Huawei P40 vs Nova 9

65 out of 100

66 out of 100

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.1-inch Huawei P40 (with HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G) that was released on March 26, 2020, against the Huawei Nova 9, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G and came out 18 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Huawei P40

Water-resistant body (IP53 classification)
The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Shows 14% longer battery life (30:18 vs 26:35 hours)
Optical image stabilization
24% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (695K versus 562K)
Faster storage type - UFS 3.0 versus UFS 2.1
Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Ready for eSIM technology
Has a built-in infrared port

Reasons to consider the Huawei Nova 9

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
Supports higher wattage charging (66W versus 22.5W)
Has a 0.47 inch larger screen size
Comes with 500 mAh larger battery capacity: 4300 vs 3800 mAh
More recent OS version: Android 11 versus 10
The phone is 1-year and 6-months newer

Review

Evaluation of Huawei P40 and Nova 9 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Camera

Photo and video recording quality

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Performance

CPU and memory performance (apps, system)

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Gaming

Capabilities for playing modern games

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Battery

Battery life, charging type and speed

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Connectivity

Networks, ports, data transmission

Huawei P40

Nova 9

NanoReview Score

Final comparison evaluation

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Phone:

Huawei P40

Nova 9

Display

Type	OLED	OLED
Size	6.1 inches	6.57 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio	19.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	422 ppi	392 ppi
Refresh rate	60 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	500 nits	430 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	-	600 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10	Yes, HDR10
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	86.3%	89.9%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming

Display tests
RGB color space	129.7%	100%
PWM	245 Hz	500 Hz
Response time	7 ms	2.8 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Peak brightness test (auto)

Huawei P40

591 nits

Nova 9 +3%

608 nits

Design and build

Height	148.9 mm (5.86 inches)	160 mm (6.3 inches)
Width	71.1 mm (2.8 inches)	73.7 mm (2.9 inches)
Thickness	8.5 mm (0.33 inches)	7.77 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight	175 g (6.17 oz)	175 g (6.17 oz)
Waterproof	IP53	No
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Plastic
Colors	Black, Silver	Black, Blue, Green, Purple
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	Yes, in-display

Screen-to-body ratio

Huawei P40

86.3%

Nova 9 +4%

89.9%

Performance

Tests of Huawei P40 and Huawei Nova 9 in the benchmarks

SoC
Chipset	HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G	Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
Max clock	2860 MHz	2400 MHz
CPU cores	8 (2 + 2 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.95 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.36 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.86 GHz: Cortex-A76	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 670 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo 670 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.4 GHz: Kryo 670 Prime (Cortex-A78)
Lithography process	7 nanometers	6 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G76 MP16	Adreno 642
GPU shading units	576	768
GPU clock	600 MHz	550 MHz
FLOPS	~691.2 GFLOPS	~844 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Huawei P40 +4%

1111

Nova 9

1070

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Huawei P40 +4%

3120

Nova 9

3008

AnTuTu Benchmark 10

Huawei P40 +24%

695853

Nova 9

562314

CPU	186164	190124
GPU	248038	139191
Memory	134143	119776
UX	122844	112808
Total score	695853	562314

3DMark Wild Life Performance

Huawei P40 +32%

3276

Nova 9

2491

Max surface temperature	44.1 °C	37.4 °C
Stability	44%	98%
Graphics test	19 FPS	14 FPS
Graphics score	3276	2491

PCMark 3.0

Huawei P40

n/a

Nova 9

9685

Web score	-	6629
Video editing	-	5966
Photo editing	-	20468
Data manipulation	-	8290
Writing score	-	12840

Memory

RAM
RAM size	8 GB	8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2133 MHz	2133 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage
Storage size	128 GB	128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.0	UFS 2.1
Memory card	Nano Memory	No
Memory card max size	Up to 256 GB	-

Software

Operating system	Android 10.0	Android 11
ROM	EMUI 11	EMUI 12
OS size	13 GB	10 GB

Battery

Capacity	3800 mAh	4300 mAh
Max charge power	22.5 W	66 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	No	No
Reverse charging	Yes	Yes
Fast charging	Yes (50% in 30 min)	Yes (61% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:30 hr	0:54 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	10:29 hr	08:44 hr
Watching video	14:48 hr	11:27 hr
Gaming	04:20 hr	04:56 hr
Standby	94 hr	93 hr

General battery life

Huawei P40 +14%

30:18 hr

Nova 9

26:35 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones

Main camera
Matrix	50 megapixels	50 megapixels
Image resolution	8192 x 6144	8192 x 6144
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	LED
Stabilization	Optical	Digital
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	-
Lenses	3 (50 MP + 8 MP + 16 MP)	4 (50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 23 mm - Sensor: 1/1.28", Sony IMX700 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus
Telephoto lens	- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 80 mm - Sensor: 1/4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	-
Ultra-wide lens	- 16 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Phase autofocus	- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.2
Macro lens	-	- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4
Depth lens	-	- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode

Selfie camera
Megapixels	32 megapixels	32 megapixels
Image resolution	6464 x 4864	6528 x 4896
Aperture	f/2.0	f/2.0
Pixel size	0.8 microns	-
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/2.8"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 30 FPS

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5.1	5.2
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	3.1	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	Yes	No

Network
Number of SIM *	2	2
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	Standby
eSIM support *	Yes	No
Hybrid slot	Yes	No
LTE Cat *	21	18
5G support	Yes	No

Sound

Speakers	Mono	Mono
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	No

Speakers test

Max loudness

Huawei P40

79.6 dB

Nova 9 +14%

90.5 dB

Other

Category	Flagship	Mid-range
Announced	March 2020	September 2021
Release date	March 2020	September 2021
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor - Fingerprint	- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint
Bundled charger	-	Yes, 66 W

* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the display and software are more important to you, then choose the Huawei Nova 9 . But if the camera, performance, gaming, connectivity, design, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Huawei P40 .