Huawei P40 Lite / nova 7i review

Design

The Huawei P40 Lite not only looks beautiful, but it is a pleasure to handle and use for texts, movies, and photography. The phone is light, nicely shaped, and its frame has thoughtful chamfers doing wonders for the grip.

We have to admit we like a lot the Sakura Pink version of the P40 Lite, which we received. The gentle gradient between this milky blue and Japanese pink hues is mesmerizing and unique, yet easy on the eyes and not screamingly flashy as, say, the Honor 9X/Pro. And Huawei has painted even that eyesore of a camera hump in the same color, which makes for one of the best multi-camera setups we've seen to this very date!

The 6.4" display is one of the P40 Lite key features and it looks gorgeous. The panel has rounded corners and thin enough bezels. The chin is not that big either.

There is one noticeable punch hole at the top left corner and the 16MP selfie camera is inside. Unfortunately, because of the LCD screen you can see clearly the uneven backlighting around the pixel void.

The earpiece grille is really thin and it's almost invisible between the front glass and the screen enclosure.

Speaking of the glass, Huawei shares no details about its maker, but it still should be some sort of a durable glass, be it Corning-made or not.

While the front of the P40 Lite was completely flat, the back is curved like most of the modern smartphones - towards the edges. The beautiful panel is made of layered plastic with multiple paint coats and a ton of polish. And because of these layers and high-end manufacturing process the back panel looks and feels like glass, yet when it comes to endurance - the plastic should be tougher and more durable when a drop happens. And we all know that sooner or later - it happens, it's inevitable. Like Thanos.

The camera square humps just a little bit, and if you favor a case - it will not only be flush, but also there will be no wobbling on desks and tables.

The snappers' arrangement is symmetrical (yay!) and in there are the 2MP depth sensor, the 48MP primary shooter, third is the 2MP macro camera, and finally - the last one is the 8MP ultrawide cam. The LED flash is outside this setup, flush with the back.

The plastic frame may look like metal, but it sure doesn't feel like it. And that's fine. The gray color suits it, the matte finish boost the grip, while the chamfers do improve the overall handling experience a lot. The P40 Lite feels quite secure in hand, case-free, and that's great.

The Huawei P40 Lite has a hybrid SIM slot on its left side, while on the right you will find the volume and power keys. The fingerprint scanner is integrated on the power/lock key surface, is always-on, and the fastest of its kind we've tried. The moment you touch the thing, even for a split second and with just a partial fingerprint, and boom, you are on your homescreen. It can't get faster than that, can it?

Finally, the rest of the essentials are at the bottom - the USB-C port, the loudspeaker, the audio jack, and the mouthpiece.

Yes, we like the Huawei P40 Lite - it is just the right shape, size, and weight, plus it has the looks to impress. It is a well-built and sturdy smartphone and the only blemish (and it's a small one) is the uneven backlighting around the selfie camera's punch hole.