The HONOR X9c 5G works well for its price point. In case you’re still undecided and still need further convincing, that’s all you have to know.

More than the well-touted durability and water resistance, HONOR did not sacrifice performance so it can work together with these physical strengths.

Of course, you may have probably seen countless drop tests here and there throughout the campaign period for the device. Creators did pretty much everything they could to wear down the world record-setting handset.

HONOR Philippines’ own team, meanwhile, dropped it from a helicopter flying 500 feet above the ground.

But while durability is a useful add-on, it’s still secondary to performance. And that’s chiefly what you’re buying a phone for. Feel free to scroll down until the end of this review to make up your mind.

HONOR X9c 5G specs

The HONOR X9c is now in its general sale period. It’s priced at PhP 16,999 (about US$ 290), making it a “lower midrange” device. Here are some specs for those in need:

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (4 nm)
• Platform: MagicOS 8.0 (Android 14)
• RAM: 12GB physical, plus 12GB virtual RAM
• Storage: 256GB
• Display: 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, 4,000nits peak brightness, 437ppi pixel density
• 6,600mAh Silicon-carbon battery
• 66W HONOR SuperCharge

On paper, the X9c has an IP65M water and dust resistance rating. It’s also drop resistant at up to two meters.

In addition, here are the X9c’s cameras:

• 1/1.67-inch 108MP f/1.8 main camera with PDAF, OIS
• 5MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera
• 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera

Tough…

Let’s be honest: we will not consciously try to destroy this phone or boil it on purpose. But the reason behind all of the content you’ve seen is to show just how tough the HONOR X9c is, especially in a real-world scenario.

Clinical (or lab) tests are done in a controlled environment. Situations in real life that may happen to you just spring out of the blue. And that’s what the phone’s toughness is for.

There’s just hundreds and hundreds of scenarios where you can bank on the phone’s toughness. It could be just simple accidental drops or water splashes, or a bit more extreme cases.

In my case, the phone served as my chief handset while jogging as I am assured nothing will happen even when there is a sudden downpour. I can even take this phone to play basketball or football and not worry about dropping it on hard concrete courts or wooden futsal courts.

…and steady

As I’ve mentioned, beyond the X9c’s durability, it works just fine. With a reliable chipset, you can browse endlessly on social media or streaming apps with the phone.

You can use it for gaming and it will work as well for titles like Honor of Kings or the more demanding Honkai: Star Rail. With proper internet connection, you can get low latency of up to just 8ms.

You can also multitask a bit on this phone. But if you’re a heavy user, you may want to opt for HONOR’s upper midrange offering, the HONOR 200 series (or any other brand with a PhP 25,000 and above price tag).

In my case, while importing videos I took at 1080@60p to my go-to editing app, there’s a bit of stuttering during playback. But these minor hiccups are manageable. Casual browsing and light to medium usage on a daily basis should be alright in general.

And since the X9c has a 6,600mAh battery, you can use it for an entire day for the aforementioned tasks. Chances are, you won’t need to go to a cafe to recharge even if you’re out all day.

But even if you’ve drained it, its 66W fast charging capability is a bonus. You can replenish it up to 80% in just an hour. Even just a 30-minute quick recharge is more than enough to take you home connected.

Appearance, feel

The HONOR X9c 5G unit I reviewed came in Titanium Purple. It’s also available in Titanium Black and Jade Cyan.

At first glance, it looks thin and lightweight. There’s enough balance to it. Using Silicon-carbon material for its battery allows for a slightly thinner profile.

It’s not too slippery, but not something I’d put on my lap as well. But hey, that’s why it’s durable in the first place. The backside is also a sucker for fingerprints.

It has speakers on both the top and bottom edges. There’s the usual SIM card slot and USB-C inlet as well.

You’ll find the volume and power buttons on the right side.

The camera island is still in the upper half of the back. The main difference is the island’s protruding ring around it, mimicking a luxury watch. Hence the Rolex giveaway collaboration. The HONOR Logo is on the lower third of the back to complete the look.

Display

Onto its front panel, the phone has a curved display. I’m personally not a fan as it just zooms in the 16:9 videos I upload on social media and kind of cuts what’s on the seams.

But it’s more expansive than other midrange phones I’ve tried. There’s more thickness to it’s width. That makes it better for content consumption and gaming.

The quality is fine, given it’s high pixel density and the material it uses (AMOLED). The high maximum brightness is useful for situations like using it outdoors under the hot sun.

It’s also smooth with up to a 120Hz refresh rate. Scrolling and switching between apps do not take too long. You can see the smoothness with your eyes.

Another aspect that’s great about the display is that it’s tough and scratch-resistant. It adds to the stylishness of the phone, if that’s important to you.

UI: A few quirks here and there

As for its user interface, I have mixed comments. First, the phone comes with Microsoft SwiftKey, as its default keyboard. I had to download the Google Keyboard to switch to the latter.

Microsoft SwiftKey was just weird to use. The suggestions are something I do not need and are just bothering to see on the screen. And it leads to typos. And I exhausted every possible corner of my phone to toggle it off but to no avail.

Second, under Power Saving Mode, which is my default, whenever I use a phone, the maximum screen time is just 30 seconds. It’s not editable unlike other brands’ phones.

Then, on the home screen, you have to swipe down on the left for notifications and on the right for settings and brightness and volume adjustment. I prefer having all of these in one drawer. Some friends told me it’s because of HONOR trying to mimic the iPhone UI in a way.

Also, when gaming, even under Do Not Disturb, a swipe from the side will open the view for all currently opened apps. This shouldn’t happen. There should be an extra swipe from the top-hand side (when holding it horizontally while gaming) to turn the Do Not Disturb mode off first.

On the positive end, it’s good that the phone has a few AI features users can take advantage of. The built-in AI Eraser feature is decent.

It also supports Magic Portal, so you can do a bit of cross-OS collaboration. I happen to own an HONOR Magicbook Pro 16 so I was able to test this.

Cameras: Par for its price

As for its camera system, the HONOR X9c’s main camera gets you clear and vibrant captures. Everyday scenery, food, landscapes, cityscapes, and everything in between all come out ready for posting on social media.

Captures come out with enough vividness and color for me, i.e. they do not look dull. You are guaranteed of good detail up to about 3X or 4X zoom, which is quite impressive already.

For the most part, they’re color accurate. There are just times where brown-colored subjects come out a little more orangey or pinkish, and vice-versa. But it’s fine. I guess it depends on the light source, too.

Shots taken from different focal lengths/zoom modes, for comparison:

Ultra-wide.

Wide/1X zoom.

Wide/1X zoom.

2X zoom.

Ultra-wide.

Wide/1X zoom.

Ultra-wide.

Wide/1X zoom.

2X zoom.

3X zoom.

Food looks appetizing, but not oversaturated:

Selfies are likewise of good quality. There’s a good balance of naturalness and smoothness. You’ll be satisfied especially if you wanna hide those big pores like me.

This one made my face look too rosy, as if I had an allergy attack.

With two Uys — Ed and Den.

AI Eraser works decently too, but don’t expect magic.

Original selfie.

After AI Eraser edits.

Another positive aspect is its fast shutter. You can have moderately fast-moving subjects frozen in your shots. That’s where the PDAF and OIS, as well as the AI Motion Sensing come in to provide you a lift.

Moreover, Night Mode captures aren’t overdone. They just give the image ample processing to retain more detail and to look properly-exposed.

Portrait Mode is hit-or-miss, but with enough patience, you can pull off decent captures. Sometimes, there’s segmentation error, but it’s understandable.

Getting portraits really depends on how simple you juxtapose the subject against the foreground and background at times. You might also need a more powerful processor and engine as well.

I didn’t use it that often since shooting with the default mode already sufficed to emphasize subjects.

Out-of-focus versus portrait capture pulled off well.

Default shooter versus Portrait Mode with shallow DOF.

Videography: Above par

What stood out for me is the filming capabilities on the device. With OIS, the camera will reduce the shakiness of the videos you take.

Granted, the phone does not eliminate it totally, but for its price point, I’m very satisfied with the decently smooth captures using the device. I’ve done numerous shortform videos on the X9c which I’ve posted across my personal vlog channels.

If this is the only device you can afford for now, pairing it with a stabilizer or even just a cheap monopod will minimize the shaking even further. It’s a good phone to use if you’re getting started on creating content, short movies, or even projects for school.

Furthermore, I’m also fond of how it makes subjects stand out when filming. I didn’t realize this at first but after viewing, there’s just this effect where the background looks blurred in a good way, especially when taking clips of people.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Swipe Left: If you’re not after the durability and water resistance features too much, and would rather invest your resources for slightly better performance or camera packages, there are arguably more reliable devices in the market for that, just about in the same price range as the X9c.

Swipe Right: If you’re coming from a budget-level phone, and you’re looking for something that can definitely endure daily wear-and-tear and comes with better cameras and performance, the HONOR X9c is worthy of a look.

This phone is tailor-made for a wide-range of customers. Students, blue-collar workers, small business owners, employee falling under the lower middle class income, and even the elderly can all benefit from this device. It’s a phone that can give you the perfect balance of durability and reliability.

Of course, that’s if you’re on a budget and do not have the spending power to get a flagship device. With such assurance, you can bring this phone with you 24/7. It has long-lasting battery, a capable camera package for you to create memories with, and the promise it won’t break no matter what the adventure is.