While not perfect, the Huawei Nova 2i is one of the best smartphones you can buy in the Philippines for under P15,000 (around $288). In fact, it beat out several other devices from dominant brands to emerge as our top recommendation in the midrange category.
SEE ALSO: Is this a more affordable Huawei Nova 2i phone?
Recently, the Nova 2i got even better post-launch with the rollout of a software update that added a couple of new features, most notably face unlock, which works pretty well in all but the worst lighting conditions. The update, however, didn’t address one of our biggest grumbles about the phone — the Android Nougat-based operating system — although that could soon change.
Huawei’s Philippine outfit just confirmed to us that the Android 8.0 Oreo beta update will go live for customers who bought the Nova 2i locally. The target date is end-April 2018, which may still change, of course. Emphasis on the word “beta,” which is to say that the upgrade will likely have some kinks that may (or may not) be ironed out before it leaves beta testing. In short, proceed with caution.
Huawei just confirmed to us at Revü that the Android 8.0 Oreo beta update will go live for customers in the Philippines who bought the Huawei Nova 2i. The target date is end-April.
Another thing: You’ll need to sign up for Huawei’s beta program to be able to download the Android 8.0 Oreo update. It won’t show up in your phone’s notification shade, as regular software patches tend to do.
Finally, the Oreo preview doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re just weeks, or even days, removed from the final version. But this is as good an indication as any that the Nova 2i will get Oreo sooner rather than later and join the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro among the ranks of Huawei handsets running the latest version of Android.
READ ALSO: Huawei Mate 10 Pro in pink gold coming to the Philippines
The Oreo beta program for the Nova 2i is already live in Malaysia, while in Europe, Huawei has launched a similar effort for the Honor 7X, a phone that mirrors the Nova 2i right down to the smaller details.
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