Honor X9 Review – Honor has lately added two mid-range smartphones to its X series. One is Honor X9, which is a 4G device, whereas Honor X9 5G (as named) comes with 5G support. Both the phones look similar to the Honor Magic 4 Pro, launched recently. Although, there’s no denying that they have their own design style and layout that make them stand out from the recent release of the phone.
The Honor X9 was released in April 2022, while the X9 5G too made its entry into the global market. These two devices have a few same features, while some are different. So, the following details will help you find out which is better or if any of them is worth buying. With that said, let’s start the detailed review of the Honor X9 smartphone.
Table of Contents
Honor X9 Review
Highlights
- Both the handsets hold a 6.81 inches IPS LCD panel with 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates for 4G, and 5G models respectively.
- Honor X9 and X9 5G are powered by Snapdragon 680 and Snapdragon 695 respectively.
- For the operating system, both of them own Magic UI 4.2 user interface based on Android 11 OS.
- The primary camera on the Honor X9 is 64 MP and X9 5G is 48 MP.
- The Li-Po 4800 mAh battery alongside 66W fast charging support is the same for both devices.
Design and Display
The devices possess an identical elegant look, where the glossy back fits a huge circular camera module. The phone is not heavy and easy to hold but seems like a fingerprint magnet. Besides, the front is straightforward with thin bezels. Then, there is a side-mounted fingerprint reader that is not the fastest and still works pretty well. Color options include Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue, and Midnight Black.
Honor X9 and X9 5G hold a 6.81 inches IPS LCD panel. Despite the massive screen size, visuals are not the best as you can witness better viewing angles and brightness in other phones under this range. Honor X9 has a 90 Hz refresh rate however, Honor X9 5G has a fast 120 Hz refresh rate to compensate for the AMOLED screen.
Thus, navigation, scrolling, and gaming experience will be enjoyable with Honor X9 5G. Long story short, the key difference between them is just the refresh rate, while the screen quality and design layout are quite similar. If you are looking for a better refresh rate experience, you should consider the Honor X9 5G, while on the other hand, Honor X9 is not a bad deal.
Memory and Internal
The performance of both the Honor smartphones is not the same. The Honor X9 4G is backed by Snapdragon 680 4G chipset, though it is not that impressive yet day to day operations are manageable. On the contrary, the other one is powered by a 6nm Snapdragon 695 chipset. It is a powerful mid-range processor, resulting in fluid multi-tasking, navigation, and efficient routine.
Additionally, the gaming experience is pleasant with high frame rates and graphics. So, overall the Honor X9 5G’s performance is strong. Apart from this, both the mobile phones are available in a single variant of 8GB RAM 128GB in-built storage with no availability of an SD card slot. Thus, storage may be insufficient for some users.
The software handling of Honor X9 and X9 5G is done by Magic UI 4.2 user interface based on Android 11 OS. Well, buying a new phone under this segment without the latest Android 12 OS could be a regret. Although, you won’t need to be aware of the customization effects as you are getting tons of options from the custom user interface. However, you will notice a few bloatware apps during your usage.
Camera
Honor X9 obtains a quad-camera module with a 64MP primary lens, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. The picture quality of the primary camera is decent but far from the best, even in this segment. Similarly, the ultra-wide shots are also average.
Honor X9 5G equips a triple-camera module, having a 48MP primary plus macro & depth sensor of 2MP each. And the main lens shots are mediocre as they are overexposed and lack details. Other than this, it’s high time we get rid of these 2 MP sensors, which the brands fit just to add the number.
Both the devices possess a 16 MP front camera, and Selfies are not among the best but alright & usable. Furthermore, the videos can be recorded at 1080p@30fps. The video quality is disappointing as the footages are shaky with mediocre contrast & exposure. Also, The sound in the recordings is terrible.
Battery and Others
Coming to the battery configurations, which are the same for both. The mobile phone packs a Li-Po 4800 mAh battery accompanied by 66W fast charging support, that may charge 81% in 30 minutes (as advertised). Hence, the charging speed and battery life are fine and enough for an entire day of medium usage.
Except for this, two of these have all the essential comms & sensors. But there’s no headphone jack for any of these. now, let’s talk about the price point, Honor X9 is priced at $250 (Rs. 18,990 in India) approx. On the other hand, Honor X9 5G is at $269 (Rs. 20,000) approx.
Honor X9 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Honor X9 smartphone.
| Specifications | Honor X9 4G | Honor X9 5G |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | March 2022 | Same |
| SIM | Dual SIM | Same |
| Dimensions | 6.54 x 2.98 x 0.32 inches | Same |
| Weight | 189 g | Same |
| Size | 6.81 inches | Same |
| Display | IPS LCD 90Hz ~385 PPI density | IPS LCD 120Hz ~385 PPI density |
| Protection | No | Same |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2388 pixels | Same |
| OS | Android 11, Magic UI 4.2 | Same |
| Chipset | 6nm – Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G | 6nm – Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold 4×1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver | Octa-core 2×2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 660 Silver |
| GPU | Adreno 610 | Adreno 619 |
| Card slot | No | Same |
| RAM | 8GB | Same |
| Internal | 128GB | Same |
| Camera | 64 MP (wide), PDAF 8 MP (ultrawide) 2 MP (macro) 2 MP (depth) LED flash, panorama, HDR Max – 1080p@30fps | 48 MP (wide), PDAF 2 MP (macro) 2 MP (depth) LED flash, panorama, HDR Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie | 16MP Max – 1080p@30fps | Same |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Same |
| 3.5mm jack | No | Same |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Same |
| Bluetooth | 5.1, A2DP, LE | Same |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS | Same |
| NFC | Yes | Same |
| Infrared port | No | Same |
| Radio | No | Same |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go | Same |
| Sensors | side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, compass Virtual proximity sensing | Same |
| Battery | Li-Po 4800 mAh Fast charging 66W | Same |
| Colors | Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black | Same |
| Expected Price | $250 (Rs 18,999 in India) approx | $269 (Rs 20,000 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
Lastly, anyone who wants a nice-looking, powerful 5G phone for a good gaming experience, can consider the Honor X9 5G smartphone. However, for users who want a good camera phone, Honor X9 & X9 5G can be considered a good option if you are only considering the daylight photos. The hardware and software can be on par with regular mid-range phones, so the overall experience would be great.
But given the price, there are a few alternatives from other brands that provide some of the features better than these two. Therefore, the buying decision depends on your requirements. Meanwhile, you can check out options like the Motorola Moto G22 if you are in search of a pure android experience under the same budget. Also, there’s Vivo iQOO Z6 gives an immersive gaming experience.
