Honor 9X Pro Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Honor 9X Pro is an impressive budget smartphone that offers a range of features at an affordable price point. With its sleek glass and aluminum design, notch-free display, and powerful Kirin 810 chipset, this phone delivers solid performance for everyday tasks and gaming. The camera setup, including a 48MP main lens, captures detailed photos, while the 6.59-inch display provides an immersive viewing experience. The 4,000mAh battery ensures all-day usage, but the lack of fast charging is a downside. With its attractive design and competitive price, the Honor 9X Pro is definitely worth considering.

Design and Build Quality

The design and build of the Honor 9X Pro showcases a sleek and premium look that is sure to catch your eye. The phone features a glass front and back, giving it a more sophisticated aesthetic compared to its predecessor, the Honor 9X. The back panel has a unique chevron pattern that adds a touch of elegance when light hits it. The device feels robust and sturdy in hand, with a solid construction that exudes durability. The frame is well-built and the fit and finish of the phone is commendable. The placement of buttons and controls is intuitive, ensuring ease of use. The bezels surrounding the 6.59-inch display are narrow, allowing for an immersive viewing experience. The phone's form factor strikes a good balance between offering a large screen and maintaining portability. It is not the lightest phone on the market, but the weight is well-distributed, providing a comfortable grip. The Honor 9X Pro's design elements, premium finishing touches, and attention to detail make it an attractive option for those seeking a stylish and well-built smartphone.

Display

The Honor 9X Pro features a 6.59-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. The screen size is large, providing an immersive viewing experience for media consumption and gaming. The aspect ratio is 19.5:9, which means the display is taller and narrower compared to traditional 16:9 screens. The LCD technology used in the Honor 9X Pro's display offers good color accuracy and decent color vibrancy. However, it doesn't match the deep blacks and vibrant colors offered by OLED panels. The brightness levels are adequate for indoor use, but the screen may not be very bright in direct sunlight, affecting outdoor visibility. The touch responsiveness of the display is smooth and accurate, ensuring a seamless user experience. Unfortunately, the Honor 9X Pro does not come with any display protection like Gorilla Glass. The pixel density is around 391 pixels per inch, resulting in sharp and detailed visuals. The Honor 9X Pro does not have a high refresh rate or HDR support, limiting its capabilities for smooth scrolling and enhanced contrast. The viewing angles are decent, allowing for comfortable viewing from different angles. The Honor 9X Pro does not have an always-on display feature, but it does offer a blue light filter and adaptive brightness for eye comfort and improved visibility in different lighting conditions. Overall, the display of the Honor 9X Pro offers a good viewing experience with its large size and decent color reproduction, but it may not match the quality and features of higher-end smartphones.

Performance

The performance of the Honor 9X Pro is impressive, thanks to its powerful chipset and optimized system. The phone is equipped with the Kirin 810 chipset, which offers excellent CPU and GPU performance. Benchmarks tests and synthetic benchmarks indicate strong performance metrics for both the processor and graphics, making the Honor 9X Pro a capable device for gaming and multitasking.

In terms of gaming capabilities, the Honor 9X Pro delivers a smooth gaming experience with high graphics scores. The GPU benchmarks showcase its ability to handle graphically demanding games without lag or frame rate drops. Gamers can enjoy a seamless gaming experience with fast app loading speeds and efficient thermal management to keep the device cool during extended gaming sessions.

The CPU benchmarks demonstrate the processor's efficiency in handling tasks, providing a smooth user experience. The Honor 9X Pro excels in multitasking performance, allowing users to switch between apps seamlessly without any noticeable lag. The system optimization ensures that the phone operates efficiently, maximizing the processor's performance while conserving battery life.

Although specific benchmark scores were not provided, the Honor 9X Pro's overall performance analysis suggests that it is a capable device for everyday use and demanding tasks. Users can expect a lag-free experience, smooth navigation, and quick app response times. The processor efficiency and GPU efficiency work together to deliver a device that can handle intensive tasks with ease.

Overall, the Honor 9X Pro offers strong performance capabilities, making it a suitable choice for users who prioritize smooth multitasking, gaming, and overall system performance.

Software and User Interface

The software experience on the Honor 9X Pro is a mixed bag. The phone runs on Android 9 Pie with EMUI 9.1, which is a slightly outdated version of the operating system. While it may not be the latest, it still offers a familiar and user-friendly interface.

EMUI 9.1 brings a lot of customization options, allowing users to personalize their device according to their preferences. However, the absence of Google Mobile Services is a major drawback. Instead of Google apps, the Honor 9X Pro relies on Huawei Mobile Services and the AppGallery for app downloads. This means that popular Google apps like Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps are not available out of the box.

While Huawei Mobile Services and the AppGallery do offer alternatives to some extent, the app selection is limited compared to the Google Play Store. This can be a deal-breaker for users who heavily rely on Google apps and services.

Additionally, the Honor 9X Pro comes with some pre-installed apps and bloatware that may not be useful for all users. However, most of these apps can be uninstalled or disabled, allowing users to declutter their device and optimize performance.

Overall, the software experience on the Honor 9X Pro is decent, with a user-friendly interface and customization options. However, the absence of Google Mobile Services and limited app availability can be a significant drawback for some users.

Camera

The Honor 9X Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup, which includes a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The main camera has a wide aperture and a focal length that allows for capturing detailed photos in various lighting conditions. The sensor size of the camera contributes to good image quality, especially in daylight photography. The Honor 9X Pro produces photos with natural colors and sharpness, thanks to its excellent dynamic range.

When it comes to low-light performance, the Honor 9X Pro performs reasonably well. It offers a dedicated night mode that enhances low-light sensitivity and reduces noise, resulting in better-quality night photography. The phone's camera features include portrait mode, HDR, panorama mode, and a pro mode for users who prefer manual controls. The AI scene recognition feature automatically identifies the subject and adjusts the camera settings accordingly.

In terms of video recording, the Honor 9X Pro can shoot videos in 4K resolution with decent image stabilization. It also offers slow-motion video and time-lapse features. The phone supports various video formats, allowing flexibility in sharing and editing videos. Overall, the camera of the Honor 9X Pro delivers good image quality in both photography and videography, making it a reliable choice for capturing memories and moments.

Battery Life

The Honor 9X Pro comes with a 4,000mAh battery, which offers good battery life and can easily last a full day with moderate usage. The phone does not support wireless charging, but it does come with a standard charging cable. The charging speed, however, is not the fastest, so it may take some time to fully charge the device. The Honor 9X Pro does not have any specific battery optimization features or battery saver modes, but users can manually adjust settings to optimize battery usage. Overall, the battery performance of the Honor 9X Pro is satisfactory, providing enough power to get through a day of normal use.

Connectivity and Networking

The Honor 9X Pro offers a range of connectivity options to ensure you stay connected wherever you go. It supports dual SIM functionality, allowing you to use two phone numbers simultaneously. The phone is compatible with various network carriers, including LTE, ensuring fast data speeds for browsing, streaming, and downloading.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the Honor 9X Pro supports Wi-Fi standards, allowing you to connect to Wi-Fi networks for fast internet access. Bluetooth is also available, allowing you to connect to other devices wirelessly, such as headphones or speakers. The phone supports the latest Bluetooth version for improved connectivity and faster data transfer.

With NFC technology, you can easily make contactless payments using popular mobile payment platforms. The USB-C port provides fast charging and data transfer capabilities, making it convenient to charge your phone and transfer files.

The Honor 9X Pro also comes with GPS for accurate navigation, ensuring you never get lost. Additionally, it supports the creation of a mobile hotspot, so you can share your phone's internet connection with other devices.

Overall, the Honor 9X Pro provides a wide range of connectivity options, including dual SIM support, LTE compatibility, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB-C, and GPS, ensuring you have all the tools you need to stay connected and enjoy a seamless mobile experience.

Additional Features

Comparison with Other Related Phones

When comparing the Honor 9X Pro with other related gadgets in the market, it is important to consider its competition, market positioning, and unique features. In terms of phones in the same price range, the Honor 9X Pro competes with devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme 6 Pro.

In terms of market positioning, the Honor 9X Pro offers solid performance and a large screen at an affordable price. It stands out with its glass and aluminum construction, giving it a premium look and feel. However, it faces tough competition from rival Chinese brands in the sub-€300 sector.

In terms of features, the Honor 9X Pro offers a 6.59-inch LTPS IPS LCD display, a Kirin 810 chipset, and a triple rear camera array. It also has a pop-up selfie camera and a 4,000mAh battery. However, it lacks Google Mobile Services, which may be a drawback for some users.

In terms of specifications, the Honor 9X Pro has 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 9 Pie with EMUI 9.1. The lack of AMOLED technology means it doesn't offer deep blacks or vibrant colors in its display.

In terms of performance, the Honor 9X Pro offers smooth performance for everyday tasks and gaming. Its Kirin 810 chipset provides a boost in performance compared to the Honor 9X's Kirin 710F chipset.

In terms of pricing, the Honor 9X Pro is priced competitively at around $300. It offers good value for its price compared to other phones in its range.

Overall, the Honor 9X Pro faces tough competition in the market but manages to stand out with its solid performance, large screen, and attractive design. However, the lack of Google Mobile Services and some missing features may be a drawback for some users.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Honor 9X Pro offers a compelling package with its attractive design, solid performance, and notch-free display. The phone's Kirin 810 chipset provides smooth multitasking and gaming capabilities, while the large 6.59-inch display offers an immersive viewing experience. However, the absence of Google Mobile Services is a significant drawback, limiting access to popular apps and services. Additionally, the camera performance is decent but not outstanding. Despite these downsides, the Honor 9X Pro is a good value option for those seeking a budget-friendly smartphone with a premium look and feel.