Apple iPhone 17 VS Huawei Nova 15

The most meaningful design difference between these two phones lies in water protection. The Apple iPhone 17 carries an IP68 rating, meaning it is fully waterproof and can withstand submersion — typically up to several meters for a defined duration. The Huawei Nova 15 is rated IP65, which only guarantees protection against low-pressure water jets and dust ingress, but not submersion. In real-world terms, the iPhone 17 can survive a drop in a pool or sink, while the Nova 15 is protected against splashes and rain — a tangible gap for users who frequently use their phone near water.

In terms of physical form, the two phones offer different trade-offs. The Nova 15 is noticeably slimmer at 7.2 mm versus the iPhone 17's 7.95 mm, but it is also taller (161.9 mm vs 149.6 mm), wider (75.5 mm vs 71.5 mm), and heavier at 196 g compared to 177 g. The Nova 15 has a larger overall footprint, which may make it harder to handle one-handed despite its thinner profile. The iPhone 17's more compact frame and lighter weight give it a more pocketable, premium-in-hand feel.

Neither phone offers a rugged build or foldable form factor, so those are non-factors here. Overall, the iPhone 17 holds a clear edge in this group: its superior water resistance rating is a significant practical advantage, and its lighter, more compact body makes it more comfortable to use daily — even if it concedes a slight edge in raw thinness to the Nova 15.

The Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 both feature OLED/AMOLED displays, ensuring vibrant and deep colors. The iPhone 17 has a smaller 6.3″ display, while the Nova 15 offers a larger 6.7″ screen, providing a slightly more expansive viewing experience. Despite this size difference, the iPhone 17 has a higher pixel density of 460 ppi compared to the Nova 15's 395 ppi, resulting in sharper details on the iPhone's screen.

In terms of resolution, the iPhone 17 boasts a 1206 x 2622 px resolution, which is higher than the Nova 15's 1084 x 2412 px resolution. Both devices support a 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth motion on the screen. The iPhone 17 and Nova 15 both feature a touch sampling rate of 120Hz and 300Hz, respectively. This means the Nova 15 is likely to respond more quickly to touch inputs, particularly in high-speed interactions like gaming.

Regarding durability, the Nova 15 is equipped with branded damage-resistant glass, which the iPhone 17 lacks. Both devices support HDR10 and have an Always-On Display, with the iPhone 17 further supporting Dolby Vision, a feature not available on the Nova 15. Neither phone has a secondary screen, and both include a touch screen for interactive use.

The Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 are equipped with similar internal storage, each offering 512GB. However, the iPhone 17 has 8GB of RAM, while the Nova 15 provides 12GB, giving the Nova 15 a significant edge in multitasking capabilities.

The iPhone 17 uses the Apple A19 chipset with a CPU that includes 2 high-performance cores running at 4.26 GHz and 4 efficiency cores at 2.51 GHz, while the Nova 15 is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 8020 chipset with a more complex CPU setup of 1 high-performance core at 2.285 GHz, 3 mid-range cores at 2.05 GHz, and 4 efficiency cores at 1.3 GHz. The iPhone's CPU configuration offers higher clock speeds for its high-performance cores.

In Geekbench 6 benchmarks, the iPhone 17 excels in multi-core performance with a score of 8810 compared to the Nova 15's 3570, while the Nova 15 performs better in single-core with a score of 1350 versus the iPhone's 3608. The iPhone 17's GPU clock speed is also higher at 1490 MHz, compared to the Nova 15's 840 MHz. The iPhone 17 benefits from a smaller 3 nm semiconductor size and a higher maximum memory bandwidth of 78.8 GB/s, while the Nova 15 uses a 7 nm process and has a maximum memory bandwidth of 68.2 GB/s. The Nova 15 supports a maximum memory of 16GB, which is more than the iPhone 17's 12GB, but both devices support DDR5 RAM. Both phones utilize big.LITTLE technology, have integrated graphics, and support 64-bit processing. The Nova 15 also has multithreading support, while the iPhone 17 does not.

The Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 both feature dual-lens main cameras, but their setups differ in terms of megapixels and aperture sizes. The iPhone 17 has a 48 MP main camera paired with another 48 MP lens, offering wide apertures of 2.2f and 1.6f, respectively. The Nova 15, on the other hand, has a more complex triple-lens system with 50 MP, 12 MP, and 8 MP lenses, and wider apertures of 1.9f, 2.4f, and 2.2f. The iPhone 17 also offers 2x optical zoom, while the Nova 15 provides a 3x optical zoom.

In terms of front cameras, the iPhone 17 features an 18 MP front camera with a wide aperture of 1.9f, whereas the Nova 15 comes with a much higher 50 MP front camera, but with a wider 2.4f aperture. Both phones support features like HDR mode, manual exposure, touch autofocus, slow-motion video recording, and timelapse. The iPhone 17 additionally supports Dolby Vision recording, while the Nova 15 does not. However, the Nova 15 can shoot raw photos, a feature that the iPhone 17 lacks.

Both devices support video recording at 2160 x 60 fps, with the iPhone 17 offering a smoother 60 fps rate compared to the Nova 15’s 30 fps for the main camera. The iPhone 17 includes a dual-tone LED flash, whereas the Nova 15 lacks this feature but still has a flash with 2 LEDs. Other notable differences include the iPhone 17’s BSI sensor, which the Nova 15 lacks, and the Nova 15’s laser autofocus, which is absent on the iPhone 17.

The Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 both offer a variety of privacy and customization options, including camera/microphone privacy, dark mode, battery health checks, customizable notifications, sharing intents, child locks, widgets, voice commands, and location tracking. These features are present in both devices, providing similar levels of control and personalization.

One key difference is in split screen support: the iPhone 17 does not support split screen, while the Nova 15 does. Additionally, the iPhone 17 receives direct OS updates, while the Nova 15 does not, meaning that the iPhone may benefit from more consistent and timely software improvements. Both devices support child locks, voice commands, and widget integration, ensuring ease of use for a variety of tasks.

Another distinction is the multi-user system: the iPhone 17 does not support this feature, while the Nova 15 does, allowing for multiple user profiles on the same device. Both phones, however, have the ability to track the device’s current position, providing enhanced location-based services.

The Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 differ significantly in battery power, with the iPhone 17 featuring a 3692 mAh battery and the Nova 15 boasting a much larger 6000 mAh battery. Both devices have rechargeable batteries and battery level indicators, but neither model offers a removable battery. While the iPhone 17 supports wireless charging, the Nova 15 does not.

In terms of fast charging, both devices support this feature, but the iPhone 17 has a charging speed of 40W, whereas the Nova 15 can charge at a faster 100W. The iPhone 17 does not come with a charger, while the Nova 15 includes one in the box, providing additional convenience for users.

Both devices support fast charging, but with the larger battery and faster charging speed of the Nova 15, it can be expected to charge more quickly overall compared to the iPhone 17, assuming the same charging conditions.

Both the Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 lack a 3.5 mm audio jack, which may be a consideration for users who prefer wired headphones. However, both phones do feature stereo speakers, providing a richer audio experience for media playback.

In terms of wireless audio technologies, the iPhone 17 does not support aptX, LDAC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, or aptX Lossless. In contrast, the Nova 15 supports aptX and LDAC, making it compatible with a wider range of high-quality wireless audio devices that support these codecs. Neither phone includes a built-in radio.

While both devices offer stereo speakers, the Nova 15's support for aptX and LDAC gives it an edge in wireless audio quality for compatible devices.

Both the Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 support 5G connectivity, making them future-proof for high-speed mobile networks. In terms of Wi-Fi, both phones support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), but the iPhone 17 additionally supports Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), while the Nova 15 does not provide this support.

The iPhone 17 uses a SIM card and an eSIM, while the Nova 15 supports two physical SIM cards. Both devices have Bluetooth 6, USB Type-C, and NFC, but the iPhone 17 does not feature a fingerprint scanner, unlike the Nova 15, which includes this security feature.

Both phones come with GPS, a compass, and a gyroscope. However, the iPhone 17 supports more advanced features such as emergency SOS via satellite, crash detection, and a barometer, none of which are present on the Nova 15. On the other hand, the Nova 15 has an infrared sensor, which the iPhone 17 lacks. Neither phone supports a heart rate monitor, has a built-in projector, or uses an iris scanner. Additionally, the iPhone 17 supports more precise positioning with Galileo, while the Nova 15 offers similar positioning features without Galileo.

Both the Apple iPhone 17 and Huawei Nova 15 include a video light, enhancing their ability to capture videos in low-light conditions. Neither phone features sapphire glass display, curved displays, or e-paper displays, meaning both have conventional flat screens without these specialized display technologies.

Overall, these devices share the same set of display features in this category, with no significant differences between them regarding display type or additional features like sapphire glass or e-paper functionality.