The mobile phone market has entered a highly competitive and diversified stage. Different users have different needs and budgets. Therefore, mobile phone manufacturers have launched a variety of products to meet the needs of consumers at different levels. In this context, the market share of mid-range mobile phones has gradually increased, becoming the most important part of the mobile phone market.

According to a report by Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of 2023, global smartphone shipments reached 258 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. Among them, mid-range phones (priced between US$200-400) accounted for 26.7%, a year-on-year decrease of 8.4%. This shows that the mid-range mobile phone market still has a large market space and potential, but it also faces more intense competition and higher user expectations.

This is indeed the case. Although flagship phones are more popular among mobile phone enthusiasts and have a greater voice in the Internet public opinion space, it is obvious that the competition in the mid-range mobile phone market is more intense. Compared with the flagship models that are crazy about stacking materials and black technology, how to balance configuration and functions has become a deep test for mobile phone manufacturers to meet market and user needs. As the basketball god Jordan said, offense allows the team to sell tickets, but it is defense that helps us win the championship.

In the mobile phone market, the flagship category is undoubtedly an offensive force, as it allows the brand's strength to be demonstrated to the greatest extent. However, how a brand can remain as solid as a rock in the market depends on its absolute persistence in the mid-range category.

Nova, the strongest defensive backbone in the mobile phone market

If we talk about the mid-range mobile phones that have attracted attention in the mobile phone circle recently, then the Hi Nova 11 launched by China Post Telecom must be a popular model that cannot be avoided.

For well-known reasons, this phone does not have the familiar brand name "Huawei", and the system name is not Hongmeng, but it is successfully equipped with 5G communication function.

According to the online disassembly, the only hardware difference between this Hi nova 11 and the company's nova 11 mobile phone is the 5G communication module. The two can even replace each other's motherboards, batteries, cameras and other accessories without affecting the startup and operation.

For friends who want nova 11 and want to continue using 5G, Zhongyou Hi nova 11 is undoubtedly a best of both worlds choice and the strongest defensive backbone in the mid-range mobile phone market.

This phone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, a 6.7-inch OLED straight screen, supports a 120Hz refresh rate and 1440Hz PWM dimming, a 60-megapixel 4K ultra-wide-angle lens on the front, a 50-megapixel super-sensing lens and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle macro lens on the back, a 4500mAh battery, and supports 66W fast charging. It is available in three colors: No. 11, Yaojin Black, and Snow White.

So, what is this phone like? What needs can mid-range phones meet now? Let's use the 8GB+256GB version in color 11 to answer your questions.

Four sides are equal in width + fashionable color matching to create a light and thin product

The front of the Hi nova 11 adopts a centered hole-punch straight screen design. The screen size is 6.7 inches, the resolution is 2412x1084 pixels, and it supports 120Hz refresh rate and 1440Hz PWM dimming. Thanks to the narrowed BM area, the screen border is equally wide on all four sides, and the screen-to-body ratio reaches 93.4%. The extremely narrow chin of 1.98mm is rare even in flagship models.

Hi nova 11 screen display is excellent, with accurate color reproduction and high contrast. The 120Hz refresh rate can bring a smoother touch experience, and the 1440Hz PWM dimming can effectively reduce the damage of flicker to the eyes.

A vertical rear multi-camera module is placed in the upper left corner of the back of the fuselage, including a 50-megapixel ultra-sensitive main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle macro camera and a color temperature sensor.

In addition, the lens module adopts the design concept of "super star ring" and "star track" to create a sense of harmony and symmetry. In the No. 11 color version, the back of the body presents a gradient blue-green color, dotted with bright colors, which is very individual.

There are power and volume buttons on the side of the body, a noise cancellation microphone and speaker on the top of the body, and a speaker, a Type-C interface, a main microphone and a SIM card slot at the bottom of the body. The SIM card slot supports dual SIM dual standby, but does not support memory card expansion.

Hi nova 11 is only 6.88mm thick and weighs 168g, which is only 20g heavier than the 5.4-inch iPhone mini series, making it a thin and light model. The back panel of the body is made of frosted glass, and the middle frame is an integrated design. The transition between the screen, back panel and middle frame is very smooth. The grip is actually much lighter and more comfortable than today's flagship models that emphasize metal and curved surfaces.

Snapdragon 778G is still as good as ever, its performance can surprise you with its power consumption

The core configuration of Hi nova 11 is Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, which is a mid-range chip manufactured based on TSMC's 6nm process. The CPU part adopts a 1+3+4 three-cluster architecture with a maximum main frequency of 2.4GHz; the GPU part is Adreno 642L, which supports Vulkan 1.1 API; the network part is integrated with the X53 5G modem, which supports SA and NSA modes, as well as WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 and other technologies.

Hi nova 11 offers a storage combination of 8GB+256GB. The memory uses LPDDR5 specifications and the flash memory uses UFS2.2 specifications.

We first used AnTuTu to run a benchmark test on the Hi nova 11. AnTuTu is a professional mobile phone performance evaluation software that can comprehensively evaluate the phone from aspects such as CPU, GPU, memory, storage, etc., and give a comprehensive score. We tested the phone in normal state and closed all background applications. The test results are as follows:

Hi nova 11 scored a total of 529,000 points in AnTuTu, including 140,000 CPU points, 139,000 GPU points, 120,000 MEM points, and 129,000 UX points. Benchmark 5 scored 783 points in single-core and 2944 points in multi-core. This result may not be good enough for flagship phones, but it is still good for mid-range phones.

It is worth noting that during the rather long AnTuTu running process, the Hi nova 11 only lost 1% of its power. Please remember this data.

Specifically for the usage scenario, we tested the game performance of "Honor of Kings". We adjusted the image quality to the highest in the game settings. Because the game is not currently adapted to the 120Hz limit frame rate, the game runs in 60 frames of high frame rate mode. Because the game load is not high, we did not turn on the performance mode during the game, but ran it in standard mode throughout. The gaming environment is 25℃ room temperature, and no other radiator is used.

I played multiple games in matching mode with Hinova 11, and used frame rate test software to record frame rate changes throughout the whole process. The test results are as follows:

Hi nova 11's frame rate performance was extremely stable in the test of "Honor of Kings" for more than two hours. It can be seen that the frame rate remained stable at 60fps throughout the game. The frame rate dropped during the game matching and player selection phase, and the two 120Hz peaks were the frame rate increase when exiting to the main interface.

I have to say that the experience of playing "Honor of Kings" on Hi nova 11 is very pleasant. The phone is light, comfortable to hold, smooth to control, and sensitive to touch. The 1440Hz PWM dimming can effectively reduce the damage to the eyes caused by flickering, and there is no dry eyes after playing for a long time. And the body did not appear to be overheated during the whole process, at most it was only slightly hot, which did not affect the game at all.

This is another benefit brought by mid-range chips, excellent temperature control and power consumption control.

Yes, the next thing is outrageous. In the normal play test of "Honor of Kings" for more than two hours, the battery loss was only 23%. At the beginning of the test, I thought that the problem of too little power loss occurred because the battery was more durable at 100%. It only lost 3% in half an hour, so I extended the test to two hours and found that the battery life of the phone was indeed great.

This kind of power also brought considerable "difficulty" to the test. When testing the charging speed, each discharge was extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive...

Therefore, in this era of serious oversupply of smartphone performance, flagship models often do not necessarily bring an improvement in user experience, but instead give users a worse user experience in terms of heat generation, power consumption, etc. On the contrary, the current mid-range models are fully functional and have better battery life.

The camera performance is amazing, nova never disappoints

The camera performance of Hi nova 11 is the focus of our review this time, because this phone has a front 60-megapixel 4K ultra-wide-angle portrait lens and a rear 50-megapixel super-sensing imaging system, which is very rare in mobile phones of the same price. Let's take a look at what kind of photo experience these two camera systems can bring.

The front camera of Hi nova 11 is a 60-megapixel 4K ultra-wide-angle portrait lens that supports 100° viewing angle and 4K video recording. This means you can use this phone to take high-definition, wide-angle, dynamic selfie photos and videos, whether it is a single person or multiple people, whether it is still or moving, you can easily record your beautiful moments.

We took some selfie samples with the Hi nova 11, and we can see that the selfie effect of this phone is very good, with clear and delicate pictures, true color reproduction, and natural background blur. Another great advantage of the front camera is that it can shoot 100° ultra-wide-angle pictures, which is very practical for users who like group photos or landscape selfies. You no longer have to worry about not being able to take pictures of all the people or scenery. Just switch it lightly and you can include more content in the picture.

In addition to photos, the front camera of Hi nova 11 can also record 4K videos, which is very attractive for users who like to shoot Vlogs or short videos. You can use this phone to record your life and share it with your friends or fans. Hi nova 11 also supports AI video beauty function, which allows you to keep the best state in the video. The front camera also supports electronic image stabilization function, which can effectively reduce jitter and blur in the video.

In short, the front camera of Hi nova 11 is a very powerful and comprehensive portrait lens, which can show your charm and personality in both photos and videos. If you are a young person who loves taking selfies, sharing and recording, then Hi nova 11 will definitely satisfy you.

The rear camera of Hi nova 11 is a super-sensing imaging system composed of three parts: a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle macro camera, and a color temperature sensor. The main camera supports full-pixel dual-core focus and optical image stabilization; the ultra-wide-angle macro camera supports 100° viewing angle and 4cm close-up; the temperature sensor can help adjust the white balance and color temperature. This camera system allows you to take high-quality photos and videos in different scenes and modes, whether it is landscape, people, macro, or night scene, it can easily cope with it.

We took some rear-camera samples with Hi nova 11. We can see that the rear-camera photography effect of this phone is also excellent, with clear and sharp pictures, rich details, bright colors and high contrast.

The 50-megapixel main camera can ensure sufficient image quality and clarity, and the photos can still retain a lot of details when enlarged.

The ultra-wide-angle lens allows you to capture a wider field of view and capture larger scenes at the same perspective. It is also excellent at the algorithm level, and you can see that there is no exaggerated distortion of the buildings on the edge.

When insufficient light is detected, the Hi nova 11 will automatically use the night scene mode, extend the shutter time to increase the amount of gold, and use algorithms to synthesize more details. This is a traditional advantage project, and there is no need to introduce it too much. You can see that the camera's retention of dark details and suppression of highlights are textbook-level, and the light signs on the opposite building are clearly visible.

In short, the rear camera of Hi nova 11 is a very powerful and comprehensive imaging system, whether it is photos or videos, it can show your vision and creativity. If you are a young person who loves taking pictures, recording and sharing, then Hi nova 11 will definitely satisfy you.

4500mAh+66W, powerful battery life and charging

Hi nova 11's battery life and charging performance are the last focus of our review, because this phone is equipped with a 4500mAh battery and supports 66W fast charging technology. Let's take a look at what kind of experience this phone can bring in terms of battery life and charging.

In terms of battery life, I believe that everyone who has watched our game test has a basic understanding of Hi nova 11. We continued to test some common usage scenarios of Hi nova 11, such as video playback, games, photos, social networking, etc., and recorded the power consumption and time in each scenario. The test results are as follows:

Video playback: We used Hinova 11 to watch Weathering With You at 1080p on Bilibili, with bullet screens turned on throughout the entire process, and adjusted the screen brightness and volume to 50%. After two hours of full playback, we found that the remaining battery power of the phone was 84%, 16% of the power was consumed, and an average of 8% of the power was consumed per hour.

Game: We played Honor of Kings for 2 hours on the Hi nova 11, with the high frame rate mode turned on and the screen brightness adjusted to 50%. After the test, we found that the remaining battery power of the phone was 58%, and 26% of the power was consumed, consuming an average of 13% of the power per hour.

Photo: We took 100 photos with the Hi nova 11, 50 of which were front-facing selfies and 50 were rear-facing photos, and the screen brightness was adjusted to 50%. After the test, we found that the remaining battery power of the phone was 54%, 4% of the power was consumed, and each photo consumed 0.04% of the power on average.

Social: We used Hi nova 11 to browse Weibo, WeChat, Douyin and other social software for 1 hour, and adjusted the screen brightness to 50%. After the test, we found that the remaining power of the phone was 47%, and 7% of the power was consumed, which is an average of 7% of power per hour.

After more than 5 hours of testing, there is still 47% of power left. It can be seen that Hi nova 11 performs very well in terms of battery life. Even in high-load usage scenarios, it can maintain a long usage time. This performance is indeed beyond all the flagship models we have tested recently, although the 4500mAh battery of Hi nova 11 is not large. Considering that this is a thin and light phone weighing only 168g, it is even more rare.

We then tested the charging performance of the Hi nova 11. We tested it with the phone turned off and used the original 66W fast charging head and data cable. We long-pressed the charging interface to turn on the super fast charging Turbo. We recorded the time and process required to fully charge from 2% to 100%. The test results are as follows:

Starting from 2%, it takes 2 minutes to charge to 10%, 4 minutes to charge to 21%, 6 minutes to charge to 31%, 10 minutes to charge to 43%, 13 minutes to charge to 50%, 26 minutes to charge to 80%, and 37 minutes to fully charge.

According to the above test results, we can see that Hi nova 11 performs very well in charging, and it takes less than 40 minutes to fully charge the 4500mAh battery. Such a charging speed can save users a lot of time without waiting too long. According to official data, this phone can be charged to 60% in just 15 minutes, which can support 10 hours of video playback or 5.5 hours of gaming. However, after testing, we found that the official data may still be conservative, which is also a classic reverse "false propaganda".

In short, Hi nova 11 performs well in both battery life and charging. Whether it is battery life or charging speed, it can meet the needs of users. If you are a person who has high requirements for battery life and charging, then Hi nova 11 will definitely satisfy you.

in conclusion

Through the above evaluation, we have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Zhongyou Hi nova 11. This phone is very competitive and attractive in the mid-range market, and it can show excellent performance in terms of appearance, configuration, performance, camera, game, battery life, charging, etc.

In fact, as a heavy user of digital products, I find it difficult to find so-called "flagship scenarios" that this phone cannot handle. It can be said that for the vast majority of mobile phone users, the performance of this phone is not inferior to that of a number of much more expensive flagship phones.

On the contrary, Hi nova 11 is quite in line with the current consumer creed of young people to spend their budget wisely, "not paying for unnecessary features and configurations." For consumers with a budget of around 3,000 yuan, I really can't find a reason not to recommend this phone. It is fashionable and trendy enough for young people to use for their own use, and it will be very sufficient whether it is for selfies, games or iQiyi.

In short, remember that the strengths, or pain points, of the Hi nova 11 are three: photography, gaming, and battery life. In fact, apart from these three, we don’t seem to have too many additional so-called “flagship requirements”.

Suitable is the best, and it would be even better if every penny is spent wisely.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.