Review of the Huawei nova 13 Pro in the UAE

Introduction

The Huawei Nova series was first introduced at IFA Berlin on September 1, 2016. The Nova is a mid-range series for the customer that provides high-end features at an affordable price. Huawei has consistently maintained the build quality and features of the Nova series to the best of its ability for the price. Each generation of the nova series brings exciting upgrades, such as advanced camera systems, high-resolution displays, and powerful processors packed into sleek and fashionable designs. The latest nova 13 Pro has similar high-end features to the Huawei Flagship mobile but, of course, with some differences.

We got the opportunity to get the Huawei nova 13 Pro handset that was sent to me some weeks ago after the launch in the UAE. Below are the details and the review.

Body & Specification

The Huawei nova 13 Pro (5G) smartphone (Model – MIS-LX9 Dual SIM) smartphone has a dimension of 163.4 mm (H) x 74.9 mm (W) x 7.82 mm (D), and it weighs 209 grams, which includes a non-removal battery. It has an OLED 120Hz, capacitive touchscreen and a size of 6.76 inches with a resolution of 2776 x 1224 pixels with a screen ~449 density. It has a ~88.9% screen-to-body ratio. The body build has a friendly, non-smudging plastic Black back panel and shiny black aluminum frame with the front OLED display protected by Aluminosilicate glass.

OS Specification

The nova 13 Pro smartphone runs Harmony OS 4.2 and has an EMUI version 14.2.0 user interface. It has 12GB RAM + 3GB (RAM Turbo) and 512 GB ROM internal storage for the UAE market.

Cameras Details

It has 50 MP, 12 MP, 5 MP, and a laser focus sensor camera on the rear. The front round in-screen camera has a dual camera 60MP and 8 MP lens embedded into the display. The cameras and the LED light are arranged on a vertical oblong disc that juts out of the body frame of the back panel. An engraved “DAOU” word repeats around the disc, which is a nice touch to the design of the camera panel.

The primary camera can shoot video at 4K@30fps to 1080p@30fps & 60fps and gyro-EIS, and the front camera can shoot video at 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, and gyro-OIS. The nova 13 Pro (5G) smartphone features a dual-LED flash, HDR, and panorama.

Body details

The Huawei nova 13 Pro frame is thin, as the display and back panel edges are curved to make the body sleek and thin. The right side of the frame has the power button and volume rockers, and the left-hand side is clean with no buttons or controls. The nova Huawei word is embossed on the back panel on the lower side in a chrome finish.

The fingerprint sensor is embedded in the OLED display. The phone has a Dual SIM (2 Nano SIMs, 5G + 5G) Card slot. It supports GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and BDS. The phone’s bottom side has the dual SIM Tray, USB Type-C super-charge (100W) input, speaker grills, and a mic, and the top side has a speaker grill, a single mic and a thin ear speaker.

The Review

The device I received for review is black. The back panel is made of plastic with a non-smudged finish.

The phone’s sleek and skinny design is due to its curved back panel and display. You will only notice the top area, which houses the single-lens camera with an elongated focus sensor embedded in the screen.

 Huawei nova 13 Pro is a higher mid-range smartphone created for the audience looking for a good camera, high storage and a workhorse phone with a budget of around AED2399.

Huawei nova 13 Pro Cameras

Selfie Camera – It is excellent for the Vloggers.

The front camera is a dual camera – 60 MP Ultra-Wide Autofocus Front Camera (F2.4 aperture) & 8 MP Close-Up Portrait Front Camera (F2.2 aperture), and the photo resolution is 8960 × 6720 pixels at 96dpi. The front camera has a sensor for instant Face detection and auto-tracking, supporting the Bokeh effect. In selfie photo mode, the camera supports multiple face recognition with AI. In video mode, too, the camera supports multiple face recognition, and via face lock, the camera lens remains focused on the subject, which is excellent for vloggers.

One additional feature of the front selfie camera is photo & video mode. Short-form video, Showcase Focus, Story Creator, Night, Portrait, Video, Slow-Mo, Time-Lapse, Panorama, Filter, Mirror Reflection, Stickers, Capture Smiles, Audio Control, Timer, Auto Smile Capture and the palm gesture, so when you hold your open palm in front of the front camera, it gives you a 3-sec count and clicks a selfie. Multi-Video option where you can simultaneously record with main cameras and selfie camera recording.  You can record videos at 4K@30 and gyro-EIS. Under the photo and video option, you can shoot with AI, FHD, and HDR. Selfie with Flash uses the screen with a full-brightness white light as a flash. You can also shoot selfies mode. Under more options, you can use the Dual Capture photo and video. Under the portrait mode, you can also get the Bokeh effect.

Main Cameras

The Huawei nova 13 Pro’s back panel houses the triple cameras and the LED flash on a circular frame that juts out a little. The triple cameras consist of 50 MP, f/1.4-4.0, 23mm (wide), PDAF, OIS, 12 MP, f/2.4, 69mm (telephoto), PDAF, OIS and 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112˚ (ultra-wide), AF.

The primary camera’s general setting can click images in 4160px X 3120px at 96 dpi. In Hi-res mode, you get 8192 × 6144 px at 96 dpi. In video mode, the camera clicks 4K and 1080p@30, gyro-EIS.

The autofocus is good, with half-second delays measured under easy lighting conditions. It also has the pro mode, where you can manually adjust exposure value (EV), white balance (WB), Auto Focus (AF), Exposure (ISO), and 54 MP mode.

Under the aperture mode, you can choose a Physical aperture, which ranges from F 1.4 to F4, or a virtual aperture, which ranges from F 0.95 to F 16.

The primary camera can shoot Short-Form Video, Follow Focus, Portrait Video, Story Creator, AI-Camera, Wide Aperture, Night, Portrait, High-Res, Photo, Pro, Video, Super Macro, Panorama, Time-Lapse, Slow-Mo, Watermark, Moving Picture, Timer, Capture Smiles, Audio Control and with Filter.

In the video, you can do a time-lapse and story. You shoot video in Wide, 1x, 2x, and 8x, which is digitally zoomed. The camera records 4K & FullHD 1920 x 1080 at 30FPS, and the sound capture is good. The camera automatically focuses on the subject and creates a Bokeh effect. It also lets you fix focus (AE/AF lock) when clicking on the subject by holding the finger for a few seconds on the screen. 

(Please note: AE/AF Lock to be used sensibly as it may cause out of focus of the video if moved from the subject with the locked to another far away subject)

Operating System and Software

The Huawei nova 13 Pro has a Harmony OS operating system with the EMUI version 14.2.0 as the user interface. So, with Android 14.0, the Honor X9c (5G) has all the latest features like AI beautification, creamy Bokeh for portraits, and AI recognition of up to 500 scenes. It uses 12GB RAM + 3GB (RAM Turbo) and 512 GB ROM internal storage for the UAE market. The Harmony OS features help with better, more accurate facial brightness, contrast for selfies on the front cameras, scene-by-scene optimisations for shots taken on the rear, and enhancement of the photography effects.  There was no significant lag between screens or when scrolling the apps; it was smooth and fast.

The phone comes with Huawei Share, Nearby Share, a screenshot and screen recorder, a link to Windows, and other buttons at the top of the menu.

Benchmark Testing

The Huawei nova 13 Pro was tested with various benchmarking Apps—the Antutu benchmark result was 616485. On the PC Mark benchmark, it scored 10302. On the AI Benchmark, it scored 74.0, and the AI device scored 246. The Geek benchmark scored 698 on Single Precision-core, Half Precision-core scored 690 and 1339 on Quantized.

While benchmark testing the smartphone, the body temperature rose to 34°C, and the CPU temperature rose to 38°C.

(Please note: While reviewing and testing, most smartphones had an average body temperature of 32°C to 37°C.)

Sound & Audio

The Huawei nova 13 Pro has a dual-side speaker grill. The sound comes from the bottom side. When you hold the smartphone vertically and horizontally, you can hear stereo from the right (top) side and left (bottom) side.

The trebles and mid-level were clear, and the bass was decent for the smartphone’s value. The volume is quite clear. The device comes with two mics—on top and bottom, beside the USB Type C charging port. It supports Hi-Res audio format.

Huawei nova 13 Pro was tested with various types of videos played and different genres of music, and it passed above average compared to other competitors in a similar price range.

(Please note: The smartphone was held at a distance of 1- 2 feet while testing the audio quality)

Connectivity & Battery

The smartphone has a fingerprint sensor, face detection, pattern and pin for accessing the smartphone.  The Smartphone supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth, which supports 5.2, A2DP, LE, L2HC (320-960 kbps HD audio). The smartphone has a non-removable 5000mAh battery and lasts more than 2+ days with average usage. The smartphone comes with USB Type-C 2.0 charging input, which can charge the phone at 100W fast, and I could get 60% charge in 15 minutes.

Conclusion

Huawei nova 13 Pro is an excellent smartphone at the price; the phone is high mid-range with all the great features for gaming and watching online entertainment and is incredibly impressive for Vlogging. The built quality and colour make the phone very rich and stylish. The display screen and body are robust and reliable. Nothing happens to the body or the display, even if the phone drops from 3 to 5 feet, but it is not indestructible. The screen is scratchproof, except if you purposely try to do heavy scratches. The triple cameras with AI support make this smartphone one of the best in the competition.

The dual cameras with 60MP and 8MP lenses can make a difference with the AI function, giving a charming creamy Bokeh effect and focusing on your face with auto-tracking when clicked on the screen for focus. It has a quick and sharp focus system.

With a 512GB ROM, which is adequate for Vloggers and the Dual Card SIM Tray, it is an excellent smartphone for the price and can compete with its competitors for the money.

With all the AR and AI effects and functions, it is a very young, stylish, and perfect companion for teens and gamers.

The daylight shot was sharp and sound, and the dual selfie cameras were natural, with excellent colour output.

Under low light or night photography, the output was sound with the colour saturated with the AI.  

Overall, it is an excellent buy for the consumer for the price and a mid-range phone.

Packaging of Huawei nova 13 Pro & Price

The Honor X9c (5G) smartphone comes in a white box with the silver-coloured “Huawei nova 13 Pro” printed on all sides. On opening the box, you will find the smartphone in a translucent cover in a plastic tray. Digging further, you will find the white paper sleeve with a transparent protective back cover with a SIM removal tool, a quick guide, and a guarantee card. Below the sleeve, you will find the 100W supercharger plug and the USB Type C charging cable.

The Huawei nova 13 Pro launched at AED2399 and is available in various online and retail stores. The device is available in three colours: Black, Loden Green and White. Consumers will receive gifts like HUAWEI WATCH FIT Special Edition Black and HUAWEI FreeBuds 5i Ceramic White.

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