The Php 20k price segment in the Philippines recently has phones focusing primarily on durability and long battery life. The closest contenders for this new meta is the HONOR X9c and vivo V50 Lite 5G, both 5G-ready midrange phones that claim to last you for years to come.
With both the X9c and V50 Lite 5G having the same price tag, it is interesting to compare both phones to see what they offer on the table. Having used both models for a few weeks, we have a clearer comparison between the two on which is the better model. Before we dive in, here’s the tale of the tape:
Let’s start off with their batteries: both phones are leaders when it comes to capacity, with the X9c taking the lead with its 6600mAh cell. The V50 Lite comes close with its 6500mAh cell, but packaged it in a slimmer 7.79mm body and adds support for 90w wired charging that’s faster than the 66w charging the X9c offers.
Capacity and battery life don’t necessarily correlate with each other, and it was evident in our benchmarking tests: the V50 Lite 5G was able to get a battery life that’s almost double than what we got on the X9c despite having a slightly smaller cell, and this proves that factors like software optimization play a big role in maximizing battery life.
That brings us to our next argument, which is the internals they have. The X9c leads over the V50 Lite with more powerful internals that include the use of UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5 RAM. However, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 uses Samsung’s 4mn process that’s proven to be less efficient than the Dimensity 6300–which utilizes TSMC’s 6nm process.
Without any question, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is superior over the Dimensity 6300 in benchmarks, can run games at a higher resolution, and has support for 4K video recording. The X9c may appear to be superior in the camera department with OIS on the main camera and the ability to shoot 4K video, but the V50 Lite 5G’s use of an IMX882 sensor for the main camera–along with a higher-resolution 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter–puts both phones on even ground based on our experience.
The V50 Lite has a few advantages over the X9c with its useful Aura Light for times when you need a good fill light and the ability to shoot 60FPS videos at Full HD resolution. Both phones are on even ground as far as AI photo editing is concerned, with their respective AI Eraser features working well as advertised.
Moving to the display, both do have 120hz AMOLED panels to boot–though the X9c has a higher 1.5k resolution and higher 4000nits peak brightness. People may have mixed thoughts about the X9c’s capsule-shaped punch-hole, but we prefer the V50 Lite 5G’s flat panel. A flat panel is less prone to accidental touches and is on paper more durable than curved displays–but we won’t discount the fact that HONOR did a lot of engineering to make its X9 series phones have an extra tough display.
Going to durability, both phones have an IP65 rating, making the X9c and V50 Lite 5G resistant against dust, water jets, and accidental water splashes. Both also have shock absorbing internal structures to make them resilient against drops. vivo mentioned that the V50 Lite 5G complies with MIL-STD-810H standards, while the X9c boasts a 2 meter drop resistance. Technically speaking, they are on even ground, making them compliant with the new meta with phones.
Final Thoughts
At the same price point, it’s easy to argue that the X9c is superior on paper. However, after using both phones, we understood that the V50 Lite 5G has its fair share of strengths–particularly with how FunTouch manages battery life very well, along with vivo’s choice of hardware for the rear cameras despite lacking OIS and support for 4K video recording.
Overall, it’s an even match for the V50 Lite 5G and X9c, and all boils down to what are your priorities in a phone.
