Huawei Nova 16s vs Nova 12
73
out of 100
VS
55
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.68-inch Huawei Nova 16s (with HiSilicon Kirin 8020) that was released on September 3, 2026, against the Huawei Nova 12, which is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 830 and came out 2 years and 9 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 16s
- Water-resistant body (IP65 classification)
- The rear camera has a 3.7x optical zoom
- Comes with 2400 mAh larger battery capacity: 7000 vs 4600 mAh
- 66% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1121K versus 676K)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Optical image stabilization
- Supports higher wattage charging (100W versus 66W)
- The phone is 2 years and 9 months newer
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- 17% higher pixel density (461 vs 395 PPI)
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 | No |
| Max rated brightness | - | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
| Touch sampling rate | - | 300 Hz |
| Screen protection | Aluminosilicate glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90.9% | 89% |
| 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) | 161.54 mm (6.36 inches) |
| Width | 75.5 mm (2.97 inches) | 75.36 mm (2.97 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) | 6.98 mm (0.27 inches) |
| Weight | 199 g (7.02 oz) | 191 g (6.74 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP65 | No |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Pink | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 8020 | HiSilicon Kirin 830 |
| Max clock | 2220 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | - |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.3 GHz: - 3 cores at 2.05 GHz: - 1 core at 2.22 GHz: |
- |
| Manufacturing | SMIC | - |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | - |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Da Vinci | - |
| Graphics | Maleoon 920C | - |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | - |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | - |
| FLOPS | ~860.2 GFLOPS | - |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 2294 | - |
| Single-core score | 1380 | 1040 |
| Multi-core score | 4102 | 2988 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 525685 | 261966 |
| GPU | 124045 | 103056 |
| Memory | 206447 | 132599 |
| UX | 265717 | 179211 |
| Total score | 1121894 | 676832 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | Less than 3 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | - | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | - | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android | Android 14 |
| ROM | EMUI 16 | HarmonyOS 4.0 |
Battery
| Capacity | 7000 mAh | 4600 mAh |
| Max charge power | 100 W | 66 W |
| Battery type | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes | Yes |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes (50% in 9 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 0:23 hr |
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3.7x | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | - | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 112° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 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 | - |
| Sensor | - | Omnivision OV50E |
| Sensor size | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) | 1/1.55" (≈ 0.65 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.6 | - |
| Focal length | 88 mm | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | - | 8 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.2 |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 50 megapixels | 60 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8960 x 6720 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | - | 17 mm |
| Sensor | - | Omnivision OV60A |
| Sensor size | 1/2.5" (≈ 0.4 inch) | 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 0.61 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | No |
| 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 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 6.0 | 5.2 |
| 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 | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | September 2026 | December 2023 |
| Release date | September 2026 | January 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | - | $490 |
| Successor | - | - Huawei Nova 16s |
| Sensors | - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 100 W | Yes, 66 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 16s is definitely a better buy.
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