
Display	6.4-inch Full HD+ 19.25:9 display @ 2310 x 1080px, ~398 ppi	6.3-inch 19.5:9 FullView display 2.0 @ 2340 x 1080px, ~400ppi
CPU	HiSilicon Kirin 970 octa-core (4x Cortex A73 2.36GHz + 4x Cortex A53 1.8GHz) CPU	HiSilicon Kirin 970 octa-core (4x Cortex A73 2.36GHz + 4x Cortex A53 1.8GHz) CPU
GPU	Mali-G72 MP12 GPU with Huawei GPU Turbo	Mali-G72 MP12
RAM	8GB RAM	6GB RAM
Storage	128GB internal storage	128GB internal storage
SIM	Dual SIM (nano), Dual Standby	Dual-SIM (nano, hybrid)
MicroSD	n/a	expandable up to 256GB (SIM 2 slot)
Rear Camera	48MP f/1.8 + 16MP f/2.2 + 2MP f/2.4 triple rear cameras or 20MP f/1.8 + 16MP f/2.2 + 2MP f/2.4 triple rear cameras	24MP + 16MP dual rear cameras
Front Camera	25MP f/2.0 front camera	24MP + 2MP AI dual front cameras
LTE	4G VoLTE	4G VoLTe
WiFi	Dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, HWA, aptX and aptX HD	Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, HWA, aptX and aptX HD
GPS	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS	GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Port	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
3.5mm audio port	Yes	Yes
Biometrics	- Fingerprint scanner - Face unlock	- Fingerprint scanner - Face unlock
OS	Huawei EMUI 9.0.1 (Android 9 Pie)	EMUI 8.2 (Android 8.1 Oreo)
Battery	3,750mAh battery, 18W fast charging	3,750mah battery, 18w quick charge

So what has changed?

• Punch-hole design
• Slightly larger screen size
• Slightly shorter screen aspect ratio
• Pre-installed GPU Turbo technology
• Larger RAM
• No expandable storage
• Triple rear camera setup
• Higher main rear camera resolution (48MP variant)
• Slightly higher front camera resolution
• Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box

The Nova 4 completely removed the notch design and replaced it with a punch-hole design that contains the front camera. The screen size was also increased but only by a mm so there’s not a lot of improvements here..

It still sports the same Kirin 970 chipset but already has the GPU Turbo feature out of the box. Another feat for the Nova 4 is the 8GB RAM to ensure smooth multitasking, especially for heavy users.

Huawei also used a different camera configuration and instead of dual front and rear cameras, the Nova 4 has triple cameras at the back and just one on the front. What’s interesting is that it has two configurations with different main sensor resolution for price flexibility — one has a 48MP sensor while the other has a 20MP sensor.

The Nova 4 runs on Android 9 Pie based on EMUI 9.0.1 out-of-the-box which is good, although I’m slightly disappointed since it lacks an expandable storage. I mean, the Nova 3 also has 128GB storage with a microSD card slot, so why not retain it?

Overall, the Nova 4 looks a promising premium mid-range smartphone, especially with its flagship chipset and new camera capabilities. It is priced at CNY 3,399 (~PHP 26,138) for the 48MP variant while the 20MP variant is priced at CNY 3,099 (~PHP 23,831).

What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.