HONOR 90 Assessment: A strong midranger

After the profitable launch of the HONOR Magic5 Professional, HONOR Magic Vs foldable, and the Magic5 Lite earlier this yr, the corporate is again with a brand new reasonably priced midranger, the HONOR 90. The brand new midranger borrows many design components from its predecessor and the newest flagship sequence. HONOR upgraded the digital camera, chipset, show, and even the battery, all with out sacrificing the nice construct high quality and premium really feel.

The HONOR 90 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Version 5G chipset with as much as 12GB of reminiscence, and as much as 512GB of storage. It has a big, stunning, 120Hz show, a 200MP rear digital camera, and an up-to-date MagicOS 7.1 software program based mostly on Android 13. It helps quick charging, and there are many enhancements and enhancements on the within that make this a compelling machine. With none additional ado, let’s dive in and take a more in-depth look.

Pocketnow recommends the HONOR 90 reasonably priced midranger on account of its nice price ticket, glorious set of options, trendy design, and lengthy battery life. It is an excellent smartphone for these trying to spend much less, and it comes with flagship options that make it a strong possibility.

The HONOR 90 is a wonderful midranger. It is quick, responsive, has a fantastic digital camera setup, and it could possibly final a full day on a single cost. The HONOR 90 has a big 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED show, help for 66W quick wired charging, and a triple digital camera setup on the again.

Specs

• SoC: Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Version 5G
• Show: 6.7-inch AMOLED, 435 PPI, 2664 x 1200, 120Hz, 1600 nits
• RAM: 8/12GB
• Storage: 256/512GB
• Battery: 5,000 mAh, 66W wired
• Ports: USB-C
• Working System: MagicOS 7.1 (Primarily based on Android 13)
• Entrance digital camera: 50MP
• Rear cameras: Main: 200MP, f/1.9, Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2, Depth: 2MP, f/2.4
• Connectivity: 5G, LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6, NFC
• Dimensions: 162.9 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm
• Colours: Emerald Inexperienced, Midnight Black, Peacock Blue, Diamond Silver (HONOR Retailer Unique)
• Weight: 183g
• IP Ranking: None

Professionals

• Stunning 6.7-inch AMOLED show with 120Hz refresh fee
• Nice construct high quality and skinny design
• Quick efficiency
• Good digital camera high quality
• Lengthy battery life and quick charging

Cons

• It is slippery with out a case
• No ingress safety
• No wi-fi charging

Purchase This Product

HONOR 90: Value & Availability

The HONOR 90 was globally introduced in Paris on July 6, and the telephone formally launched in a choose few international locations in Europe, together with within the UK. The HONOR 90 is on the market in three colours, Emerald Inexperienced, Midnight Black, and Diamond Silver. The latter is unique to HONOR’s On-line Retailer. The bottom unit comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage, whereas the higher-end configuration ups the reminiscence to 12GB and the storage to 512GB.

The HONOR 90 will begin at £449.99 within the UK, for 8/256GB mannequin, and the 12/512GB machine will retail for £499.99. Elsewhere in Europe, the machine will value €599.90 for the 12/512GB mannequin.

For a restricted time, customers can pre-order the HONOR 90 from HONOR’s web site, and use the AUKH905 code to get 5% off till nineteenth July. For a further £9.99, customers will be capable to choose up the HONOR Pad X8 pill. That is £130 in financial savings.

What’s within the field

The HONOR 90 arrived in a plain white field, and given the dimensions, you would possibly be capable to guess that it comprises excess of simply the telephone itself. The telephone comes with all of the instruments and equipment you must get began, and I am glad to see HONOR offering all the important equipment upon buy.

In an analogous HONOR vogue, the corporate supplies a transparent clear case, a 66W quick charging energy adapter, a USB-A to USB-C cable, consumer manuals, a guaranty card, and a SIM ejector pin. It’s at all times nice to see firms proceed together with equipment, particularly when the machine in query is priced within the mid-tier.

Design

• Acquainted and trendy design
• The curved edge makes the telephone really feel snug within the hand
• Slippery again panel

Earlier than we get began, HONOR generously supplied the attractive Meadow Inexperienced mannequin for overview, which appears to be like beautiful from all angles. The colour is paying homage to the one we’ve seen of the HONOR Magic5 Professional and the Magic5 Lite. The one drawback is that it’s exhausting to seize the sweetness on digital camera. That mentioned, I attempted to seize it to the very best of my skill, and also you’ll see it in much more photographs down beneath.

The HONOR 90 feels gentle and compact, and regardless of the telephone being on the bigger aspect, it’s snug and simple to make use of even with one hand. The one slight nitpick I’ve is that HONOR continues to be utilizing the slippery rear cowl, which makes it exhausting to advocate with out a case. The machine can simply slide out of your hand after a couple of minutes. I’d strongly advise you to get a case, or use the clear one which’s included within the field.

The HONOR 90 appears to be like acquainted. There are minor variations between the HONOR 80 and the brand new HONOR 90 on the surface. The primary distinction that catches my consideration is the look of the digital camera module on the again. These are nonetheless housed in two round islands. The digital camera module has an oval form that provides it extra character, making the telephone stand out extra. The digital camera island protrudes marginally, simply sufficient for the telephone to wobble on a flat floor. This wasn’t a deal-breaker, as I have a tendency to carry the machine whereas utilizing it, nevertheless it may very well be deemed irritating when checking on the time and notifications.

The HONOR 90 has a traditional button and port format and the facility and quantity rocker are on the proper aspect. There’s nothing on the left, and the highest solely homes a microphone. The underside comprises the SIM card slot, one other microphone, a single speaker, and the USB Kind-C port.

Specs

The HONOR 90 is provided with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Version. It’s a barely higher-clocked model of the usual Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. The chip has one Cortex-A710 clocked at 2.5GHz, three Cortex-A710 clocked at 2.36GHz, and 4 Cortex-A510 at 1.8GHz. It makes use of the Adreno 644 GPU and has 8/12GB of RAM relying on the storage configuration starting from 256GB to 512GB.

By way of uncooked energy, the chip is able to enjoying graphics-intensive video games, and the reminiscence ensures the machine can comfortably load a number of purposes within the background, with out requiring fixed reloading. It’s environment friendly, and it’s based mostly on the 4nm course of. It helps 5G connectivity, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.2.

Show

• Giant 6.7-inch AMOLED show with 120Hz
• Nice daylight visibility
• Colourful display screen with small bezels and curved edges

The show includes a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh fee. It has a 2664 x 1200 decision, 435 PPI, and as much as 1600 nits of brightness. It’s vivid, colourful, and completely beautiful. It’s a Quad Curved Floating Show, as HONOR likes to name it, and whereas I’m not an enormous fan of curved edges, even I’ve to confess that it appears to be like stunning. The bezels on the edges are nonexistent, and the highest and backside are very small. The curved edges seem much less intrusive, in comparison with the Magic5 Professional, and it took about half-hour to get used to typing shortly utilizing the keyboard.

The show has 100% DCI-P3 protection. It is a beautiful show panel, and given the actual fact it is a midrager, I’ve to say it is the most effective shows I’ve seen at this worth level. Throughout my testing, I haven’t come throughout any points. It’s completely calibrated proper out of the manufacturing facility, and the daylight visibility was glorious too. Textual content was at all times readable in direct daylight, with out distortion or discoloration. Gaming, consuming content material, and studying have been at all times pleasurable, and the 120Hz refresh fee made the expertise clean and fluid.

HONOR continues to implement its 3840Hz PWM Dimming, Dynamic Dimming, and Circadian Night time Show know-how on its smartphones, and the HONOR 90 is the newest within the lineup to help the helpful Eye Consolation Options. Moreover, HONOR licensed the show to help HDR 10+, which is now supported on Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix for a extra pleasurable watching expertise. I watched a number of reveals and flicks, they usually all appeared superb. The display screen was vivid with loads of element and colours, and there is nothing unsuitable I can say in regards to the high quality of this panel.

Cameras

• Glorious digital camera high quality with nice element, dynamic vary, and sharpness
• The ultrawide digital camera is not as vibrant and sharp as the primary digital camera
• Very good front-facing digital camera
• Low-light and night time photographs will be noisy and out of focus

The HONOR 90 comes with a triple digital camera setup, consisting of a 200MP f/1.9 main, a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. Given that the majority smartphones have a telephoto digital camera, that will’ve been a lot most popular as an alternative of the depth sensor, however at the very least portraits profit from the improved bokeh and background blur.

Talking of portraits, they’re often glorious. They’ve loads of element, sharpness, and the backdrop is often on level with the topic completely chosen. The colours are balanced, and though they’re typically on the extra saturated and vivid aspect of issues, they seem nice. The first digital camera takes stunning photographs in good lighting situations. The pictures are sharp, with nice dynamic vary, and no seen noise.

The first digital camera takes stunning photographs in good lighting situations. The pictures are sharp, with nice dynamic vary, and no noise. Focus is often on level, and there’s a large amount of distinction and shadows. The colours are just a little too vivid to my liking and aren’t true to life, however they arrive out crisp and clear. If something, there’s maybe a bit an excessive amount of overprocessing that leads to some lack of positive element, however the photographs do often end up relatively good.

The ultrawide digital camera takes nice photographs on the whole, however the colours aren’t as vibrant, and the picture is not as sharp as the primary digital camera. Whereas the shortage of element is anticipated, the distinction in coloration between the first and the ultrawide sensors are straightforward to note. Focus can be a difficulty whereas utilizing the ultrawide, though it wasn’t a serious problem throughout daytime in good lighting situations. Typically talking, it’s adequate for social media, however you may need to do some coloration correction to match the remainder of your photographs.

The front-facing digital camera is a 50MP sensor. It supplies nice colours, albeit, they’re a bit oversaturated. There’s loads of element and sharpness, and the general high quality of the photograph is often excellent. Dynamic vary can also be good, and I haven’t taken a photograph the place the sky would’ve been blown out of the peculiar. If you wish to take a variety of selfies, this can do a implausible job.

The low-light photographs are much less spectacular. The digital camera struggles to focus at night time, and the sensor produces a variety of noise. When the digital camera is in focus, the general outcomes are literally not that unhealthy, nevertheless it’s value mentioning that some supply of sunshine is required. When taking pictures photos of the sky, the celebrities might be seen, however the sensor may have a tough time focusing, that’ll end in blurry and noisy photographs. Very darkish areas and environments are extraordinarily difficult, however when there’s a small gentle supply, the photographs end up sharp with minimal noise. There is a workaround to make the low-light functionality higher, however you will need to fiddle with it to take advantage of out of it in difficult situations.

Digital camera Samples

Daytime

Selfie

Ultrawide

Low-light

Software program

• MagicOS 7.1 based mostly on Android 13
• Two years of OS, and three years of safety updates
• Loads of options and clear UI

The HONOR 90 comes with the identical software program because the Magic5 Professional, apart from a number of premium options that stay unique to the flagship machine. The telephone runs the newest MagicOS 7.1 model based mostly on Android 13. The corporate confirmed to us that the HONOR 90 will obtain two years of OS, and three years of safety updates.

HONOR did a fantastic job optimizing the 90, and I haven’t skilled any sluggish habits by any means. The telephone remained cool, even through the heatwave within the UK, and was at all times clean and responsive. The animations are quick, and the 120Hz show makes the telephone really feel snappy.

MagicOS has nice distinctive quirks and options, and the HONOR 90 advantages from all of those, though the OS nonetheless misses out on Materials You theming options, and as an alternative opts for HONOR’s personal theming engine. The themes solely allow you to change the wallpaper and the icons. There are extra themes that customers can obtain from the Themes retailer, however I nonetheless would’ve appreciated just a little extra customization to additional personalize my expertise with Materials You as an alternative.

Appears apart, the machine has all of the options you’d anticipate. There’s an All the time-on Show, the power to multitask utilizing the Multi-Window edge panel, Circadian Night time Show, 3840Hz PWM dimming for decrease display screen glints, and extra. The vibrator motor additionally supplies loads of suggestions and doesn’t really feel low-cost. It’s completely appropriate for video games and supplies the correct amount of suggestions for notifications and calls.

Total, the HONOR 90 is a superb smartphone with loads of helpful options. MagicOS 7.1 is well-optimized and runs properly. Apps can change simply, and multitasking was at all times a breeze. There are many customization choices, and the telephone feels clean and snappy. There’s not a lot I can complain about, and usually talking, the HONOR 90 will present an pleasurable and seamless expertise for many customers.

Audio system

Like earlier HONOR-made units in the identical lineup, the brand new HONOR 90 doesn’t have stereo audio system. It’s outfitted with a single bottom-firing speaker. It supplies acceptable outcomes, however there’s nothing that’d make it stand out among the many myriad of reasonably priced smartphones. The speaker distorts quite a bit at larger volumes, and it lacks bass.

It’s not essentially the most aggressive speaker, particularly as many units in the identical worth vary supply at the very least a stereo setup. That mentioned, watching films, movies, and enjoying video games might be pleasurable, however you would possibly need to seize a pair of earbuds or a conveyable speaker for listening to music.

Battery

• It might final for as much as two days on a single cost
• 66W quick wired charging
• No wi-fi charging

The HONOR 90 comes with a big 5,000 mAh battery, a modest 200 mAh enhance over the HONOR 80 from 2022. Throughout my time, the HONOR 90 may final a day with out a drawback. Two days have been achievable after I didn’t depend on the GPS and didn’t play video games throughout my free time. HONOR did properly within the battery division, and the HONOR 90 can comfortably final two days on a single cost, or a full day with heavy utilization.

In terms of charging, we see a equally spectacular end result. Just like the HONOR 90’s predecessors, the telephone helps 66W quick wired charging. Topping up the machine is relatively fast, a lot sooner than different units in the identical class, saving you time to deal with different vital duties. As somebody who typically places their telephone on cost at night time, I shortly switched into the behavior of solely doing that after I knew I needed to go away early and wanted a full cost firstly of my day.

Sadly, the one factor nonetheless lacking from this midranger is the power to cost wirelessly. Whereas the characteristic isn’t important for many patrons on this class, it will nonetheless be thought of as a “good to have”, and I might anticipate it on a tool of this caliber in 2023. I can solely hope that HONOR manages to incorporate it on a future mannequin, however because it stands, you get at the very least a quick and handy method to cost the HONOR 90 with a 66W energy adapter – included within the field.

HONOR 90: Ought to I purchase it?

Purchase it if…

• You’re after a stupendous smartphone with a big, vivid, and colourful show
• You want a strong midranger that does all at a aggressive price ticket
• You need a telephone that may final for as much as two days and help 66W quick charging

Don’t purchase it if…

• You need to take a number of photographs at night time and in low-light
• You need a rugged, sturdy smartphone with ingress safety
• You devour a variety of content material and the speaker performs a vital position for you

Sure, however be sure you set your expectations. The HONOR 90 ticks a variety of bins, and affords a well-rounded bundle for the cash. It takes nice photographs on the whole, and whereas it received’t be as spectacular because the HONOR Magic5 Professional, it’s value remembering that it prices half of that. It’s a superb midranger that runs with out a drawback, and is highly effective sufficient to deal with most duties, comparable to multitasking, enjoying extra demanding video games, and taking photographs.

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Whereas we’re on the subject of photographs, the HONOR 90 captures respectable photographs in most lighting situations. The 200MP snapper on the again has nice dynamic vary, sufficient element, and nice general high quality to compete towards different equally priced units, such because the Galaxy A54.

The HONOR 90 is an excellent all-rounder with a fantastic digital camera setup, quick charging, a strong chipset, and exquisite show. The HONOR 90 ticks a lot of the bins, and whereas it lacks a number of notable options from my wishlist, it’s a strong different to different midrangers in the identical worth class.

Nevertheless, it’s value stating a few of its flaws, because it may very well be a dealbreaker for some. The HONOR 90 lacks stereo audio system, ingress safety, and it doesn’t help wi-fi charging. Whereas the latter is a non-issue for a lot of customers on this worth vary, I’d like to see it trickle all the way down to extra reasonably priced smartphones. On condition that many units include some type of ingress safety at this time, it might be nice to see HONOR do extra to guard the cheaper devices from at the very least water.

That mentioned, HONOR nailed it with the HONOR 90, and it created a tool that makes it a no brainer to advocate for many customers. If you happen to’re after a fantastic normal smartphone that’s compact, takes nice photographs, is responsive, and lasts some time on a single cost, then look no additional.

HONOR 90

The HONOR 90 is a wonderful midranger. It is quick, responsive, has a fantastic digital camera setup, and it could possibly final a full day on a single cost. The HONOR 90 has a big 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED show, help for 66W quick wired charging, and a triple digital camera setup on the again.