That’s more than impressive especially for the Y60. The Nova Y60 uses a Mediatek MT6765 chipset with an octa-core processor. All that power is able to bring things like Bluetooth 5.1 and 2.4GHz support, for maximum compatibility with carrier’s 4G networks.

While the Nova 8 won’t have 5G, you get features like quad rear cameras; 64 MP Main Camera (f/1.9 aperture), 8 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera (f/2.4 aperture), 2 MP Depth Camera (f/2.4 aperture) and 2 MP Macro Camera (f/2.4 aperture). There’s also a fancy 90Hz curved OLED screen technology, 66W super fast charging with a stylish design to match. It is powered by the Huawei Kirin 820E processor.

The aesthetics continue on the back. The Nova 8 has a shimmering colour scheme dubbed Blush Gold.

Both the Huawei Nova 8 and Y60 are available for pre-order and will start shipping from 30 August and 31st August respectively. The Huawei Nova 8 is priced at R10 999 while the Huawei Nova Y60 is set at R3099. Still, its worth mentioning that these devices do not come packed with Google Mobile Services.

Huawei’s latest darling, the Huawei Mate 9, of course has dibs on Nougat, launching with that Android version right out of the box. Huawei’s other 2016 flagship, the Huawei P9, is also getting some love. According to the announcement, that will take place in the first quarter of 2017.

Around the same time as the Huawei P9, the company will also roll out Android 7.0 to the Huawei Mate 8. This is notable as this model was launched in late 2015. Well within the range of the usual two-year support period. That, however, doesn’t seem to apply to other 2015 models, despite not only being somewhat still young but also quite capable. The Huawei P8 and Mate S are noticeably absent from the list.

This would be a bit puzzling considering Huawei hasn’t completely ruled out 2015 models like the Mate 8, though, granted, those two did launch much earlier last year. It isn’t surprising that some users are feeling a bit disgruntled, hoping at least it was some clerical error or just unannounced schedule.

That said, Huawei did also lay out what will happen in the weeks following that Nougat roll out. According to the statement, the Huawei P9 Lite, P9 Plus, Nova, and Nova Plus will be receiving the update around that time. All four are 2016 models.

To my surprise, the company unveiled their new mid range device, the Nova. Many would ask whether the real smartphone excitement is happening in the mid-range? One thing is for certain, Huawei certainly seems to think so, first it was with the Honor 8 and now with the Huawei Nova and Nova Plus, two new, more affordable Android handsets. Revealed at IFA 2016 late last week. This is the Nexus 6P lookalike, as one fellow tech journo would call it.

First Impressions Count

The Nova has a 5-inch display and a sleek, brushed metal casing which the Chinese firm is counting on to differentiate it from rivals.  Indeed, even at first glance one can see that there’s a lot going on with the Nova. The styling is reminiscent of what Huawei did with the Nexus 6P, with what Huawei is calling 360-degree diamond cut edges and a brushed hairline finish. Its sleek, everything looks composed.

Inside, there’s a Snapdragon 625 octacore running at 2.0 GHz, along with 3GB of RAM. Huawei says the 3,340 mAh battery – which gets 5V2A fast-charge – and should last for 54 hours of “normal” use (or 15hrs of HD video or 16hrs of browsing over 4G). If Pokemon GO is your thing, the Nova should run for about five hours of play, Huawei’s exec excitedly exclaimed. In my past week’s use, the device has managed to supply 11 hours of everyday use from a single charge – quite impressive give my extensive check on emails and social media apps. 

Recharging is via USB-C, just as on the Nexus 6P and the Honor 8, and there’s a dual-SIM slot, one bay of which can be used for a microSD card instead. On the back, there’s a fingerprint reader which uses Huawei’s so-called level 4 security: beyond the ridge formation of level 2, and ridge path deviation of level 3, to instead capture a “3D fingerprint” instead – if that makes sense? Huawei says it has FIDO certification, too.

An 8-megapixel front-facing camera is used for Huawei’s current obsession, selfies, and indeed there’s the company’s own Beautiful Skin 3.0 and Beauty Makeup 2.0 software which can apply virtual cosmetics according to a number of themes. The Nova has a 12-megapixel BSI rear camera, with optical image stabilization and both phase and contrast autofocus, together with 4K video recording.

The same specifications are shared with the normal Nova, which we only had minimal play time with. That downgrades to a 5-inch Full HD display and a 3,020 mAh battery. Huawei expects that to last for 48 hours of average use (or 15 hours of HD video or 16 hours of 4G browsing). It also gets a 16-megapixel rear camera. The image quality is self evident. 

Of course, because it’s Huawei, there’s a strange obsession with using your knuckles to interact with Android. On the Nova Plus, for instance, you can use your knuckle to crop images or trace an “S” to trigger a long-page screen capture. A two-knuckle gesture starts screen recording, or can be used to crop videos.

Perhaps more useful is the one-touch control, which turns the fingerprint sensor into a scroll pad and shortcut key. You can flip through photos and answer calls with it, as well as pull down the notification slide or use it as a camera shutter release.

Huawei offers the Nova Plus in three colours – titanium grey, mystic silver and prestige gold – and the Nova in four colurs (rose gold fans are set to rejoice). With 32GB of storage it’ll be priced at around R3999 for the Nova and R5000 for the Nova Plus and go on sale in October, though local availability is not yet confirmed.