Honor X9b launched in India with 108MP camera and first-of-its-kind ultra bound display technology

After numerous leaks, rumors, and official teasers, Honor has introduced its latest smartphone, the Honor X9b, featuring a notable 108MP camera, a 3-day battery life promise, and a new kind of display protection technology. Touted as ‘Ultra Bounce Display’, the anti-drop display technology claims to offer 360-degree protection around the device.

Honor asserts that the X9b holds the distinction of being the first handset in the industry to achieve a five-star overall drop resistance certification from Switzerland’s SGS. The effectiveness of this certification in Indian hands remains uncertain, pun intended!

Honor also claims that the X9b features an innovative material forming a shock-absorbing structure, providing remarkable resistance to drops of up to 1.5 meters. This layer ensures 360° protection for all six faces and four corners, even on a hard marble surface. While these claims sound promising, the real-world durability of the 6.78-inch 1.5K curved AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate remains to be tested.

As for the underlying hardware, the mid-range smartphone is fuelled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip supported by 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM for multitasking, and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

It’s a disappointment that the Honor X9b comes running on Android 13 with Magic OS 7.2. Honor is still trying to sell a mid-range smartphone with outdated software in 2024.

The camera setup includes a 108MP primary camera, a 5MP wide-angle lens, and a 2MP macro camera, again a big disappointment for a mid-ranger in 2024. On the front, a 16MP camera caters to selfie needs.

Connectivity options on the Honor X9b encompass 5G, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, a USB Type-C port, and an in-display fingerprint scanner for secure biometric authentication.

Equipped with a 5,800mAh battery, the Honor X9b claims up to three days of battery life and supports 35W wired charging. The smartphone holds an IP53 rating for dust and splash resistance, and its design boasts a thickness of 7.98mm and a weight of 185g.

Priced at Rs. 25,999, the Honor X9b in the 8GB+256GB configuration will be available in Midnight Black and Sunrise Orange. The smartphone is set to go on sale on February 16 at noon via Amazon and approximately 1,800 retail stores across the country. A special Rs. 3,000 discount is available for customers using ICICI Bank cards during the purchase.

Honor X9b looks good, has some notable specs, and claims to feature the most durable display technology. But there are some shortcomings, a meager 2MP macro sensor and outdated Android 13 in 2024. From purely a specs perspective, Samsung’s mid-range devices seem like a far better investment. You will get better brand value, better after-sales service, and better overall software and hardware experience for your money.