It might be the model’s newest handset, however the Honor 9 is a well-known cellphone in some ways. It’s a lot the identical as what each Honor and Huawei have been making for the previous couple of years, and the updates listed below are minimal – however that doesn’t imply it’s not a terrific cellphone.

Honor has slowly however certainly been bettering its design, spec and the way in which the whole lot works collectively in its telephones during the last couple of years, and it feels just like the Honor 9 is the end result of that effort.

There isn’t a giant headline characteristic right here. The cellphone doesn’t obliterate the competitors on the subject of pictures, it doesn’t have a wholly totally different wanting display screen just like the Galaxy S8 or the Xperia XZ Premium, and it doesn’t have squeezy edges just like the HTC U11.

Slightly, the Honor 9 is a dependable gadget that gives most of what the flagship competitors does, and performs the whole lot simply as nicely, however prices bit much less.

Honor 9 value and launch date

• The Honor 9 is not coming to the US or Australia – as a substitute it is simply within the UK
• Prices £379.99 (round $485 / AU$640) SIM-free
• Offers within the UK begin at £20 a month

Value is likely one of the fundamental causes you must check out the Honor 9 over different flagship telephones. Not like father or mother firm Huawei with its newest cellphone, the P10, Honor has managed to maintain the value low on its latest gadget – the truth is it’s as much as half the value of flagships from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

For those who reside within the UK you’ll be capable of purchase the Honor 9 for £379.99 (round $485 / AU$640) SIM-free. There’s no US or Australia launch date for the cellphone but, and it’s not clear if or when the corporate will probably be bringing the Honor 9 to both market.

The Huawei P10 didn’t launch within the US both, and that was a significant disappointment for followers of the model there, but it surely did finally come to Australia, so the Honor 9 might comply with go well with. For those who do reside within the US or Australia you might be able to import the gadget, however we’d advocate checking to make sure it’ll be suitable together with your community.

Within the UK you’ll additionally be capable of purchase the cellphone on Three as a community unique, in the event you don’t need to stump up the £379.99 instantly. Offers on the time of launch price from £20 a month, however you could find a collection of the most effective present Honor 9 deals here.

In a rush? Watch our video overview of the Honor 9 slightly below…

Design

• Engaging shiny glass design that stands out
• Fingerprint sensor on the entrance of the cellphone, under the display screen
• 4 shade decisions accessible with blue, gray, silver and black on provide

From the rear the Honor 9 appears totally different to some other cellphone in the marketplace, and through our time with it we discovered lots of people getting enthusiastic about the way in which it appears.

The Honor 9 has a glass physique with a shiny end. It’s reflective, however not like a mirror; as a substitute it diffracts mild at varied angles to create a terrific impact that catches the attention instantly.

At a time when many telephones battle to face out, this can be a main promoting level.

The entrance of the cellphone is way much less thrilling, however there’s a fingerprint sensor on the backside of the show which works notably nicely. That’s a significant change for the Honor model, because it often contains the sensor on the again, but it surely’s usually simpler to make use of when it’s under the display screen, and we discovered it snug to succeed in with a thumb when holding the cellphone.

Constructed into the physique of the cellphone on both facet of the fingerprint sensor are the again and multitasking keys, however you may also flip these off and use swipe gestures throughout the fingerprint sensor for these features.

We discovered each choices to work nicely, although when you’ve gotten used to the swipe gestures that’s far more enjoyable to mess around with than tapping the buttons.

That is an easy-to-hold cellphone; it’s not a big gadget, and it has curved edges on the again that enable it to take a seat comfortably within the palm of your hand. It’s much like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on the rear, because it feels prefer it’s moulded to the form of your hand.

The Honor 9 is available in at 147.three x 70.9 x 7.45mm and solely weighs 155g, which implies it’s simple to slide into your pocket and never fear about feeling weighed down by your cellphone, as you would possibly with a phablet.

The digital camera sensors on the rear of the cellphone sit flush with the physique, so there’s no digital camera protrusion, which is one thing many individuals actually dislike on a variety of fashionable smartphones.

Colour decisions are restricted to Glacier Gray or Sapphire Blue within the UK and the latter is the model we had for this overview. We choose the blue model, because it’s a daring shade with out harking again the first colours of the Nokia Home windows Cellphone units, though chances are you’ll need to go for one thing a bit of extra restrained.

Totally different markets produce other colours accessible although as there’s additionally a gold and black possibility accessible in some places too.

There’s additionally a model of the cellphone known as Robin Egg Blue, that’s the shade you see under, and this restricted version model of the cellphone comes with 128GB of inside storage, however it may be very troublesome to search out.

All in all, the design of the Honor 9 feels extra premium than the model’s earlier flagships. It’s not a metallic unibody gadget, although, so that you gained’t get that stage of premium really feel, but it surely does provide one thing no different gadget in the marketplace does proper now – a daring design that you just would possibly simply love.

Show

• 5.15-inch display screen means the cellphone sits simply within the hand
• Full HD panel, however higher optimized than the display screen on the Honor eight

One other means wherein the Honor 9 differs from the flagship competitors is that it encompasses a smaller display screen. When most rivals are upping the display screen dimension to only under six inches, the Honor 9 encompasses a 5.15-inch show with a 1080p decision.

That’s one of many methods Honor has made this a cellphone that sits simply in your hand, and it’s a Full HD panel that gives a pointy show. Some will probably be dissatisfied it doesn’t have a QHD decision, however sticking with Full HD contributes to raised battery life. 

The display screen is way brighter than the panel that was included on the Honor 8. It’s additionally significantly better at reproducing colours, and also you’ll actually discover that in the event you ever get the possibility to check the 2 telephones facet by facet. The display screen on the Honor 9 appears a lot hotter and far more pure than the blue hue of the older gadget.

For those who admire a smaller show, and also you’re not on the hunt for a super-high-resolution display screen, the Honor 9 must be completely appropriate.