Huawei Nova 16 vs Nova 15
75
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.68-inch Huawei Nova 16 (with HiSilicon Kirin 9010S) that was released on June 1, 2026, against the Huawei Nova 15, which is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 8000 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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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Huawei Nova 16
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 7000 vs 6000 mAh
- The rear camera has a 3.7x optical zoom
- 12% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1155K versus 1033K)
- 17% higher pixel density (461 vs 395 PPI)
- 49% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1320 and 887 points
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 | 6.68 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1280 x 2800 pixels | 1084 x 2412 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 461 ppi | 395 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | Yes (1-120 Hz) |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Aluminosilicate glass | Aluminosilicate glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90.9% | 88.6% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
Design and build
| Height | 159.6 mm (6.28 inches) | 161.87 mm (6.37 inches) |
| Width | 75.5 mm (2.97 inches) | 75.5 mm (2.97 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) | 7.2 mm (0.28 inches) |
| Weight | 199 g (7.02 oz) | 196 g (6.91 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP65 | IP65 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Pink | White, Black, Green, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 9010S | HiSilicon Kirin 8000 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 2400 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 1.3 GHz: - 3 cores at 2.05 GHz: - 1 core at 2.285 GHz: |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | SMIC | SMIC |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Da Vinci | Da Vinci |
| Graphics | Maleoon 920 | Mali-G610 MP4 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 1024 |
| GPU clock | 750 MHz | 840 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1536 GFLOPS | ~860.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 2617 | - |
| Single-core score | 1320 | 887 |
| Multi-core score | 3588 | 2610 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 497899 | 427262 |
| GPU | 161806 | 99555 |
| Memory | 260948 | 216046 |
| UX | 235139 | 290258 |
| Total score | 1155792 | 1033121 |
| 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 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | HarmonyOS 6.1 | HarmonyOS 6 |
Battery
| Capacity | 7000 mAh | 6000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 100 W | 100 W |
| Battery type | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes | Yes |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3.7x | Optical, 3x |
| 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 |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor size | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.6 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 88 mm | 69 mm |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| 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 | December 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | - | $400 |
| 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
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Huawei Nova 16 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 3