Huawei Nova 16 Ultra vs Nova 15 Ultra
77
out of 100
VS
76
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.84-inch Huawei Nova 16 Ultra (with HiSilicon Kirin 9010S) that was released on June 1, 2026, against the Huawei Nova 15 Ultra, which is powered by the same chip and came out 5 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
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Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.84 inches | 6.84 inches |
| Resolution | 1320 x 2856 pixels | 1320 x 2856 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 460 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | Yes (1-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 6000 nits | 4000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 300 Hz | 300 Hz |
| Screen protection | Kunlun Glass | Kunlun Glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90.3% | 90.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
Design and build
| Height | 163 mm (6.42 inches) | 163 mm (6.42 inches) |
| Width | 78 mm (3.07 inches) | 78 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.1 mm (0.28 inches) | 6.8 mm (0.27 inches) |
| Weight | 220 g (7.76 oz) | 209 g (7.37 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP69 | IP69 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue | White, Black, Green, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 9010S | HiSilicon Kirin 9010S |
| Max clock | 2500 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.55 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 2.18 GHz: TaiShan V121 - 1 core at 2.3 GHz: TaiShan V121 |
- 4 cores at 1.55 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 2.18 GHz: TaiShan V121 - 1 core at 2.3 GHz: TaiShan V121 |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 8 MB |
| Manufacturing | SMIC | SMIC |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Da Vinci | Da Vinci |
| Graphics | Maleoon 920 | Maleoon 920 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 1024 |
| GPU clock | 750 MHz | 750 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1536 GFLOPS | ~1536 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 2604 | 2330 |
| Single-core score | 1310 | 1304 |
| Multi-core score | 3598 | 3624 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 541180 | 360961 |
| GPU | 141576 | 286060 |
| Memory | 268691 | 445494 |
| UX | 277782 | 228708 |
| Total score | 1229229 | 1321223 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | Less than 3 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 4.0 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | HarmonyOS 6.1 | HarmonyOS 6 |
Battery
| Capacity | 7000 mAh | 6500 mAh |
| Max charge power | 100 W | 100 W |
| Battery type | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (50 W) | Yes (50 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
Main camera
| Matrix | 200 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12288 x 16384 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3.7x | Optical, 3.7x |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Angle of widest lens | 118° | 118° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 200 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 50 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 200 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.4 - 4.0 |
| Focal length | 18 mm | 24 mm |
| Sensor size | 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) | - |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 88 mm | 88 mm |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 52 mm | 52 mm |
| Sensor size | 1/2.5" (≈ 0.4 inch) | 1/2.5" (≈ 0.4 inch) |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | Yes |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | June 2026 | December 2025 |
| Release date | June 2026 | January 2026 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | - | $600 |
| Sensors | - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 100 W | Yes, 100 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the battery life and design are more important to you, then choose the Huawei Nova 16 Ultra. But if the gaming is more of a priority – go for the Huawei Nova 15 Ultra.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 10