HONOR X7 Review: A Balanced And Versatile Smartphone

HONOR X7 Review: A Balanced And Versatile Smartphone

After returning as an independent brand to the premium mid-range smartphone market with the HONOR 50 5G, the Chinese firm is reinvesting in the entry-level segment by offering us the HONOR X7. Displayed in the middle of June 2022 at 199.90 euros, the new smartphone is only available from us in one memory configuration: 4GB of RAM + 128GB of ROM. To find out what this HONOR X7 is worth, I invite you to carefully read the following test article.

Aesthetics: An Elegant Smartphone

The HONOR X7 is a device that presents well. Its design is inspired by the HONOR 50 and is similar to the Huawei Nova 9 SE. Our Titanium Silver color test smartphone adopts a polycarbonate case with a satin touch that prevents the appearance of fingerprints. The HONOR X7 is also available in two other colors with a glossy finish: Ocean Blue and Midnight Black.

Despite the rather imposing dimensions, the grip is pleasant, and the whole is built with care. The front is 85% occupied by a large 6.74-inch screen protected by the scratch-resistant glass with a 2.5D profile. The latter, in turn, receives a protective film applied in the factory. At the top of the screen is a notch in the shape of a “U” used to accommodate the front camera, an earpiece and the light and proximity sensors.

Note the absence of a notification LED.If the left side of the device is devoid of any key, the right side hosts the volume key and the power button. The latter also incorporates a fingerprint reader. On the upper edge, we notice the SIM / micro SD drawer (2 nano SIM or one nano SIM + 1 micro SD) and an ambient microphone.

The lower edge serves as the asylum ground for a mini-jack socket, the primary microphone input, a USB-C port and the speaker grille. At the back of the phone, in the upper left corner, we note the presence of a large photo module in the shape of an “8” accompanied by the mention “AI Camera ASPH F1.8”. The upper disc incorporates the primary sensor, while in the lower disc, we find the other three sensors and an LED flash.

Below, we note the presence of the HONOR brand.

  1. Dimensions: 167.6mm long x 77.2mm wide x 8.6mm thick | Weight: 198 grams

Image And Sound: An Interesting Screen

For the price range in which it is placed, the HONOR X7 is equipped with a beautiful 6.74-inch FullView IPS LCD screen with a 20:9 ratio. Its strong point is its 90 Hz refresh rate, which offers excellent fluidity during game sessions and daily. In the Settings menu, you can choose between three settings: Dynamic (adaptive), High (90 Hz) and Standard (60 Hz).

The weak point of the screen is that it has an HD+ resolution. A Full HD+ would have been welcome. However, the colors are excellent, the contrasts are good, and the viewing angles are reasonably open. The brightness is sufficient to be able to consult the screen of your smartphone outdoors. On the other hand, in full sun it is limited! We will enjoy watching videos on the display of this HONOR X7. The main speaker on the terminal’s lower edge delivers clear sound but lacks a bit of power (110 dB observed at the output). The Set Lacks Bass And Spatialization.

Listening to wired headphones (or Bluetooth) is much more pleasant. In the Settings menu, many settings are dedicated to the audio part. On the call, the earpiece reproduces an entirely satisfactory sound. We understand his correspondence.

  1. Screen: 6.7 inches (IPS LCD) with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels, i.e., a density of 260 dpi.
  2. Sound: mini-jack and mono speaker located on the lower edge.

Performance: Honest

HONOR has chosen to equip its X7 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, a well-known SoC now found in several entry/mid-range smartphones. It is accompanied by 4GB of RAM and an Adreno 610 GPU. As the score of 252,000 points on Antutu proves, this Chinese smartphone can run most of the significant applications and big 3D games of the moment, such as Call of Duty, on condition, however, of lowering the graphic quality.

For storage, of the 128GB announced by the manufacturer, only 106.7GB will be allocated to the user. However, a micro SDXC card can easily be added, provided you agree to sacrifice one of the two nano SIM slots. A quick tour of the settings menu will add 2GB of virtual RAM via the HONOR RAM Turbo function.

  1. Antutu Benchmark (v9.3.8): 252,036 points | Geekench: 375 points ( single-core ) and 1641 points ( multi-core ) |
  2. Processor: 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 cores engraved in 6 nm (4 x 2.4GHz + 4 x 1.9GHz) | RAM: 4GB | GPU: Adreno 610.
  3. Storage memory: 128GB, which turns into 106.7GB when first started.

Connectivity: Complete… Without 5G

By choosing to equip this smartphone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, HONOR deprives it of a 5G connection. So here we have 4G (Vo)LTE category 13 with all the bands necessary for full use in France and, more widely, in Europe. We also have 2G and 3G+.

Like any smartphone worthy of the name, the HONOR X7 offers the pack of all other connections such as Bluetooth (5.1), Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), (A)GPS/ Glonass/BDS/Galileo, a USB-C port (OTG), a mini-jack socket, two nano SIM slots, a micro SD slot (+512GB), but also an NFC chip, beneficial for contactless payments.

The network hooks are good, whether in 2G, 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi. For GPS, in the courtyard of an urban condominium, it took 2 seconds for our test device to obtain the first fixed (15 satellites).

In terms of sensors, the Honor X7 has an accelerometer, a compass, a gravity sensor and the usual light and proximity sensors. Security has been remembered since this smartphone can be unlocked in two ways: via face unlock (facial recognition) and the fingerprint reader integrated into the ignition button.

In both cases, it is effective and instantaneous.

  1. SAR (Specific Absorption Rate): 1.08 W/kg at the head. This is a high score for a mobile released in 2022.

Operating System: A Somewhat Dated Overlay

The HONOR X7 runs under Magic UI 4.2, the home operating system based on Android 11. This overlay is a copy and paste of EMUI 12 found on Huawei-brand smartphones. This makes me say that even if HONOR now calls itself an independent brand, it keeps the Huawei DNA. Even if this interface is pleasant to use daily, it is now updated.

In addition to GMS (Google services), the manufacturer has added some in-house applications such as Weather, Calculator, Compass, Device Clone, FM Radio, etc. Other applications are linked to partners: TrainPal, Trip.com, WPS Office, Booking, Netflix, TikTok, and some small 2D games.Regarding the excellent functions, we have a dark mode, an applications drawer and a gesture control system.

Use: An Autonomous Smartphone

Like any self-respecting modern smartphone, the HONOR X7 can make calls, send SMS and emails, GPS navigation, MP3s and videos, do 2D games and 3D, etc. But even in 2022, there are still two aspects that distinguish smartphones from each other: photo quality and autonomy.

Four sensors provide the rear photo part: a 48-megapixel primary wide-angle lens opening at f/1.8, a 5 MP ultra-wide-angle lens opening at f/2.2, a 2 MP macro lens opening at f/2.4 and a 2 MP depth sensor opening at f/2.4.

When there is enough light, the primary lens can produce good-quality shots. When the light drops, the quality of the photos deteriorates markedly. Night photos should be avoided, and the Night mode will lighten the scene slightly. The ultra-wide angle sensor does quite well. Photos captured in Portrait mode are fine, as is the cropping of people.

The Macro mode does quite well with a lens of only 2 megapixels. The HONOR X7 offers a High-resolution mode that does nothing and tarnishes the shots. The photo application allows you to take photos with a digital zoom of up to x8, but I advise you to stay within the x2 zoom.

The primary lens can shoot at maximum Full HD at 30 FPS. The front photo part is provided by an 8 MP sensor opening at f / 2.0. The selfies taken offer decent quality for this price range. The HONOR X7 has a 5000 mAh battery supporting a 22.5 W SuperCharge.

With the compatible charger and cable in the box, it took 30 minutes for our test smartphone to go from 1 to 50% battery. To reach 100%, count an additional 40 minutes. Under reasonable mixed-use, our device lasted about two days before asking to be recharged. Finally, a 60-minute YouTube video (all connections on, sound at 50%, brightness at 50%, screen refresh rate set to Dynamic) will have consumed 11% of the energy contained in the battery. This is much better than the 15% usually seen since 2019.

In Conclusion: An Honest Proposal

Overall, considering the price at which it is sold (just under 200 euros), the HONOR X7 is a good smartphone. We have a terminal with an elegant design presenting good manufacturing quality. The large screen with a refresh rate of 90 Hz promises great fluidity daily and ensures a natural cinema effect when watching videos.

The performance offered by this smartphone allows you to play most 3D games of the moment. We will appreciate the excellent autonomy, the presence of a mini-jack socket and that of an NFC chip. The HONOR X7 is a well-balanced and versatile terminal that targets users looking for a smartphone for everyday use. It is a device certainly intended for something other than gamers and photo lovers.

Read Also: The Best Android One Smartphones In 2023

Editorial Team

We are a dynamic team of enthusiasts deeply passionate about exploring cutting-edge technologies. Comprising a diverse group of individuals with a shared zeal, we strive to deliver the most up-to-date and relevant news to our valued viewers.

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