Review of Huawei Honor 9

It’s quite obvious now that Honor is one of the few companies in the market that makes premium looking smartphones with features that are also seen on flagship devices for a slightly cheaper price. And the Honor 8 was one of those devices released last year. We now take a look at the latest Honor 9 smartphone.

Design and Features

Among all the mid-range smartphones that were released last year, the Honor 8 was one of the few that featured a unique design with its special color effects. But this time, Honor went ahead and made some improvements and changes with respect to the design of the Honor 9. Technically, both the Honor 8 and Honor 9 shares the same thickness (7.5mm), however, the Honor 9 is a tiny bit heavier than the previous version by 2g. The Honor 9 weighs 155g, while the Honor 8 is just 153g.

The new changes start from the metal frame that does sort of resemble the Samsung Galaxy S7 to some extent, and the back panel is blended with a 3D curved glass with a stunning new color. Honor says that the glass is carved with a Tantalizing Nano textures with photoetching technology. The curves on either side of the back panel are done through a thermal bending process.

The best part is that whenever you look at the smartphone from any angle (back side), the light appears to be dancing across the rear-facing glass. The dual-lens camera does not protrude out at all because it sits under the glass, ensuring that the back panel is sleek and smooth. The main display is slightly smaller than the previous generation (not that you will notice it), and the resolution of the 5.15-inch IPS display is 1080 x 1920. The fingerprint scanner is located within the home button. Once again, the home button is flat and does not give out a button-like feedback when pressed.

On the left side of the Honor 9 lies the power button and the volume rocker, and on the bottom edge is the USB Type-C port, the speaker grill, and the 3.5mm audio jack. As for the comfort of using the device, keep in mind that the Honor 9 is a little bit slippery to use at times. But that’s not surprising, considering the fact that most of the flagships and premium looking devices do come with glass on the front and rear panel. There is a surprise feature in the new Honor 9 as the phones are fitted with the Hi-Fi chip that is touched by Rainer Maillard, the talented Grammy-winning music expert, and recording engineer. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Specifications and Performance

Compared to the previous model that packed the Kirin 950 chip, the new Honor 9 features the new Kirin 960 processor, and for those who will go for the 128GB storage model, you also get 6GB of RAM that’s sufficient enough to run Android 7.0 Nougat at ease. That said, the operating system is based on the EMUI 5.1 custom user interface. While I usually prefer stock Android over custom skins, the Honor 9 performed well and is snappy enough to handle your web browsing sessions, social media applications, camera and more. We ran some benchmarks by using the Antutu and GeekBench applications and here are the results below.

Camera

While the Honor 8 does feature a dual-lens camera, the Honor 9 receives some megapixel upgrades. There is now a combination of a 20MP image sensor for capturing monochrome images and the other holds a 12MP RGB sensor for color photos. Honor has also implemented the pixel binning technology that helps to deliver twice the brightness for low-light situations. Honor’s dual-lens hybrid zoom is used to ensure that the clarity of the image remains good, even at two times the zoom. Check out some of the image samples below.

Battery Life

Honor also increased the battery capacity from 3000 mAh to 3200 mAh on the Honor 9. Adding to that is the improved battery efficiency of the new Kirin 960 chip and the enhanced Doze mode of Android 7.0 Nougat, which should ensure that the usage of the Honor 9 should be better than the previous generation. However, with our usage that included the usual web surfing, snapping images around the streets of Dubai, making phone calls and 4G online streaming, the Honor 9 can last for almost a day. And if you’re in a hurry to recharge, the device supports fast charge capability that’s estimated to reach 40% of power in just 30 minutes.

Verdict

For those who are looking to purchase a premium looking smartphone that costs lesser than other flagship devices in the market, the Honor 9 is a good device to consider. The performance of the device is fast enough, thanks to the Kirin 960 processor, and the 6GB RAM model brings more room for almost lag-free user experience. The new design with its dancing lights is something unique to look at and it can be the center of attention. The camera of the Honor 9 is also another USP of the device that produces good images and also for the monochrome mode.