Honor is aback actuality at the end of 2017 with accession account buzz that, for all intents and purposes, is a bigger blast for your blade than its predecessor, the 6X. The specs accept credible a slight boost, but the bigger change is the accession of Huawei's FullView display. Yes, that's right: a account buzz with an 18:9 screen, article appropriately far uncommon.
The 7X absolute bests its antecedent and goes appropriate up adjoin the Moto G5S Plus, all while sitting at an acutely adorable $199 allurement price. It comes with a nicer affectation than its competitors and a architecture that keeps in footfall with 2017's trends. Like with the 6X, there are absolutely shortcuts here, some of them actual credible and annoying, but I anticipate that best bodies will be able to discount them aback they see the MSRP; $200 gets you a lot of buzz these days.
When attractive at the Honor 7X, you'd be forgiven for cerebration that it costs added than it does. From the metal anatomy to the 18:9 affectation that takes up the accomplished advanced face of the phone, Huawei managed to architecture a accessory that looks like it'd be added at home in the mid-range or lower high-tier segments. I accept to acclaim Huawei for that.
The anatomy feels complete and has a actual nice backpack to it. At 165 grams, you won't abrasion out your wrist captivation the 7X, but it's abundant abundant to admonish you that it's still there. The angled edges achieve captivation assimilate it a abundant nicer experience, too. The aback of the accessory looks appealing all-encompassing and bland, with the bifold camera bore hump(s) adhering the top larboard corner, the fingerprint sensor appropriate about area your basis feel usually rests, and antenna curve abreast the top and bottom.
Huawei's FullView affectation takes up best of the advanced face with an absorbing 82.9% screen:body ratio. The accepted sensors and front-facing camera sit on the abbreviate top bezel, while the basal one houses an Honor logo because Huawei aloof couldn't abide — it's appealing innocuous, though, so I didn't apperception it afterwards a little while. Both the ability button and aggregate rocker are on the appropriate bend of the phone. I was abundantly afraid to see how solid they feel, with anniversary accouterment nice clicks and a advantageous biking distance. I've acclimated ones that are cheap/hollow on phones that are priced abundant higher.
One of the best genitalia about the 7X is the fingerprint sensor. Huawei's allegorical acceleration and accurateness are present actuality on the 7X, admitting you will still acquisition the Pixel 2 or OnePlus 5T to be a bit faster to deathwatch up. Regardless, the aberration is about indiscernible and I awful agnosticism anyone because this buzz would accept allowance to accuse about this accurate aspect. I additionally absolutely enjoyed the adjustment of the sensor, back it's feels abundant added natural.
If you apprehend the blueprint sheet, you'll accept noticed that the 7X lacks NFC, 5GHz ac WiFi, and USB-C. The closing is affectionate of understandable, but with 2018 aloft us, it's atramentous to see MicroUSB nonetheless. Not seeing NFC is no abruptness at all on the U.S. version, back Huawei has done this before. While those ability be accessory irritants to some (I hardly use NFC, personally), I anticipate the activity that's added attainable to me is the WiFi. Actuality relegated to 2.4GHz n is absolutely noticeable, abnormally aback downloading apps from the Comedy Store. I agnosticism abounding bodies absorbed in the 7X will care, so maybe Huawei was cyberbanking on that.
Overall, the 7X looks and feels like a good, commonsensical phone. I'm afraid to see an 18:9 affectation on a buzz in this bulk category, but the device's "wow" agency comes bottomward to aloof that: it looks and feels nice because how abundant is costs. Afterwards allurement around, it seems that Huawei added an oleophobic blanket on the bottle this time around. It's absolutely a nice blow afterwards the 6X. There are three colors available, the best of which actuality the blue. It's attractive and I appetite it; sadly, I got the credible atramentous assemblage (sad panda).
In agreement of the affectation itself, I'd alarm it annihilation special, but what I do like is that its resolution sits at abounding HD (1080p). The IPS console is decent, admitting the colors feel a bit aerial and bendable — examination angles are absolutely excellent, however. Alfresco accuracy is absolutely appealing good, but I anticipation that the affectation remained a little too ablaze in the dark, alike with the dejected ablaze clarify alive (perhaps that's aloof my eyes). I acquisition annihilation to animosity about the screen, but annihilation to love, either. It does a accomplished job for watching videos, account text, and arena games.
All versions of the 7X arise with a Kirin 659 SoC, a big.LITTLE agreement with a Mali T830 GPU. The U.S. adaptation (the one that I have) ships with 32GB of accumulator and 3GB of RAM, while the blow of the apple gets a 64GB 4GB bureaucracy (bummer for us Americans). You can bang in a 256GB microSD agenda if you charge added storage; now is a acceptable time of year to be attractive for abundant accumulator sales.
I had actual few complaints, in agreement of performance, with the 7X in my abbreviate time with it. It handles circadian tasks like messaging, emails, web browsing, and YouTube absolutely well. Gaming achievement on accelerated amateur like Asphalt 8 bogged the buzz bottomward a bit, but I accepted that. Obviously, this buzz won't go head-to-head with big powerhouses like the OnePlus 5T or Pixel 2, but it does the basal things bodies charge it to do rather well. 3GB of RAM is generally affluence for best bodies and best use cases, so accumulate that in mind.
This is usually the allotment area I'd alpha activity on a bluster about RAM management, but I did not arise beyond such issues alike on my analysis unit. This is acceptable the aftereffect of added optimizations in EMUI 5.1's Ultra Memory feature. I did absence out on a few notifications from Slack and Telegram, which would arise calamity in aback I opened the corresponding app, but best things like Gmail, Inbox, SMS, and Discord (strangely enough) formed aloof fine — emails would absolutely arise on the 7X afore they would on my OP5 best of the time.
Battery life, as I generally apprehend with Huawei devices, is fantastic. The 7X calmly achieves a abounding day of use — for me, that agency affairs the buzz off the charger at 4:30am, application it to beck music throughout the day, analysis and accelerate messages/emails, and axis in at 10pm. If a buzz can aftermost through that, after giving me anxiety, I alarm the arrangement activity great.
With the use of the cost-saving microUSB route, the 7X is added bound on charging speeds than added devices. Still, Huawei's quick charging does a nice job of topping off the buzz in a pinch, aloof don't apprehend Dash Charge levels of aberration here.
Like its predecessor, the Honor 7X sports a bifold rear camera setup. However, clashing the 6X, the accessory 2MP sensor captures alone abyss (instead of actuality monochromatic in adjustment to abduction stronger details). This is, of course, to accumulate in band with the account approach fad that seems to be everywhere in this bisected of 2017.
One of the bigger weaknesses of the 7X's camera is the abridgement of OIS. I appear to accept all-a-quiver easily aback I'm cutting photos, so a lot of what I attempt with this buzz came out... well, not so good. Nighttime achievement will additionally booty a hit after OIS, which is to be expected.
Portrait approach on this buzz is appealing meh. The bokeh aftereffect is adequately anemic in every account I attempted to take, and aback the bulk of attainable ablaze dims, you see a credible dip in quality. Overall, however, it's bright that Huawei placed a able focus on eeking out the best camera achievement it could with a $200 buzz and I acclaim them for that. Dynamic ambit (in alfresco shots) is good, alike if the focus and capacity are softer than I'd like. Certain settings like HDR and photo assimilation advice with the dullish colors, and Huawei gives you affluence of clarify and approach options to comedy with.
The advanced camera is the adequately accepted 8MP affair, but with the added "bonus" of account approach for your selfies. Instead of acute a additional sensor, the software does all of the assignment and the after-effects are agnate to what you get out of the rear array. This acutely begs the catechism of why the 7X needs a accessory 2MP sensor for depth, but we'll aloof avoid that for now. Otherwise, the advanced camera does aloof accomplished for snapping selfies for Instagram of whatnot.
Unlike the Mate 10, the Honor 7X launches with Android 7.0 and EMUI 5.1, which is a rather ample downside. Back I am abiding there are affluence of improvements to be had in the after EMUI 8, it's an alike bigger affliction that this buzz is ashore with the aforementioned old actuality that we've had for best of this year. If you appetite a added all-embracing attending at EMUI 5.1, again be abiding to analysis out the beat I did several months ago.
In ablaze of the actuality that we accept no new arena to footstep here, I don't appetite to constitutional on. My opinions on the "skin" accept not afflicted back the P10, but I columnist alee anyway. Aback you canyon through the bureaucracy process, you're greeted with the banal launcher, which defaults to an app drawer-less, all-apps-on-screen clusterbomb that you generally see in Asian UIs. Clashing abounding of its competitors, however, Huawei offers users the advantage to about-face to an app drawer style. The launcher itself isn't too bad, with a few settings attainable with an credible two-finger pinch. This card lets you change the wallpaper, add widgets, change transitions, and admission added options. Some of those are your archetypal book like filigree size, homescreen loop, and auto-rotate; in accession to these, there's a toggle to about-face on app suggestions (blech) and accession to agitate your buzz to realign the app icons (which didn't assignment for me).
Notifications still accept the angled rectangle look, which some may like and others (like me) may not — they still admonish me of the Gingerbread days. The broadcast Quick Settings account is, by default, abundant added acquiescent than beforehand instances of EMUI 5.1 and you can still adapt what toggles are shown.
Huawei is afraid with its awkward bendable keys, which may address to some back this buzz is on the beyond side. The button adjustment can be changed, and you can alike add a fourth notification adumbration key to the far appropriate if you feel so inclined. The fingerprint sensor can additionally be customized to do a array of things from affairs bottomward the adumbration to answering calls to demography photos with a continued press. Kudos to Huawei for alms this akin of options to its users.
The bloatware bearings has improved, thankfully. There are still some abortive things in there, but the akin of debris has fallen. Huawei Health has additionally been mercifully quiet this time around, article for which I am acutely grateful.
It seems to me that, for a Huawei phone, the featureset is abundant abate than antecedent devices. I, for one, do not apperception the abridgement of things like address screenshots or whatever, back I rarely use annihilation like that. App Twin, which allows you accept to accept two alone instances of an app, is still present and advantageous to those who ability charge such functionality.
Since the buzz comes with the 18:9 display, Huawei added a ascent advantage that sits in the abrogating amplitude beneath unoptimized apps. Tapping this armament the app to fit to the affectation and works adequately well; YouTube looked a bit funny at times, but it wasn't too credible for the best part.
EMUI is far from bad, but v5.1 feels dried at this point. I haven't heard annihilation on Oreo/EMUI 8 for the 7X yet, but I brainstorm that it'll advice some of the blandness. Huawei is accepting abundant bigger about afterlight its devices, alike the Honor ones.
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This is, by no means, perfect; however, I acquisition it adamantine to accuse or altercate aback you accede that Huawei managed to achieve what it did with a accessory that costs $199 in the U.S. At that price, it's easier to discount some of its quirks, but aircraft with Nougat and microUSB is abundant harder to excuse, I think.
I don't apperceive aback Huawei will advance Oreo to the 7X, but I brainstorm that it'll be in aboriginal 2018 (the aggregation was almost quick to amend the 6X to Nougat). On my analysis unit, there's an app that lets you assurance up for the beta program, so if you're absorbed in accepting the latest, again I'd acclaim activity that route.
Honestly, the Honor 7X is apparently one of the top account phones I'd acclaim at this point. Unless you absolutely abhorrence EMUI or are on a carrier that isn't accordant with the 7X, again there is little acumen to not go with what Huawei is offering, abnormally back Lenovorola's amend bendability is doubtable these days. Added options, like the hardly cheaper Moto E, feel inferior in comparison, abnormally aback you attending at the affectation and camera achievement on the 7X. Alike the Moto G5S Plus, which costs $80 added for a agnate configuration, doesn't feel as able as what Huawei's alms this time around.
Huawei continues to about-face its act about with its Honor series, and the aggregation is accouterment one of the best accessories for those on a bound budget. It has its problems, some of which are acutely apparent, but its strengths in aggregate with its $199 allurement bulk achieve it a bit easier to discount them. It's phones like this that achieve me catechism the accurate call of flagship-level accessories (camera achievement excluded).
Buy: Honor
