Honor 7x Review

Introduction

We’ve come to accept Honor devices as being great value. Relying on proven technology from its parent company Huawei, the Chinese brand has been consistently focused on bringing very good specs at tempting prices. That’s no easy task, yet Honor makes it seem almost effortlessly natural at this point, with devices like the Honor 7X. Huawei’s current Mate lineup already offers great value in the high-end segment, with the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, as well as in the large screen mid-range, in the face of the Mate 10 Lite. However, it doesn’t really take more than a quick specs comparison to see that the Honor is positioning the 7X as an almost identical offer, both hardware and design-wise and at a price point lower than the 350 euro or so the Mate 10 Lite sells for.

Honor 7X specs:

• Body: Metal unibody, 2.5D glass on front
• Screen: 5.93″ IPS LCD, 1080p (407ppi); Gorilla Glass (unspecified version)
• Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 659, 4x Cortex-A53@2.36GHz + 4x Cortex-A53@1.7GHz, Mali-T830MP2
• Memory: 3/4GB RAM + 32/64GB storage, Hybrid microSD slot
• Camera: Dual 16MP (1/2.9″, 1.25 µm) + 2MP with PDAF, 1080p @ 30fps video
• Selfie cam: 8 MP, 1080p @ 30fps video
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat, EMUI 5.1 on top
• Battery: 3,340mAh (non-removable)
• Connectivity: Hybrid Dual Nano-SIM (hybrid microSD slot); LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps support; Wi-Fi g/b/n; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS with GLONASS; FM radio; 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: Fingerprint reader, DTS audio

Sure, you might be missing out on some selfie extras and a few other small details here and there, but in the US, Honor 7X is launching at just $200 – a whole $50 less than its Honor 6X predecessor at launch. Europe is getting less of a bargain, but still not that terrible. Of course, no phone is without its faults. We would have loved to see a USB Type-C slot on the Honor 7X. While at it, NFC support to power contactless payments would have been a nice touch as well. Still, in the grand scheme of things, a lesser known brand seems to be enough to save you a pretty penny on some excellent Huawei hardware and software package. A deal we would gladly take any day of the week.

Unboxing

A simple, sturdy, two-piece cardboard box – that’s what we like to see from value-conscious devices and that’s exactly what the Honor 7X ships in. Nothing too fancy, but we do dig the greenish-blue color Honor went with. It really makes it stand out.