Honor 9X Pro: Unboxing and First Impressions
Today, we have a very interesting phone, the Honor 9X Pro. It is interesting because it does not come with Google Mobile Services. Instead, it features Huawei’s AppGallery, from where you will have to download and use your applications. We are going to unbox it and provide our first impressions.
What’s Inside the Box
The courier slightly crushed the box, but inside we find the phone itself. Along with the device, you get a SIM card tool, documentation, a good quality TPU case, a Type-C cable, and a 40W charger. For the Indian market, the phone will come with a charger that fits our standard plug points.
Design, Build, and In-Hand Feel
The Honor 9X Pro features what Honor calls a “Dynamic X” design, with glass on both the front and back, giving it a premium look. Putting on the included case is a good idea as it helps protect the glass from breaking. The phone feels nice in the hand and is slimmer than the average device. While it was expected to weigh around 190-200 grams, it actually weighs 210-211 grams, making it feel a bit heavy.
Regarding the layout, the bottom of the phone houses a speaker, a microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the top, you’ll find the pop-up selfie camera and a noise-canceling microphone. The side features the volume rocker and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The device comes with a hybrid SIM card slot.
A Notch-Less Display
The Honor 9X Pro features a notch-less screen, thanks to its pop-up selfie camera mechanism. This results in a display with no cutouts. The bezels on the sides and top are very thin, and the bottom chin is also smaller than average. The phone boasts a screen-to-body ratio of over 92%, making for an immersive viewing experience.
Core Specifications and Performance
The Honor 9X Pro is powered by the Kirin 810 processor. It comes in a single variant with 6GB of RAM and a generous 256GB of internal storage, not 128GB. The device is equipped with a 4000mAh battery and includes a 10W charger. On the software front, it runs on EMUI 9.1.1, which is based on Android 9. Honor has confirmed that an update to Android 10 will be released for the device.
In terms of performance, the AnTuTu score is over 3,21,000, which is comparable to the performance of a Snapdragon 765G processor. The phone uses LPDDR4X RAM and its own UFS storage technology, which is comparable to or better than UFS 2.1. For gaming, you can play PUBG on HD or High settings and Fortnite on Very High settings. The phone also includes GPU Turbo 3.0, which definitely helps during gaming sessions.
Security Features
The phone comes with all the necessary sensors. For security, there is a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Setting it up is easy, and it works very well. You can configure it to unlock with a press or just a touch. It is reliable and quite fast. However, the phone does not have face unlock, possibly because the pop-up selfie camera mechanism takes a moment to activate.
The App Experience Without Google
The most significant aspect of this phone is the absence of Google Mobile Services (GMS). Instead, it relies on Huawei’s AppGallery. While Honor claims to have tied up with millions of developers and many apps are available, some important ones are not. Apps that are not available on the AppGallery will have to be side-loaded, and some services might only be accessible through a web browser. This means you will not get a native app experience for everything.
For example, you can watch YouTube videos, but it will be in the browser. Services like Amazon Prime and Hungama work, but discussions are still ongoing for Netflix support, which may be added in the future. Honor states that about 95% of the apps you need will be available. For a tech-savvy user, this might not be a major issue, but it could definitely be a problem for a normal consumer. However, if any company can challenge the Play Store, it is Huawei/Honor, and the AppGallery could become a viable alternative in the next six to eight months.
Multimedia Experience
Watching native video files on the notch-less screen is a very good experience. The audio quality is decent, and the speaker is loud. The overall multimedia experience is good, especially when playing video files natively on the device.
Camera Capabilities
The Honor 9X Pro is equipped with a triple camera setup on the back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, there is a 16-megapixel pop-up camera. The photos taken with the device are decent, and the colors appear pleasing.
The pop-up camera includes a fall detection feature, causing it to retract automatically if the phone is dropped, which is a good safety measure. The camera software is also feature-rich, offering AI Image Stabilization (AIS), a Super Night Mode, Portrait Mode, and a Beauty Mode.
Price and Final Verdict
The Honor 9X Pro is priced at ₹17,999. However, there is an offer where if you register on Flipkart, you can get the phone for ₹14,999, which is under ₹15,000. In terms of performance, it is one of the best smartphones at this price point.
However, there is a big catch: the lack of Google Mobile Services. The phone comes with the alternative, which is Huawei Mobile Services and the AppGallery. This is a very important factor to consider. If you are okay with this ecosystem, then the Honor 9X Pro is a very good phone for its price.
