HONOR Philippines is here again to boast another new midrange smartphone that refuses to break. If you already seen a lot of leaks and teasers, yes, the phone we are talking about here is the HONOR X9d 5G.
We reviewed its predecessor last year, the HONOR X9c 5G, which left us a great impression. The new HONOR X9d 5G is undoubtedly an upgrade based on the spec sheet, so we are currently doing some tests to determine if it is worth buying. For now, we are sharing our initial impressions of this phone.
First Look at the HONOR X9d 5G
This new phone arrived in similar packaging to its predecessors, a white box featuring model branding on the front and sides. You can watch our unboxing video here.
As we saw in its predecessors, this phone boasts enhanced durability, now 2.5M drop-resistant and IP66+IP68+IP69+IP69K dust & water resistance ratings. We did some drop tests, and of course, it survived and doesn’t leave a crack or any dents.
The HONOR X9d 5G looks very elegant, especially the Reddish Brown colorway that we have here. I love the metallic gold accent in this colorway, giving it a premium vibe. This colorway has a leather-like back, while others have a plastic back.
Unlike the X9c, this device features flat sides, which I don’t prefer, but it is still very ergonomic to hold since it only has a 7.76mm thickness and 193g weight.
Even with its slimness, this phone still unbelievably houses a massive 8,300mAh battery capacity that supports 66W fast charging and 7.5W reverse charging. This is 1,700mAh bigger than its predecessor, but does it deliver more juice? Let’s see in our full review!
I’m really glad that HONOR also upgraded its chipset to a 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 octa-core chipset, which can deliver powerful performance. Actually, we already ran an AnTuTu benchmark, and it got a 999,676 score, surpassing the score we got on HONOR 400 5G (only 823,356).
As for the display, the HONOR X9d 5G sports a 6.79-inch AMOLED screen with 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 3840Hz PWM dimming, up to 6,000 nits max brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. I love its high-quality display; all of its users will surely enjoy consuming media on this phone.
When it comes to the camera, this phone still features the same camera setup, including a 108MP main camera, a 5MP ultra-wide lens, and a 16MP selfie camera. I tried comparing its image quality to HONOR X9c 5G’s camera, and there’s an improvement, but we will be discussing it in our full review.
Initial Thoughts
The new HONOR X9d 5G comes with bigger upgrades than its predecessor, so I am also expecting a big enhancement in the experience with the phone. Based on its specifications and features, it will surely give more than enough. The only deciding factor will be its pricing. For now, we will be doing some tests to see if it is worth buying or if you can stick with the previous models.
HONOR X9d 5G Specifications
- Display: 6.79-inch AMOLED, 1200 x 2640 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 6,000nits peak brightness, 3,840Hz PWM Dimming, Ultra-Bounce Anti-Drop 2.0, In-display fingerprint scanner
- CPU: 2.3GHz 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 octa-core processor
- GPU: Adreno 810
- RAM: 12GB + 12GB HONOR RAM Turbo
- ROM: 256GB
- Rear Camera: 108MP with OIS + 5MP ultra-wide + LED flash
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: 8,300mAh, 66W HONOR SuperCharge (Type-C)
- OS: MagicOS 9.0, Android 15
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi, 4G LTE, 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS, NFS, Dual SIM (nano)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, maganetic
- Colors: Reddish Brown, Midnight Black, Sunrise Gold
- Weight: 193g
- Others: AI face unlock, USB-C, IP66 + IP68 + IP69 + IP69K rating, 2.5M drop-resistance, dual stereo-speakers
Price and Availability
The HONOR X9d 5G will be available for pre-order starting on January 9, 2025. There’s a rumor that HONOR Philippines will be giving away a FREE Tesla Cybertruck to one lucky pre-order customer.
Stay tuned for more details!
