Honor X9c 5G review: A reliable daily driver

Honor x9

After a brief hiatus, Honor has introduced its X9c 5G smartphone in the sub-Rs 25,000 price category, which is the successor to last year’s Honor X9b. Like its predecessor, the phone offers a sleek design, a huge battery and a high-resolution main rear camera. It also has a bright and vibrant curved display with an improved IP68/69 rating that provides better protection against water and dust. However, could the phone live up to its hype? Let's dive into the details to see how it performs across design, display, performance, camera, battery life, and other important aspects in our review of the Honor X9c 5G.

Honor X9c 5G review: Display

The Honor X9c comes with a 6.78-inch AMOLED curved display with high 1.5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is also pretty bright with its up to 4,000 nits of peak brightness, which is easily visible even under direct sunlight. The pill-shaped cutout, which houses the front camera, offers a small preview of common apps and works as a constant notification reminder just like Apple’s Dynamic Island. Overall, the display provides a crisp viewing experience, with vibrant colours and impressive viewing angles.

Honor X9c 5G review: Design

Like the X9b 5G, the Honor X9c 5G has a circular camera module on the back. However, this time around, we get a coloured ring that matches the phone’s overall colour scheme and adds a cohesive visual touch. The Jade Cyan variant we received features a marble-like pattern on the back, and the device offers a matte finish, providing a comfortable and secure in-hand feel. On the bottom edge, you’ll find a USB Type-C port, with one speaker at the bottom and one at the top, delivering stereo sound.

Honor X9c 5G review: Performance

The Honor X9c is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, similar to last year’s Honor X9b. On top of that, we get 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage. In regular use, like for app switching, social media, browsing, and some light gaming, the device feels quite responsive. However, if we put the device through strenuous activities like playing high-graphic games or doing some mobile video editing, the phone struggles to hold up, and occasional stutters or lags are evident. Thankfully, for casual gamers and light browsing, it is a reliable option.

Honor X9c 5G review: Software

The Honor X9c runs Android 15-based MagicOS 9 out of the box. It includes several AI-driven features such as Circle to Search, the Google Gemini voice assistant, and multiple AI photography tools. However, the operating system lacks some essential features, which most other custom Android skins provide nowadays. Thankfully, the X9c comes with minimal bloatware apps, and most of these can be uninstalled as well.

Honor X9c 5G review: Camera

The X9c 5G houses a dual camera setup at the rear, with a 108MP main sensor complemented by a 5MP ultrawide camera. On the front, the phone has a 16MP selfie camera. During the day, the image quality is mixed, as the main sensor captures sharp details, but post-processing tends to produce oversaturated colours and high contrast images. Portrait mode works well with accurate edge detection. However, the ultrawide and selfie cameras struggle to capture adequate details or natural output, especially in low light.

Honor X9c 5G review: Battery

Honor X9c 5G features an upgraded 6,600mAh battery, without adding bulk, maintaining a slim profile and weighing at 185 grams, which has been made possible by the adoption of advanced silicon-carbon battery technology. This big capacity ensures that the phone comfortably lasts a full day on a single charge. In our day-to-day usage, it consistently made it to the end of the day with around 25% battery remaining. The bundled 66W fast charger easily tops the battery in under an hour.

Who should buy it

The Honor X9c 5G faces tough competition from the likes of Vivo T4 and OnePlus Nord CE 5, which offer bigger battery packs and faster performance. As a result, it may not be the first choice for users prioritising raw power or endurance. That said, if you want a sleek and stylish smartphone, especially for day-to-day use and media consumption, it is easy to recommend. Moreover, its main camera can be relied on in most situations, and it is a compelling option for users who want a reliable daily driver with long battery life.