Honor 9X Review: Ninth Shaft

More than half a year has passed since the thunder of American sanctions against Huawei. But the USA is in the next,

the third time postponed their introduction, and Huawei / Honorstill continues to release new models to the market (and just as well eats away the share of other players). “The extension of the Provisional General License will not have a significant impact on Huawei's business. This decision does not change the fact that Huawei continues to act unfairly, ”the company commented on the situation. Indeed, the uncertainty leaves its mark on the lineup of the company as well. For example, Honor launched a mid-range 9X model with last year’s Kirin 710F chip, as such a solution was certified before the sanctions.

What kind of model is this?

The Honor 9X is an update to the Honor X-Series chassis. In fact, this is the Huawei P Smart Z, with slight differences in specifications and a different design. Last year's representative of the X-series sold 10 million in circulation by spring and made the competitors nervous. But if the “hot pie” of 2018 at the start of sales cost 7999 UAH, then the representative of the middle segment this year entered the market at a price of 6999 UAH. The Kirin 710F pill was sweetened not only at a nice price, but also with a powerful camera.

</ img>

What is interesting Honor 9X?

We already had a review of Huawei P Smart Z, if youtaking a closer look at this price category, you probably did not miss it. Like a colleague / competitor, the Honor 9X is equipped with a front popup camera, respectively, its display is cut-out. The main camera has grown to 48 MP, and this is a triple module in the price category below average. Like the aforementioned model, this one got a rather energy-efficient processor for its price category - the Kirin 710F is made using a 12-nm process technology.

For some reason, there is no NFC in our model for our market. But the camera was set up three-module.

What does he look like?

On the front side is an almost continuous screen(occupies 84% of the surface), on the back is a typical Honor X with an X-shaped pattern on the lid, which becomes noticeable under artificial lighting. Moreover, the rays of light, built as if from pixels, diverge across the body even when the smartphone is in a transparent silicone case. Without it, it’s even brighter. At the back is a triple-camera module, more attractive than on the new iPhone, and a fingerprint scanner.

The model weighs almost 200 grams. In general, it is still a comfortable weight for the smartphone, as well as dimensions. It is a millimeter thicker than its predecessor and a few millimeters longer and wider. I can not compare the sensations in my hand with the Honor 8X, but I will say that in many cases I could still use it with one hand. Unlock the screen with a PIN or fingerprint - please. Launch the application and navigate the menu - often yes. But typing a message is already inconvenient.

Unlike its predecessor, this model receivedalready a Type-C connector. Saved audio output. With them below, the speaker is normal, loud (it wheezes only at maximum speed), although it is lonely. If you hold the smartphone in a horizontal orientation, it does not fall under the arm.

Sound control and screen lock buttons -on right. Just above the center of the smartphone. On the left side, nothing - and good, because it would be uncomfortable to reach The top is reserved for the upstart camera, it is very compact here, and a slot for two SIM-cards (the second is hybrid, you can also insert a memory card with a capacity of up to 512 GB). Of the drawbacks, the Huawei / Honor popup smartphones do not have a face recognition system, while there are solutions on the market located on a drawer.

In general, I liked the look of the model -Solid assembly, ergonomics for the size of the smartphone is excellent, an interesting design solution on the back. Color - blue anyway - pleasing to the eye. The only thing is that the smartphone collects fingerprints from the back with a bang.

What's in the box?

Smartphone, charger, cable, screen protector. There is no cover, and it is better to buy, since the case is quite slippery and also large, the smartphone can simply slip out.

How is the screen?

Honor 9X is equipped with a screen with a diagonal of 6.59inches and a resolution of 1080 × 2340 pixels (aspect ratio - 19.5: 9), which gives a pixel density at a comfortable level of 391 ppi. By default, the screen is somewhat blue. But if you turn on the warm temperature in the settings, then the color rendering of the IPS matrix of this screen becomes perfectly accurate, which is not typical for budget devices. Only the color gamut is slightly less than the RGB space. In the settings of the smartphone, you can make the temperature warmer and the colors brighter. There you can turn on the vision protection mode and disable the default active “smart” resolution - which decreases when the battery is low.

</ img>

I can’t evaluate the oleophobic coating, sinceI had a smartphone right away with a protective film. A smartphone, judging by the P Smart Z, should be pretty good. Brightness - again, in the current realities of Kiev weather - is sufficient. Our office colorimeter showed a maximum brightness of 350 cd / m2. There are no questions about the work of auto-adjustment of the backlight.

The screen is FullView, i.e. without cutouts. The front camera is hidden in the case, and this is the first such model in the Honor line. With all that it implies - watching movies is cool, reading comfortably, nothing cuts away precious millimeters of information.

What about the battery?

I tested the Honor 9X in an urban environment.There was no increased load on the battery, as is the case when traveling. It also happened that the smartphone worked for me for more than two days. Judging by a similar Huawei model, almost two days of work is the average norm for a battery. I basically do not use the power saving mode and ignore the system’s suggestions to unload a too resource-intensive application from memory. In standby mode, the battery charge melts very slowly. So if necessary, I think it will be possible to squeeze out three days of autonomy in an economical mode or so. An important clarification - this time I listened to music from the phone exclusively on wireless headphones, this is from two to several hours a day.

What about performance and interface?

As I mentioned above, Kirin is installed here710F. The amount of RAM is 4 GB. In general, the picture is typical for its price category, although devices with 6 GB of RAM are gradually starting to appear in it. The processor is made on the architecture of big.LITTLE, contains eight cores (four high-performance ARM Cortex-A73 clocked up to 2.2 GHz and four energy-saving ARM Cortex-A53 clocked up to 1.7 GHz), supports GPU Turbo technology, which according to the manufacturer, provides a productivity increase of 60% and a reduction in energy consumption by 30%. In life, a smartphone is comfortable for work, taking into account the price and its level. The interface works smoothly, but not a rocket bomb, as in flagship smartphones. Brakes and freezes behind him, too, did not notice. Unless a dozen tabs in Chrome can start to slow down. On it you can play Asphalt 9, the game is on, although there are slight twitches.

You can read about the model interface in reviews, for example, P30 lite or Mate 20 lite, there is nothing new here. Google services are.

How does the main camera shoot?

Honor 9X received a triple camera with a triple module. The main one is 48-megapixel (f / 1.8). Additional - 8 MP ultra wide angle (f / 2.4) and auxiliary - 2 megapixel, for bokeh effect. Apparently, exactly the same module is installed in the Huawei P30 lite, and we once liked this camera. This is a rather extraordinary solution, and the P30 lite review describes in detail the theoretical part and gives a large number of shots with an example of chic detail and wonderful panoramic shots. There was no such sun as summer, of course, in November Kiev, so my examples are cloudy and foggy, or even made at night. But they allow you to consider the capabilities of the camera in all sorts of different conditions.

Below I give an example of frames taken on the wide-angle camera of a smartphone.

As well as an example of pictures taken in aperture priority mode.

For those who do not want to get acquainted with the theoreticalin part, I’ll clarify that pictures in the maximum 48-megapixel resolution are not always available, but only for photos taken without the intervention of AI. And you need to select it in the settings. Or switching happens automatically when shooting with “2x zoom”. At a triple zoom, magic disappears. It is very difficult to get a clear shot at this magnification. In general, the manufacturer recommends shooting at 12 MP.

Panoramic shooting.

Night mode.

For comparison - the night mode in the Galaxy A50. He takes pictures faster, but he tries so hard, he tries so hard that the pictures on him are brighter than we would like. The Honor 9X is still more like a night.

An example of a video shot on a Honor 9X camera.

And the front?

The Honor 9X has a 16 megapixel module in the popup form factor. Moreover, the module is really compact.

Any mobile mechanism for a smartphone is,potentially a problem. Honor claims that the 9X popup camera can handle up to 10,000 open / close cycles, which is about five years of operation. In addition, the smartphone is equipped with sensors that can detect a fall and close the camera on the go. Checked. Working. The smartphone at the same time warns that he had to close the camera.

</ img>

The “exit” speed of the module is not the highest on the market, but quite comfortable. I checked the fall sensors from about a meter above the sofa.

The camera managed to hide at the last moment. That is, it is better, of course, not to drop, but if that happened, then most likely everything will remain intact.

There are no questions regarding the quality of shooting. Huawei / Honor has some of the best selfie processing algorithms on the market, even though it likes to embellish it at the default settings. The camera does not redraw the whole face, like Vivo, and does not leave hard shadows like OPPO - a healthy balance of “beauty” and life.

An example of pictures in original resolution is, as usual, on Torba.

What are the alternatives?

The most obvious is, of course, the Huawei P Smart.Z. Everything is the same, only with NFC and a little cheaper, a bit in a different design style. On the Honor side in this case is a more advanced main camera and twice as much built-in memory.

The model differs from its predecessor by an increasedscreen size and battery capacity (in fact, there is probably no difference in autonomy), and like with P Smart Z - plus a camera, minus the price and NFC. But if in the first case the choice is not so obvious, then in the second, for those who do not pay with a smartphone, I would recommend looking at the latest version of the "average".

In the Samsung lineup, the model competes with the Galaxy A50and Galaxy A40, A40s and a little more A30. In the abundance of models of the middle segment from Samsung, you can get lost, and the differences between them are not so obvious. The first is interesting AMOLED-display, the presence of NFC, fast charging and face recognition system. But losing the front camera and the price. The smoothness of the interface is comparable, and the life expectancy for some reason is less, despite the difference in diagonal and display technology in favor of Samsung. The Galaxy A50 also has a sub-screen fingerprint scanner. And it works very badly. Younger models have fewer screens and lower performance, but everywhere AMOLED. But for some reason it seems to me that the battery also does not give a big head start, as in the older model. Galaxy A40s received more RAM (6 GB) and lower display resolution.

Also exactly the same money is asking for Xiaomi RedmiNote 8. According to the characteristics, the models are close, although Xiaomi has more twists - more camera modules, RAM and there are contactless payments. At the same time, the cutout on the screen, and the image of the manufacturer, nevertheless, are weaker. . But the cutout on the screen and still there is a difference in the levels of the manufacturer, Honor belongs to Huawei with all that it implies.

In general, in my opinion, in this price categoryit’s very hot and it will be difficult to make a choice. Therefore, I recommend that those who consider a smartphone for 6000-8000 UAH start from the expectations of the camera and the need for NFC. Then everything will fall into place.

Special project

Artificial Intelligence on TVs: How It Works

In the dry residue

Honor 9X - a smartphone for those who are not readypay extra for the brand, while it is sensitive to the quality of the device and also does not intend to risk the brand. This is a 100% user who does not pay with a digital wallet. And yet - a person who cares about the camera, selfies - including. Do you consider yourself one? Then pay attention to this model.

4 reasons to buy Honor 9X:

outstanding camera for your money;
128 GB of internal memory;
interesting design;
decent autonomy.

3 reasons not to buy the Honor 9X:

you need contactless payments;
no face recognition;
you prefer OLED screen.

Specifications Honor 9x

Display
IPS LCD 6.59 ″, 1080 × 2312 pixels, 391 ppi

Dimensions and weight
164x77x9 mm, 197 g

CPU
Kirin 710F (8 cores: 4 Cortex A73 2.2 GHz + 4 Cortex A-53 1.7 GHz), ARM Mali-G51 graphics, 1.0 GHz

Memory
4 GB RAM, 128 GB ROM + microSD up to 512 GB (hybrid tray)

Camera

Main 48 MP, f / 1.8, super wide 8 MP (f / 2.4), auxiliary (for blurring the background) 2 MP

Frontal: 16 MP, pop-up

Interface
USB Type-C

Wireless technology
Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2

Battery
non-removable, lithium-polymer, 4000 mAh

operating system
Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.0.1 add-in

SIM card
2 x nanoSIM

The fingerprint scanner
on the back

Honor 9x

Three-eyed Frameless

The smartphone received a 6.59-inch IPS display without cutouts, a retractable front camera, a Kirin 710F processor, a triple main camera and a 4000 mAh battery.

Buy at Rozetka

Buy at Comfy

Buy at TTT