With every new launch, smartphone manufacturers are bringing new features and designs to grab the attention of their audience.

Be it from a design perspective, camera point of view, charging speeds or other cool features, smartphone manufacturers today are stopping at nothing to give consumers a device with features they need and want or sometimes that may seem futuristic and ahead of their time.

Huawei’s line-up of smartphones are known for following this trend. One good example is Huawei’s favoured mid-range smartphones; the HUAWEI nova series.

The newly launched HUAWEI nova 9, dubbed as the Trendy Flagship and Camera King is the latest addition to the series that brings to the table premium flagship-like features in a mid-range phone.

To put this into perspective, let us compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S21a known flagship and the Samsung Galaxy A72a mid-ranger to get an idea of how the HUAWEI nova 9 fares better when pitted against competing smartphones.

The Design

The HUAWEI nova 9 comes in a new and stunning colourway: Colour No. 9.Polished with a brand-new Starry Flash AG Glass process, the device is a pleasure to the eyes. Colour No. 9 is a mixtureof low-saturation blue and purples hues that gives off a hint of mysteriousness. Under different lighting, the colour finish reflects vivid and colourful patterns. Under a spotlight, the whole device shines and sparkles.

In terms of design, the HUAWEI nova 9 has a stunning 6.57-inch 120Hz Original-Colour Curved Display with a tapered surface that flows like a waterfall, minimising the left and right bezels for more immersive viewing. With a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and 300Hz touch sampling rate for improved responsiveness, combined with support for full-path P3 colour, the display ensures spectacular viewing experiences with smooth visuals, vivid colours and incredible details. The design of the HUAWEI nova 9 itself also stands to impress, measuring only 7.77mm thick with a weight of 175g.

The combination of curved glass and lightweight design makes it perfectly fit in your palm for a comfortable grip. In terms of industrial design, the HUAWEI nova 9 comes with a more iconic camera setup that is updated based on HUAWEI nova 8’s Star Orbit Ring.

Samsung’s smartphone design features bezels shrank and camera arrays. However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is somewhat different. Samsung incorporated the camera array into the metal band that connects the screen to the back, which serves to minimize the bump and make it flow better into the overall design of the phone. Around the front, the S21 sports a 6.2-inch display surrounded by very skinny bezels. The screen is flat here rather than curved, but the visual difference is minor. The Samsung Galaxy S21 screen comes with Full HD+(2400×1080): it is bright, vibrant, and speedy. The S21 has the same 120Hz refresh rate while a new “Adaptive” setting dials it back to 48Hz when not in use. You can also still set it to 60Hz, to save battery life. With a dimension of 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm and an overall weight of 169grams, the phone will feel more pleasant to hold for longer periods.

The Samsung Galaxy A72 has a plastic back and it is available in four colourways of: Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Violet or Awesome Blue. The Samsung Galaxy A72 comes in at 165 x 77.4 x 8.4mm and weighs around 203g; in addition, the overall design is conventional with the large camera block in the top left corner at the back, and a punch-hole selfie camera in the top centre of the screen.

The Cameras

The HUAWEI nova 9 packs a powerful 50MP Ultra Vision Camera system, which comprises of a 50MP ultra vision camera, an 8MP ultra wide-anglecamera, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth camera. It includes a large 1/1.56-inch sensor and a RYYB CFA with high light sensitivity, collecting 40 percent more light compared to a standard RGGB sensor. This allows you to capture exquisite photos and videos even in low light conditions, ensuring that the bright parts of the image are not overexposed while the dark areas are clear and packed with detail.

The way we engage with one another has changed. Nowadays, many prefer to communicate through videos. Vlogging is on the rise, driven in no small part by social media trends, and the HUAWEI nova 9 comes packed with innovative features that make it easy to express yourself.

The HUAWEI nova 9 features a 32MP High-Res front camera. Similar to the rear camera, it also supports 4K video capture and EIS (Electronic image Stabilisation)+Video Stabilisation, allowing you to capture high definition footage as you talk to the camera, as well as the exciting events happening around you.

Thanks to Continuous Front/Rear Recording, you can also switch between the front and rear cameras, allowing you to fluidly capture your story within a single video file. There is also Dual-View Video recording which allows you to showcase live reaction to events, simultaneously using the front and rear cameras with no editing required or, for when you want to show the big picture and the detail, you can simultaneously capture a close up shot and wide angle shot at the same time!

The Samsung Galaxy S21 comes with a triple camera array consisting of 12MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, and 64MP telephoto capable of a 3x hybrid optical zoom. All three of these are capable of taking some excellent photos, and the Galaxy S21 gets some software upgrades to improve things further.

On the video front, the Galaxy S21 covers a lot of bases it offers up to 8K capture at 24 fps that lets you snap high-quality photos while recording high resolution videos.

Other high-end features include 1080p video recording at 30/60/240 fps, which makes them super-smooth. Speaking of smooth, the Super Steady mode, which uses AI to compensate for shaky recording, works on 1080p 60 fps video capture.

There is a quad-camera system which can be found at the back of the Samsung Galaxy A72, consisting of a 64MP main camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera in addition to a 5MP macro camera.

The Samsung Galaxy A72 does a great job in daylight scenarios, with images offering good dynamic range and vibrant colours. As for low-light shots, the smartphone shoots at lower ISO levels to minimise noise.

The Charging Speeds

Fast charging has become something that power users rely on. The HUAWEI nova 9 supports Huawei’s advanced fast charging -66W HUAWEI SuperCharge which can charge the high-capacity 4300mAh battery to 53% in 15 minutes and 100% in 38 minutes only.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 comes with a 4,000-mAhbattery that supports Samsung’s Fast charging over the USB-C PD standard.Charging up the battery to 55% takes 30 minutes.Additionally, Samsung only puts the USB-C cable in the box. If you do not have a charger then you will have to purchase one with an additional cost.

Meanwhile, the Samsung’s Galaxy A72 supports Samsung’s 25W wired Fast Charging. It takes just over 90 minutes to fully charge the 5000mAh battery, while it takes around 35 minutes to get a 50% battery power.

The User Experience

The HUAWEI nova 9 also boasts some cool Super Device features! For example, you can tap on the HUAWEI MatePad icon to activate Smartphone-Tablet Multi-screen Collaboration; or tap the HUAWEI MateBook icon for Smartphone-PC Multi-screen Collaboration or tap the HUAWEI FreeBuds icon to

seamlessly switch audio output to your Huawei earbuds. With the Distributed File System, the smartphone can also function as a wirelessly connected external storage unit for the PC, meaning you can access the files you want more easily than ever before.

Using the HUAWEI nova 9, you can also transfer MeeTime calls onto HUAWEI Vision smart TV and conduct the call by taking advantage of the larger display, camera and speakers.

Running on EMUI 12, the HUAWEI nova 9 offers a smart and seamless experience to users. The trusted, innovative and secure AppGallery is available on the HUAWEI nova 9, where users can download a wide range of high-quality apps.

Samsung Galaxy S21 runs onOne UI. The interface is elegant, complete with a redesigned Quick Panel and a notifications screen that feels less cluttered. Users would especially appreciate the redesigned lock screen widgets as well as the ability to place widgets on the screen and adjust their transparency. One UI 3.1 still comes with many options to tweak your Galaxy experience

Lastly, the Samsung Galaxy A72 runs One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. You will find options for always-on-display and dynamic backgrounds. As it is usually the case with Samsung phones, there is more than enough customisation on offer.

Which one to go for?

All three smartphones are strong powerhouse devices in their own accord, complete with features that make them unique in their own way. All three deliver in terms of camera and other features.

However, the Trendy Flagship and Camera King -HUAWEI nova 9 has the added bonus of being a stunning smartphone with a price tag of a mid-ranger which comes filled with flagship-grade features for an ultimate mobile experience.