JOIN USHonor 9X review: Feature-rich pop-up camera phone for the masses
After staying most part of 2019 in idle mode, Huawei’s subsidiary Honor kicked off the new year with the launch of 9X series mobile in India.
The new Honor 9X comes in two configurations— 4GB RAM + 128GB storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage for Rs 13,999 and Rs 16,999, respectively.
We have been using the Honor 9X for a week and here are our thoughts on the new Android-powered phone.
Display and design
It flaunts a glossy shell on the back with a visually appealing X pattern. It gets only visible when lights hit on the surface at a certain angle.
The shell’s outer layer is made of polycarbonate-based material, but have to say, it exudes premium hand-feel. The only qualm is, it is a bit too smooth to get a good grip and is a major fingerprint magnet.
But, thankfully, the company is offering a TPU protective case, which shields the device from daily wear and tear.
As far as the display is concerned, it is one of the very few phones in the sub-Rs 14,000 mobile to boast true full view display (6.59-inch) with full HD+ resolution. The credit goes to the pop-up camera mechanism.
Performance
Honor 9X houses Huawei’s proprietary Kirin 710G octa-core (Cortex A73 core x 4 + Cortex A53 core x 4) processor and is backed by dedicated GPU Turbo 3.0 technology, 4GB/6GB RAM, Android Pie-based EMUI 9 OS, 128GB storage, which is expandable up to 512GB via microSD card.
The device worked smoothly in terms of app loading, switching between apps and launching the camera to capture a photo or record videos. Also, There was no noticeable lag when playing videos or the games and the credit has to go to the GPU Turbo 3.0.
It also comes with a 4,000mAh cell and the device was able to deliver more than a day’s battery life under normal usage. Also, it comes with 10W Type-C charger out-of-the-box.
Honor 9X comes with a fingerprint sensor on the back and responds really fast to the finger impression to unlock the screen and never faced false rejection during the entire testing period.
Camera
Besides the gorgeous design language, another biggest selling point of the Honor 9X is its photography hardware. It boasts feature-rich triple camera module— 48MP (with Sony IMX586 sensor)+8MP (ultra-wide angle lens)+2MP depth sensor— on the back.
It takes good sharp images in the natural light conditions in the morning and also in the evening with dwindling light. However, the autofocus loses speed in the night.
On the front, it features a 16MP pop-up camera. It captures really good selfies and the portrait mode is also impressive.
Final thoughts
Overall, Honor 9X is a cost-effective mid-range phone. It ticks all the necessary parameters such as good display, smooth performance, day-long battery and offers big storage capacity for any phone in the segment. Also, it is one of the very few to boast a pop-up camera for such a low price tag.
The only qualm is that there is no official word on whether Android 10 will be released to the Honor 9X in the near future.
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