Honor 7X Review – The £269 Smartphone

1. Introduction2. Design & Display3. Performance & Software4. Camera & Battery5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Design

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For a phone that costs just £269, the Honor 7X has a remarkably premium design.

Most obviously, the ‘bezel-less' display is quite striking and really elevates the 7X above its similarly-priced rivals. It's managed to fit its 5.93-inch display in a chassis measuring 156.5mm x 75.3mm x 7.6mm – something which is very impressive when we consider that the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch display and yet measures 1.9mm taller than the Honor 7X.

The back and sides of the phone are also made of aluminium, something which definitely adds to the premium feel of the device. It is a bit slippery to hold, while it also shows any fingerprints or grease marks pretty easily, but the phone feels very solid in the hand. If you don't like the blue option – Honor's signature colour – there is also a black model available.

Positioned on the back of the phone, near the top edge, we also find a fingerprint reader. I found this to be quick and reliable – it isn't the fastest scanner I've ever used, but I didn't have any issues with fingerprint rejection so it is definitely a welcome inclusion at this price. The scanner doesn't function as the power button, though – that is placed under the volume rocker on the right edge.

Lastly, the bottom edge is home to the 3.5mm headphone jack, a single down-firing speaker and the USB charging port. Unfortunately, the USB port uses the older microUSB form-factor, instead of the reversible Type-C connector which is now standard. This isn't a deal-breaker but it is frustrating – I really think any modern smartphone should now be using Type-C as standard.

Display

As mentioned, the Honor 7X's display uses an 18:9 aspect ratio, so it is just a bit taller than more standard 16:9 displays. Accordingly, it sports a 2160 x 1080 resolution, which gives a pixel density of 407 PPI. This may not be as razor-sharp as the 1440p panels found on the latest high-end flagships, but honestly I think it is more than sharp enough, with crisp text and a good amount of detail present in images.

This is still just an IPS panel, though – an OLED display at this price would be frankly miraculous. That means you don't get the same jaw-dropping contrast ratios or really punchy colours, but the phone still delivers a vibrant display with accurate and pretty punchy colours.

White balance is also very good out of the box, though there is a eye comfort mode which filters out the blue light to prevent eye strain.

Lastly, the 7X's screen brightness is pretty average – it was usable outdoors but not the most comfortable of experiences. The ASUS ZenFone 4 is the clear winner here, but for the money I can't complain.

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