In 2023, the Chinese smartphone brand HTech brought Honor smartphones back to India under the leadership of CEO Madhav Sheth. The company announced the Honor 90 5G in the country as its comeback smartphone in September 2023. However, seems like Honor wants to begin 2024 promisingly as the brand is back with 3 new products in the 2nd month of the year itself. These include a mid-range smartphone and two wearables.
During a spectacular launch event, Honor unveiled not only the Honor X9b 5G but also the Honor Choice X5 Earbuds and the stylish Honor Choice Watch. The Honor X9b 5G boasts an unparalleled combination of strength and durability, coupled with top-notch features such as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset, a massive 5800mAh battery, an astonishing 108MP camera, and the innovative Magic OS 7.2.
While the Honor X9b has garnered positive reviews in the countries where it has been introduced, the burning question remains: how does this cutting-edge smartphone perform in the unique conditions of India? To provide you with an answer, we have conducted an in-depth review, analyzing every aspect of this remarkable device. Stay tuned to discover our findings!
Honor X9b 5G Review Snapshot
Editor’s rating: 3.9/5
Design
Display
Software
Performance
Camera
Battery
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Pros
- Strong & lightweight design
- Voluminous Battery life
- Clean & Neat UI
- Impressive 108MP sensor
- Fast Performance
Cons
- Charging time feels long
- Underwhelming 5MP & 2MP sensors
- The speaker could have been better
Honor X9b 5G Price & Availability
The Honor X9b comes in a lone 8GB RAM+256GB storage model for Rs. 25,999. Currently with bank discounts and other offers, the effective price is Rs. 22,999. It comes in Midnight Black and Sunrise Orange shades and the first sale will take place tomorrow via Amazon and other retail channels.
Honor X9b 5G Review: Design and Build
When it comes to the design of smartphones, brands mostly talk about the weight, thickness, color variants, and overall aesthetics of their devices. Durability is one such aspect that is very important for many users and yet it is not dedicatedly worked upon by many brands. I am someone who is clumsy with her primary device and keeps dropping it now and then, so durability is important for me. It has often happened that my phone has slipped out of my pocket or fell from my hand leading to the chipping and cracking of the screen guard being used. Protective covers do help in overcoming this issue but even these are not 100% effective during accidental drops.
Honor has taken a step forward in addressing this issue with the introduction of the Honor X9b smartphone. This device boasts an ultra-bounce anti-drop design, specifically to keep the phone safe during falls and drops. I’ve been using the Honor X9b for a while now, and despite a few slips on both carpeted and concrete floors, I haven’t noticed any scratches or physical damage. It seems that Honor’s promise of durability is holding up well, as this phone can handle accidental drops better than many of its counterparts. Additionally, it also has an IP53 rating for splashes.
The Honor X9b is available in two color options: Sunrise Orange, which features a vegan leather back, and Midnight Black, which has a polycarbonate back. I had the opportunity to review the black version, and it stands out from the Sunrise Orange variant due to its different back material.
Like other devices in the Honor family, the X9b boasts rounded edges along its side profile, making it comfortable to hold. It feels incredibly sleek and lightweight with a thickness of around 7.98mm and weighing only 185 grams.
The Midnight Black variant of the Honor X9b features a sleek frosted finish on the back, giving it a premium look while also preventing smudges and fingerprints. If you prefer vibrant colors, the Orange version is perfect for you. Its backside showcases a unique round camera module, reminiscent of the Vivo X Series module, housing three camera sensors with the main sensor positioned on the left. The module also includes an LED flash, with the ‘Matrix AI Vision Camera’ text elegantly displayed at the center. Adding to its charm, the rear camera module is adorned with a gold-rigged ring known as the Matrix Star Ring. The Honor branding can be found at the bottom of the rear panel. On the lower chin of the smartphone, you’ll find the USB-C port, SIM tray, and speaker, while the power button and volume rockers are conveniently located on the right edge. The top and left sides of the Honor X9b remain unadorned. Overall, the Honor X9b 5G boasts an attractive and durable design, making it a great choice for both clumsy individuals and parents dealing with mischievous kids who tend to throw things around.
Honor X9b 5G Review: Display
The display of a smartphone is just as important as its design, if not more. Honor has put in sincere efforts to provide a premium-grade display with the X9b model. With its massive 6.78-inch AMOLED panel, and a pixel resolution of 1200×2652, the visuals appear rich, vivid, and detailed. So whether you’re consuming content, gaming, or performing other tasks, the experience is decent. The deep blacks and vibrant colors make the AMOLED display gorgeous.
Honor X9b comes with a dynamic 19:9:9 aspect ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring a buttery smooth scrolling experience. The 1.5K resolution panel supports a maximum brightness of 1200 nits, making it easily legible even under harsh sunlight. Durability is a key feature of the Honor X9b. It is equipped with All-angle Ultra Tough 360-degree Anti-Drop Protection 8, making it one of the most robust panels in its segment. The brand’s offering of a 365-day Front and Back replacement further demonstrates its confidence in the product’s durability.
The Always-On-Display settings allow users to choose from a variety of images, graffiti, and other options. Users can even create their graffiti to be displayed. Features like eBook mode, eye comfort, and sleep mode ensure the safety of the user’s eyes. While the Honor X9b has a single down-firing speaker at the bottom, its performance is average. As the volume levels are increased beyond 50%, the lack of depth and character becomes more noticeable. It gets the job done, but it doesn’t have the performance that will blow you away.
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Honor X9b 5G Review: Camera
The Honor X9b is equipped with a triple camera setup on the back. This setup consists of a primary 108MP sensor with 3x optical zoom, a 5MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie shooter. The camera user interface is simple and user-friendly right from the start. Now, let’s evaluate the performance of this camera setup.
Before delving into the main camera, take a moment to observe the images above. The results speak for themselves, as the shots clicked with the 108MP sensor in natural lighting conditions are clear and engaging. The shots are filled with intricate details that remain preserved even when zoomed in. Colors appear rich, vibrant, and mostly accurate, indicating a well-balanced color reproduction. Users can confidently crop any part of the image, knowing that the clarity will remain exceptional.
The 3x optical zoom mode enhances the photography experience by delivering high-quality shots, allowing you to capture dynamic moments effortlessly, even if your hands are not steady.
Even in low-light conditions, the main sensor performs decently. Enabling the night mode enhances colors, although some may find the result slightly artificial. However, in certain situations, this feature can produce satisfactory output. It is worth noting that using the regular photo mode to capture shots in low light may result in slight graininess in the pictures.
The portrait mode delivers a decent performance, accurately capturing the essence of the subject. The following portraits exemplify its real-world performance.
The majority of smartphones nowadays come with 8MP ultrawide sensors, but the Honor X9b breaks the mold with its 5MP wide-angle lens. However, this 5MP ultrawide sensor has its limitations. While it can capture decent wide-angle shots in both daylight and low light, the pictures tend to be slightly grainy, especially around the edges. Additionally, when you zoom in, you’ll notice a loss of detail. It does cover a good amount of area, but that’s the only redeeming quality. It serves its purpose when needed, but it doesn’t quite match up to the performance of a good 8MP wide-angle sensor.
As for the 2MP macro sensor, it doesn’t serve much of a purpose. The close-up shots are average at best, lacking edge detection or autofocus. The super macro mode requires the sensor to be extremely close to the subject, which can be quite annoying at times. Even then, the shots tend to be slightly blurred around the edges.
Moving on to the camera’s video capabilities, the Honor X9b can record up to 4k videos at 30fps or 1080p videos at 30fps. The camera app offers a variety of modes such as night mode, multi-video mode, slow-motion, timelapse, panorama, super macro, high-res, and even a PDF mode for scanning documents and saving them as PDF files.
Lastly, let’s talk about the selfie camera, which is one of the most important sensors in any device. The Honor X9b features a 16MP sensor that excels in subject detection and accurate skin color reproduction. Without any filters or effects, the faces appear natural and the level of detail ensures that the selfies have depth and character. Even group selfies are well captured in daylight, as the camera automatically detects the faces of all subjects in the frame, with the background taking a secondary role. All in all, the selfie shooter is quite decent.
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Honor X9b 5G Review: Performance
Honor has equipped the X9b with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, ensuring smooth performance for all your daily tasks. Whether it’s making calls, sending messages, browsing social media, editing, listening to music, or gaming, this device can handle it all effortlessly.
I tested the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model, which also offers the option to virtually expand the RAM by an additional 8GB. With such a generous amount of RAM, multitasking becomes a breeze, allowing you to run multiple applications simultaneously without any lag in the background. And with 256GB of storage space, you’ll have more than enough room to store all your precious memories in your gallery.
The combination of the chipset, RAM, and Adreno A710 GPU ensures a seamless gaming experience, even with demanding titles like Genshin Impact. The graphics rendering is quick and smooth, even at high settings, which makes the gaming experience decent. And when it comes to heavy-duty games like BGMI and COD, this device handles them with ease.
In terms of thermal performance, the X9b does a decent job. Even during intense gaming sessions or benchmarking, the device never felt warm, allowing you to enjoy your gaming experience without any discomfort.
However, I did notice a slight inconvenience when switching between camera modes. Sometimes, it takes a few seconds, which can be crucial when you don’t want to miss a moment happening right in front of you. Hopefully, a future software update will address this issue. Otherwise, as time goes by and the smartphone ages, it might become more noticeable and impact the overall speed of the device.
Overall, the X9b delivers impressive performance and storage capabilities, making it a great choice for those who demand power and efficiency from their smartphones.
Let’s dive into the world of software now. The UI of the Honor X9b sets it apart from the rest. While it still operates on Android 13 (which is disappointing), it’s the Honor’s very own MagicOS 7.2 that truly shines. The UI is sleek and tidy, devoid of unnecessary clutter, and offers a plethora of customization options with a wide range of themes and wallpapers available for download. It’s a stable and intuitive interface that seamlessly integrates all the Google Services you need. All thanks to MagicOS 7.2, the Honor X9b is slightly different from other smartphones. Unlike other devices, it doesn’t have a traditional app drawer. Instead, apps are neatly organized within two large folders on the home screen. Swiping down from the top reveals the Control Center, where you can access settings, music player, and more. And here’s a fun touch: closing apps that are running in the background makes it feel as if a paper is flying in the air. The Honor X9b is also a 5G device, ensuring a decent calling experience.
Honor X9b 5G Review: Battery Life and Charging
The majority of mid-budget and premium smartphones these days come with a 5000mAh battery, but Honor has taken it a step further. The Honor X9b is equipped with a massive 5800mAh battery, ensuring that you won’t have to worry about running out of power anytime soon. With moderate usage, this powerhouse can easily last for three days without breaking a sweat. Even on those busy workdays when I was glued to my phone for 8-9 hours straight, it still managed to last over two days. I was genuinely amazed by its exceptional battery life, to the point where I couldn’t even remember the last time I charged it. Starting the day with a full 100% charge, even after using it continuously for 8-10 hours, the battery percentage only dropped to 65-70% by nightfall. Trust me, you won’t have to stress about charging this device during a short weekend getaway.
And when you do eventually run out of battery, Honor has got you covered with their 35W fast charging adapter. This nifty charger can recharge the battery from 0 to 100% in just around 110 minutes, which is just shy of two hours. Although the charging time may seem a bit long, considering the massive battery capacity, I believe it’s a reasonable trade-off. However, it’s a shame that wireless charging support isn’t available, especially considering the smartphone’s price point. Nonetheless, with its impressive battery life, the Honor X9b is a winner in the power department. The charger will be a part of the box free of cost as an introductory offer, however later on consumers can buy it separately.
Review Verdict: Should you buy the Honor X9b 5G?
If I had to sum up the Honor X9b in one sentence, I would describe it as a rugged and efficient smartphone. Its sturdy build and impressive performance are its standout features. With an AMOLED display, a powerful 5800mAh battery, Magic OS 7.2, a 108MP ultra-clear sensor, and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, this phone delivers a wholesome performance. What’s even more impressive is that it offers such great performance without being a flagship or premium device. Despite a few minor drawbacks like a slight delay in switching camera modes, slow charging, and a speaker that lacks bass, these can easily be overlooked. If you’re in search of a budget-friendly smartphone that doesn’t compromise on speed and can handle your daily tasks with ease, then the Honor X9b 5G might just be the perfect choice for you.
Reasons to buy
- Strong & lightweight design
- Voluminous Battery life
- Clean & Neat UI
- Impressive 108MP sensor
- Fast Performance
Reasons to not buy
- Charging time feels long
- Underwhelming 5MP & 2MP sensors
- The speaker could have been better
- Still runs Android 13
Honor x9b or Redmi note 13 Pro 4g , which is better?
Redmi note 13 Pro 4g.