Huawei Nova 15 Max Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

Huawei nova 15 Max - Uneven Cost Distribution

The Chinese company Huawei continues to develop its Nova series of smartphones, but so far, this is more quantitative than qualitative. The subject of today's review isn't the cheapest member of the updated line, but it does have a number of noticeable shortcomings that will definitely impact its future success.

The new model's appearance is quite attractive, thanks to its stylish round photo module cluster, a variety of color options to suit every taste, and thin bezels all around the display with an integrated fingerprint scanner. The 6.84-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2756 x 1272 pixels is unlikely to cause any complaints in terms of content clarity. The manufacturer has increased peak brightness to a near-flagship 4000 nits, and the image is smooth with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, offering relatively natural color reproduction.

The technical specifications raise more questions. The Kirin 8000 processor, paired with 8GB of RAM and a Mali G610 graphics card, isn't a high-performance CPU, even in the mid-range segment. You can expect a score of 600,000 points in the AnTuTu benchmark, and stable performance of the EMIU interface based on Android OS in most cases. However, gamers are unlikely to appreciate this chipset. More or less resource-intensive games like Zenless Zone Zero or Diablo Immortal will require significantly reduced graphics settings for a comfortable framerate. What's truly surprising, however, is the battery life. It's powered by a huge 8,500mAh battery, capable of delivering over 12-15 hours of active screen time. Fast wired charging is also supported at 40W. Storage is limited to 256GB, with no microSD card slot. This isn't the best solution for today's environment.

The photography capabilities aren't without some serious cost-cutting. There are virtually no secondary cameras, as there's no wide-angle or telephoto lens. The only option is a 2-megapixel portrait sensor, which has little impact on the final image quality. So, the main 50-megapixel module with hybrid stabilization is all that's needed. It takes excellently detailed daytime shots and holds its own in evening photo sessions. However, some noise and blur are still noticeable in photos and videos taken in such lighting. If you try to highlight the device's other advantages, you'll find stereo sound, NFC contactless payment, 5G support, and an IR port for controlling home appliances. What's definitely missing, however, are Google services, so important to many competitors. As a result, we have a device with unbalanced parameters and obvious shortcomings that is difficult to recommend to everyone.