Introduction
Last year, I reviewed the HONOR 9X, a phone that still comes with Google Mobile Services (GMS). However, the performance of that phone was quite disappointing as it has the same processor as its predecessor. Moving to a few months ago, the HONOR 9X Pro arrived with a better processor, but without GMS. Then, the company launched the HONOR 9X Lite, which is actually quite similar to the regular 9X, but with more compromises. Without further ado, this is the HONOR 9X Lite review!
Design & Display
Unlike the HONOR 9X, the 9X Lite doesn’t have a FullView display. The front is all about its 6.5-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a notch that houses the light sensor, earpiece, and the 8MP front camera. The display is quite similar to the 9X, it is sharp but not as vibrant as an OLED panel, and color temperature tends to be on the cooler side.
The phone also has a glass back body, probably also using the acrylic material. My review unit is the Emerald Green variant, which will show different shades of green, sometimes even blue, on different angles. It doesn’t have curves on both sides, I still think the 9X is better to hold.
Performance & Software
The phone is powered by a Kirin 710 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage. In terms of performance, the phone performs quite similar to regular 9X. You can play Call of Duty: Mobile in low graphics quality and medium frame rate, and the overall gameplay experience wasn’t buttery smooth too.
The software experience is also the same, it runs on EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9.0. It’s already the second half of 2020 and we are still getting a phone with Android 9.0 out of the box.
Camera
The HONOR 9X Lite packs a dual-camera setup on the back — 48MP main camera + 2MP depth sensor, basically the second camera is useless. Like the 9X, the phone shoots 12MP photos by default, changing to 48MP mode won’t have the AI photography optimization. The overall image quality is quite similar to the 9X’s main camera, which is quite decent, but don’t expect too much when it comes to low-light photos.
Click here to check out the camera samples!
Battery Life
The phone has a 3,750mAh battery and charges through MicroUSB port. It’s normal for a phone at this price point to come without fast charging. Getting through a day with this phone is not a problem, I got more than 5 hours of screen-on-time.
Final Words
Retailing at RM699, I’m not quite sure this is a phone to get. It’s the same conclusion as the HONOR 9X — not a bad deal but also not convincing enough to consider it over its rivals. Having an old processor is a major drawback, but that’s the only way for the phone to have GMS, at the moment. So, a newer processor without GMS or old processor with GMS? Which one will you pick? Let us know as HONOR Malaysia might be reading it too.