The HONOR X9 series have a history of being a very rugged phone, even though it looks just like a normal slim pocketable slab. Just announced in Singapore, the HONOR X9c 5G retails at $449 and all purchases will receive free Honor Choice Haylou Watch, Honor Earbuds X6, 365-day front-and-back replacement service, and S$20 rebate, worth $419.
Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, the overall performance is admittedly not as speedy as the other smartphones. If you ask me, the phone is not for me, not because it’s not a good phone, but because it does not use a faster processor. Having said that, if you only have a budget of S$449 and needed a phone that can basically do everything decently, and most importantly, it must be durable to survive life’s brutal elements, then you can consider the HONOR X9c. Its 6600 mAh battery capacity keeps the phone going for over 3 days for light users.
Durable and Tough
How tough is the HONOR X9c? It is built to withstand drops from 2 metres. It incorporates advanced protective shields and uses ultra-tempered glass. The included case apparently is the industry’s first Cushioning Airbag Protective Case to significantly reduce damage from impacts and scratches. The phone is also IP65M, which is dust-proof and water-jet resistant when the device is in motion (reference). The device provides all-around protection with a three-layer water resistance structure, and can survive temperatures between -30 to 55 degrees Celsius. During the Singapore media launch, guests have tried to use the phone as a hammer to hit nails into the wood block, dump the phone into a hotpot.
HONOR Display
The HONOR X9c display looks bright and contrasty, up to 4000 nits, 120Hz refresh rate and DCI-P3 colour gamut. It supports 3840Hz dynamic dimming and all-day eye comfort display setting that tunes the tone based on the time of day. I find the default colour more vivid, brighter and cooler than the next-tier HONOR 200 Pro. I would say the X9c calibration is more appealing.
Camera System
The phone features two camera lenses – a 108MP f/1.75 OIS main camera and 5MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera. It can achieve 3X lossless zoom (through cropping) and up to 10X digital zoom, while video supports 8X. For normal shoot settings, each still image is interpolated to 12MP, and in Hi-Res mode, you can save in the native 108MP resolution. Videos can go up to 4K 30fps or 1080p 60fps. The camera supports the same shooting features as the other HONOR series, including Pro-mode, multi-video, aperture mode, highlights capture, moving photo.
The modest camera specs provide decent camera images. When comparing the HONOR 200 Pro, the X9c captures in more neutral colour tones in less vibrant setting.
HONOR X9c 16MP f/2.45 front camera appears more neutral, more contrast and sharper than the HONOR 200 Pro’s 50MP f/2.1, a result of more aggressive processing. The latter has more dynamic information.
Generally, images taken with the X9c are usable, though not as resolving. Packing 108MP results in some image artifacts if you pixel-peep.
The camera handles low light well at 1x zoom, bumping the colour saturation to make images appear more appealing.
The HONOR X9c camera handles overall image captures fine as long as you use it for social posts and message sharing. When shooting at higher zoom, the images will exhibit some noise when you pixel peep.
Everything MagicOS
The HONOR X9c runs on MagicOS 8.0 which is based on Android 14. It supports all the fanciful UI just like the HONOR 200 Pro, including Magic Capsule, Magic Portal, Magic Ring, AI Eraser, Multi-Window, Parallel Space.
You also get stereo speaker sound which delivers loud bright music, similar to HONOR 200 Pro. Unfortunately, the X9c does not come with Infrared Remote Blaster.
Verdict
The best thing about the HONOR X9c is its amazingly tough handling while maintaining a sleek form. The phone also packs all the MagicOS features that you can expect from the more expensive Honor models. The camera is able to capture all kinds of scenery and lighting constrained by the camera lens specs. While the phone can handle drops, scratches, temperatures and water, I am not getting as much value in the smartphone operations and hardware compared to the competition out there. But if you put durability as a priority, then the Honor X9c is the one to get.
There is an Honor phone for every budget. HONOR X9c is for the tough and affordable, HONOR 200 Pro is for the low-compromise midrange users, HONOR Magic6 Pro is for the top-spec performers, and the HONOR Magic V3 is the ultimate foldable multi-tasker. I would get the X9c for seniors and teens, 200 Pro for spouse or youths, Magic6 Pro for the content creators and power users, and Magic V3 for the high-flying career trailblazers.
Visit the Singapore official page for more information on HONOR X9c.
