If you’re going to choose a smartphone from Huawei, you can look into the three series: the Mate, the Pura, and the nova. While the first two are considered premium flagship devices with hefty price tags, the nova series, like the Huawei nova 13 Pro, is more attainable yet still premium considering its hardware, appearance, and features.

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Huawei nova 13 Pro is its design. It uses what Huawei calls the Dynamic Plaid Texture design, which is a criss-cross pattern that shimmers when viewed from different angles. The model we have here is the Loden Green but what I like the most is the fine texture of the back panel which is similar to frosted glass. It is also effective in repelling fingerprints so it won’t look dirty even if you hold it without the case.

On the front is the 6.76-inch FHD+ OLED display with up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. The resolution and refresh rate can also automatically adjust depending on the application to save power. Screen quality is good for its size. The colors are punchy with great contrast and deep blacks. The bezels are also thin, making the viewing experience immersive.


We have two loudspeakers located at the top and bottom. A USB-C port, microphones, and dual nano-SIM card slot. No microSD card slot here but that shouldn’t be an issue as it comes with 512GB of storage.

One of the main features of the nova 13 Pro is in the cameras. At the back, housed in that fancy “Super Star Orbit Ring” module, are the 50MP main sensor with F1.4 to F4.0 aperture and OIS, a 12MP telephoto portrait with F2.4 aperture and OIS, and an 8MP ultra-wide macro with F2.2 aperture. There seems like a fourth camera lens here but it’s for the Laser Focus Sensor and 10-channel color temperature sensor.
On the front, placed in a pill-shaped cutout, are the 60MP ultra-wide autofocus camera with F2.4 aperture and an 8MP close-up portrait with F2.2 aperture.
Given the camera specs, Huawei wants to give nova 13 Pro owners a very versatile camera system so they can take photos in different scenarios using a wide-range of focal lengths, whether the subject is close or afar. Regarding image quality, shooting in day time is not a problem. However, taking photos while shooting using the front camera results in images with softer details, so make sure to shoot in areas with more light or use the flash.

I also noticed that it has very fast and responsive face and eye-tracking. Even when we’re moving around a lot, the cameras can quickly find their subject and focus properly. Just point and shoot.






Like flagship Huawei smartphones, the nova 13 Pro is also packed with camera features like adjustable physical aperture and AI Best Expression for group photos. What the latter does is when you take multiple group photos, the nova 13 Pro will analyze each shot, find the optimal expression of each subject, and apply it on a single shot, making sure that everyone looks at their best.

Powering the Huawei nova 13 Pro is a Kirin 8000 chipset with an octa-core CPU, 12GB of RAM, and runs on EMUI 14.2. It is equipped with LTE connectivity, WiFi 6, NFC, GNSS, Bluetooth 5.2, fingerprint sensor, and infrared sensor. If you need Google Services, you can download GBox from the AppGallery. For the battery, it’s equipped with a 5,000mAh battery with support for 100W Huawei SuperCharge Turbo, allowing you to charge the device 50% in just 9 minutes, which is good.

The Huawei nova 13 Pro is a great offering for those who want a camera-centric smartphone from the brand but don’t want to spend more for the Pura or the Mate series. It has an attractive design, premium materials, a great screen, versatile cameras, large memory and storage, and a big battery with fast charging.
The Huawei nova 13 Pro (12GB + 512GB) is priced at PHP 32,999. See the listing here.