Honor 9X Pro in testing: Can powerful hardware make up for Google's weaknesses?

Flexible mid-range smartphone with plenty of storage space

March 11, 2020, 5:28 pm Reading time: 4 minutes

(Source: Netzwelt)

A few months after the launch of the Honor 9X, Huawei subsidiary released the Pro version. This provides more computing power and more memory than some top smartphones and improved cameras. To do this, you must not have Google services. Still worth buying? test.

table of Contents

1. Design and Craft
   

2. Equipment and performance
   

   1. Android without Google
      

3. Battery Life
   

4. camera
   

5. Price and availability
   

6. in conclusion
   And alternatives

The Honor 9X, released in November 2019, was renamed Huawei P Smart Z, which is why Google Play and Co are still available despite the U.S. trade embargo. The device is now entering Germany as the Honor 9X Pro, in China since July 2019 Released under the name Honor 9X. However, so far, the product has been rejected by German buyers because of a US trade ban that prevents manufacturers from preinstalling Google services on the device. We still have test equipment and tried Honor 9X Pro in daily use. Below we introduce you to our experience.

Design and Craft

In terms of design, the Honor 9X Pro is based on the regular Honor 9X. However, Honor has made some minor changes that are very useful. The switch on the right can now also be used as a fingerprint sensor. So you don't have to search with your fingers on the back. This will greatly reduce the risk of a bulky smartphone measuring 163.5 x 77.3 x 8.8 mm weighing close to 200 grams and slipping out of your hands.

Honor 9X Pro in pictures

In addition, Honor 9X Pro not only offers "midnight black" color, but also a more colorful color "Phantom Purple". The special laser engraving and small prism on the back ensure that the "X" is visible when the light is incident. The smartphone is still not splash protected.

Equipment and performance

Honor breathes new life into Honor 9X Pro. Instead of the old Kirin 710 chip, a newer Kirin 810 processor was used. Huawei chips provide a dedicated computing unit that can be used with artificial intelligence. The so-called NPU can ensure a significant increase in speed for various tasks such as image recognition. The Kirin 810 is also manufactured using an advanced 7-nanometer process, while its predecessor was manufactured using a 12-nanometer process.

This guarantees a leap in performance, which was also confirmed in benchmark tests. With the popular benchmark tools AnTuTu and Geekbench, Honor 9X Pro not only obviously abandons the basic model, but also significantly better than Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, which is outstanding in this price range. The distance from top smartphones such as OnePlus 7T is still obvious.

Description: AnTuTu and Geekbench applications test the performance of the smartphone's processor, memory and graphics unit. The higher the score, the better the result.

The device's memory is impressive in the price range: Honor 9X Pro has 256 GB of storage and offers more features than some top smartphones. You can use less than 215 GB of storage for free. If this is not enough, you can use a microSD card to expand the device memory. The RAM is also large, with 6 GB.

Nothing else is desirable. 5 GHz high-speed WLAN and NFC chip on board. In addition to the USB C port, this phone will also offer a classic headphone jack in 2020, which will attract many users.

Android without Google

The current Android 10 is pre-installed on the Honor 9X Pro as the Honor operating system, but you must not have Google Play, Google Maps, Google Pay, and other services from the search engine giant. Because of the U.S. trade embargo, Honor 9X Pro has not been certified by Google to use its services. You must obtain the application from the Huawei Application Library. You can find the quality of alternative products in our constantly updated and linked tests. The most important applications in daily life can currently be found here, but if you want to extend powerful hardware with applications such as Netflix or popular mobile games, you will soon reach your limit. You can find some missing apps in the App Gallery elsewhere. However, this always requires some knowledge.

Honor covers Android 10 through its own user interface called Magic UI. This is very similar to Apple's iOS and extends the Google operating system with many other features, such as the ability to clone the Messenger app to use it on devices with multiple accounts.

Battery Life

The phone draws energy from the built-in 4,000 mAh battery. Depending on the intensity of use, you can use it for up to two days. Cannot charge wirelessly. After the Honor 9X Pro's battery is exhausted, the phone must be plugged into a power source and left there for almost 75 minutes.

camera

At first glance, there is no difference between the cameras of Honor 9X and Honor 9X Pro. Both models offer triple cameras on the back, including a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel bokeh lens. However, thanks to the new Kirin chip, Honor 9X Pro also has a new image processor. Designed to provide significantly clearer and brighter photos in low light conditions. Our comparison of Honor 9X Pro and Honor 9X confirms the manufacturer's statement. For the price range, the new Honor phone offers surprisingly detailed pictures in the dark.

The picture on the left is taken with Honor 9X, and the picture on the right is taken with Honor 9X Pro.

You can also take selfies with the Honor 9X Pro as usual and take photos with a 16 megapixel camera removed from the case if necessary.

Price and availability

Honor 9X Pro will be available in stores starting March 19-initially only in Chinese manufacturers' online stores. Until March 12, you can still apply for the Early Bird plan there, and if you're lucky, you'll get the Honor 9X Pro for free before the market launch. The suggested retail price of the Honor 9X Pro is 249 Euros.

The advantages do not outweigh the disadvantages of Google

At the price announced by the manufacturer, Honor 9X Pro currently offers above average performance and offers more memory than some top smartphones. Eventually, Google Play cannot access many applications, such as Netflix. Unless Huawei App Library is added here, only stubborn honorary fans and inventors are advised to purchase the product.

we like

• Performance
• Night shot
• NFC

We don't like

• No pre-installed Google services
• squat

Design and Craft

8.0 / 10

Design and Craft At this point, the design language, color choices, selected materials, feel, and the so-called appearance of the device will be evaluated.

Equipment and operation

8.0 / 10

Equipment and operation At this point, the monitor, processor, device memory, operating system, and user interface will be evaluated.

Voice quality

7.0 / 10

Voice quality What does an interlocutor sound like? Is there any interruption in the connection? This was evaluated at this point.

Battery Life

9.0 / 10

Battery Life Assess battery run and charge time and structure (fixed or variable) at this point

Camera and multimedia

8.0 / 10

Camera and multimedia Cameras, speakers, and other multimedia features such as infrared transmitters have been evaluated at this point.

Information about test products

The test equipment was borrowed from Honor and will be returned after the test.
You can find more information on how we use test products, how we conduct testing, and general guidelines for editors in our transparency guide.

• Wireless charging

  
  
  No la

• Reverse charge

  
  
  No la

• Device memory

  128, 256 GB

• Expandable memory

  microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC

• Main camera image sensor

  48 MP

• Main camera resolution

  8000 x 6000 pixels

• Video

  3840 x 2160 pixels

• display resolution

  1080 x 2340 pixels

• Show diagonal

  6.59 inches

• Display pixel density

  391 ppi

• SIM / memory card format, number of slots

  Nano-SIM (4FF-fourth size card, 12.30 x 8.80 x 0.67 mm since 2012), Nano-SIM / microSD

• wireless network

  802.11a (IEEE 802.11a-1999), 802.11b (IEEE 802.11b-1999), 802.11g (IEEE 802.11g-2003), 802.11n (IEEE 802.11n-2009), 802.11n 5GHz, 802.11ac (IEEE 802.11ac )), Dual Band, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct

• LTE

  1900 (B39), 2000 (B34), 2300 (B40), 2500 (B41), 2600 (B38), 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1800, 2100, 800 (B19) MHz

• GSM

  850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

• Headphone jack

  
  
  Yes

• Accelerometer

  
  
  Yes

• Ambient light sensor

  
  
  Yes


Show all values

Honor 9X Pro alternatives