HONOR X6a Impressions | Big battery, triple cameras

HONOR is gearing up to launch three new wallet-friendly devices in the Philippines, one of which is the HONOR X6a, a new phone that promises to be a new budget smartphone option for those in need of a new device.

While there’s no price yet, HONOR promises that this phone will be easy on the wallet. Despite this, the X6a still promises to be a capable smartphone for everyday use.

Recently, we got our hands on one so we can determine if the phone meets HONOR’s promise. Of course, we only got the phone for a few days so we can’t exactly give a verdict yet. But we can talk about its design.

Specifically, the unit that we have is in the Cyan Lake colorway which looks quite nice in person thanks to its subtle blue to pink gradient. The phone also has a nice shiny effect when light hits the back. Of course, this phone is made for budget-conscious buyers, so you won’t get a premium-feeling device. Thankfully, it still feels nice to hold in hand thanks to the matte finish of the back and the flat edges.

Moving to the front, the phone has a 6.56 inch TFT LCD display with a 720p resolution. While this seems like your typical budget phone screen, the HONOR X6a outdoes many in its bracket as the screen has a 90Hz refresh rate. Given this, users should enjoy smooth scrolling through menus and apps. After all, a 90Hz refresh rate display feels noticeably smoother compared to a more typical 60Hz screen.

That is, of course, if the phone’s internals can handle the higher refresh rate. For this new device, HONOR went with a Mediatek Helio G36 processor with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. At this point, the Helio G36 is far from a new SoC, so it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up in 2023, whether for everyday use or gaming.

We have still yet to test it out, but in our experience, the Helio G36 should at least have enough power to run popular MOBAs or FPS titles, but not at higher graphics settings. Though we hope that the X6a is fast and snappy when in the main menu as some budget phones can be noticeably slow when scrolling through menus or switching between apps.

Moving on to the cameras, the X6a has a 50MP f/1.8 main + 2 MP f/2.4 macro + 2 MP f/2.4 triple rear camera setup, as well as a 5 MP f/2.2 front camera.

Despite being a budget entry, HONOR packed the phone with a 50MP main camera which should let it capture good photos. Again, we still have to test this out though as the camera isn’t everything in a smartphone when it comes to image quality. A phone’s processor is also key in getting good images.

For its battery, HONOR went with a large 5200mAh unit. This should make it last easily for a day on a single charge, especially given that it only needs to power a 720p screen.

Even though it’s a budget-friendly phone, the HONOR X6a comes with 22.5W wired fast charge support, meaning it shouldn’t take that long to fill the phone up to 100%.

Based on the phone’s specs, the HONOR X6a should be an intriguing budget option, especially thanks to its 50MP main camera and 90Hz refresh rate screen. The large battery should also help make it a compelling purchase.

Though we still need to test the phone out before we can give a final verdict. Plus, we’ll also have to wait and see how much it’ll cost before we can determine if it’s a worthy buy.

HONOR X6a Specs:

Mediatek Helio G36 Processor
PowerVR GE8320 GPU
4GB RAM
6.56 inch TFT LCD display, 90Hz refresh rate, 720 x 1612 resolution
128GB storage (expandable via microSD)
50MP f/1.8 main + 2 MP f/2.4 macro + 2 MP f/2.4 triple rear camera setup
5 MP f/2.2 front camera
3G, LTE Dual SIM
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, gyro
5200mAh battery with 22.5W wired fast charge
Android 13, Magic UI 7.1

The HONOR X6a will launch in the Philippines September 26, 2023. For the latest updates, visit the HONOR Philippines official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.