Specs Comparison: Huawei Nova 2i vs Huawei P20 Lite

Huawei loves equipping their mid-range smartphones with the HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset, starting off with the Nova 2i. Today, even their newest mid-ranger, the P20 Lite, sports almost the same internal setup as its Nova cousin. Will the newer device beat the older or will it be the other way around? Let’s find out in this episode of specs comparison!

The Huawei Nova 2i is one of our readers’ favourites when it came out last year. It has a 5.9-inch 18:9 IPS display with 2160 x 1080 resolution, a HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 16MP + 2MP dual rear cameras with LED flash, 13MP + 2MP front cameras, and 3,340mAh battery.

The Huawei P20 Lite was released just last month and follows the Nova 2i’s internal setup with slight changes. It has a 5.84-inch 19:9 LTPS IPS display with 2280 x 1080 resolution, a HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 16MP + 2MP dual rear cameras, 16MP front camera, and 3,000mAh battery.

Here are their detailed specs:

Here are their benchmark scores:

Note: AnTuTu benchmark scores were not included due to the app test’s version difference.

Here are the advantages of each smartphone:

Huawei Nova 2i
+ Slightly larger screen size
+ Better CPU performance
+ Better GPU performance (implementation)
+ Longer battery life

Huawei P20 Lite
+ Better display type
+ Slightly higher horizontal aspect ratio
+ Slightly higher horizontal screen resolution
+ Higher front camera lens
+ USB Type-C
+ Android 8 Oreo out of the box

You may have already guessed which device is better in each key aspects but let’s explain them one by one shall we?

The P20 Lite has the upper-hand in terms of display due to its type and screen resolution. The LTPS IPS setup is basically the upgraded version of IPS, with better color reproduction and accuracy. Users should get the P20 Lite if they are fond of watching or streaming videos.

Normally, identical processors and GPUs should have a close performance right? Well, it’s like that with these two devices but then, PC Mark Work 2.0 benchmark scores happened. The Work 1.0 scores are identical because it only tests Web Browsing, Video Playback, Writing, and Photo Editing. However, Work 2.0 has an improved test case with Web Browsing, Writing, Photo Editing with added features such as Video Editing and Data Manipulation for added performance accuracy score. Some major factors that could have affected the score would be the operating system used (Nova 2i uses Android 7 Nougat when we did the benchmark test) and the optimization of the smartphone overall.

Simply put, The Huawei Nova 2i is the better pick if users want to have a better overall performance in their device.

Moving on, the Nova 2i and P20 Lite didn’t change its rear camera setup but, in terms of the front shooters, the former increased its main camera’s resolution. Check out our sample shots on both smartphones here. (Huawei Nova 2i and Huawei P20 Lite)

Both of the devices are similar in terms of battery life with the Nova 2i leading by a few minutes. With this, users can choose either device without worrying which one has a significant performance.

The Huawei Nova 2i is priced at Php12,990USD 221INR 18,765EUR 211CNY 1,612 while the Huawei P20 Lite is priced at Php15,990USD 272INR 23,099EUR 260CNY 1,984. We can say that if users want to have a good viewing experience then they should choose the latter. If performance is what they’re after, then our pick goes to the former.

What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.