I have bough this phone on first sale, I was going to buy OnePlus, but then I saw
it has a flat screen, and I found HONORs. I was not fully convinced, but I’m a
hardcore honor band user so I knew they make great products. I’ve been using
X9b phone for a month, I purchased it on first sale offer and here is my full one
month review.
Superb Display - The curved display with power of steel
Ever since Samsung had brought curved display in earlier times, I have been a
fan of curved displays. The x9b has very nice quality on the display, many
devices claim to have AMOLED, but the quality of the display is equally
important, this one is very nice. Very even brightness not patches, feels like a
top quality panel. The edges are also protected very well from accidental
touches, never tapped on anything I didn’t want to. Watching prime video and
Netflix is also very much fun. The most surprising thing that I saw Honor
marketing was the durability. And initially I thought it was only for marketing,
but then I saw YouTube videos and instagram, and realised it was actually the
case. Then I also got Honor protect plan for free, in which even if I break the
screen, it will be fixed for free. So even they are sure. It gives me a special
confidence, and now I don’t even use a case. Maybe in some time I’ll start
using, but I could never do this with my previous phone.
Battery marathon - Days like 1, 2, 3….
On day 1 my battery only lasted 1 day. I was a bit disappointed, but then after
two weeks, I started getting 1 and a half day. Then I realised on first day I
installed every app, and transferred data and used the phone very heavily. But
on regular use now every three days I charge my phone only twice. The battery
is very big so charging does take a bit of time, like 1.5 - 2 hours, but since I
charge less now it did the same experience. The battery usage is interesting, it
seems bigger than 5800mah, because I previously used Samsung M series
phone with 6000mAh and it never lasted so much. I have never had full 72
hours battery life like claim, but this one week I was travelling to Jaipur, my
phone usage was less in watching movies since I was travelling, only clicked
few pictures and basic calls, I left with full charge on Friday night and my next
charging was on Monday morning is So Honor done a very good job but what I
cannot understand is how did such big battery fit into this phone. It’s really thin
and light, still has such a large battery, this is the most awesome part. Almost
no phone available with such big battery and thin design.
Software Experience is Magical - AI, AI, and more
The basics are good, it is easy to look at and easy to use. It is also clean, a few
apps I saw on fresh install and no Ads in UI one of the biggest. Generally all
phones my friends have, it has great hardware but software feels cheap. With
honor the software is very premium feeling. I recently saw Magic 6 Pro in MWC
video and the UI experience is similar on the X9b. It also has very interesting
Home Screen features like stacked cards which is very useful otherwise I could
only put 1-2 widgets on screen but stacked cards was very good. I generally
always use App drawer, but this is the first software I used where if you did all
apps on homescreen you get additional features. Like Swipe up on apps for
secondary function. This is a very deep software, so it will take time to learn
and understand. But AI integration is the best on this phone, in gallery, in
notifications panel, app folders and keyboard. Keyboard has GPT and also has
image generation and text editor. This is very cool. You can get it on other
phones if you install swiftkey, but it comes pre-installed on this and now I want
all my phones to have this keyboard.
Special mention to Honor Protect Plan, no other smartphone brand in India has
this kind of offers and it is very big value for the price of the phone.
If you want the best display, the best battery performance, and best software at
this price. There is no smartphone that can beat it.
| OS | MagicOS 7.2 | Android 13.0 |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 16.4 x 7.6 x 0.8 cm; 185 g |
| Item model number | ALI-NX1 |
| Wireless communication technologies | Cellular |
| Connectivity technologies | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, NFC |
| GPS | True |
| Special features | Dual SIM, Always On Display, Fingerprint Sensor, Built-In GPS, Mobile Hotspot Capability |
| Other display features | Wireless |
| Device interface - primary | Touchscreen, Microphone, Buttons |
| Other camera features | Rear Camera - 108MP+5MP+2MP and Front (Selfie) Camera - 16MP |
| Form factor | Slate |
| Colour | Midnight Black |
| Battery Power Rating | 5800 |
| Phone Talk Time | 27 Hours |
| Whats in the box | Warranty Card, User Manual, Phone Case (TPU Protective Case), Screen Protector (Factory attached to the screen), USB Cable, SIM Ejector Tool, Earphone, Earphone Type-C Connector |
| Manufacturer | HONOR |
| Country of Origin | India |
| Item Weight | 185 g |
