HONOR is no stranger to the budget segment, and it’s thanks to its aggressively priced smartphone models from top to bottom that the company has been recently named the undisputed top smartphone brand in mainland China with a whopping 19% market share for Q3 2023.

We also hear that HONOR is doing well in the Philippines, and it has diversified its mobile portfolio with the launch of the HONOR Pad X9, its first tablet on the local market, and the latest X series phones, comprising the HONOR X6a and HONOR X5 Plus.

The last two, in particular, promise to deliver plenty of value for the money with respective P6,990 (around $124) and P5,490 ($98) price tags. Today, we’re exploring the top reasons to consider the HONOR X6a or HONOR X5 Plus, in case you don’t have them on your wish list yet. The timing couldn’t be better, too, with Lazada and Shopee’s upcoming 11.11 sale just around the corner!

Design

Gone are the days when smartphone makers would launch budget devices that looked like they belonged in the bargain bin. Both the HONOR X6a (the black unit here) and HONOR X5 Plus (the green one) feature identical designs that flaunt hints of premium and attention to detail. Their backs have a smooth, matte finish that rejects fingerprints and adds a degree of luxury to the design.

The X6a sports four camera cutouts on the back (although only three incorporate cameras underneath those cutouts), while the X5 Plus has a dual-camera setup on top of a larger and more attractive rectangular island.

SEE ALSO: HONOR 90 Lite 5G review: Lite, not lightweight

We also like that both phones have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is always nice to see in this price range. While many companies have removed this essential port for audiophiles, it’s nice to know that not every smartphone has ditched the headphone jack yet. Oh, and you also get a side-mounted fingerprint reader on the two HONOR X series units, allowing for easier unlocking and better security.

Display

The display is another highlight. Both the HONOR X6a and HONOR X5 Plus pack identical 6.56-inch LCD screens with HD+ resolution and a waterdrop cutout for the selfie camera, alongside respectably slim bezels running along the sides. The screen size supports comfortable one-handed use, something we always like to see in our smartphones.

The refresh rate goes at up to 90Hz, and it certainly makes animations, web scrolling, and UI navigation feel a bit more fluid and satisfying.

Both screens also come with HONOR’s Dynamic Dimming technology to periodically adjust the screen brightness and deliver a more comfortable viewing experience. The included Eye Comfort mode, on the other hand, can effectively reduce blue-light exposure by adjusting the screen to warmer colors. This should help you fall asleep faster and reduce eye fatigue, especially while reading in the dark.

Camera

Both models come equipped with a 50-megapixel main camera at the back and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls. However, unlike the HONOR X5 Plus, the HONOR X6a adds a 2-megapixel macro shooter on the rear, which you can use to capture closeup shots in Super Macro mode. To help shoot portraits, you also get a 2-megapixel depth sensor on the two devices. There’s a Pro mode, as well as a Panorama option for taking pictures of landscapes, cityscapes, and wide interiors, since there’s no ultrawide on either handset.

The dedicated macro camera notwithstanding, the HONOR X6a and HONOR X5 Plus offer a similar experience when shooting photos and videos. The image quality is comparable to one another as well. And thanks to their depth sensors, both handsets are capable of taking nice portrait-style images in good lighting. They even do a decent job with edge detection of the subject in focus and blurring the background, as shown in our sample images. Considering their bargain-basement price points , it’s hard to find any major faults with regard to these phones’ camera performance.

Sample shots

Battery

Both the HONOR X6a and HONOR X5 Plus include a generous 5,200mAh battery that’s quoted to deliver up to 17.8 hours of online-video playback — think a full season of your favorite Netflix show — and 35 hours of audio calls. The battery life should be good for days on a single charge, especially given the baseline specs, which include a low-end Helio G36 4G chipset and a power-efficient 720p screen.

The X5 Plus charges up to 10 watts using the included power brick, whereas the X6a supports the company’s 22.5-watt SuperCharge standard, which should give you a 31% charge in just 20 minutes, or a full charge in about 1 hour and 40 minutes based on our testing. This alone makes the HONOR X6a worth the extra bit of money, as the HONOR X5 Plus takes more than 2 hours and 30 minutes to go from zero to 100% battery capacity.

Storage

Storage is not a problem with the HONOR X6a, as it comes with 128GB of internal storage — up from the X5 Plus’ 64GB of base ROM. The former Huawei sub-brand says 128GB is enough to store 28,000 photos, 11,000 songs, or 100 movies at around 1GB each. The two smartphones have 4GB of RAM and are also compatible with up to 1TB microSD cards, if you need more space for your files and media.

So, there you have it — the top reasons to consider the HONOR X6a — or HONOR X5 Plus, if you’re a bit tight on the budget and don’t need that much storage space or faster wired charging. Either way, both are decent for the money and look more premium than their price tags would have you believe.

The smartphones are available on Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok.

HONOR X6a specs

• 6.56-inch LCD display, HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate
• 12nm MediaTek Helio G36 4G processor
• IMG GE8320 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• Triple 50-megapixel main, 2-megapixel depth, 2-megapixel macro rear cameras
• 5-megapixel front camera
• Side fingerprint reader
• 5,200mAh battery
• Magic UI 7.1 based on Android 13
• Color options: Sky Silver, Midnight Black

HONOR X5 Plus specs

• 6.56-inch LCD display, HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate
• 12nm MediaTek Helio G36 4G processor
• IMG GE8320 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage
• Dual 50-megapixel main, 2-megapixel depth rear cameras
• 5-megapixel front camera
• Side fingerprint reader
• 5,200mAh battery
• Magic UI 7.1 based on Android 13
• Color options: Cyan Lake, Midnight Black

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