Is the Honor 9 Lite a legit bang-for-the-buck device?
It is official: Huawei’s sub-brand Honor is back after a 2-year absence, and they intend to make a powerful comeback with the Honor 9 Lite. Sporting features such as a quad camera setup, a Full HD+ display, and Android Oreo, the Honor 9 Lite shapes to be a tempting offering with its price of Php 7990.
Following a flash sale last May 5, Honor will be making the Honor 9 Lite available once again on May 15 via Shopee. Is it the bang-for-the-buck phone it promises to be? Read through our full review and be the judge.
Honor 9 Lite Specs
- 2.36GHz octa-core Kirin 659 processor
- 3GB of RAM
- 5.65-inch Full HD+ IPS display, 2160 x 1080 resolution
- 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB via MicroSD)
- 13-megapixel f/2.2 and 2-megapixel rear cameras with PDAF, LED flash
- 13-megapixel f/2.0 and 2-megapixel front cameras
- Dual SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint sensor, face unlock
- Android 8.0 Oreo with EMUI 8.0
- 3000mAh battery
If there’s one thing that makes the Honor 9 Lite stand out, it has to be its glossy glass back. Aside from its aluminum chassis, you also get a glass back, which gives it a premium appeal. We’ve used this phone for a few days, and we got a few positive stares with it, even if the glossy back is hidden behind the frosted clear case that comes with the phone.
The same goes with the front with its skinny top and bottom bezels and its notch-free display. Another thing worth noting is that the protrusion of the dual rear cameras is smaller than usual compared to the competition.
Even with its compact size, you get a 5.65-inch Full HD+ display that excels in color reproduction and readability in broad daylight. Its ambient light sensor had a few quirks at first, but as we used the phone further, the Honor 9 Lite’s automatic brightness control keeps the appropriate brightness accurately.
Interestingly, the Honor 9 Lite has an option to shift the display to an HD+ resolution in order to conserve battery life. Even if we tried to shift the display to HD+ resolution, colors are still good though you will sacrifice a bit on sharpness if you prefer a lower resolution in exchange for a better battery life.
Huawei’s homegrown mid-range SoC will be turning a year old this year, and it still shows its muscles. Garnering a score of 87923 in AnTuTu, the Kirin 659 is a performer, and it shows even on real-life tests. Armed with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage (which is expandable of course), these are enough for the average user.
Throughout our usage of the Honor 9 Lite, we experienced a few lags here and there, and it is noticeable especially in opening the camera app. While it is tolerable at best, we do hope that Honor issue software updates to optimize its RAM management.
With its specs, the Honor 9 Lite is suitable for a variety of games, including some favorites like PUBG Mobile. As usual, we use GameBench to get a detailed analysis of the Honor 9 Lite’s performance when it comes to games.
Completing our slew of game performance tests, we tried pushing the Honor 9 Lite’s internals with Marvel Future Fight on high settings. While you can play the game on max settings, the Honor 9 Lite struggles through: You only get a median FPS of 19 and an FPS stability of 51%. While it is highly recommended to play games like this at low graphics settings, gamers can coast through with the Honor 9 Lite at high graphics settings, but expect frame drops here and there.
Along with Android Oreo, using the Honor 8 Lite’s EMUI is a smooth experience, and we appreciate the tricks that come with it, which include fingerprint scanner gestures, a pedometer monitor in the lock screen, and game suite—which is essential in running games at optimized settings.
The Honor 9 Lite comes with both face unlock and fingerprint unlock options, though we really recommend the latter for convenience purposes. Speaking of the latter, we liked how the fingerprint scanner has gesture functions for capturing photos, navigating through the photo gallery, and checking notifications. Being a rear-mounted variety, the gesture functions are a big help for those who might have difficulties using the Honor 9 Lite’s display using one hand.
Feature-packed cameras, but don’t expect the world
Aside from being one of the most affordable phones to have a quad camera (dual front + dual rear) setup, the Honor 9 Lite’s UI comes with a nifty set of features that include Bokeh and Portrait modes, Pro Photo and Pro Video modes, Huawei’s Light Painting and Good Food modes, and AR camera.
When it comes to real-life use, the Honor 9 Lite’s cameras get the job done, but it has its limitations. On daylight and most tricky light situations, the Honor 9 Lite produces really good photos with adequate sharpness, accurate color reproduction, and correct exposure. In low light, image quality dips to the point that images look smudgy when you pixel peep.
However, if you really, really want to use the Honor 9 Lite in low light, it is best to utilize its pro photo or light painting mode, as this camera features help bring out the full potential of the Honor 9 Lite’s cameras.
As for the front camera, image quality is good, and its portrait and bokeh mode is pretty impressive for a phone priced at the sub-Php 8k mark.
Regardless of its quirks, the Honor 9 Lite’s quad camera system does perform, and it’s really hard to ask for more given its sub-Php 8k price tag.
Decent battery life, but no fast charging can be a bit annoying
Armed with a 3000mAh battery, the Honor 9 Lite’s battery performance is pretty much on the average side, scoring a total of 7 hours and 31 minutes on PCMark’s battery test. In real-life conditions, you can coast along with a full charge throughout the day and have some juice left when you reach home.
However, what can be frustrating is that the Honor 9 Lite does not come with fast charging. Juicing it up takes around a little over two hours using the supplied charger. That being said, it is recommended to plug in the Honor 9 Lite at the end of the day to make sure the phone’s ready for the next day.
Verdict: It lives up to Honor’s reputation
With a price of Php 7990, the Honor 9 Lite is a definite steal, both with its looks and its set of features. Having features such as a glass back, quad camera system and a Full HD+ display, The Honor 9 lite is a bang-for-the-buck device. Regardless of its quirks, it is really hard to ask for more, but Honor made a great effort in packing mid-range internals and features for a budget-level price.
For those looking for a phone that they can use for casual photography and gaming but are on a tight budget, the Honor 9 Lite is a great choice.
Should you plan to get one, Shopee will be selling the Honor 9 Lite at Honor’s Official Store once again on May 15, from 12AM to 12PM.
Honor 9 Lite Unboxing, Quick Review: Gorgeous Bang-For-The-Buck Phone