Huawei is clearly not done flirting with foldables that feel more lifestyle than lab experiment. After introducing the original Huawei nova Flip in 2024, the company is back with a more polished, more confident follow-up: the Huawei nova Flip S. This is not Huawei chasing the ultra-premium foldable crowd that treats phones like jewelry. Instead, it is doubling down on the nova playbook of style, youth appeal, and everyday practicality, just wrapped in a clamshell that snaps shut with purpose.
Visually, the nova Flip S [CH] is all about choice and personality. It comes in a colorful spread. Whether you want loud, soft, glossy, or understated, Huawei clearly intends for this phone to be worn as much as it is used. The phone itself stays impressively slim, measuring 6.88 mm when unfolded for the leather version and 6.9 mm for the glass version. Fold it shut, and the thickness comes in at 15.08 mm or 15.12 mm, respectively. Weight is kept under control too, at around 195 g for leather and 199 g for glass, battery included.
Open it up, and you are greeted by a 6.94-inch OLED inner display with an FHD+ resolution of 2690 × 1136 pixels. It supports a 1 to 120 Hz LTPO adaptive refresh rate, 1440 Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, and a 300 Hz touch sampling rate. Color coverage sits at P3 wide gamut, and yes, it looks every bit as sharp and fluid as the spec sheet suggests. On the outside, there is a 2.14-inch OLED cover screen with a 480 × 480 resolution. It is small, square, and practical, good for notifications, quick interactions, and camera previews without needing to flip the phone open every time.
Software-wise, the nova Flip S runs HarmonyOS 5.1, continuing Huawei’s steady march away from Android while refining its own ecosystem. The experience is smoother, more cohesive, and better integrated with Huawei’s services and devices than the nova Flip from 2024, which now feels like the first draft in hindsight.
Camera hardware keeps things sensible rather than extravagant. On the back, you get a 50 MP main camera with an f1.9 aperture, paired with an 8 MP ultra-wide camera at f2.2. Digital zoom goes up to 10x, photo resolution can reach 8192 × 6144 pixels, and video tops out at 4K with AIS stabilization. There is also support for 720p super slow motion at 480 fps, which is still a crowd-pleaser. Shooting modes cover the usual bases, including portrait, night, macro, panorama, pro mode, time-lapse, and dynamic photos.
Up front sits a 32 MP selfie camera with an f2.2 aperture, capable of 4K video recording with AIS stabilization. It supports portrait mode, panorama, selfie mirroring, voice shutter, and timed shots, making it flexible enough for both casual selfies and video calls.
Battery capacity lands at 4,400 mAh typical, with a rated capacity of 4,295 mAh. For a flip phone, that is respectable. Charging is handled via 66 W wired fast charging, provided you use Huawei’s compatible charger. Real-world charging speeds will vary, but on paper, it is comfortably ahead of many foldables in this form factor.
Connectivity is fully modern. You get Wi-Fi 6 support across 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, Bluetooth 5.2 with high-definition audio codecs including LDAC and L2HC, NFC for payments and card emulation, and a full suite of global positioning systems including GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, and more. Sensors cover everything expected, from fingerprint and gyroscope to ambient light and color temperature detection.
Taken as a whole, the Huawei nova Flip S feels like Huawei refining an idea that already worked in 2024. It is slimmer, more mature, better equipped, and more confident in what it wants to be. This is not a foldable trying to replace a flagship slab phone. It is a stylish, compact device that fits neatly into daily life while still feeling special every time you flip it open.
Price: starts at 3,488 yuan [CH] (about US$499).
Images: Huawei [CH].
