Honor X9b offers exceptional battery life, decent performance, and has a stylish look. Read our full review of the Honor X9b to find out if it’s worth the purchase.
Honor X9b is powered by Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, 5800mAh battery, and 120Hz refresh rate.
Honor made a comeback in India last year with the launch of the Honor 90, and now it’s being followed by the Honor X9b, which is a great mid-range phone at a slightly more affordable price. And that brings some exciting things to this segment. First, when I unboxed the phone, I was surprised to find a 3.5mm to USB-C converter included along with wired earphones. It felt very nostalgic. It reminded me of the good old days when these accessories were offered as part of the phone package.
Unfortunately, the charging brick isn’t included in the box, but the good news is that Honor is offering the charger outside the box as a first-time bonus at no extra charge (but subsequent users can purchase it separately). you’ll need to buy it). Besides the included perks, this phone has a long battery life and a great design. He used the Honor X9b for a week and would like to share his thoughts.
Honor X9b 5G: Design
Before we talk about design, let me make one quick observation. My box had an orange image of the phone, but the unit I received was actually black. Perhaps Honor has created a standard box for both variants. Anyway, what does Honor X9b feel like? It’s stylish yet simple, at least in the color variant I received. The design is beautiful to look at. However, the large camera module reminds us of the Realme 12 Pro’s design.
A distinctive feature is the stylish gold ring that surrounds the camera module, like the crown of a luxury watch. It’s well-built and feels like a premium phone. Despite its large battery capacity and weight of 185 grams, the device is surprisingly light and comfortable to use for long periods of time. Although it has an IP53 rating against dust and water splashes, the camera module is prone to dust and subtle fingerprints. The distinguishing feature of the Honor X9b is that its effectiveness has not been tested unless it falls, but its effectiveness has not yet been tested.
Honor X9b 5G: Display
Honor X9b features a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and DCI-P3 color gamut. The resolution is 1.5K and the brightness is 1200 nits, making it suitable for outdoor viewing. The display is vibrant and has good viewing angles, making it perfect for watching content.
I wish the screen was sharper, but other than that, it’s bright and responsive. The curved display has almost negligible bezels, which improves the overall viewing experience. It also has an in-display fingerprint sensor, which adds an extra layer of security and works efficiently most of the time.
Honor X9b 5G: Performance
The Honor X9b 5G is powered by the same Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset that we recently experienced on the Realme 12 Pro. The Honor X9b handles most tasks easily, including browsing, watching videos, photos, and social media, so I had no issues with it in daily use. There was occasional lag, but it wasn’t anything to worry about.
It’s not a gaming phone, but it’s good enough for casual gaming. I didn’t experience any lag or stutter when playing Asphalt 9 with basic graphics. On AnTuTu, the Honor X9b scored 489,462, while on Geekbench 6, the multi-core score was more impressive. In the single-core test, the Honor X9b scored 896, while in the multi-core test it reached 2735. Incidentally, the Realme 12 Pro with the same chipset showed better performance in AnTuTu and single-core Geekbench.
This is my first time using an Honor phone and I loved the overall MagicOS 7.2 experience. It comes with numerous animations and customization options. However, the only problem is that in the era of Android 14, Honor is shipping his X9b with Android 13. I hope it gets updated to Android 14 soon. Apart from this, it has some AI features, such as detecting and copying text from photos (just like the iPhone!).
Honor X9b 5G: Camera
Let’s get down to business. The Honor X9b camera isn’t anything special, but it does the job well enough. It has the usual set of products with a main 108MP camera and 5MP ultrawide and 2MP macro sensors. Photos taken with the primary camera in daylight conditions are vibrant and clear with lots of detail. The colors are on the bright side. I liked it, but it’s also very subjective.
In portraits, most colors are saturated and skin tones are soft. Also, the camera tends to brighten up faces, but it doesn’t look good every time. The main issue I noticed is with edge detection, especially in low light. In the attached photo, the edges are steeper near the chair. The same goes for selfies.
Wide-angle cameras capture great detail, but struggle to reproduce accurate colors. As you can see in the wide-angle photo below, the red flowers have turned completely orange.
At night, I’m impressed with how the Honor X9b retains most of the details. Capture bright images whether shooting with the main camera, portraits, or selfies. However, the color is better even at night, but I’m satisfied with photos that look great on SNS! Overall, the Honor X9b camera is good for capturing everyday moments. I wish it was a little more versatile.
Honor X9b 5G: battery and charging
Honor X9b has excellent battery performance. This phone has a 5800mAh battery that will easily last you a day even with heavy use. In fact, if you like batteries, this is the best option in this segment. For example, 2 hours of continuous 4K video streaming will drain the battery by about 24-25 percent, giving you about 8 hours of total video streaming on a single charge.
However, as mentioned earlier, similar to the Honor X90 in India, the charger is not included in the box, but if you are an early purchaser, you will be provided with a separate box of adapters. Nevertheless, the device supports 35W charging and charges in about 1.5 hours.
Priced at Rs 25,999, Honor X9b 5G is definitely a refreshing choice. The stylish design and nostalgic feel of wired earphones are impressive. Despite the average camera performance, the vibrant display and overall performance make it a solid mid-range choice. However, its long battery life is its distinguishing feature, making it a good option for users who prioritize longevity. It comes with an older Android version and lacks a charging brick in the box, but these drawbacks are mitigated by the overall package of features.
Still, if you are interested in clicking photos, Realme 12 Pro is a better option and for gaming, Poco X6 Pro is the ideal phone.
