Don’t Tread Lightly
Seems that the general marketplace will keep seeing more and more smartphones entering for the affordable mid-range segment. One of the latest contenders to grace this fast saturating plot is the honor 9 Lite, a light version – intention pun there – for its long running honor 9 Series. Does this entry look like it has its act together just to prove that it can tackle immediate rivals in this segment? Or is it full of hot air? Indeed, that pun is intentional. Now, let’s find out for sure. Of course, from the get-go, it is only proper and standard operating procedure to initially believe this is an entry level attempt. Straight-up, that is unintentional and a mistake. How so? Read on!
Shiny Body
Opening the box, the first thing that impresses on my person is how shiny this Sapphire Blue variant is. Furthermore, upon taking it out the honor 9 Lite, another aspect that is immediately noticeable is how it is very light. At 149g, its weight is hardly perceptible. Even my own personal honor 6x feels significantly heavier. Even so, the chassis does feel rigid and, personally, that helps maintain the premium feeling. This is something not all lightweight smartphones achieve. One minor issue: the shiny finish attracts a tonne of fingerprints. Also, it tends to be the slip out of my hands when in use. It will also slowly, but surely, slide along an unbalanced smooth table surface. Thankfully, the matte translucent protector deals with these issues.
Large Estate
Powering on the phone, I immediately discover that the majority of the space on the front rocks a 5.65” display. Kudos to the engineering design team for having the screen up to the very edge of the phone. Indeed, even the lower bezel, where the honor logo sits, is very small in comparison to previous models. Interestingly, the display itself is an FHD+ 1080x2160px screen with 428ppi. Now a display that large is not something new in the market, seeing how there are plenty of FullView panels out there now. However, something like this on a smartphone at this price? That must be a first. This gives the honor 9 Lite one of the sharpest and crispest display compared to its rival within the same price range.
Decent Memory
The innards of the honor 9 Lite is no slouch either. Running on the Kirin 659 chipset, this smartphone features an Octa-Core A53 processor with a Mali T830 MP2 for graphics. This means, while it might not be able to beat most of the more expensive entries, the honor 9 Lite is good enough for those casual gaming *cough*Fortnight*cough* fragging sessions. Of course, the FHD+ display helps in this regard as it makes sure games look great and sharp. As for memory, this next-gen smartphone comes equipped with 3GB RAM; this should suffice for multi-tasking and general use. Storage wise, it rocks 32GB of built-in memory. If that is not enough, there is the option to use a microSD card for extra memory.
Power All Day
With the latest EMUI 8.0 based on the Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, the honor 9 Lite is certainly up-to-date when it comes to the user experience. To help it last through the day, this mid-ranger comes with a 3000mAh battery; this should last for at least a day with medium to heavy usage. I am also glad to report that the honor 9 Lite’s fingerprint reader is really fast. Nicely located at the rear, where the main camera array is at, it feels natural as my index finger will engage it without fail and instantly unlock the device. Not only that, as per the honor experience, I am able to bring down the notification bar as well by swiping the fingerprint sensor.
Come Take a Picture
One of the selling points of this smartphone is the dual camera on both the front and rear, with one lens being the normal 13MP, while the other is 2MP. The latter is for creating bokeh images. Having the honor 9 Lite as a daily driver for over a week, I can safely declare that both snappers deliver. Wide and close-up images, with bokeh effect, turn out great. Without the bokeh effect, the main camera itself is decent, with the provision that lighting is adequate. Colours tend to be a bit muted, but details are nicely captured. Once it gets dark, results may vary as images tend to get blurry and sport some level of noise. Also, both cameras are unable to focus well in the dark.
Verdict: While the honor 9 Lite might not be the most powerful entry in its class, it does offer decent specs, feels premium, and is very affordable.
(Text by Din)
