TECHWEEK
HONOR X9a clearly looks more expensive than it is. Nice, thin, light, with good battery and modern “stuffing” – this model will compete with the best representatives of the middle segment.
Despite belonging to the mid-budget segment, HONOR X9a looks very cool – it can easily be confused with a flagship device. The case is very thin, 7.9 mm, and the edges of the screen and the back panel have fashionable curves on the sides. Visually, this solution reduces the already small thickness of the device.
The lower and upper frames are also quite “flagship” – the screen occupies 93% of the total area of the front surface. The selfie camera, as befits modern Android devices, is located in the center of the screen in a small hole.
The test version in emerald green has a velvety solid color back panel that is virtually fingerprint-resistant. The same is used for the color “shimmering ice”, but “midnight black” has a glossy “back”. As for the camera block, HONOR is again experimenting with its format.
Slim on/off and volume buttons are traditionally located on the right side. On the bottom is a USB-C port and a slot for two SIM cards.
In general, the smartphone fits comfortably in the hand. And it is also very light – 175 g. And this is in the presence of a full-fledged 5100 mAh battery.
Screen
- Diagonal: 6.67 inches
- Resolution: 2400×1080
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
HONOR’s official release claims a “flagship OLED screen”.
There is enough brightness for any conditions, automatic adjustment works correctly. At the same time, at low PWM values, it does not irritate due to the high frequency of 1920 Hz. It is possible to adjust the color mode and temperature of the screen, use a special eye protection mode or even monochrome mode.
Cameras
- Primary: 64 MP, f/1.8, autofocus
- Wide angle: 5 MP, f/2.2
- Macro: 2MP
- Selfie: 16MP
The main violin in photo and video shooting is played by the main camera with a 64 megapixel sensor. As usual, by default, four pixels are combined into one, resulting in a finished photo with a resolution of 16 megapixels. But there is a High-Res mode that allows you to shoot at all 64 megapixels. The zoom here is only digital, but this does not prevent taking pictures with a double increase: there is practically no loss of quality.
There are no complaints about the quality of the photo from the main camera. Autofocus is fast and rarely misses. Even in automatic mode, the pictures are balanced, with natural colors.
By the way, about modes. In addition to the standard ones, the main menu also has “Aperture”, in which you can adjust the background blur.
Another mode that will be of interest to bloggers and active users of social networks is Multivideo. In it, you can create short videos with animation effects, and shoot at the same time on the main and selfie cameras.
The wide-angle lens allows you to take high-quality, sharp photos, although the detail is (as you might guess) lower than that of the main camera.
Hardware and performance
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 695
- Memory capacity: 6/128 GB
The filling of the HONOR X9a is typical for a mid-range smartphone. This is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 with two productive Kryo 660 Gold cores and six energy-efficient Kryo 660 Silver cores. Many competitors have simpler processors – for example, Snapdragon 680. The difference is not fundamental, but still it is.
The amount of memory is sufficient for most users – 6 GB of RAM and a 128 GB drive. If necessary, RAM can easily be increased by another 5 GB due to permanent memory. The drive itself cannot be increased: there is no support for memory cards here.
In synthetic tests, it shows good results. For example, in Geekbench 6, the smartphone received 898 points in the single-core test and 2066 in the multi-core test.
What is important, there is no throttling at all. Despite the thin body, the manufacturer managed to achieve good cooling of the processor.
For owners of HONOR tablets and laptops, the smartphone has a couple more bonuses. For example, it can be connected in the “Multiscreen” mode to another device of the brand. The desktop of the smartphone will be displayed on the screen of a large device, and from it it will be possible to launch applications, answer calls, move files from one drive to another.
Another useful feature within the same ecosystem is HONOR Share. With it, you can quickly transfer files from one HONOR device to another wirelessly.
Battery
- Battery capacity: 5100 mAh
- Fast Charge Support: HONOR Super Charge 40W
We have already noted that, despite the thin body, HONOR X9a received a 5100 mAh battery. It would seem that these are practically “standard” for the 5100 mAh class, but due to the extra “hundreds” and energy-efficient filling, HONOR X9a has become one of the leaders in terms of autonomy in the DxOMark rating. In its segment, it took the third position, leaving many competitors behind. DxOMark experts have confirmed that with moderate use, the battery of this smartphone may well last for 3 days.
Support for fast charging is also included: a 40-watt HONOR Super Charge adapter is included. It takes a little over an hour to replenish energy from 0 to 100%.
Conclusion
It’s no secret that many owners of flagship models in real life do not use even half of the resources of these devices. They care about interesting design solutions, a thin body, a good screen with barely noticeable frames, and decent shooting quality. The performance of modern “tops” is such that you still need to try to find applications in which it will manifest itself.
Against this background, HONOR X9a looks very attractive in the literal and figurative sense. Visually, it is not much inferior to the flagships, offers the same good screen with high brightness and increased refresh rate. Pictures from the main camera are quite high quality both day and night. Yes, the processor is simpler and the amount of memory is more modest, but this is absolutely not noticeable in most typical use cases. So, if top-end power and 4K shooting are not important to you, it is quite possible to consider HONOR X9a for purchase.
