It's not all that common for impressive phones to debut during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but Honor is leading the way for the second consecutive year. And it's not even with a flagship. The Honor 6X, which we saw earlier this year in China, is a simple device.
As expected, the price is on the lower side while the specifications are admirable. What you get is what we've seen from Honor in the past: an affordable phone not skimping on the necessities.
It was twelve months ago when the Honor 5X was introduced at CES 2016, and now the Huawei-owned brand is back with its latest offering for budget-conscious consumers. Honor is showing off its Honor 6X to everyone at CES 2017 this week. People interested in buying the phone will be able to get their hands on it very soon, too.
Although it's succeeding the Honor 5X in time, the Honor 6X doesn't look at that different. The design liked by many is back with refinements. The Honor 6X looks more mature and elegant, possibly because the brushed aluminum finish and glossiness is gone.
Like choice when it comes to colors? Honor is offering the phone in Grey, Gold, and Silver. Each gives the Honor 6X a distinct look.
Nothing about the front of the device has changed. Honor is still rolling with a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 2.5D curved glass. Beneath the display is just the brand's logo while above the display is the call speaker, ambient light sensor, and 8MP front-facing camera.
When you get an Honor device, don't expect a familiar Qualcomm-made processor. The brand exclusively uses processors developed in-house by Huawei. The Honor 6X is getting the job done courtesy of its Kirin 655, which we'd put on the same level as Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 series. Both are made for mid-range devices, and both work for well in that segment.
Because the processor is fine-tuned for the software, the Honor 6X's 3340mAh battery should run for about two days on a single charge.
The biggest upgrade from the Honor 5X to the Honor 6X is in the camera. There's now a dual-lens setup similar to the Honor 8. The main lens is 12MP while the secondary lens is 2MP, and the latter of the duo acts as an AI detector for depth-of-field. Honor says its phone can achieve crisp, sharp photos in less than a second.
One real unfortunate part about the Honor 6X is its software. While EMUI 4.1 is present, it's not the newly-released EMUI 5.0. Missing, too, is Android 7.0 Nougat. Instead of going with the latest version, Honor put Android 6.0 Marshmallow on this phone. But we do know from an Honor spokesperson that Nougat is “coming soon.” We're thinking it's not too far off since the Honor 8 will get Nougat by February. So Honor 6X owners will have to endure slightly outdated software for a couple of months.
Following the acceptance of pre-orders on Wednesday, the Honor 6X will be sold in the U.S. and Europe on January 10. The price is $249, but Honor is planning to run four flash sales this month to give prospective buyers in the U.S. a chance to get the phone for less. On January 10, 17, 24, and 31, Honor will be selling the Honor 6X for $199 in brief, 2-hour windows.
Retail partners for the Honor 6X include Honor, Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, and Vmall.
Click here for our CES 2017 coverage
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