We’ve eagerly anticipated the launch of Honor’s X9d ever since the Chinese company dangled that glorious 8,300mAh battery and IP69K rating in our faces with an international release a few months back. As ever, South Africa is last to join the party. At a launch event in Johannesburg this evening, Honor South Africa finally took the wrapper off the X9d and put its money where its mouth is; inviting attendees to, uh, break the phone.
That’s actually par for the course whenever we’ve dealt with Honor’s X9 lineup in the past. The company is obviously very confident in the device’s ability to fend off scratches and, well, most damage, and rightly so, seeing how the X9d successfully fended off the many, many attempts to shatter it.
Better late than never, right?
Most folks generally try to avoid chucking their phones across the room or smashing them into a nail. We don’t blame ’em. A mid-ranger the X9d may be, but it still requires a fair chunk of change before it’ll come home with you. More on that later. It’s the bits inside that count most — except for the 6.79in AMOLED display (2,640 x 1,200) that’s unafraid to hit 120hz and brings the brightness up to 6,000 nits peak (up from 4,000).
Honor’s loaded a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chip in here to handle the heavy lifting, helped along by 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage (the only variant South Africans can get their paws on). The X9d’s 108MP primary shooter — bolstered by a 5MP ultrawide sensor on the rear — is technically great on paper, but whether they and the 16MP camera found on the front can live up to Honor’s hype remains to be seen. The X9c was just fine.
Read More: Honor’s Magic 8 RSR and 8 Pro Air are official
What makes the X9d a truly attractive prospect for just about anyone (but especially for a savvy South African living in fear of the return of Eskom) is the 8,300mAh battery. We’ll have to wait for our turn to see if it’s really as spectacular as Honor reckons, or if it falls flat. Either way, 66W wired charging is certainly a nice touch.
The Honor X9d is officially available at the places you typically get smartphones for R10,000. Local buyers will only have two colours to choose from: Sunrise Gold and Midnight Black. The device is currently also available on contract from the usual players over 24- and 26-month contracts.
