Huawei Nova 8i vs Nova 8
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.67-inch Huawei Nova 8i (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 662) that was released on July 7, 2021, against the Huawei Nova 8, which is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 985 5G and came out 7 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Huawei Nova 8i
- Comes with 500 mAh larger battery capacity: 4300 vs 3800 mAh
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- The phone is 7-months newer
Reasons to consider the Huawei Nova 8
- 2.2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (436K versus 194K)
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- More energy-efficient CPU – Kirin 985 5G
- More recent OS version: Android 11 versus 10
- OLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
We may receive a commission from Amazon for purchases made using the links below, but this has no bearing on our assessment methodology.
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | OLED |
| Size | 6.67 inches | 6.57 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2376 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 391 ppi | 392 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 550 nits |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.4% | 89.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
Design and build
| Height | 161.9 mm (6.37 inches) | 160.1 mm (6.3 inches) |
| Width | 74.7 mm (2.94 inches) | 74.1 mm (2.92 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.6 mm (0.34 inches) | 7.6 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 190 g (6.7 oz) | 169 g (5.96 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Blue | White, Black, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in home button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 | HiSilicon Kirin 985 5G |
| Max. clock | 2000 MHz | 2560 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 260 Silver (Cortex-A53) - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Kryo 260 Gold (Cortex-A73) |
- 4 cores at 1.84 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 1 core at 2.58 GHz: Cortex-A76 |
| Lithography process | 11 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 610 | Mali-G77 MP8 |
| GPU clock | 600 MHz | 700 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~272 GFLOPS | ~652 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 62616 | - |
| GPU | 39860 | - |
| Memory | 43274 | - |
| UX | 49023 | - |
| Total score | 194557 | 436434 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | - | 97% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 12 FPS |
| Graphics score | 373 | 2133 |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 5376 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 11) |
| ROM | EMUI 11 | EMUI 11 |
Battery
| Capacity | 4300 mAh | 3800 mAh |
| Charge power | 66 W | 66 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 19 min) | Yes (60% in 15 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:40 hr | 0:35 hr |
Camera
| Matrix | 64 megapixels | 64 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 9000 x 7000 | 9000 x 7000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | - | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 4 (64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 64 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Phase autofocus |
- 64 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.7" (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 17 mm - Sensor: 1/4" (CMOS) |
- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 17 mm - Sensor: 1/4" (CMOS) |
| Macro lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Depth lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Megapixels | 16 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4920 x 3264 | 6528 x 4896 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 0.8 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - 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 | 5 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Depends on the region | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | 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* | 13 | 20 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | July 2021 | December 2020 |
| Release date | July 2021 | January 2021 |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*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 8 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 69