The HONOR 90 is the company’s newly launched smartphone at the top of the mid-range lineup, bringing a flagship-like experience at an affordable price. That was my initial thought when I first saw the phone. After using the phone for nearly a month, I have lots to say about it, we’ll find out in the full review.
HONOR 90 Specs
- 6.7-inch 1.5K (2,664 × 1,200) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate
- Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition processor
- 12GB RAM
- Up to 512GB storage
- Cameras
- Rear: 200MP main + 12MP ultra-wide + 2MP depth
- 50MP selfie camera
- 5,000mAh battery with HONOR 66W SuperCharge
- MagicOS 7.1 (Android 13)
Design
Much like the Magic5 Pro, the HONOR 90 has a quad-curved display and the hole punch selfie is located at the center top of the screen, making the phone looks beautifully symmetrical.
The HONOR 90 features an axisymmetric dual-ring camera inspired by high-end jewelry and arranged in overlapping circles & ellipses, evoking the dynamic beauty of the moon phase, while adding a touch of elegance and harmony. It is also thin and sleek, measuring just 7.8mm thin and weighing 183g.
The phone comes in three colors — Diamond Silver, Peacock Blue, and Emerald Green, different colors come with different textures. My review unit is the Emerald Green variant that has a grainy feel on the back.
Display
The HONOR 90 sports a 6.7-inch 1.5K (2,664 × 1,200) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This HDR10+ display has an impressive 3,840Hz PWM dimming and 1,600 nits of peak brightness. HONOR claims that the screen is DXOMARK Gold certified. If you check on the DXOMARK page, you’ll see that the HONOR 90 scored 140, the same ranking as the Google Pixel 7 and iPhone 14 Plus.
The screen is pretty smooth with good deep rich colors, but I still encounter the same issue on certain occasions scrolling doesn’t feel that smooth at all especially when I’m scrolling the YouTube app. This issue can be fixed by switching the refresh rate mode to high, though keep in mind that this mode uses more power, and if the phone temperature went up, it will thermal throttle to keep the phone cool. Hence, affecting the overall smoothness as well.
Performance
Powering the HONOR 90 is an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition processor with 12GB RAM and two storage options — 256GB and 512GB. My review unit is the 512GB variant, which is a surprise move because 512GB storage is available mainly as an option for a flagship phone.
In terms of performance, the phone performs pretty well, almost like a flagship phone. I was able to play Monopoly Go smoothly without any hiccups, there’s also the Game Manager pop-up window for you to customize the settings. Overall, I would say its performance is quite close to a flagship phone for day-to-day usage.
Software
The HONOR 90 runs on MagicOS 7.1, a custom skin on top of Android 13. The user experience is the same as the Magic5 Pro, and I still experience the app optimization issue.
Camera
The HONOR 90 comes with a triple-camera setup on the back — 200MP main + 12MP ultra-wide + 2MP depth. You can ignore the 2MP depth camera as it doesn’t affect the image quality much, but the 12MP ultra-wide camera also doubles up as a macro camera when you are 2.5cm close. The phone has a 50MP front camera for taking selfies.
Image quality generally is quite decent it is still no match to the Magic5 Pro, but it is good enough for your social media usage. When it comes to low-light shots, the phone struggles to capture sharp details and it has a light-blooming effect too.
Battery Life
The HONOR 90 packs a 5,000mAh battery with HONOR 66W SuperCharge. Based on my usage, I was able to get a full day battery life or two with light usage. HONOR claims that the phone will be fully charged in just 49 minutes and I found it to be close enough.
Final Words
Retailing at RM1,799 (12GB+256GB) and RM2,099 (12GB+512GB), the HONOR 90 is now available in Malaysia. It is a mid-range phone that provides a flagship-like experience, which has good build quality, an impressive display, and a highly efficient chipset. However, there are still some compromises here and there, which is quite reasonable since it is still a mid-range phone. If you are looking for a solid phone in the RM2k price range, this might be the one for you.
Buy Here
Yay
- Good build quality
- Impressive display
- Highly efficient chipset
Nay
- Decent cameras
- Software not fully optimized
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