Tag Archives: nova 7i

Android, Editorial, Mobile

Living with HUAWEI Mobile Services and AppGallery Part 3: Hey, We Got a New Phone!

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We started this journey over two weeks ago. We also switched to a HUAWEI P40 Pro review unit last week as an HMS test device on a full-time basis. Starting it up and starting afresh, we thought we might want to give the HUAWEI device the best chance it has to stack up against all the other Android devices we encountered. That is why, rather than loading it with the set-up we had on the HUAWEI Nova 7i, we went with Phone Clone to get it to clone a HUAWEI Mate 20X I owned.

The result of that was the transfer of more than just the apps we had on the HUAWEI Nova 7i. We had more than we bargained with Prime Video and Telegram ported in. We had Facebook and Instagram ported too, alongside some of our favourite games like Brawl Starts and PUBG Mobile. More about Phone Clone app and the HUAWEI P40 Pro in our in-depth review later though. Note that the HUAWEI P40 Pro is a review unit and it is due for a return soon. So we only have a limited time with HUAWEI’s latest photography king and switch back to the Nova 7i.

Phone Clone is The Way to Go

The point is you can still run Android apps on the HUAWEI’s EMUI 10. It is still an Android 10 device after all. Well, just be sure that everything runs nicely. We found that Instagram will not turn over on the HUAWEI P40 Pro. It could just be a device issue, but that is quite annoying to us. The upgrade also comes with a big step up in the camera of course. But that is not our focus today.

The focus today is to test it out as a daily driver for the week. We popped in the YES 4G SIM card we had for our review devices and its ready to roll. Okay, it is ready to somewhat roll.

Of course, we had our concerns with the apps. For one, there is now no official support for the apps. Where do we update the apps? How do we update the apps? If I’m transferring WhatsApp from my older device, do I use Gmail still? We may not be able to answer all the questions you and I have.

Right out of the box, if you did not use Phone Clone to copy your WhatsApp data over to your new HUAWEI device, you are going to lose everything. If you use Phone Clone and WhatsApp did not copy its complete data over, you lose everything. There is no carry over of backup data because HUAWEI cannot back up to Gmail now. It is like switching from an Apple device to Android device. That is kind of a bummer.

We found a solution to that though, from HUAWEI’s own community site. It is not the simplest instructions to follow, because there is a lot of navigation around restoring your WhatsApp data in your HUAWEI smartphone. If you want to give it try you can head to their website. It still works (sort of) on the HUAWEI Nova 7i and HUAWEI P40 Pro as well. So that should not be too big of an issue.

We found that installing Google Drive may not work as well, because you cannot actually sign into your Google account. That, and a lot of other Google apps. At least you get your WhatsApp chat history back, right? You have to jump through some hoops, yes; but it works.

We did not manage to get Netflix ported over, or even working for that matter. At least Amazon’s Prime Video works well though. We cannot tell if it is only streaming in HD quality or not, but it works at least, and that is now part of our entertainment.

The next challenge is to update the apps. For that, we started using APKPure and Aptoide. Mind you, you cannot get these two app markets on AppGallery too, so you have to download them from their respective mirror sites.

New in AppGallery

Since we last spoke about the AppGallery though, there has been some additions to the ecosystem. There are some new apps there and here. A lot of which, we are not concerned about. One of which, could be interesting for residents of Malaysia. The MySejahtera app developed by Malaysia’s ministry of health to keep yourself in check of your own health status in the COVID-19 situation now. Of course, during the Movement Control Order restrictions now, food is important, and you have Dahmakan app in the HUAWEI device anyway. Nope, no others so far. Not even Grab.

You could, theoretically get Grab working on your HUAWEI through Phone Clone as well. Again, there is going to be update issues later. But I guess we can cross that bridge when we get there.

Still, if you are going to rely on the AppGallery solely, Dahmakan is your best friend.

Quick Apps is a function that is on the HUAWEI AppGallery and a feature like no other. It is a sort of ‘pre-installed’ kit for devices with the AppGallery. They idea is that you can just access the Quick Apps gallery, pick the apps you want to use, and launch it without installing it. Where is it installed? In the cloud perhaps. But the essential point is that you can just use the apps as long as you are connected to the internet.

That is what the McDonald’s app is on the HUAWEI AppGallery, a Quick App. Of course, you need an active internet connection anyway for the app to work in the first place, so it does make plenty of sense. It also does not take up any space on your smartphone which is quite clever as well; a way to save storage space on your smartphone, if you might.

You can even add the app on your home screen so you can access it again anytime after your first visit. Just hit the app menu and add it to your home screen, very easy. We are not sure it is the most convenient way to discover an app though, because it is lodged very far down the AppGallery. You have to scroll all the way down to find the separate Quick Apps gallery.

Still, better than nothing right? There are plenty games within that gallery, none of which we play. Because the AppGallery is not segregated from one country to another yet, you can also find some broadcast apps on the platform. It is an interesting platform, if used correctly. Why not have WhatsApp there too? That is an idea.

Android, Editorial, Lifestyle, Mobile

Living with HUAWEI Mobile Services and AppGallery Part 2: Adjusting Over the Weekend

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So last Friday we started on a series to document how we will start living with a HUAWEI smartphone free from the clutches of the evil Google ecosystem. No, they are not really evil; I am just trying to be a bit dramatic here. You get the idea though. Modern HUAWEI smartphones today only come with HUAWEI’s very own Mobile Services and AppGallery; no Google Mobile Services and Play Store. Kind of sad, really.

Last week we managed to download Facebook and WhatsApp. We did not have Instagram, or Netflix, or Telegram. In short, there were plenty of apps we did not have. Did we miss them? Yes, very much, I had Instagram and Netflix, and Prime Video installed in other devices just to scroll through them.

I Still Miss Social Media

In truth though, I am not that big of a social media person. While I do scroll through social media from time to time, I seldom spend more than 15 minutes scrolling through Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter, and even Snapchat. I have never logged onto Tik Tok.

That does not mean that I can completely ignore all this social media though. Of course, if I am being honest, I do miss the apps. The idea of just seeing what other people are up to in their own life; that can still be quite fun, and quite traumatising depending on the contents.

Facebook can be quite enough though, especially with Facebook Watch and the countless videos on the platform. That is technically all the entertainment I got from the HUAWEI Nova 7i. To keep in touch with my friends, I have WhatsApp. Then again, I turn on my WhatsApp on desktop barely looked at my smartphone when it comes to messages.

Exploring the AppGallery A Little Deeper

Still, things are not so bad after scrolling through the AppGallery once more. There are apps in the smartphone after all. Social media apps include Snapchat, Tik Tok (of course), and WeChat (of course). Nope, nothing else that I use as far as I can tell. There is even TrueCaller on the AppGallery.

Things are looking a bit up now that I scroll through a little bit more through the AppGallery. You can find Viu, iflix, and some cinema booking apps within the AppGallery to start with. No, no Netflix or even Amazon Video Prime. For now, iflix and Viu would do. I personally don’t have a viu account, so I stick to iflix. We are currently under the Movement Control Order (MCO), so I cannot go for movies.

If not though, I can do some window shopping via Zalora, Lazada, and even Shopee. There are even some games that you might be familiar with. One of them is Cut the Rope 2 within the AppGallery. You can even find Lords Mobile and Fortnite on the device. So to be fair, you are not really getting shorthanded in terms of entertainment here.

For productivity, they have WPS Office on the AppGallery. While some say that WPS Office app is better than the original Microsoft apps, I would respectfully disagree. The modern Microsoft apps are now so much better, and so much more optimised. At the same time, it is easier to sync your Microsoft apps to OneDrive than anything else. This is a problem on the device though; there are almost no Microsoft apps here.

I say almost because there is a particularly useful Microsoft app that we love. That app is Microsoft’s Translation app. In our opinion, this is the best translation app that mankind has ever produced. It is accurate and works with plenty of accents. Still, we are not here for the Microsoft Translate app.

It is Still Android, Just Without Google

The apps that are downloaded are also very similar to the Android apps you find on Google Play Store. The EMUI 10 is based on Android 10 after all. Still, we found these apps. Which are great. If you are worried about bringing them out as your electronic wallet, you would be relieved to find Touch n’ Go app in there and Boost app. Grab is making its way on AppGallery. Still, the two largest e-wallets in Malaysia has a foothold in HUAWEI’s AppGallery. That means the HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS), and AppGallery cannot be that bad, right? Too early to tell in my opinion.

Still, we are going to dive a little deeper than that. For now, that is all we can walk away with. Stay tuned for the next part.

Android, Mobile, News

HUAWEI’s New nova 7i Lands in Malaysia on 14 February 2020

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HUAWEI’s nova series has always been a strong contender in the mid-range space with compelling specifications. The main draw of the series has always been its flagship class camera with a price point that makes it one of the most accessible offerings that’s worth your money on the market.

That said, the company recently announced the availability of their nova 6 series in China. It looks like the 6 isn’t making its way to Malaysia. Instead, HUAWEI is teasing a new entry: the nova 7i which will be available in Malaysia from 14 February 2020!

The new HUAWEI nova 7i looks to be coming with a HiSilicon Kirin 810 which was featured in the HONOR 9X and 9X Pro. That said, the new chipset promises power savings thanks to the 7nm fabrication process which allows the chip to have more performance while keeping the battery life. The processor is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. If 128GB isn’t enough, you’ll be able to add up to 256GB of extra memory with a nano memory card (NM card).

The display on the nova 7i is a 6.4-inch LTPS IPS LCD capable of reproducing 16 million colours. It’s a Full HD+ display with a resolution of 1080×2310 pixels. Unlike its flagship brethren, the new mid-ranger comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. HUAWEI included a large, 4,200mAh battery for all-day battery life. It also supports 40W supercharge charging which can provide 70% of battery with 30 minutes of charging.

More Cameras, More Better Pictures?

The camera setup on the smartphone is a quad camera array with a 48-megapixel main sensor. It is also capable of ultrawide and macro shots. HUAWEI hasn’t clarified if the ultrawide and macro features are due to individual sensors on the camera array. That said, the main sensor is a wide sensor with an f/1.8 aperture for better low light performance.

HUAWEI is touting the front camera’s enhanced selfie features. This is powered by a dual selfie camera setup. HUAWEI hasn’t divulged the exact sensors used in the setup. That said, the company has touted that the new setup will enable users to get “golden selfies”. In addition, it looks like the nova 7i comes with enhanced software that will allow users to get better performance on video calls and even when posting to social media such as TikTok and Instagram.

We don’t have any information on the price. However, given the previous price point of the nova 5T, we expect the nova 7i to be about MYR1,599. It is likely the smartphone may be priced higher due to the HUAWEI Y9s released last year.