The new Hi Nova brand was established to eliminate the problems in supplying HUAWEI’s 5G-supported chipsets and avoid the stock problem due to the embargo. The brand’s products are based on HUAWEI’s Nova series smartphones.
Hi nova brand emerged with the Nova 9 series, which HUAWEI introduced in 2021. There are many sub-brands of HUAWEI based on the HUAWEI Nova 9 model. There’s the HONOR 50 model, which is identical to the Nova 9 except for the 5G supported chipset and software. After the Nova 9 and HONOR 50, there’s the Hi Nova 9 series, which will be available only in the Chinese market in the last months of 2021. The series includes 3 models: Hi nova 9 (standard model), Hi nova 9 Pro and Hi nova 9 SE.
In order for the Hi nova brand not to be affected by U.S. sanctions, it must not be under the HUAWEI brand. The owner of the Hi nova brand is someone else. China Post, an company of the Chinese state that operates the country’s official postal services, owns the Hi nova brand. Hi nova doesn’t appear to be owned by HUAWEI, but China Post and HUAWEI signed a partnership agreement in 2019. HUAWEI‘s preparations for embargoes date back to 2019.
The fact that the owner of the Hi nova brand is China Post has prevented many problems experienced by HUAWEI. It is possible to purchase 5G supported Qualcomm chipsets, use the latest Android version on smartphones and there is no limited stock problem on the production side. The hardware stock problem experienced by HUAWEI has seriously affected the prices of smartphones.
Hi nova brand’s most powerful model: Hi nova 9 Pro technical specifications
The Hi nova 9 Pro is an ambitious mid-range smartphone. The Hi nova 9 Pro features a 6.72-inch OLED display that offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz and HDR10+ support. The screen supports 1B colors to provide more vivid colors and has a wider color gamut compared to ordinary 16.7m color screens. The resolution of the screen is a bit unusual, it’s 1236 x 2676 pixels.
The Hi nova 9 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset. The chipset consists of 4x Kryo 670 running at 2.4 GHz and 4x Kryo 670 running at 1.8 GHz. The Snapdragon 778G chipset is accompanied by Adreno 642L GPU. The Hi nova 9 Pro comes with two RAM/storage options 8/128GB and 8/256GB. The camera setup of the Hi nova 9 Pro is adequate for a mid-range smartphone: The primary rear camera has a resolution of 50 megapixels and an f/1.9 aperture. The secondary camera is has 8 MP resolution and f/2.2 aperture. Secondary camera provides ultra-wide-angle photos.
Besides the first and second camera, there are two camera sensors with 2MP resolution and f/2.4 aperture, for macro and depth shots. The rear camera can record 4K and 1080p videos. On the front, there are two selfie cameras, first front camera with 32MP resolution and f/2.0 aperture. The second front camera is a 32MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with a 100-degree field of view. The Hi nova 9 Pro is equipped with a 4000 mAH battery, which is a low capacity by today’s standards, but the shortcoming on the capacity side is made up for by the 100W fast charging feature. This feature isn’t available on most mid-range smartphones and can charge the 4000 mAh battery to 100% in 20 minutes.
Conclusion
The Hi nova brand was created to prevent HUAWEI’s troubles, and it’s a very logical decision. The smartphones that HUAWEI has launched recently are really ambitious, but very limited due to sanctions. The Hi nova brand’s product lineup could expand in the next few years and perhaps be sold worldwide. When Hi nova products are launched worldwide, they’ll be supported by Google services.
