Honor 90 review

Again when it was a subsidiary of Huawei, Honor was all the time finest at its cut-price flagship killers – telephones that supplied high-end options with out the hefty price ticket. 

Now unbiased, Honor has began to carve out a flagship area of interest of its personal with the likes of the Magic 5 Professional and Magic Vs foldable, however the Honor 90 sees the corporate follow what it’s all the time achieved finest. 

With a slender construct and a blinding show, the Honor 90 outperforms its reasonably priced worth, and the succesful major digicam is Instagram-worthy too. You’ll must put up with an unpleasantly plasticky design, and there aren’t any niceties like wi-fi charging or waterproofing, however the worth right here stays respectable. 

Design & construct 

• Skinny and light-weight 
• Low cost-feeling textured plastic rear on Diamond Silver mannequin 
• No waterproofing or toughened glass 

The Honor 90 is slim and smooth, regardless of its massive show. Along with curved edges that guarantee it’s comfy to carry, and can go well with those that don’t desire a cellphone that appears like a brick of their pocket. 

All of that’s sadly let down by the choice to complete my Diamond Silver model of the cellphone in a frankly horrid textured plastic, among the many worst cellphone finishes I’ve seen in years.  

The underside half of the again is dotted with an impact that appears like bubbles trapped underneath a display protector – in reality, my first intuition was to attempt to peel off what I assumed was a protecting layer put in on the manufacturing unit till I realised it was a elementary a part of the cellphone. 

I suppose it provides a bit of further grip to the handset, but it surely’s not sufficient to make the cellphone any much less slippy when it’s resting on a flat floor – it’s managed to slip off fitness center machines extra occasions than I’d care to rely. 

It’s value emphasising that the Diamond Silver mannequin is the one one to pack this disagreeable end and that, in equity, a colleague was a fan of it even when I’m not. Honor says that the Emerald Inexperienced and Peacock Blue fashions have a “frosted” texture, whereas the Midnight Black is “shiny”, so make of that what you’ll.  

Dominic Preston / Foundry

One large last query mark is round sturdiness. Whereas the plastic again might be pretty shatter-resistant, Honor doesn’t look like utilizing any toughened Gorilla Glass on the show, and neither is it promoting a water-resistance score for the cellphone, so it appears probably that this can be rather less powerful than another choices.

Display & audio system 

• 6.7in 120Hz OLED panel 
• Trade-leading eye-care tech 
• Common audio system 

The show is the principle cause to noticeably contemplate shopping for the Honor 90. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

This massive, curved (on all 4 sides), AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh charge is near flagship commonplace – the one factor actually lacking is assist for LTPO tech to fluctuate that refresh charge, which as an alternative can solely transfer between 60-, 90-, and 120Hz. 

It’s crisp, with a excessive decision of 2644×1200, and shiny sufficient to make use of in nearly any lighting.

Greater than that although, Honor is emphasising its distinctive efforts to prioritise eye well being inside its show. Along with the industry-standard choice to decrease blue mild output within the night, the corporate has employed dynamic dimming and different tech that it says ought to cut back eye pressure and assist enhance your sleep. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

It’s onerous to evaluate how efficient all of it is from only a week of utilizing the cellphone, however any effort to ease the impression of hours of display time is to be applauded, and Honor is main the best way right here. 

As for audio, there’s no headphone jack, and the cellphone’s twin audio system are just about par for the course. They’ll do for the odd little bit of YouTube or some music once you don’t have a speaker round, however there’s nothing right here to set the cellphone other than rivals. 

Specs & efficiency 

• Mid-tier Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset 
• As much as 12GB RAM
• As much as 512GB storage

The Honor 90 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, a mid-tier chipset from Qualcomm that’s proper in keeping with Honor’s pricing.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Technically that is an ‘Accelerated Version’ of the 7 Gen 1, although that simply means a slight overclock from 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz on the chip’s prime core.

Both method, the result’s efficiency that’s on par with equally priced handsets, other than the unusually highly effective Google Pixel 7a with its Tensor G2 chip from the flagship vary.

It helps that the cellphone begins from 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage, going as much as a hefty 12GB and 512GB (although availability will fluctuate by market).

Networking is all the same old suspects, with 5G connectivity and many of the newest Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC requirements.

Cameras 

• Spectacular major digicam
• Restricted low mild efficiency
• First rate ultrawide

The Honor 90 technically packs a triple rear digicam, however for essentially the most half, you may ignore the 2Mp depth sensor and concentrate on the principle and ultrawide lenses.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

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The previous is the star, after all, and Honor has gone all out on the {hardware} right here with a 200Mp sensor. The f/1.9 aperture isn’t the quickest round, however at 1/1.4in it’s pretty massive, that means that it’s able to capturing a good quantity of sunshine.

Photographs are unsurprisingly wonderful through the day, with enticing colors and loads of element from that top decision sensor. I might in all probability nitpick a bit of in regards to the dynamic vary, however there’s actually little or no to complain about.

It handles itself admirably in low mild as effectively, taking some nice meals photographs in dim and moody restaurant lighting, albeit with a bit of little bit of noise creeping in. There are limits although, and when you hit correct darkness high quality drops off dramatically – one of many areas you’ll nonetheless discover that flagship telephones show their value.

There’s no telephoto digicam right here, however the digicam app gives a shortcut to a digital 2x zoom from the principle lens which ought to assist in a pinch.

The 12Mp ultrawide sounds a lot much less spectacular on paper, although doesn’t do badly as long as the lighting is nice. It actually struggles when it will get darkish although, sufficient in order that it’s not even value making an attempt to make use of in dimmer circumstances.

Flip to the entrance and also you’ll discover a single 50Mp selfie digicam, although Honor permits you to take photographs at two totally different zoom ranges by default. I favored this lens far more than I anticipated too, although the sting detection on the Portrait mode leaves one thing to be desired.

Battery & charging 

• All-day battery life
• Quick 66W wired charging
• No wi-fi charging

With a big 5000mAh battery, it’s no actual shock that the Honor 90 is long-lasting.

The marginally much less power-efficient 7 Gen 1 chip implies that this isn’t among the many best possible telephones for battery life, however I discovered it to fortunately run all day, and it could take fairly heavy utilization to empty the battery earlier than bedtime.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Speedy 66W wired charging ensures that topping it up is fast sufficient – I managed to get the cellphone from empty to 70% in simply half an hour on the included charger.

The one actual draw back is that there’s no wi-fi charging assist. The likes of the Pixel 7a and Nothing Telephone (1) each embrace wi-fi across the similar worth, so the omission is starting to really feel unacceptable within the higher mid-range.

Software program & updates 

• Runs Android 13
• Honor’s barely annoying MagicOS on prime
• Solely promised two main Android updates

As you’d anticipate, the Honor 90 ships with Android 13 – the newest model on the time of writing – with the corporate’s MagicOS pores and skin on prime.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

MagicOS isn’t the worst of the varied Android variations, however I’ll admit that it’s additionally fairly removed from my favorite. 

There’s a welcome quantity of customisation, particularly to the always-on show, and I’m a fan of its versatile folder system.

However aggressive energy and networking programs imply that apps usually run poorly – I’ve not been in a position to get my working app to entry the GPS for correct monitoring, whereas an audio app that has to run within the background has been inconsistent since I switched to the Honor 90.

You’ll additionally must put up with a number of pre-installed Honor apps that sit alongside the superior Google variations – I at present have duplicate calendar, clock, calculator, and contacts apps, and that’s simply those that begin with ‘c’.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

A handful of trashy video games add to the poor first impression: I do not know what ‘Recreation of Sultans’ is, however I’m actually not going to play it any time quickly. 

It doesn’t assist that Honor has confirmed it solely plans to supply the cellphone two main Android updates, that means it would obtain Android 14 and 15. Past that, there can be a 3rd 12 months of safety assist, however you then’re by yourself.

With {hardware} that’s prone to nonetheless run effectively a number of years from now, it’s an actual disgrace that Honor is hanging customers out to dry right here, and it’s one more reason to contemplate a cellphone just like the Pixel 7a or Galaxy A54, which can obtain software program updates for years after the Honor 90 stops.

Value & availability 

The Honor 90 is accessible now within the UK and Europe, the place it prices both £449/€549 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage, or £499/€599 to improve to 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage.

That offers it shut competitors from the Pixel 7a and Galaxy A54, to not point out the newest telephones from OnePlus and Nothing. The Honor 90 might be the decide of the pack for show high quality and a beneficiant storage allocation, but when these aren’t your precedence then you might discover the others extra enticing total.

Try our rating of the perfect Honor telephones and finest mid-range telephones for extra choices.

Verdict 

The Honor 90 is a succesful mid-range possibility, particularly for these tempted by the superb show – among the many finest on the worth – or the prospect of getting 512GB of storage at an reasonably priced worth.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Elsewhere the cellphone impresses rather less. First rate cameras and strong efficiency are welcome however don’t precisely excite, and the plasticky design is a letdown.

Mixed with the awkward software program and restricted long-term assist, this sadly appears like an also-ran. At a reduced worth it could be value snapping up, however in any other case, the newest choices from Google and Samsung give you extra and can final for longer.

Specs 

• 6.7in, 120Hz OLED show
• Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Version
• 12/16GB RAM
• 256/512GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 200Mp, f/1.9 major digicam
  • 12Mp ultrawide digicam
  • 2Mp depth sensor
  • 50Mp, f/2.4 selfie digicam
• 5000mAh battery
• 66W wired charging
• Android 13 with MagicOS 7.1