There’s no doubt that some of our favourite mid-range smartphones would have to be Honor’s X9a–b–c devices, mainly owing to their (mostly) affordable prices — the Honor X9c clocked in at R11,000 — and their dedication to being ultra-durable. That’s not likely to change as the Chinese company unveiled the Honor X9d today, which trumps its previous efforts with a massive 8,300mAh battery and an IP69K rating.
That’s on top of the serious upgrades targeting the SoC and display, which makes us question whether the Honor X9d will still be a mid-range offering by the time it turns up on South Africa’s shores. Seeing as how the X9c only got its start locally in January this year, it’s likely to be some time before we ever find out. Fingers crossed, ey?
Feeling pretty Honor-bound
While the Honor X9d almost exactly matches the older X9c with a mite larger 6.79in AMOLED display (2,640 x 1,200), it beats out the older sibling with up to 6,000 nits peak brightness — over the X9c’s 4,000 nits. It’s still holding onto a 120Hz refresh rate that Honor reckons will make for some great on-device gaming.
A claim we’re more likely to believe considering the inclusion of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chipset, coupled with 8/256GB, 12/256GB, and 12/512GB physical memory and storage flavours. We’re not expecting nearly as much choice by the time the device arrives in South Africa, however, but we can dream.
Read More: Honor 400 Lite review – iPhone on a budget
The Honor X9d still clings to that circular camera bump that was evident on all the previous X9 family members, and doesn’t do much to distance itself from the X9c in that regard. A 108MP shooter leads the charge on the rear, paired with a 5MP ultrawide lens. The front-facing cutout is home to the same 16MP camera we saw in previous efforts.
Most impressive of the lot is the inclusion of an 8,300mAh battery, made even more impressive with 66W charging speeds, and a fairly slim frame that’s only 7.76mm thick. We’re looking forward to the Honor X9d’s arrival in SA, though what it’ll cost when it arrives in South Africa still remains a mystery. It’s currently up for pre-order in Malaysia, with the 12/256GB model demanding RM 1,500 — roughly R6,100 locally.
