Huawei's comeback continues… but the nova 9 SE has a serious flaw

Huawei nova 9 SE
(Image credit: Huawei)

Huawei looks set to make a comeback with last week seeing the Chinese company launch the nova 9 SE smartphone, which features a 108MP main camera, in its home market and now releasing it in Spain, signifying the beginning of its global rollout. 

The nova 9 SE is listed on the Huawei Spain website as a pre-order at a competitive €349. Customers who pay a €10 deposit before March 27 will receive a €50 discount from the final retail price, too. 

Specifications: nova 9 SE 

The Huawei nova 9 SE looks similar to the nova 9, but there are several differences. Although the screen is bigger at 6.78-inches compared to 6.57-inch it’s a LCD refreshing at 90Hz. where the nova 9’s screen is an 120Hz OLED.   

The big upgrade is with the camera system, which is headlined by a 108MP 1/1.52" main camera sensor. There’s also an 8MP ultrawide camera, 2MP macro and another 2MP for depth. There’s a 16MP selfie camera on the front, too. 

The nova 9 SE has a Snapdragon 680chipset, which makes this a 4G phone, with no 5G compatibility. It’s powered by a 4,000 mAh battery with 66W charging and comes in black, white and blue color options. 

No Google apps

Running on EMUI 12, the Huawei nova 9 SE, like the Huawei P50 Pro which is coming to the UK soon, does not run Google apps, which will be a dealbreaker for most people who relying on popular apps to run and enhance their day-to-day lives. Combined with the lack of 5G it’s almost a nail in the coffin for this phone, however it’s still a significant announcement as it does confirm Huawei has definitely re-entered the global phone market.

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Rachael Sharpe

Rachael is a British journalist with 18 years experience in the publishing industry. Since working on www.digitalcameraworld.com, she’s been freelancing, and contributing to some of the world’s best-loved websites and magazines including T3.com and TechRadar.com and has also had a book, iPad for Photographers, published. She's currently acting as editor of 5GRadar.com - a website specializing in the latest cellular technology.