Verdict
Honor continues its course of spectacular smartphones that, whereas not precisely sufficient to topple the competitors utterly, are nonetheless nice in their very own proper. For its attractive show and long-lasting battery, the Honor 90 will certainly enchantment to some customers, however in opposition to the likes of the Pixel 7a and Galaxy A54, it gained’t sway everybody.
6.67-inch AMOLED show:With 3840Hz PWM Dimming
New 200MP important digital camera sensor:Flanked by a 2MP depth sensor and 12MP ultra-wide
Upgraded 5000 mAh battery:With 66W wired quick charging
Introduction
Honor seems to additional stretch the boundaries of the mid-range smartphone market with its newest system, the Honor 90.
Going in opposition to the grain and, in some situations, outdoing telephones twice their value, the onslaught of midrange handsets continues to amaze. Honor is not any newcomer on this area, however it’s trying to trigger fairly a stir with its newest smartphone.
I’ve spent the previous couple of weeks utilizing the Honor 90 as my important handset, and that point has thrown fairly a number of surprises my means, in addition to a number of let-downs. The query is, does the Honor 90 do exactly sufficient to face out in opposition to its opponents? Right here’s my verdict.
Design and display
6.7-inch AMOLED display3840Hz PWM dimming that’s simpler on the eyesVery shiny and simple to learn outside
It’s exhausting to speak about something on the Honor 90 earlier than addressing its most evident function, and that’s the drop-dead attractive 6.7-inch 2664×1200 AMOLED show.
It’s clear from the second you turn on the Honor 90 that that is the place nearly all of the telephone’s funds has been invested, and it’s simply among the finest screens you’ll discover on a telephone on this value vary.
With the flexibility to achieve 1600 nits of peak brightness, not solely is the Honor 90’s show straightforward to take a look at outside, but it surely additionally packs intense colors that make it well-suited for viewing content material on the go. I’ve been watching episodes of Andor on this factor and I’ve by no means discovered myself squinting to see the total scope of what’s onscreen.
The show curves extra sharply on the corners than it did on the Honor 70, which might be a problem with some apps because it generally cuts off the odd icon or bit of data (though this was a uncommon incidence, admittedly). What’s spectacular, although, is the screen-to-body ratio which sits at an enormous 93.3% because of the extremely minimal bezels that make the show really feel nearly utterly finish to finish, notably because it curves ever so barely over the sides.
Honor has additionally made fairly a number of waves in regards to the dimming and refresh capabilities of the Honor 90. On its specs sheet, the Honor 90 packs 3840Hz PWM dimming, which sounds fancy sufficient, but it surely really interprets to the flexibility to refresh at a price that’s far much less dangerous to the eyes than most telephones.
I discovered this difficult to wrap my head round till I noticed it positioned subsequent to my iPhone 14 underneath a high-speed digital camera lens. This works in hand with the telephone’s eye-comfort mode that regularly reduces the degrees of blue mild because the day goes on to minimise its impact in your circadian rhythm, which is certainly a welcome function.
On condition that this factor has roughly the identical sized display as what you’ll discover on the iPhone 14 Professional Max, I anticipated a good quantity of weight to be behind it, however the Honor 90 manages to fight that in some way, weighing simply 183g. This has made utilizing the telephone one-handed an absolute breeze, which is uncommon for a handset of this measurement, and it made me really feel like I wasn’t being punished for having fun with all the advantages of the larger-than-normal show.
The one factor that belittles the viewing expertise on the Honor 90 is the truth that there’s just one set of audio system on the backside of the telephone, and whereas they do sound higher than different telephones I’ve used that comply with the same design alternative, they pale compared to any handsets with dual-firing audio system. Your finest wager is to carry some headphones into the combination.
As nice because the Honor 90 seems head-on, I can’t say that I’m an enormous fan of its rear design. I don’t know why Honor thinks that two giant unseemly circles make for a classy set of digital camera modules, however to my eyes, it simply seems like a wierd use of the accessible area. Even the rectangular module on the Honor Magic Vs felt extra coherent than this.
There’s additionally the difficulty of the color schemes accessible. The Emerald Inexperienced model is the one you’re presently seeing on this evaluation, however there’s additionally Midnight Black and Diamond Silver up for grabs. If I had to decide on one, Midnight Black would most likely be the least offensive choice, though one other journalist identified that the Diamond Silver variant seems eerily just like a serviette and now I can’t unsee it.
Cameras
200MP important large sensor12MP ultra-wide and 2MP depth sensor40MP selfie digital camera
Along with the show, the digital camera setup on the Honor 90 has additionally seen a noticeable improve.
The brand new 200MP important sensor is an enormous improve on the 58MP counterpart discovered on the Honor 70, though the ultra-wide digital camera has been demoted to a 12MP sensor, whereas the 2MP depth digital camera stays unchanged from final yr.
After all whereas the principle sensor and the ultra-wide have seen a megapixel enhance and reduce respectively, it’s extensively identified now that megapixels don’t robotically translate to the top results of {a photograph}. Google’s computational processing is precisely why the Pixel 7a is likely one of the finest smartphone cameras you should purchase within the mid-range class, and that’s working with a 64MP important sensor.
When put to the take a look at nonetheless, I discovered the Honor 90’s important digital camera to be greater than as much as the duty in nearly all eventualities, pumping out loads of social media-worthy photographs with little or no effort.
A part of what helps the Honor 90 is its use of pixel binning which mixes the pixels from the 200MP sensor to create a vibrant shot full of color. That additionally permits the digital 2x zoom to nonetheless dish out photographs that don’t really feel like they’ve misplaced a noticeable quantity of high quality within the course of.
It’s the same story with the ultra-wide digital camera, which got here in helpful throughout a go to to Paris for the Honor 90’s launch occasion as there was a neverending quantity of metropolis scenes that I wished to seize to their fullest.
I solely seen the ultra-wide fighting low-light indoor scenes as a good quantity of noise would begin to creep in.
In the case of portrait mode and the telephone’s pure bokeh set by the 2MP depth digital camera, the outcomes rely on the topic at hand.
For example, the digital camera did a unbelievable job with highlighting the sides of a statue outside, however the outcomes weren’t fairly as refined when it got here to separating a buddy’s hairline from the background with a shot taken inside a restaurant.
As a result of it has 40MP to attract from, the selfie digital camera also can produce an honest quantity of element, identical to the principle sensor, so it’s helpful in a pinch.
Turning to video, there are fairly a number of built-in options that content material creators might recognize, together with the flexibility for AI to robotically edit your footage into a brief, shareable clip (just like what’s accessible on the Insta360 and GoPro apps).
Video footage seems nice in outside and indoor environments, and whereas the stabilisation is serviceable, I believe it’s removed from being the most effective on the market, so that you’d be higher suited to pairing a smartphone gimbal with the Honor 90 than capturing content material freehand.
Efficiency
Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 ‘Accelerated Version’ chipsetMagicOS holds the Honor 90 backSolid gaming efficiency
As with all smartphone within the mid-range class, there’s all the time one part that’s been reduce quick with a view to meet the reasonably priced value level that the sector calls for, and within the case of the Honor 90, it’s within the efficiency the place the expertise begins to journey up.
Underneath the hood, the Honor 90 packs the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Version, which is meant to be an overclocked model of the year-old chipset, however I’ve struggled to note any main uptick.
Efficiency inside main apps is ok sufficient, however the telephone is a bit slower than the Pixel 7a when it comes scrolling by the app tray and leaping between a number of apps open within the background. Then once more, it’s troublesome to inform how a lot of that’s all the way down to the chipset or Honor’s in-house tackle Android: MagicOS.
Regardless of the lofty expectations set by its title, MagicOS pales compared to the variants of Android you’ll discover on the likes of Pixel or Samsung. If you boot it up, there’s a substantial quantity of bloatware, not simply from Honor itself however a bunch of various firms. To make issues worse, there’s simply an obtuse design language that sits behind the working system as a complete.
For instance, the app tray isn’t activated as commonplace, that you must dive into the settings and toggle it manually. I’ve additionally discovered that in terms of eliminating apps within the background, you must be fairly particular in your swipe, in any other case they’ll drop proper again down into your multitasking menu. It’s simply a whole lot of small nuisances like this that add as much as a larger sense of ick – it’s not unusable, but it surely does maintain again all the nice work set by the {hardware}.
One space the place I’ll give Honor some credit score is its providing of in-house widgets. Having used iOS for therefore lengthy, I’m a sucker for widget and Honor’s received an eye fixed for design on this regard – the corporate’s climate widget, as an example, is correct up there with Apple’s personal. You additionally get a sizeable quantity of storage in your cash.
The bottom mannequin of the Honor 90 comes with 256GB as commonplace, however there’s a 512GB choice accessible for not that rather more. So, when you prefer to maintain your recordsdata saved domestically versus within the cloud, and even take pleasure in having a whole lot of video games at hand at one time, then you definitely’ll recognize what the Honor 90 brings to the desk right here.
Talking of gaming, the Honor 90 handles itself very nicely on this regard. Diving into a number of on-line matches in each Mario Kart Tour and Name of Responsibility Cell, I encountered zero slowdowns, and the Honor 90 didn’t run scorching throughout my playtime. Couple that with the display’s vibrancy, which in Mario Kart Tour actually makes the degrees pop, and the Honor 90 is a simple one to suggest for avid gamers on the go.
Battery
Upgraded 5000mAh cell65W wired quick chargingNo wi-fi charging
At any time when you might have a show as giant because the one discovered on the Honor 90, there’s all the time going to be the priority that it’ll come on the detriment of battery life, however fortunately, Honor has anticipated this by packing the telephone with an enormous 5000mAh cell. This has led to some excellent battery efficiency that’s positive to please anybody who picks the telephone up for themselves.
Underneath the precise circumstances, I’ve been capable of get simply shy of two days of use on the Honor 90, which is much more than I can for sure flagship telephones I’ve used lately (I’m you Pixel 7).
Drilling down into {that a} bit additional, I raced out the door one morning with about 98% battery within the tank and I used to be capable of undergo 14 hours of use – 2 hours and 51 minutes of which featured screen-on time with a little bit of YouTube, studying on Libby and even some NFC funds, and there was nonetheless 52% battery left to make use of. At no level, except you’re completely hell-bent on draining the battery, will you end up in a tough place on the finish of the day with the Honor 90.
There’s extra excellent news on the charging entrance because the Honor 90 is able to 65W wired quick charging. In my testing, I’ve been capable of get from 11% to a full battery in simply 39 minutes, while additionally verifying Honor’s declare you could get 20% again in simply 5 minutes. When you’re ever in a rush then it is a big assist, notably when paired with the longevity of that 5000mAh cell.
The one draw back right here is that wi-fi charging is nowhere to be seen. Often this wouldn’t have been a problem within the mid-range market however the function is beginning to creep in because it’s now accessible with each the Pixel 7a and the Nothing Telephone (2).
Newest offers
Do you have to purchase it?
You utilize your telephone for leisure: the Honor 90’s attractive show and lengthy battery life make it good for streaming content material and gaming.
You need the most effective Android expertise: the Honor 90 is held again by MagicOS’s clunky UI and the truth that its ‘Accelerated’ chipset pales compared in opposition to the likes of the Tensor G2.
Ultimate Ideas
After spending a number of weeks with the telephone, I’m happy to say that I’m genuinely impressed with what Honor has been capable of obtain right here. Not solely is the bottom mannequin barely cheaper than the beginning value of its predecessor, but it surely now presents among the finest viewing experiences you could find at this finish of the market.
Whether or not it’s used for scrolling by social media, studying an e-book or catching up on the newest TV exhibits, the display can deal with all of it brilliantly, so if that’s what you’re most fascinated with, you’ll get on very nicely with the Honor 90.
The telephone’s important challenge is that it’s accessible on the identical value because the Galaxy A54 and the Pixel 7a, each of which have far superior working techniques and within the case of the latter, much better general efficiency courtesy of the Tensor G2 chip. They’re all nice telephones in their very own proper; it simply depends upon which options you worth essentially the most.
How we take a look at
We take a look at each cell phone we evaluation completely. We use industry-standard checks to check options correctly and we use the telephone as our important system over the evaluation interval. We’ll all the time let you know what we discover and we by no means, ever, settle for cash to evaluation a product.
Discover out extra about how we take a look at in our ethics coverage.
Used as a important telephone for the evaluation interval
Thorough digital camera testing in a wide range of circumstances
Examined and benchmarked utilizing revered {industry} checks and real-world information
FAQs
Sure, the Honor 90 makes use of Android 13 with Honor’s personal MagicOS layered on high.
The Honor 90 will obtain two mainline Android updates and three years of safety updates.
Trusted Critiques take a look at information
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Jargon buster
mAh
An abbreviation for milliampere-hour and a strategy to categorical the capability of batteries, particularly smaller ones in telephones. Typically the upper the mAh, the longer the battery will final however this isn’t all the time the case.
IP score
An abbreviation for ‘Ingress Safety Code’, which helps you to know to what extent a tool is perhaps waterproof or dustproof.