EUR439,–
Honor 90
256 GB, Emerald green, 6.70", SIM + eSIM, 200 Mpx, 5G
Honor 90 – pretty photos, short battery life
24.10.2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
The Honor 90 sets clear priorities: a high-quality screen, good camera and plenty of storage. But it does also have clear weaknesses that become apparent with everyday use.
Some mid-range smartphones are jacks of all trades, masters of none. Then there are others that set clear priorities – and accept the resulting cutbacks in other areas. The Honor 90 clearly belongs to the latter category. During my test, the phone surprised me with nice photos, but a short battery life.
Strength #1: top-notch screen and pretty design
The highlight of the Honor 90? Its screen. It easily keeps up with the screens found on high-end models that are two to three times the price. Here are its specs:
6.7-inch AMOLED display
- Screen-to-body ratio: 90.8% (according to hands-on measurements)
- Resolution: 2,664 × 1,200 pixels
- Pixel density: 435 ppi
- Frame rate: 60 to 120 hertz
- Maximum brightness: 1,600 nits
The slightly rounded screen is ultra-sharp and has a high resolution with natural-looking colours. But the biggest win in everyday use is the brightness. The Honor 90 reaches up to 1,600 nits – few displays manage that. Even with the sun shining, the screen remains very legible.
Source: Lorenz Keller
The Honor 90 looks high end with its shimmering back in Emerald Green and distinctive camera set-up consisting of two raised circles. I also like that the back is slightly textured, making it less slippery than many other phones.
While it gives off a plastic-y feeling, it’s actually made of glass. Weighing 183 grammes, the Honor is pleasantly light and also feels slim at just 7.8 millimetres in thickness. Overall, it looks very elegant.
Source: Lorenz Keller
Strength #2: not only the main camera scores
The Honor 90 has a 200-megapixel main camera. With an aperture of f/1.9, it’s not particularly fast. But it does collect an enormous amount of data thanks to its high resolution, and the software uses it extensively to improve the images. The Honor 90 sharpens and brightens shots, and compensates for light differences. So often, the results aren’t particularly true to reality. But they do look good. Of course, it’s a matter of taste in the end.
To test the camera, I picked out a subject with tricky lighting: bright sun from behind with an interplay of light and shadow, coupled with dark areas by the tree trunk and reflections in the water. The Honor 90 does a lot of sharpening up and brings out an enormous amount of detail, such as the waves in the water and the reflection of branches and leaves. In comparison, the Google Pixel 7 Pro offers more depth of field, and the image looks calmer and more natural. It’s impressive that Honor can keep up, even if its style is very different.
I also like the 200-megapixel sensor’s performance in night mode. It may not manage to brighten the photo as much as the Pixel, but the nighttime shot looks balanced and you can even make out the sign in front better – it’s overexposed on the Pixel.
The software also strongly intervenes when taking wide-angle shots with the 12-megapixel sensor. The backlit shot looks good at first glance. But the smaller sensor’s limits become apparent upon closer inspection. The software’s sharpening comes at the expense of detail, for example in the branches and leaves. The loss of detail is considerably lower on the Pixel. All in all, the Honor 90’s wide-angle camera is okay, but not more.
Finally, there’s the front-facing camera. With its 50-megapixel sensor, the Honor 90 is superior on paper to most phones. It showcases this in practice, too: the Honor brightens the image strongly again and the colours are much richer than in reality, but I’m satisfied with the result.
Overall, I’m happy with the camera system. The main camera and front-facing camera give high-end phones a run for their money. You will, however, have to do without an optical zoom. But thanks to the main camera’s high resolution, you can digitally zoom in – up to two times magnification works very well, at least.
Strength #3: ample memory
The Chinese manufacturer provides the Honor 90, a mid-range smartphone, with a solid 256 GB of memory and 8 GB RAM in the standard version. For just 50 francs extra, you can double the memory to 512 GB and the RAM to 12 GB. The upgrade is definitely worth the price.
The rest of the hardware is also pleasing. The Honor 90 supports Wi-Fi 6 and is equipped with two SIM card slots that both work with the 5G network. Alternatively, you can use eSIM. Honor guarantees two Android updates (Android 14 and 15), plus three years of security updates. The optical in-display fingerprint reader unlocks the phone quickly enough.
Now, you may be wondering if Honor, a former Huawei subsidiary, is affected by the US embargo. You can rest easy; it’s not. Honor can use 5G processors from the US, and Google services are also installed. In other words, the Honor 90 is as convenient as any other Android phone.
Source: Lorenz Keller
Weakness #1: processor and battery life
At 5,000 mAh, the battery is by no means small. And it charges quickly enough, too, taking about an hour with 66 watts. And yet, I never seemed to have all that much battery left over. As a heavy user, I only barely got through each day. A couple of times, I had to hook up the Honor 90 to the power as early as 10 p.m.
Measuring the battery life confirmed this impression: the Honor 90 already stops working after 15 hours of YouTube streaming via Wi-Fi. For comparison: in the same test, the Nokia G42, which has a battery of the same size, lasted 20 hours.
The Honor 90’s mediocre endurance is partly due to the high resolution and bright screen, but also due to the processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 stemming from the spring of 2022 isn’t particularly efficient.
I received the top version with 12 GB of RAM, yet it still only achieved second-rate scores in the benchmark test. At least Honor pulls more performance out of the processor than its competitor Xiaomi, which also relies on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 in the 13 Lite.
Overall, the phone’s performance is completely sufficient for everyday use – if not for the negative impact on battery life. And if you didn’t know that the processor’s successor that was unveiled this year, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2, performs significantly better in all areas.
Weakness #2: lack of attention to detail
The great screen is indeed great for watching videos. But a nice display isn’t all you need for maximum movie enjoyment. When I launched a YouTube video, excited to enjoy it in its full glory, my disappointment was great. Why? Because the sound – produced by one sole speaker – is quiet and rattles slightly when I turn it up. Sound this bad is typically only found in cheapo smartphones. What a shame.
And there’s another area that leaves something to be desired. Namely, the fact that the beautiful casing isn’t waterproof – at least not according to any official certification. As a result, you never know just how much rain your device can take.
The lowdown: a mid-range with a clear focus
One adjective that certainly does not apply to Honor is wishy-washy. The Honor 90 has a clear focus on display, design, camera and memory. Is a long battery life important to you? Then you won’t be happy with this phone. And another component the manufacturer has skimped on is the processor.
Whether the Honor 90 is a good fit for you depends on what you need from a phone. If a good camera system and premium screen are your top priority, then the Honor 90 is a good deal in its price class.
Header image: Lorenz Keller
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.