Performance-level specs for a steal!
Right as we enter the fourth quarter of 2017, our favorite brands launched new smartphones that cater to the midrange price bracket. Their latest offerings are quite impressive: They have at least 4GB RAM on board, along with newer processors to assist them in doing all the legwork. Leading the pack are Huawei, Vivo, and Samsung with the Nova 2i, V7+, and Galaxy J7+ respectively. Let’s take a quick comparison of their spec sheet:
Huawei Nova 2i Specs
- Kirin 659 octa-core processor
- 4GB of RAM
- 5.9-inch Full HD display, 18:9 display aspect ratio
- 64GB of storage, expandable via microSD
- 16-Megapixel and 2-Megapixel rear cameras with PDAF and LED Flash
- 13-Megapixel and 2-Megapixel front cameras with LED Flash
- Dual SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint scanner
- 3,340mAh battery
- Android Nougat with EMUI 5.0
- Price: Php 14,990
Read: Huawei Nova 2i Unboxing, First Impressions: Is This The New Mid-Range King?
Vivo V7+ Specs
- 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
- Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 5.99-inch HD+ IPS LCD display; 1440×720 resolution
- 64GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB via MicroSD card)
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- 16-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera with PDAF and LED Flash
- 24-megapixel f/2.0 front camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Android 7.1 Nougat with FunTouch OS 3.2
- 3225mAh Battery
- Price: Php 17,990
Read: Vivo V7+ Quick Review: Perfect Selfie in a FullView Display
Samsung Galaxy J7+ Specs
- 2.4GHz MediaTek MT6757 aka Helio P20 octa-core processor
- Mali T-880 MP2 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display; 1920×1080 resolution
- 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB via microSD card)
- Dual SIM
- 4G, LTE
- 13-megapixel f/1.7 and 5-megapixel f/1.9 rear cameras with autofocus and LED flash
- 16-megapixel f/1.9 front camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint Scanner
- 3000mAh battery
- Android 7.1 Nougat
- Price: Php 19,990
Read: Samsung Galaxy J7+ Hands-On, Quick Review: New King of the J Series
Internals: Almost equal, but…
While all three are nearly equal in terms of processor and RAM combo, it’s worth noting that the V7+’s Snapdragon 450 processor is manufactured using a 14nm process, as compared to the 16nm process used for the Helio P20 and Kirin 659. However, if we are talking about clock speed, the Helio P20 is much faster than the Kirin 659 and Snapdragon 450 at 2.3GHz.
If we are going to talk about internal storage, the Nova 2i is the winner, offering a 64GB storage at a price cheaper than the Galaxy J7+ or the V7+.
Display: Full HD and skinny bezels
While we would prefer the Galaxy J7+’s Super AMOLED Display, the Nova 2i wins here, as it sports a 5.9-inch 18:9 Full HD+ display. While technically the Galaxy J7+’s panel has a higher PPI, its slightly outdated design made the Nova 2i steal the crown, at least on paper.
Camera: A tricky affair
All three handsets offer different gimmicks: From the Nova 2i’s quad-cam setup, the Galaxy J7+’s dual rear camera offering, to the V7+’s selfie-centric 24-megapixel front camera. While people would say that the Nova 2i has the best offering, we need to see real-life sample images to really determine which of the three has the best imaging setup.
Battery: Huawei has the longest legs
At 3340mAh, Huawei’s Nova 2i has the biggest battery among the bunch. However, actual battery tests will still depend on how the three smartphones will manage power efficiently, but given that they are using newer processors, we expect all three to last for at least a day of mild-to-heavy use.
Initial Verdict: The Nova 2i offer the best value for money
At least on paper, Huawei’s latest offering trumps those offered by Samsung and Vivo. Aside from sporting an 18:9 display, the Nova 2i’s standout feature has to be its quad cam (dual front + dual rear) setup, along with a generous 64GB of internal storage for a price of under Php 16k.