Huawei nova 7 SE 5G Unboxing and First Impressions

Back in February, Huawei introduced the very first 5G-ready smartphone in the Philippines—the Mate 30 Pro 5G.

nova 7 SE 5G

However, 5G smartphones of such kind are often found in the high-end smartphone category. As we all know, not all Filipinos are capable of spending loads of cash on a smartphone.

But, what if you want to be an early adopter of that tech and you do not have the money to go for a high-end 5G device? Enter nova 7 SE 5G.

Earlier today, tech giant Huawei formally announced the PHP 19,990 nova 7 SE 5G to the Philippine market, the very first mid-range smartphone in the country with next-generation connectivity technology.

AND based on its SPECS, it could be more than just an affordable smartphone with 5G tech.

Here's our review part 1: unboxing and first impressions.

Unboxing/Accessories

Unboxed

We got the familiar Huawei packaging in a white box. After opening the box, you will be greeted by another box containing the SIM ejector tool, TPU clear case, and paper documents.

TÜV Rheinland-certified fast-charging power brick included

Underneath is the phone itself with a pre-installed screen protector followed by the 40W USB SuperCharge power brick, USB-A to USB-C data/charging cable, and earphones with microphone.

It's basically a near-complete package from case to screen protector.

Build Quality/Design

Space Silver variant

Behind, the phone uses a 3D glass material with a tall rectangular shaped camera hump covered in glass. The frame comes with a metallic material. The front panel is covered with a 2.5D curved glass.

There's no mention of glass protection. But, we noticed that the hybrid dual SIM tray has a red rubber ring to provide some sort of water resistance.

In the looks department, it'll give it a checkmark in many aspects. Modern-design. Check. A curved glass back. Check. High-gloss CMF 9-layer nano-coat finish. Check. Gradient colors. Check. Punch-hole screen. Check.

My minor concern about its finish is it is prone to fingerprint smudges.

Quad-cam hump and the hybrid tray

The unit that we got is the Space Silver variant which uses a special silver tone to create a low saturated gradient color of light blue-silver-pink. The phone is also available in Crush Green and Midsummer Purple colorways.

2020 design, premium mid-range build!

The camera hump which houses its 64MP f/1.8 main cam + 8MP f/2.4 ultra-wide-cam + 2MP f/2.4 macro camera + dual-tone LED flash. We also noticed that it has a Color Temperature Sensor below the flash.

Based on its new chip with BM3D noise-reduction tech and higher camera specs, it will likely take better images than the nova 7i.

A punch-hole display that is rich in colors

In the front, the phone is equipped with a 6.5-inch 2.5D curved LCD (LTPS) screen with FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 405 ppi. It has a 20:9 cinematic screen aspect ratio and a screen-to-body ratio of 90.3 percent.

Top and side bezels are slim, but the chin is a little thick. In general, its bezels are still considered slim which makes its screen quite immersive.

It also has a single punch-hole in the display which houses the 16MP f/2.0 selfie camera with Super Night Selfie 2.0 tech for better self-portraits even in the dark.

Also, even if it is not using an AMOLED panel or an IPS panel with smoother refresh rates, it has a decent 96 percent NTSC wide color gamut for your Netflix or YouTube binge-watching moments. It can go quite bright as well.

The phone is a little large at 162.31 x 75.0 mm, but not that thick at 8.58 mm.

Top and bottom view

On top, there's the first mic. Below, you'll see a 3.5mm headphone jack slot, another mic, USB-C port, and the single loudspeaker grille. On top of the display, there's a neatly hidden earspeaker.

Unlike the nova 5T, it still comes with a 3.5mm jack for your favorite wired earphones or headphones. The USB-C slot of this phone will also enable it to enjoy the USB-C 40W SuperCharge tech of Huawei. The said charging tech can fully charge the phone from 0 to 100 percent in an hour.

Left, right

At left, you'll find the hybrid dual SIM tray. One of the slots supports Huawei's proprietary NM card for expandable storage up to 256GB. 

At right, you'll see the fingerprint scanner that doubles as the power key and the volume rocker.

The phone is reasonably comfortable to hold and it feels quite premium. It has enough heft at 189 grams as well. Using it with both hands

Huawei nova 7 SE 5G Specs

Display: 6.5-inch 2.5D curved LCD (LTPS) screen w/ FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 405 ppi

CPU: 2.22GHz 7nm Kirin 820 octa-core processor w/ DaVinci NPU

GPU: Mali-G57 MP6 w/ GPU Turbo

RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 128GB UFS 2.1 expandable via NM card slot up to 256GB

Back Camera: 64MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.4 120-degree ultra-wide-angle + 2MP f/2.4 w/ 4cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth + dual-tone LED flash

Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.0

Battery: 4,000mAh w/ 40W SuperCharge

OS: Android 10 w/ EMUI 10.1

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Fingerprint sensor, USB-C, dual-mic, Colors: Space Silver, Crush Green, Midsummer Purple

Dimensions: 162.31 x 75.0 x 8.58 mm

Weight: 189 g

Price: PHP 19,990 (PHP 17,990 new SRP)

As of the moment

AnTuTu score

The Huawei nova 7 SE looking to be the device who are looking for a mid-range smartphone with beautiful and modern back design, early 2019 flagship speeds for less using the 7nm Kirin 820 5G chipset, next-generation dual-mode 5G connectivity with five frequencies, super-fast charging batteries, and capable cameras starring the 64MP main shooter.

You can install your favorite apps using AppGallery or other 3rd party app stores

It even runs with the new EMUI 10.1 skin based on Android 10 with Huawei MeeTime, DUAL-VIEW video mode, eBook mode paper-like reading, and AppAssistant with GameCenter.

So far, this is a handset that screams value-for-money.

Note: Like most new Huawei smartphones, the nova 7 SE is pre-loaded with Huawei Mobile Services with AppGallery instead of Google. You may use it to install your favorite apps.

See you next week for our full review!