Huawei has been focusing on one aspect of their phones. The cameras.

And this focus is turning their phones into the dark-horse of mid-range phones.

The P20 out in March 2018 took the market by storm with its cutting-edge camera that boasted a combination of superior hardware and software.

That concept has been carried forward to Huawei's latest offering, the Nova 3i, which brings the phone company further in that direction.

Photography focus

This latest phone is dedicated to great photos via smartphone photography.

A decent 24 megapixel + 2 megapixel for the front-facing camera and a 16 megapixel + 2 megapixel rear camera is what will get reviewers talking.

After all, the Nova 3i is crafted to be one of the first phones to offer scenery recognition technology for front-facing cameras as well.

The AI-powered intelligent software within the camera app which has learnt from 100 million images and 500 scenarios, will assist you in adjusting your photos accordingly to the most suitable settings.

For example, these two photos on the iPhone X and Nova 3i in a room with the blinds drawn. While backlight was an issue with an unedited iPhone selfie, the Nova 3i detected backlight right away and adjusted the settings to suit the room's lighting, allowing it to produce a decent selfie.

The AI also allow for night shots or shots taken in low-light to become more vibrant with less noise,  adjusting the saturation and colours for low light, which helps the overall photo look better.

While the Nova 3i 's performance in night photography is more humble than its P20 cousin, the AI still pretty decently attempts to flesh out better night photos:

It's no iPhone X, but that's okay

Sometimes, the AI tech hinders rather than help the user. Think over-saturated photos in an attempt to make food photos brighter, and somewhat grainer quality of photos that might irk phone photography fans.

However, AI for the Nova 3i camera can also better detect text-heavy photos, such as prints on newspapers, posters and signs, which will come in handy for users who need to take pictures of slides or documents, for example.

Cheaper

Much like the previous Nova 2i, it retails at a reasonable price - S$398, which is reasonable by Android phone standards, let alone average prices for phones these days.

This is coupled with the fact that the Nova 3i doesn't leave out features that other competitors have been trying to shed: A headphone jack, a micro USB charging jack, and a generous 81 percent screen to body ratio for your viewing pleasure.

Of course, the lower price means certain features are less refined: The chipset, for example, falls short, with demanding apps, such as Marvel: Strike Force experiences lag and jittering.

Then again, it's not necessarily a big sacrifice for average users who want a phone that is decent value for money.

This is a phone for people who can do without the hefty price tag but still would like the premium feel, cementing its status as a compelling choice for folks who want a device that is value-for-money in both pricing and performance.

Phone stats:

Model: Huawei Nova 3i

Release date: July 2018 

CPU: Kirin 710 Chip, Octa-core

Memory: 4GB +128GB internal memory

OS: Android 8.1 +EMUI 8.2,

Size: 6.3 inch

Resolution: FHD+ 2340 x 1090 

Rear cam: 16MP +2MP

Front cam: 24MP+2MP

Battery: 3340MP

Price: S$398

Availability: July 28, launch at Waterway Point Shopping Mall

Top photo by Tan Guan Zhen, taken with Huawei Nova 3i