Huawei nova 7 series promise 5G for the Chinese masses

If not for the COVID-19 outbreak, carriers and phone makers would all be buzzing about 5G phones these days. They still do to some extent but almost all of those are found only inside expensive premium flagships. Few try to bring that next-gen wireless technology down to lower tiers but that trend might finally be changing soon. Following the recent debut of its high-end P40 series, Huawei is now launching the nova 7 Pro, nova 7, and nova 7 SE, all with that 5G feature companies love to talk about.

It seems that phone makers are now launching their products in threes. While that gives consumers more choices, it also ironically makes choosing a bit harder. Especially when specs and prices are so close to one another.

The Huawei nova 7 Pro 5G naturally takes the top rung with dual front cameras in an oblong corner cutout and an 8 megapixel 5X zoom camera with a periscope-style lens. The nova 7 5G doesn't stray that far, however, and both are equipped with the same 64 megapixel main camera, a beefy Kirin 985 processor, and 8 GB of RAM.

The Huawei nova 7 SE may sound like the underdog of the trio but it also makes the most affordable proposition for a 5G phone. It runs on a slightly less powerful Kirin 820 but still gets that same 8GB RAM and even a 64MP main camera. One key difference is that, unlike the nova 7 Pro and nova 7, it has a traditional side-mounted fingerprint scanner instead of an in-display one.

The Huawei nova 7 Pro 5G starts at 3,699 RMB, roughly $520, while the non-Pro base nova 7 5G gets a 2,999 RMB price tag or $425. The nova 7 SE 5G unsurprisingly goes even lower at $2,399 or around $340. As enticing as these phones may be based on their price and features, Huawei's current predicament may make them less attractive to consumers in other markets for their lack of Google Play apps and services.