Honor X9b Review: Tougher Than The Competition
What if I told you that the phone we’re about to review is unbreakable? You read right - unbreakable. Believe me, Honor has launched a phone that is hands down one of the toughest smartphones in the country at this moment. However, is it as functional as it is rock solid? Keep reading and find out.
The Honor X9b comes as one of the latest offerings from the brand in the Indian smartphone market and might I add, in the most exciting price segment after flagship smartphones.
I found the name to be an issue (Why name it like a killer robot that’s going to destroy humanity?). However, its design, display and other key features are what keep you interested in the device.
The handset is touted to be the most durable and reliable smartphone across segments. As the brand says – the ‘ultra-bounce 360-degree anti-drop resistance and cutting-edge cushioning technology’ makes it the first smartphone to receive a five-star overall drop resistance certificate. The big question is - is there any truth to this statement? Well, to some extent, yes. The phone not only passed multiple drop tests but also survives actual vehicles passing over it. If that’s not enough to impress you, I don’t know what is.
The Honor-patented ultra bounce technology uses a protective layer under the display and at the corners to offer added protection to the smartphone from drops of up to 1.5 meters.
Apart from being unbreakable, the Honor X9b also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate, a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED 3D curved edge display and a resolution of 1220x2652 pixels. I must say that the display is huge. In comparison, the Galaxy S24 has a display of just 6.3 inches. The X9b offers a wide range of colours, 1 billion to be precise. The display has a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, ensuring clarity even in sunny conditions.
The Honor X9b offers a triple rear camera unit, featuring a 108-megapixel 1/1.67-inch primary shooter, a 5MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. The overall performance of the camera is a mixed bag. MATRIX AI VISION CAMERA is what is printed right at the centre of the camera unit.
For photography, the Honor X9b’s 108MP wide lens does more than a decent job. The 5MP ultra-wide and the 2MP macro sensors are not as good as the primary sensor but they get the job done. At the front, there is a 16MP sensor that captures ample details and accurate colours.
The high megapixel count translates into pixel binning, a technology that allows phone cameras to take better photos. It also allows more flexibility to crop photos without much loss in quality, i.e., in sensor zoom. The dynamic range in these photos is also decent. The ultra-wide camera lets users capture photos that are apt for landscape and architectural photography. The 2MP macro camera can be used for close-ups if needed. However, I truly believe macro cameras in phones are as useful as an umbrella in a blizzard. Performance does take a hit in low-light conditions but that is something that should be expected in a mid-range smartphone.
There is no optical image stabilization, so despite video capabilities being decent, expecting stabilised footage would be foolish. The 16MP selfie camera fails to impress and is decent at best.
This part is my favourite. The Honor X9b is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset which is built on a 4nm process by TMSC. The 6 Gen 1 seems apt here because The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 proves a point that most people overlook. It is not the latest or fastest processor from Qualcomm but it offers more than decent processing of everyday tasks, gaming and photography/videography.
The octa-core CPU, comprising four high-performance Cortex-A78 cores and four power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores, strikes a balance between performance and efficiency. Add the Adreno 710 GPU to the mix and we get a device that delivers smooth performance in a multitude of tasks.
As mentioned above, gaming is decent in the Honor X9b. Games like BGMI and Free Fire, perform well in medium settings. Casula games such as Clash Royale and Swordash run like a hot knife through butter. However, I still cannot call the X9b a proper gaming handset.
The X9b manages to score well in benchmark tests as well. Geekbench 6, for instance, gave scores of ~ 900 and ~2750 on single and multi-core tests, respectively (these are average scores based on multiple tests).
On the software side, the Honor X9b runs on the MagicOS 7.2 which is based on top of Android 13. Yes, this is kind of let down as the phone does not come with Android 14 out of the box. The user interface is clean, though. The software experience is smooth and light too. The OS allows users to fully enjoy the interface of the device.
The Honor X9b offers a stacked 5,800mAh battery that allows for a prolonged period of usage. The smartphone weighs merely 185 grams and measures 7.98mm in thickness. These dimensions are even more impressive when you consider the massive lithium-ion battery.
I have to say that Honor is making a comeback that will be documented in the history books. The X9b marks the second phone launch from the company in India and so far things are looking great. The design is spectacular and so are the ergonomics. For the price, the phone takes more than decent photographs and videos.
Despite the added drop protection, the 108MP camera, a clear and bright display and a design that is worthy of an award, the Honor X9b feels a bit underpowered. One more thing that would have put it right up there in the mid-range phone hierarchy is a metallic frame. That being said, this smartphone does excel in display quality, toughness and aesthetics. Overall, the Honor X9b is a solid contender in the mid-range smartphone segment with ample features to keep your senses titillated.
