HONOR has been keeping us busy by sending us new devices to play with and review. Not so long ago, we reviewed their AI Portrait Expert Phone, the HONOR 200. Up to now, we are still having fun using the phone’s cameras for taking portraits of our friends. During an HONOR 200 Subic junket for us in the media, they announced that the new HONOR X6b will be launched in the first week of September. We played with the device for a few days, and though the review timeline is very short, we were still able to come up with our evaluation of the HONOR X6b.
Table of Contents
HONOR X6b SPECS:
| OS: | Magic OS 8.0 based on Android 14 |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 2.0 GHz MediaTek Helio G85 Octa-Core Processor; MALI-G52 MC2 |
| Display: | 6.56-inches 720x1612 HD+ 90Hz TFT LCD 20:9 |
| Wireless Connections: | 4G, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| Memory: | 6GB+128GB, expandable with a MicroSD Card |
| Connectors: | USB Type-C, OTG |
| Cameras: | Rear Camera: Main - 50MP, f/1.8 Depth - 2MP, f/2.4 Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.2 |
| SIM Card Slots: | Dual SIM (Hybrid) |
| Battery: | 5,200mAh 35W Wired Charging |
| Price: | TBA |
The Unboxing
Nothing has changed with the packaging of the HONOR X6b. Similar to its predecessor, X6a, X6b also comes in a plain white box with the branding on its top and sides.
Inside the box are the HONOR X6b review unit, Silicon Case, SIM Card Ejector, Type-C USB cable, 35W USB Charger Head, and a User Manual..
The Looks and Feel
We already have an idea about the price point of the HONOR X6b, but we were wondering how can it be this affordable when it looks somehow a bit of a high-end phone? The phone felt like it was made of steel but after researching it on the internet, I found out from two sources the X6b is made of plastic. While that confirms the price range of this phone model, I still couldn’t believe that this solid phone is made of such material.
On the left side of the HONOR X6b is a slot for SIM Cards. It can hold two Nano SIM Cards or one Nano SIM Card and a MicroSD Card.
On the other side are volume controls and power button. The power button also acts as a fingerprint scanner.
At the bottom of the phone are the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, Type-C USB port and speaker grille.
The X6b’s back looks elegant and could fool anyone into thinking that this is a mid-range priced phone. The camera module is found on the upper left corner similar to the X6a. We have the elegant-looking Midnight Black, but we also like its other colors Starry Purple and Forest Green.
The HONOR X6b only weighs 192 grams and doesn’t feel cumbersome to hold. It doesn’t have curved-edges but it didn’t cause any discomfort even when held for long hours.
The Display
Nothing has changed with the display of the HONOR X6b. It still comes with a 6.56″ TFT LCD display with an HD+ resolution of 720×1612 and 90Hz refresh rate. It may seem less compared to the 120Hz refresh rate of other higher-end phones, but we still found it smooth and responsive,
The new feature here is found in the teardrop notch. HONOR started to implement its Magic Notification Capsule this year through their X9b ang Magic6 Pro. It appears to be the usual teardrop notch when there are no multimedia apps playing in the background, but when it does, the tear drop animatedly transforms into a capsule and shows icons to let you know of what’s happening in the window. This will work if you are playing music streaming apps, video apps like YouTube, sound recorder and alarms.
We are trying to understand why HONOR has chosen TFT as their display for their X6 series. We thought it’s an old and outdated display because most entry-level phones nowadays are at least on IPS LCD. To our surprise, the display is quite bright and vibrant. It’s still enjoyable for an ordinary user to view pictures or watch movies on the X6b. Not as vibrant as its OLED counterparts, but the TFT display should be more energy-efficient.
The Performance
This is where the HONOR X6b get an update. It now has a 2.0 GHz MediaTek Helio G80 Octa-Core processor paired with MALI-G52 MC2 graphics. While we knew this is an upgrade from the X6a’s Helio G36 processor, we still did our usual benchmark tests which you can find below:
Compared to the X6a’s benchmark scores, the newer X6b with Helio G80 promises better performance. Magic OS 8.0 was stable. Basically, we didn’t encounter any quirks with our usual apps during our week of evaluation. Multi-tasking was great, and we think this is where the HONOR Turbo RAM does its magic. The X6b has 6GB of storage but with Turbo RAM, it can get another 6GB to make navigating the phone seamless to use.
On the gaming side, we installed two of the most popular games today – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Call of Duty Mobile. With graphics and frame rates both set to high, Mobile Legends played flawlessly on the X6b even after hours of continuous playing. The same can be said with Call of Duty Mobile with Graphic Quality maxed out to Medium and Frame Rates to High. We weren’t able to try Genshin Impact but we reckon it will be playable at low settings.
The X6b has a single speaker grille that produces an adequate sound level. It sill has a 3.5mm headphone jack where you can plug in your favorite pair of headphones, or you can opt for a Bluetooth headset.
The HONOR X6b is durable thanks to its Five-Star Overall drop resistance certification from SGS. While it is indeed made of plastic, the X6b has a horn-shaped supporting structure at its four corners to reinforce against collision.
The Cameras
The HONOR X6b comes with a 50 Megapixel main shooter supported by a 2 Megapixel depth and a 5 Megapixel front camera. It may seem like a downgrade from the X6a’s Triple camera system, but the good news is the X6b is now equipped with AI. According to HONOR, AI helps the cameras take clear images by identifying its subjects.
Photos were mostly decent and we think it took a good job of capturing images indoors. Portraits were acceptable too. Our only complaint is the lack of a wide-angle lens which we find useful for group photos or landscape photography. Selfies looked natural even without Beauty Mode.
Here are some sample photos:
The Battery Life
A 5,200 mAh battery was retained by HONOR for the X6b. However, its charger got an improvement by upgrading it to 35W. Thanks to its HONOR SuperCharge feature, we were able to charge the X6b from 0 to 20% in 10 minutes!
HONOR advertised the X6b to have a long battery life. We were able to survive on a single charge for almost two days. Each day, we streamed music for an hour, played YouTube for an hour, Gaming for an accumulated 1 hour, and TikTok and Facebook for the rest of the day. Quite impressed, we say!
DR’s Conclusion
Overall, the HONOR X6b is a good replacement for the X6a. An HONOR phone for under 8K with decent hardware, adequate cameras, durable and a long battery life, anybody will not have a wrong choice of choosing this one as their first phone.
The SRP is P6,999 but when you buy through the Official HONOR Store at Shopee you can purchase it at a much lower price of P5,399! Click here to visit the Official Honor Store at Shopee – https://shopee.ph/product/66540358/28407883555/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFHlQBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbDhcVrsMCo8tFcxC61rXSJoaApfZiwyURgGQkkarzx7XeQVfCVmYSa40g_aem_KQK75QbV25xPZWC0tIiT-g
