In a world where midrange smartphones are a dime-a-dozen, it has become increasingly difficult to choose which one to go with. Well, we’re here to bring another option to the table: the Huawei Nova 15 Max. Will its gigantic battery and massive display be enough to win us over?
Design and Construction
The Huawei Nova 15 Max features a typical slab phone design. There are minimal bezels around the display, allowing the smartphone to boast an impressive 90.2% screen-to-body ratio. At the center of the screen is a hole-punch, which we definitely prefer over an outdated notch.
The rest of the device is standard midrange fare. The rear is made of a matte plastic material – the only highlight being the monstrous camera ring on the rear. The module does protrude tremendously, but it’s pretty to look at…. so maybe that would be a more important factor for some. It can’t “lay flat” on a table though, unless you were to put it screen down or get a case that can even out the camera bump.
The sides are rounded as well. Despite the majorly plastic construction, there is a significant degree of heft with the Huawei Nova 15 Max. 232 grams to be exact. It’s solid in the hand and could probably be used as a throwing weapon in a pickle. Don’t worry though, as the weight is well-balanced across the chassis and isn’t tiring to hold whatsoever.
On the right side of the frame are a power button/fingerprint sensor and volume rocker combo, while a lone “X button” sits on its left side. It isn’t difficult to reach even for those with smaller hands.
A USB Type-C port coexists with a speaker and SIM tray at the bottom, while the other speaker takes solitary residence on top.
If you’re the type who drops your device often, fear not: the Huawei nova 15 Max comes with SGS Premium Performance Mark 5-Star Drop Resistance certification, a testament to its durable build.
Display and Multimedia
The Nova 15 Max packs a 6.84-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Scrolling is silky smooth. You can also press your eyeballs up to the display and it’ll still be hard to pixel-peep, thanks to a 2756×1272 (1.5K) resolution. That’s 444 pixels per inch for those who want the numbers.
We also tried using it in direct sunlight with no struggle at all. It is advertised to be able to reach 4000 nits of peak brightness if needed.
While this might not be the most vivid display, it’s calibrated to output more natural, true-to-life tones that are easy on the eyes after a long day of screentime.
The stereo speakers both top and bottom aren’t just for show either. They get reasonably loud for the phone’s form factor. You can really tell the audio is coming from two sides of the device and not just one. For watching a quick movie on the go, this would be more than serviceable. Just manage your expectations before putting it at max volume, it won’t replace Bluetooth speakers.
Cameras
The Huawei nova 15 Max has a main 50-megapixel sensor onboard.
In daylight or excellent lighting conditions, the camera system really struts its stuff. Shots are detailed enough to zoom into, colors pop out, and you’d be very happy using these to post online.
Shooting close-ups of objects is no problem either. Everything is captured fairly with minimal to no distortion.
The 8-megapixel ultrawide lens onboard is average, but flexible enough for a variety of situations. Here’s a late-night pharmacy run shot.
Here’s the kicker: even in low-light, the nova 15 Max performs quite satisfactorily for a midrange device. We expected grain galore but discovered that it was kept to manageable levels. Especially if you stay still while taking your shot, the phone will muster up everything its hardware and software processing can give; leading to a usable nighttime photo.
The 8-megapixel front shooter is no slouch. The first photo is in the sports rehabilitation center with my PT with tons of natural light, and the latter photo is in a nighttime dinner setting with my sister. Photos came out social media-ready. One thing to note, though: the beauty filters are turned on by default.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Huawei nova 15 Max rocks an in-house HiSilicon Kirin 8000 chipset. It’s an octa-core processor with peak speeds of up to 2.4GHz. This package is paired with 8GB of RAM.
Since we’ve long moved past core count and processor speed, we’ll tell you that the nova 15 Max performs exactly how a competent midrange device should in 2026. We didn’t experience lag or any issues in our testing period, even while going through multiple applications. It’s not going to blow any flagships out of the water, but it’s a respectable showing in everyday use.
The numbers proved our experience right. The nova 15 Max pulled a single-core score of 894 and multi-core score of 2396 on Geekbench 6 (while on performance mode). While not mind-numbingly high numbers, these are close to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and above the Helio G99, both tried-and-tested chipsets.
On AnTuTu benchmark v11, the nova 15 Max was able to reach 771242. That puts it within the midrange spectrum, definitely above entry-level but markedly below gaming-oriented devices within the same tier. Just goes to show that the phone was never meant to break speed records, instead opting to last as long as possible.
Playing famous titles such as Mobile Legends is a treat, especially on the large display. It’s no surprise that the game runs smoothly considering it’s built to run on most low-end and midrange devices. Wanting to push a bit more, we decided to crank up everything in the Settings Menu to Ultra. Everything. Resolution, textures, effects, you name it.
Even with all ten characters and minions on screen all using attack animations at the same time, there was zero noticeable lag or stuttering. It sustained consistent performance over the course of four full MLBB games while staying cool in the hand. The Mali-G610 GPU onboard still packs quite a punch.
If you’re going to be spending most of your time on demanding, hardware-pushing games like Genshin Impact, Neverness to Everness, or Wuthering Waves, expect to be on lowest-medium settings to achieve decent frame rates.
OS, Apps, and UI
The Huawei nova 15 Max runs EMUI 14.2 out of the box. It’s your run-of-the-mill Android user interface with a clean layout and box icons for applications. Like iOS and some other Android skins today, there is no app drawer. All your apps are on several pages of your home screen.
The UI is extremely responsive. We didn’t encounter any crashes in multiple days of use. Modern EMUI iterations really do prove to be generally more pleasant experiences than what we remember years ago.
Unsurprisingly, app installations are done on AppGallery (and not the Play Store) due to a lack of Google support. With the help of AppGallery and GBox though, using your favorite applications becomes rather straightforward.
Battery and Connectivity
This is where the nova 15 Max shines. Inside this smartphone is a mammoth 8,500 mAh battery pack.
Well, we wanted to put it to the test; so we did. The phone registered an impressive 17 hours and 54 minutes on the Work 3.0 battery life test. That is markedly higher than other midrange devices and flagships, roughly translating to 2-3 days of real-world use.
Should the lights go out, it can be nursed back to health with 40W fast charging. There is no wireless option available which may not be a factor at all to some.
On the connectivity side of things, the smartphone comes equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6.
Conclusion
The Huawei nova 15 Max is a very competitive smartphone in the midrange segment. While its raw processor performance may be matched or even trumped by other competitors in the space (especially gaming-centric phones), and the lack of Google may turn some away, there are buyers who don’t care for those two things.
If you want a beautiful, large display bundled with a massive battery and a capable camera – without the need to constantly lug a power bank around, this device may just be the one for you. This phone has so much to offer and can definitely be used as a versatile all-day primary device for just about anyone.
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