Honor X9b Review: There is opportunity for improvement, but it looks quite promising

Introducing the Honor X9b, the brand's latest arrival to the Indian smartphone market. While its name may take some getting accustomed to, its design and unique characteristics quickly draw notice. The device is being recognized as a game changer in its field, thanks to its remarkable durability and efficiency. With cutting-edge features like "ultra-bounce 360-degree anti-drop resistance" and superior cushioning technology, it earns the coveted Five-Star Overall Drop Resistance certification, a first for smartphones. The Honor X9b is further distinguished by its magnificent 120Hz refresh rate 1.5k AMOLED display, a strong 108MP main camera, and a large 5,800mAh battery.

But does the Honor X9b live up to its hype, or are there additional treasures to be discovered? Let us go deeper to get the full context.

For those looking for the best of durability, style, and long-lasting battery life for less than Rs 30,000, the Honor X9b might be a good choice. Its large battery provides continuous use, and the elegant design gives a touch of luxury. However, in terms of performance, camera quality, and charging rates, the device may fall short of expectations.

Honor X9b Specs

Honor X9b
Brand	Honor
Screen Size	6.78 inches
Display Type	AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1200 nits (peak)
Colours	Sunrise Orange, Midnight Black, Emerald Green
Procesor	Qualcomm SM6450 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (4 nm)
CPU	Octa-core (4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU	Adreno 710
Memory	256 GB
RAM	8 GB | 12 GB
Rear Camera	Triple : 108 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/1.67", PDAF 5 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide) 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
Selfie Camera	Single: 16 MP, f/2.5
Battery	5800 mAh, 35W wired

Display and Design

The Honor X9b's design appears to be inspired by Realme's design ethos, but it takes a new approach by combining toughness with elegance. The smartphone proudly claims a five-star overall drop resistance certification from Switzerland's SGS, demonstrating its durability. The achievement occurs with the use of revolutionary protection technology, which offers structural integrity to the display and protects it from drops of up to 1.5 meters. The display is allegedly insulated 360 degrees on all six sides and four corners, even on hard surfaces like marble, without the need of tempered glass. While I did not directly test this claim throughout my evaluation time, we will shortly analyze the smartphone's structural robustness. 

With its tough design, the Honor X9b does not compromise looks. It radiates elegance, as seen by its circular camera module inspired by watches and jewelry, as well as the vegan leather back option, which is only available in the Sunrise Orange model. Alternatively, the Midnight Black model features a faint matte finish. Both versions include a separate camera module highlighted by two golden rings. The outer ring's ridged texture provides visual intrigue, while the inner ring displays the "Matrix AI Vision Camera" inscription, heightening the device's attractiveness.

Furthermore, the smartphone offers a wonderfully curved screen and a plastic frame, which contribute to its elegant and lightweight design, while containing a large 5,800mAh battery. The handset weighs only 185 kilos and is 7.98mm thick, providing ergonomic comfort for continuous use. Additionally, it has an IP53 rating, which protects against mild splashes.

The Honor X9b has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 1.5k resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 1920Hz PWM dimming, and a maximum brightness of 1200 nits. The display has a central punch-hole for the selfie camera, providing a fully immersive watching experience with minimum interruption. While the bezels are clearly small, they may not be the slimmest in the market. However, consumers may experience sharp and brilliant colors, a high contrast ratio, and a wide dynamic range. The viewing angles are excellent, and the outside visibility stays adequate. The 120Hz refresh rate improves the fluidity of UI navigation and compatible apps.

Processor, Software and Battery

The Honor X9b is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, which launched in India previously this year with the Realme 12 Pro. This mid-range octa-core chipset has a maximum clock speed of 2.2GHz, an Adreno A710 GPU, and an integrated 5G modem. With 8GB of RAM and 256GB of non-expandable storage, the X9b provides adequate performance. However, it is worth mentioning that the RAM may be practically enlarged by up to 8GB by utilizing a portion of the device's storage.

In terms of benchmark results, the Honor X9b scored 532,036 points on AnTuTu, 855 in the single-core test, and 2,828 in the multi-core test on Geekbench. While these results may be slightly lower than those of the Realme 12 Pro, the X9b works well in real-world circumstances.

Although the smartphone is not claimed as a high-performance device, it performs well in most situations. During my usage, which includes streaming, browsing, navigation, and some gaming, I had no app crashes or freezes. The X9b demonstrated its gaming prowess with BGMI, running the game well without overheating, but with some limitations. To guarantee seamless performance, set the graphics and frame rate settings to moderate levels.

In terms of software, the Honor X9b comes with MagicOS 7.2, which is built on Android 13. While this may appear irrelevant, Honor promises consumers that a fresh update is on the way. The company guarantees two years of major software upgrades and three years of security updates for the gadget. Although its customization, the OS provides a familiar experience, including exclusive programs like the Honor App Market, Game Center, and Honor's Email app, as well as the regular suite of Google apps. In addition, a few third-party programs are pre-installed and may be simply deleted if no longer required after the first setup.

The user interface is simple and easy to use, with features such as a control center that can be accessed by a swipe from the right and a notifications panel by a swipe from the left. The home screen now contains an AI recommendations widget, which recommends apps based on your usage habits and provides quick access to frequently used functions.

One of the Honor X9b's notable features is its large 5,800mAh battery, which promises excellent durability, with up to three days on a single charge depending on use habits. However, in my experience, I found myself reaching for the charger by the end of the second day, suggesting that higher usage may demand more frequent charging. Even this, the gadget maintains an outstanding screen-on-time of almost nine hours.

However, the PCMark battery test produced lower-quality outcomes, with the handset lasted 13 hours and 34 minutes, dropping short of other smartphones with comparable battery capacity in the same price range. Charging rates are also disappointing, as the gadget only supports 35W fast charging, and a charger is not provided in the package. Although the firm intends to supply a 30W charger separately for a short period, even with this attachment, the Honor X9b takes around two and a half hours to charge from 0 to 100 percent. Faster charging rates would have been a great improvement to the overall user experience.

Camera

The Honor X9b has a strong camera package that includes a large 108MP main sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro unit. The gadget has a 16MP front-facing camera for taking selfies and making video calls. In well-lit areas, especially those with plenty of natural light, the primary 108MP camera produces decent image quality, defaulting to 12MP. While there is a small propensity for oversaturation, the final photographs have excellent detail. However, there is potential for improvement in dynamic range. When it comes to portrait shooting, the primary camera has decent edge detection skills, but with a propensity to excessively smooth face features and show skin tones with too much contrast.

However, due to its lower resolution, the 5MP ultra-wide camera struggles to capture clean photos. Colors are controlled, and distortion is obvious across the frame. Furthermore, its limited 110-degree field of view is narrower than that of other smartphones in the same category. Finally, the 2MP macro sensor falls short, since capturing photographs from a mere 4cm distance is difficult, sometimes producing in fuzzy images with little fine detail, particularly when shooting small things.

The selfies captured by the Honor X9b's 16MP front camera look good in daylight, while skin tone accuracy may not be perfect. However, the smartphone's performance in low-light conditions leaves something to be desired. Other smartphones in the same price range do better in low-light photography than the Honor X9b.

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Conclusion

The Honor X9b is a stylish smartphone with durability, design, and an outstanding 5,800mAh battery. Its outstanding features include a vivid 120Hz AMOLED display and a competent 108MP main camera that works well in daytime. However, consumers looking for top-tier performance, quicker charging rates, and a more adaptable camera arrangement may want to look into other solutions.

Alternative smartphones to consider are the POCO X6 Pro, Motorola Edge 40, and Realme 12 Pro+. The Realme 12 Pro+ stands out for its camera-centric approach, whilst the Motorola Edge 40 has clean software and extra features like IP68 rating and wireless charging. In contrast, the POCO X6 Pro stands out for its robust performance and feature-rich packaging, despite the lack of a current curved display.

However, if durability, battery life, and a satisfactory viewing experience are important to you, the Honor X9b is still a good option. With a price tag of Rs 25,999 in India, it represents excellent value for those looking for dependability and endurance in a smartphone.