HONOR X9c Smart 5G Review

This year, HONOR started strong with its toughest phone series, with the latest being the HONOR X9c 5G. The brand has done many gimmicks, featuring its toughest capability to resist drop and water challenges.

The media has hopped on to the water and drop test challenges and the HONOR X9c 5G withstood all these. Because of this, it made its way to the Guinness Book of Records, getting the title of “The Most People Performing a Mobile Phone Drop Test Simultaneously”.

Flash forward to today and HONOR has unveiled their latest device: the HONOR X9c Smart 5G, a more affordable version of the X9C 5G. Let’s see if this is smartphone is worth every peso.

Design and Construction

Starting with its design, our unit comes in this “Ocean Cyan” colorway. The back panel is made of polycarbonate material accompanied by an aluminum frame. And if you’ll notice, the phone gets curved edges. No wonder it’s named “Ocean Cyan” because it shows off an ocean wave pattern at the back. The phone also has this circular camera module in the middle.

Judging by its looks, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G has similarities to last year’s HONOR X9b model. It’s still fairly durable and has a 5-star drop resistance certification.It also offers a 360-degree full-body rinse protection, however the brand did not specify any IP ratings for this model.

Based on HONOR’s website, the phone is classified as splash-resistant, but they don’t encourage you to submerge it underwater. And FYI, this isn’t covered by the warranty. So, just be cautious.

Going back to the phone, it weighs 193 grams and if you check all sides, the right carries the volume rocker and power button which also stands as the fingerprint sensor.

At the top, you can see the microphone while on the bottom part, you’ll see the Type-C Port, the speaker grill alone, and the SIM Card slot.

Display, Multimedia and Biometrics

Moving on to the display, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G sports a 6.8-inch FHD+ TFT LCD Display with support for a 120Hz refresh rate. We did enjoy it for media consumption and watching movies, and made use of its display with those narrow bezels.

It’s decent for outdoor viewing with a peak brightness of 850 nits. However, it’s not as bright since the phone is only using an LCD panel.

As for audio quality, it was able to provide a decent sound and it complemented the display somehow. It’s not something you should disregard, given that this is an entry-level phone.

For biometrics, the phone supports both fingerprint and facial recognition security locks.

We registered both biometrics data and both worked quickly. But we still prefer fingerprint unlocking as it’s more secure.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the X9c Smart 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra. Our unit is configured with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Performance-wise, we did experience smooth gameplay with casual games such as Mobile Legends higher graphics setting.

We felt a bit of a heat when playing Asphalt Legends Unite and Mobile Legends over time with high-graphic settings, but that’s something not to worry about.

As for graphic-intensive games like Zenless Zone Zero, well, it’s a plus that the X9c Smart 5G can even download the game, which a lot of entry-level smartphones can’t do at this price point.

But from our experience, there are evident stutters even at the game’s Low Image Quality settings, but if it’s to just get your dailies done, this guy’s up for the task. If you plan on running the Hollows, however, this might not be your best bet.

For those interested in the numbers, here are the benchmark results.

Antutu V10 – 463,506
Antutu Storage – 65,705

Geekbench 6
CPU Single – 938
CPU Multi – 2247
GPU OpenCL – 146
GPU Vulkan – 141

PCMark Work 3.0 Performance – 12,270

Cameras

Now, let’s talk about the cameras. The X9c Smart 5G retains the same camera sensors as the HONOR X9c, except it doesn’t have OIS. It has a 108MP main shooter, a 5MP ultrawide lens, and a 16MP selfie shooter up front.

Its camera performance is great considering its price, the X9c Smart was able to capture good photos and videos. We also didn’t expect that it’ll shoot good images, even at night.

Our expectations were not that high, but I guess we were wrong.

When it comes to video recording, it can shoot up to 1080P at 30 fps for both main and selfie shooters.

Be the judge of the video quality yourself with our sample shots right here.

Surprisingly, the phone integrates at least one AI feature, which is AI Erase. Just like any other phone that offers such a feature, it gives users the ability to clear the clutter on their shots.

OS, Apps and UI

The HONOR X9c Smart 5G runs on MagicOS 8.0 based on Android 14. The unit still doesn’t have the latest Android 15, but hopefully it does soon. The phone also comes with minimal bloatware.

Some other nifty features are present, such as the Magic Capsule, Magic Portal, and Parallel Space. HONOR did not specify the update policy for this phone, but we should expect one to two years of major OS upgrades at least.

Connectivity and Battery Life

Battery-wise, the phone packs a 5,800mAh unit paired with 35W wired charging. It’s enough to last you the whole day for usual consumption. And in our experience, we only charged it once for two-day straight usage.

As the reviewer, I felt like the PCMark battery test result didn’t give justice to my experience. Despite the large battery size, it recorded just about 12 hours and 41 minutes. But then again, the battery life still depends on how you make use of the device itself.

For connectivity, the phone supports dual nano-SIM, 5G, Wi-Fi 5, and NFC.

Conclusion

Finally, let’s talk about the price. For the introductory price of PHP 10,799USD 187INR 16,369EUR 178CNY 1,361, we can say that it offers more than what we can think of for an entry-level smartphone. A decent battery life and performance, a durable build, and decent camera. It’s an up to par device that you can rely on for your everyday use.

What we liked:
* Durable Built
* Battery Life
* Camera

What we did not like:
* UI
* Back Display (Similar to last year’s HONOR X9b)

HONOR X9c Smart 5G specs:
6.8-inch FHD+ (2412 x 1080) TFT LCD
120Hz refresh rate, 850 nits (peak)
MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra (6nm, up to 2.5GHz)
8GB, 12GB RAM
256GB storage
108MP main camera (f/1.75)
5MP ultra wide (f/2.2)
16MP selfie shooter (f/2.45)
Dual nano-SIM
5G, 4G LTE
Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth 5.3
GPS
NFC
USB Type-C
MagicOS 8.0 (Android 14)
Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
5,800mAh battery, 35W charging (wired)
5-Star SGS drop resistance
165.98 x 75.8 x 7.88 mm (dimensions)
193 grams
Ocean Cyan, Midnight Black, Moonlight White (colors)