Premium Looking Device

I was pretty excited to review the Huawei Nova 3e, seeing that it looks really nice for a supposed midranger. The Klein Blue body bound to turn heads when you take it out. Had I not known better, I would’ve thought it is the top end Huawei P20 too. There’s a reason too; it’s actually a P20 Lite rebranded for our market. In fact, upon booting the phone, I was greeted with Google asking me to set up my ‘P20 Lite’.

Disappointing Performance

Alas, my excitement was short-lived once I started using it for a bit. The Kirin 659 chip that powers the device is pretty dated by now and it shows; poor benchmark scores aside, the device does tend to lag with above average use. Furthermore, the cameras are a little grainy, but does the job if you’re snapping for social media. However, the machine’s lifespan is pretty decent for a 3000mAh battery. The high PPI screen is of great quality too.

Capable, But Not Worth the Price

Of course, if you have the money, you can get the device; I can definitely see it easily being your secondary phone. The dual SIM compatibility and fast charge USB type C makes it slightly standout in the midrange market that’s still populated by microUSBs. However, for a midranger that’s over RM1000, I definitely expected just a little bit more from the phone. There’s a flood of sub-RM1000 devices out there right now that are more powerful, making the price all the more disappointing.

Verdict: It looks and feels like something that costs premium money, but after using it for awhile you’d begin to feel the lackluster components beneath it.