Content
- Video review
- Equipment and design
- Software
- Camera
- Performance and Benchmarks
- findings
Last year, Honor's biggest budget hitbecame the X8 model, although the company also had other devices in this segment - the very simple X5/X6/X7 and the more advanced X9. And at the beginning of this year, three models with the suffix ‘a’ were released: X7a, X8a, X9a. These are not simplified versions, as you might think, but sequels; Apparently, X7b, X8b and X9b will be released in 2024. Today we will get acquainted with the older model - the X9a smartphone, which is the global version of the Chinese Honor X40. Moreover, which is very unusual, the “global” turned out to be significantly better than the “Chinese”, although the X40 is quite good. Well, let's study!
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Technical characteristics of Honor X9a |
|---|---|
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Firmware | Android 12 with Magic UI 6.1 |
| Screen | 6.67″, 2400×1080 pixels, 20:9, 395 ppi, AMOLED, 10 bit, curved, 800 nits, 120 Hz, touch 120 Hz |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, 6 nm CPU: 2 x A78 x 2.2 GHz + 6 x A55 x 1.8 GHz GPU: Adreno 619 |
| Ram | 6/8 GB |
| ROM | 128/256 GB |
| SIM and memory card | Two nano-SIM slots |
| Camera | Main: 64 MP, 1/2″, f/1.8, phase detection autofocus, video recording 1080p@30fps wide angle: 5 MP, f/2.2, fixed focus, 1080p@30fps video recording Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4, fixed focus |
| Selfie | hole in the center, 16 MP, f/2.5, fixed focus, 1080p@30fps video recording |
| Battery | 5010 mAh |
| Charging | 40 W |
| Wireless interfaces | WiFi 5 Bluetooth 5.1 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou Infrared port |
| NFC | there is |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint scanner (on screen) |
| Sound | Mono |
| Water protection | Not declared |
| Dimensions and weight | 161.6 x 73.9 x 7.9mm 175 g |
Video review
Equipment and design
Honor X9a comes standard with 40Wcharging, USB cable, documentation, SIM needle. The latter provides access to the tray, where you can insert only two nano-SIM cards; microSD is not supported. This is not the first Chinese state employee without microSD this year, unfortunately; it seems that soon we will completely stop meeting smartphones with expandable memory. Well, the kit can be scolded for the lack of a cover; All other necessary accessories are included. The protective film is applied to the screen at the factory.
Honor X9a is available in three colors:light blue, green and black. The body is entirely plastic. The ends are made of scratchy glossy material, but the back is made of matte, very pleasant to the touch and looks more like frosted glass. The backdrop shimmers a little in the light and overall looks very nice; The design of this smartphone seems to me one of the best in the class.
“But what about that ridiculous camera ring?"- you will be surprised. I won't argue, it's ridiculous. You would have smashed the camera body to different corners. However, live it looks very nice and even neat, does not spoil the design at all. I would even say that it is cool and in the end I liked it. The grip also does not interfere, on the contrary: my index finger usually rests above the flash and receives additional support on this same ring. Although in general I can’t praise the ergonomics - because of the rounded edges, there are very thin ends that dig into the hand. At the same time, I note that the smartphone is very thin (7.9 mm) and light (175 g), this is a significant plus.
The main pride of the Honor X9a is its screen.It’s not often that you see a budget smartphone with a Full HD+ curved AMOLED display (2400×1080 pixels, 20:9, 395 ppi) with increased color depth (10-bit) and high refresh rate (120 Hz). The bend at the edges is quite strong, I don’t like it, but I know that this format also has fans; Otherwise the screen is very nice. There are three Hertz modes (60, auto, 120), but auto is almost always 60, so I advise you to set it to 120. The shimming is not very strong.
For some reason, the accelerated touch was not delivered, the frequencytouch sampling is only 120 Hz. Stereo speakers were not delivered either: the lower speaker, although not bad, but without singing along from the colloquial side, there is no need to talk about any immersion effect. There is no linear vibro either, there is an ordinary “buzzer”. But the infrared port was not clamped, so you can control home appliances using the X9a.
Software
Honor X9a comes with MagicUI 6.1 and Android 12.The international version of MagicUI has not been developed much in recent years, it is very similar to what we saw in Honor smartphones 3-4 years ago. So I'll just get off with screenshots and won't tell you anything in detail, okay?) Except just in case I repeat that global Honor smartphones come with Google services. American spells cast on Huawei do not apply to Honor in any way.
Cameras
Chinese prototype of Honor X9a, Honor X40 smartphone,received inadequately ugly cameras - a 50-megapixel base and a 2-megapixel camera for macro. For the global market, the photo part has been pretty upgraded: the base is now 64 megapixels, plus a 5 megapixel width has been added. Unfortunately, Honor hides the sensor models, but the diagonal is 1/2″; According to the characteristics, Samsung GW3 and OmniVision OV64B are suitable. However, even after leveling up, the 64+5+2 combo doesn’t look very convincing. How does it shoot?
Average.The main camera can be praised for natural color reproduction and lack of oversharpening; but the detail and quality of noise reduction leave much to be desired. Autofocus occasionally fails. At night, I strongly advise the night mode - the pictures are much nicer. In general, for photographing documents, counters and goods in the store, this camera is, of course, enough, but you expect something more from 64 megapixels. The 5-megapixel wide and 2-megapixel macro camera are no good, as you might guess from their resolution. Another disadvantage is the large distance between the lenses: when switching between cameras, the composition “moves out” a lot. For example, these two photos were taken from exactly the same point:
The front camera in the Honor X9a has also been improved compared to the X40: 16 megapixels versus 8 megapixels. I don’t know how they shot 8 megapixels on the X40, but it seems that the improvements did not help much. The front is medium.
Video can be recorded on 3 out of 4 cameras - all except2-megapixel module for macro. However, only in 1080p@30fps. There is no stabilization, so you have to rely on tripod hands, which is not always convenient. Despite the same maximum resolution for all cameras, you cannot switch between them while shooting. But you can shoot video on two cameras at the same time, this is called "Multivideo". But damn, Honor, do you really think that shooting wide and wide at the same time is a more necessary feature than switching cameras?
Performance and tests
With Honor X9a hardware, the manufacturer is not smartbecame by installing Qualcomm Snapdragon 695. There are three memory sizes to choose from: 6 + 128, 8 + 128 and 8 + 256. If you need a lot of memory, immediately buy the older version, because, let me remind you, there is no microSD support in this smartphone. Before evaluating performance in games, let's look at screenshots of benchmarks:
normal mode
performance mode
Two conclusions.Firstly, there is little point in the performance mode: it, of course, overclocks the CPU by several percent, but it does not affect the gaming capabilities in any way. Secondly, there is no throttling in Honor X9a. Yes, the CPU sank a little in normal mode, but it's not worth the worry. There is heating, but not critical; even after twenty minutes in Genshin Imapct, the smartphone was only slightly warm, it was pleasant to hold it in my hands.
The smartphone copes well with games - in the sameYou can run Genshin Impact at maximum speeds of 30 fps. Putting 60 fps, however, makes no sense. I would advise lowering the graphics settings, but for some reason this does not help - as it went with drawdowns, it continues. Simpler games like Real Racing 3 work just fine. However, factors such as the lack of stereo and not the fastest touch cannot be excluded from the calculation. They also affect the gaming experience negatively.
Despite the low thickness and weight, Honor X9a does notseparated by battery. On the contrary, there is a battery with a capacity slightly above average - 5100 mAh. Given the energy-efficient processor and AMOLED screen, battery life should be excellent. Indeed, in our traditional tests, the discharge was 5% per hour in the game, 9% per hour in the browser and 9% per hour of video. The anomalous result in the game is most likely due to the battery calibration curve, but in general you can still expect 9-10 hours of screen time in two days with not the most demanding tasks. Constantly playing and driving benchmarks, you can discharge your smartphone in 5-6 hours.
40-W charging does not break records in terms of speed.A full charge from zero to a hundred took me 75 minutes. The process was fairly even: 28% in 15 minutes, 51% in 30 minutes, 73% in 45 minutes; a significant decrease in speed occurred only after reaching the 90% mark. By the way, a quiz for Honor fans: how are 40W charging and MagicUI skin related? Waiting for answers in the comments ????
Conclusions
Honor X9a - a smartphone that catches the firstturn with its design, as well as the flagship OLED screen, which unexpectedly ended up in a very budget smartphone. But the X9a also has disadvantages, and their list is quite long: no microSD, no stereo, no taps, wide plug, not the highest performance, ill-conceived ergonomics. If you are looking for top value for your money, then pass by. But if you need a smartphone that will be first of all pleasant to use and pleasing to the eye, feel free to take it. In this, hardly anyone for 25,000 rubles can argue with the Honor X9a.
© Oleg Lazarev.