Huawei has recently launched the HUAWEI nova 11 series with devices encompassing the lower midrange, midrange and premium midrange segment. The nova 11 Pro sits exactly at the top of the lineup with a retail price of RM2,599.
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HUAWEI nova 11 Pro – Specifications
| Model | HUAWEI nova 11 Pro |
| Dimensions | 164.3 x 74.4 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 193g |
| Processor | CPU: Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 4G GPU: Adreno 642L |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 256GB |
| Display | 6.78″ AMOLED 1200 x 2652 pixels 120Hz Kunlun Glass |
| Camera (Front) | 60 MP, f/2.4 8 MP, f/2.2 |
| Camera (Rear) | Main Camera: 50 MP, f/1.9, PDAF, Laser AF Ultrawide Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2 |
| Operating System | EMUI 13 |
| Battery and Charging | 4,500 mAh 100W wired charging |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/a/6 Bluetooth 5.2 NFC GPS |
| Biometrics | Under display fingerprint reader Face unlock |
Design
The back of the HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is covered with a soft and supple vegan leather material. The leather has been debossed with the “nova” monogram pattern, followed by a foil finish towards the bottom. The dual camera array is laid out similarly to the flagship HUAWEI P60 Pro, albeit with an “Ultra Vision” camera instead of the more premium XMAGE branding.
The power button and volume rockers are arranged at the right side of the phone, while the SIM tray and charging port are placed at the bottom. At the front, you get a large 6.78-inch display, with two selfie cameras located at the top left.
The HUAWEI nova 11 Pro has adopted a quad curve design, allowing for a more comfortable crip around the edges. That combined with the textured leather finish results in a grippy phone even with sweaty palms.
I normally won’t comment on the aesthetics of the smartphone as it is really subjective, but I really like how it looks, especially the green colourway. Black is great too, if not a bit understated.
Display
The 6.78-inch OLED display has a resolution of 1200 x 2652 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. While the resolution could be a tad higher considering the large screen size and price point, it still looks reasonably sharp as long as you don’t stuff your face too close to it.
The refresh rate allows for visuals to look smooth and fluid. Finger swipes felt responsive too. It also has a P3 wide colour gamut for true to life colour tones.
User Experience
Long time users of the Android operating system will feel right at home with the EMUI 13. It is based on Android, albeit without Google Play. In its place, you get Huawei AppGallery, which is the company’s own apps platform. To use Google’s own apps, such as Google Chrome and YouTube, you can download from AppGallery, which is provided by fibonas, a third party app store.
While AppGallery does not have the most comprehensive apps collection, the library is definitely growing. You can even get some local apps such as Touch ‘n Go eWallet, MAE and more.
All in all, the user experience has improved significantly and you can get by with some workarounds.
Camera
The HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is equipped with a dual camera system, consisting of a 50 megapixel main camera and an 8 megapixel ultrawide.
The main camera is quite capable at this price point. It can take impressively pleasant pictures even using auto mode. Portrait mode is also quite impressive with nice subject separation from the background.
On paper, the lack of a telephoto camera may seem like a wasted opportunity, but I find the main camera’s digital crop to be good enough for this application. The ultrawide is nothing to shout about, but can take decent pictures under good lighting conditions.
The front selfie cameras are interesting, to say the least. There is a 60 megapixel ultrawide that is surprisingly sharp, and an 8 megapixel portrait shooter with a 2X zoom, which is alright if you want to take portraits of yourself, by yourself.
Performance
Powering the HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G chipset. As the name suggests this phone does not support 5G due to sanctions.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the hardware performance benchmarks:
Geekbench 6 Single Core – 1,009
Multi-Core – 2,459
OpenCL – 2,1253DMark Wild Life 2,499 PCMark Works 3.0 10,851
While it doesn’t really blow its competition out of the water, it is sufficiently peppy when it comes to day to day use. I rarely encountered any stuttering and lag issues. Gaming performance is also decent, as I could easily get more than 50 fps on games like MLBB and PUBG Mobile after tweaking the settings a bit.
Battery Life
Battery life on the HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is just average. Granted the 4,500mAh capacity is a bit smaller than the competition today, but I could get slightly more than a day’s worth of use before needing to charge. Fortunately, charging the phone is super quick thanks to the included 100W HUAWEI SuperCharge Turbo fast charger, which can get the phone from 0% to full charge in under 20 minutes.
Final Verdict
3.75 / 5The HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is a fashionable lifestyle piece with a capable camera package, perfect for capturing your previous moments.
The HUAWEI nova 11 Pro is marketed towards the lifestyle crowd and they have done a good job. It nails the features that most consumers would want in a midrange smartphone: an excellent camera, decent selection of apps, and a fast enough chipset for day to day use.
That being said, the lack of 5G and Google Play support may annoy some, particularly power users or hardcore gamers tied to their Google Play accounts.
For more information about the HUAWEI nova 11 Pro, please visit the official product page here.
