Huawei P40 Lite / nova 7i review

Introduction

Huawei has never been loud with its Lite series and the P40 Lite is not getting a special treatment either. The harbinger of the flagship P40 lineup was announced quietly and the first pre-orders have already shipped, complete with free Freebuds 3 at that.

But this is not the first time the world meets the P40 Lite. The phone hit the shelves in China late last December as Huawei nova 6 SE, while a month later it launched in Malaysia as Huawei nova 7i. And now coronavirus-struck Europe is getting it as Huawei P40 Lite. Not the best timing, that's for sure.

And it's a pity really because even though it wasn't announced with much fanfare, the Huawei P40 Lite has a lot of tricks in its bag. It's yet another beautifully crafted smartphone (just look at that gorgeous Sakura Pink color!), with a premium screen, a super-fast Kirin 810 chipset, and a trendy quad-camera with Night Mode, lossless zoom, macro, and whatnot.

The P40 Lite has a battery with impressively large capacity and supports the blazing-fast Huawei SuperCharge 40W. Oh, and spoiler alert, the proprietary 40W charger comes in the box!

The good news about the Huawei P40 Lite software package - it is EMUI 10 based on Android 10 OS. The bad news - there are no Google Play Services or Play Store, not that this is a shocker nowadays. There is a silver lining though - unlike previous non-Google smartphones by Huawei, this one has Widevine CDM support, imagine our surprise!

Huawei P40 Lite specs

• Body: Front glass, plastic frame and back, 183g.
• Display: 6.4" LTPS IPS LCD, 1,080 x 2,310px, 19:9 aspect ratio, 398ppi.
• Rear camera: Primary - 48MP, 26mm, f/1.8; PDAF; Ultrawide - 8MP, 13mm, fixed focus, f/2.4; Macro - 2MP, f/2.4, fixed focus; Depth sensor - 2MP. Video recording up to 1080p@30fps.
• Front camera: 16MP, f/2.0; fixed focus lens.
• OS/Software: Android 10, EMUI 10. No Google Services. Widevine CDM L3 support.
• Chipset: Kirin 810: octa-core CPU (2x2.27 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x1.88 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G52 MP6 GPU.
• Memory: 6GB of RAM; 128GB storage; NV card slot (hybrid).
• Battery: 4,200mAh, Huawei 40W SuperCharge.
• Connectivity: Dual SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0; NFC; USB-C, 3.5mm jack.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted)

The Huawei P40 Lite is a beauty both on the outside and inside. And some splash protection to keep the insides safe would have been thoughtful, but Huawei has never had that as a priority in the midrange. We do appreciate the fast charging capabilities and the colorful panels, and we can't wait to unbox the P40 Lite. Let's begin!

Unboxing the Huawei P40 Lite

Open the Huawei P40 Lite retail box, and you will see the phone first. Underneath, you'll find the 40W charger and a modified USB-C cable needed to make the 40W charging work.

Huawei also bundles a pair of headphones with a mic - cheap-looking, yes, but still better than none.

Finally, the box may also contain a transparent case in some markets, but the EU version we got had no such thing.