Huawei makes great phones. The tri-lens camera on this year's P20 Pro is probably the finest camera ever seen on a smart phone. Combined with the awesome power of Huawei's Kirin chipset technology, it's an extremely nice device.

 

But the question is; why have three cameras when you can have four?... ...for less than half the price?...

 

 

Okay, the four camera thing is slightly misleading - but only slightly.

 

The Huawei nova 3i only has a dual lens rear-facing camera as opposed to the P20 Pro's unique tri-lens setup. I say only, but truth is, very few phones in this price range sport dual lens cameras. What even fewer phones at any price have is a dual lens forward-facing camera. This means the nova 3i offers you the same features for your selfies you can access for the rest of your pics.

 

The camera innovation doesn't stop there. AI object recognition has been popping up in a lot of flagship devices, now you get it in the nova 3i - both front and back. Not only does this help you take way better photos in a range of environments and lighting conditions, but it also gives you the option of shopping for things you take pictures of. If the phone can recognise it, it can link you to an online store that sells it.

 

Of course, the other thing you get when you combine powerful AI with cool cameras is 3D facial recognition. Not only does this mean fast and accurate face unlock functionality, but also silly live animations you can superimpose over your own face. Huawei calls these QMojis. I call them too much time on your hands.

 

But the nova 3i is so so much more than just pretty pictures. It's also extremely pretty itself. While it is available in black, no-one in their right mind would choose anything other than Iris Purple. Iris Purple is only partly purple, quite a lot of blue and all the colours in between. It's kind of hypnotic to look at... like a double rainbow. This is all encased in glass with a metal mid-frame. It's super light, super slim and super slippery. It feels luxurious in your hand... but only if you can actually manage to grip its near frictionless surface. It could well be the slipperiest phone I've ever encountered - at one stage it worked its way out of my pocket onto the floor, while I was sitting on the couch. The glass seems pretty tough... no damage to report.

 

The 6.3inch display sounds too big but because it's edge-to-edge, the phone really isn't over the top size-wise and you want maximum display real-estate for streaming and gaming - two things the nova 3i does very well again, due in large part to the built-in AI. Combined with the impressive processing power of the Kirin 710 chipset, the nova 3i even offers a dedicated Gaming Mode which commits maximum resources to graphics and sound while blocking pesky notifications.

 

There's a more-than-ample 128GB of built-in storage, and the 4GB of RAM once again puts this lower-mid-range device up with the big boys.

 

The only real sign of the budget price-tag is the microUSB connection instead of the more user-friendly USB Type-C all high-end phones now support. Still no wireless charging here either which is slightly mysterious because in other markets Huawei does have a phone available with wireless charging capability.

 

A slightly old fashioned plug. That's really the only thing wrong with the nova 3i. So actually, there's nothing wrong with it at all. Plus it takes incredible photos from both cameras. PLUS plus it's amazing to look at.

 

But here's what I don't understand... why offer a phone that's almost as good as your flagship device for less than half the price?

 

The nova 3i is currently available for just $499 - and that's not even including the nice bonus pressies most retailers are bundling in with it. So surely it makes no sense to pay $1200 for a P20 Pro, just to get a 3 lens rear facing camera?

 

 

Click here for more information and pricing on the Huawei nova 3i