Latest News

Honor 9i first impressions: Huawei joins the full-screen bandwagon.
Saturday, October 14, 2017 IST
Honor 9i first impressions: Huawei joins the full-screen bandwagon.

 
Since the debut of Xiaomi Mi MIX last year, a number of smartphone players have launched their own version of edge-to-edge screen phones. This includes the latest iPhone X and Samsung’s flagship smartphones, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8. The latest brand to join the bezel-less bandwagon is Huawei, which launched its first full-screen phone, the Honor 9i, in India on October 5.
 
With the Honor 9i, Huawei is not just offering a bezel-less phone, but also four cameras (two cameras each on the back and front) in order to woo the mobile photography enthusiasts and millennials who are obsessed with selfies. The smartphone went on sale in India on Saturday with a price tag of Rs 17,999. Ahead of the launch, we briefly spent some time with the bezel-less Honor 9i, and here are our first impressions.
 
At the very first glance, the Honor 9i impresses with its ultra slim profile. Weighing 164 grams, the mobile phone feels featherweight. The design though feels reminiscent to the Xiaomi A1, the Android One smartphone which launched in India last month. But that’s certainly not a negative. Corners are gently curved whereas the metal fluidly merges with the side panels to achieve a uniform look and feel.
That being said, the Honor 9i does not really go for the kill when it comes to the edge-to-edge display, as you might have seen on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2. Both on the top and bottom have relatively thicker bezels. And with a white front, the design uniformity feels lagging. The Honor 9i best comes closest to the LG Q6 or Micromax Canvas Infinity smartphones in terms of delivering a full-screen phone. Looking at the price point, we think this aspect can be overlooked.
 

 
 

 
The 5.9-inch screen with full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2160 pixels) seems quite decent in terms of outdoor and indoor legibility. The auto-brightness works pretty fast, for now. The Honor 9i also lets you view content on the device in full-screen mode (via Fit to Screen feature in Huawei’s words).
While the likes of Lenovo and Nokia are moving onto the stock Android experience, Huawei has continued with the custom EMUI ROM (version 5.1) that is based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Ahead of the launch, a senior Huawei official told Hindustan Times that the EMUI has been refined keeping in mind preferences of users. With Linux at its core, Huawei said that the smartphone won’t get slow after a few months of usage as other Android smartphones do. We will put that claim to test when we have thoroughly reviewed the smartphone.
The Honor 9i comes with dual cameras on the back as well as the front. At the back, it has a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for depth, along with LED flash. On the front, it has a 13-megapixel primary sensor and 2-megapixel secondary sensor to deliver Bokeh effect (DSLR-like shallow depth-of-field). During the brief time we spent with the device, the camera performance seemed pretty decent. The image processing was quite fast. We will need to spend more time with the phone to have a say on the performance.
 
Summing up, the Honor 9i looks like a promising smartphone with solid mid-range specifications (4GB of RAM, 64GB built-in storage and Kirin 659 2.36GHz octa-core processor) packed in a beautiful design. At Rs 17,999, it is slightly more expensive than the LG Q6 but the four cameras are expected to give the smartphone an edge over the competition. Stay tuned to our detailed review for more on the Honor 9i.
The 5.9-inch screen with full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2160 pixels) seems quite decent in terms of outdoor and indoor legibility. The auto-brightness works pretty fast, for now. The Honor 9i also lets you view content on the device in full-screen mode (via Fit to Screen feature in Huawei’s words).
While the likes of Lenovo and Nokia are moving onto the stock Android experience, Huawei has continued with the custom EMUI ROM (version 5.1) that is based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Ahead of the launch, a senior Huawei official told Hindustan Times that the EMUI has been refined keeping in mind preferences of users. With Linux at its core, Huawei said that the smartphone won’t get slow after a few months of usage as other Android smartphones do. We will put that claim to test when we have thoroughly reviewed the smartphone.
The Honor 9i comes with dual cameras on the back as well as the front. At the back, it has a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for depth, along with LED flash. On the front, it has a 13-megapixel primary sensor and 2-megapixel secondary sensor to deliver Bokeh effect (DSLR-like shallow depth-of-field). During the brief time we spent with the device, the camera performance seemed pretty decent. The image processing was quite fast. We will need to spend more time with the phone to have a say on the performance.
 
Summing up, the Honor 9i looks like a promising smartphone with solid mid-range specifications (4GB of RAM, 64GB built-in storage and Kirin 659 2.36GHz octa-core processor) packed in a beautiful design. At Rs 17,999, it is slightly more expensive than the LG Q6 but the four cameras are expected to give the smartphone an edge over the competition. Stay tuned to our detailed review for more on the Honor 9i.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
Tata Harrier’s 7-seater Version H7X Will Be Quite Different – Report

Tata Harrier’s three-row seat version in works, details out  

Recently posted . 2K views . 0 min read
 

 Article
How to make you car as silent as a Rolls Royce inside

Rolls Royce cars are extremely luxurious. While there are many expensive pieces of equipment in Rolls Royce cars, their most relaxing feature is the silence that ...

Recently posted . 2K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
India's Top 5 Mobile Charger manufacturer Brand 2019

The following list of India's Top 5 Mobile Charger manufacture Brand 2019  

Recently posted . 2K views . 0 min read
 

 Article
Mahindra XUV300 vs Maruti Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon – Price

XUV300 is the latest entrant in the compact SUV segment.

Recently posted . 2K views . 0 min read
 

 
 

More in Electronics & Gadgets

 Article
Samsung Galaxy C5 Pro Spotted Again on Wi-Fi Certification Site, Global Launch Imminent

The Samsung Galaxy C5 Pro has been spotted on several occasions, and now the smartphone has arrived again on a Wi-Fi certification site, hinting at an immi...

Recently posted. 553 views . 10 min read
 

 Article
NASA TECHNOLOGY USED TO FIND STONE AGE STRUCTURES

Oklahoma’s Beaver River is an incredibly historical region. Anthropologists estimate that as early as 10,500 years ago, people hunted bison in the lo...

Recently posted. 626 views . 32 min read
 

 Article
ANDROID: 98% OF APPS THAT SPY ON CALLS AND TEXTS DELETED FROM THE PLAY STORE

98% of Android applications that spy on users’ calls and texts were banned from the Play Store in 2019, Google announced. The Mountain View company says that ...

Recently posted. 545 views . 1 min read
 

 Reviews
Samsung HW-N400 'TV Mate' Soundbar review



Recently posted . 1K views . 61 min read
 

 Reviews
Top 5 Best Binoculars in India



Recently posted . 1K views . 62 min read
 

 Article
Japan plans world’s fastest computer:Capable of 130 quadrillion calculations/sec

Japan plans to build the world’s fastest-known supercomputer in a bid to arm the country’s manufacturers with a platform for research that could help th...

Recently posted. 649 views . 23 min read
 

 Article
Samsung brings new wireless charging accessories to India

Samsung India has launched two new wireless charging accessories – Samsung Wireless Power Bank and Wireless Charging Duo Pad – in the country. Both of...

Recently posted. 658 views . 2 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”!
Audrey Hepburn

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top