Honor 7X quick review: A familiar yet stylish mid-range phone

Huawei's sub-brand Honor is on a roll. After launching the four eyed Honor 9i in India, the smartphone manufacturer is set to launch the Honor 7X in December exclusively via Amazon India. The 7X is the successor to the dual camera Honor 6X which has been well received in India, both critically and commercially.

The Honor 7X, which is set to launch at an "unbeatable price" in India, comes with a dual camera setup at the back, a metal unibody design, Android 7.0 Nougat with EMUI 5.1 on top and decent specifications for the price. Most importantly, the smartphone comes with a FullView display with an aspect ratio of 18:9, much like the one found on the recently launched Honor 9i.

Apart from the lack of dual cameras on the front, the Honor 7X is similar to the Honor 9i in many ways. It has the same internals, more or less the same design and has a similar 18:9 display that flows from one edge of the device to the other. Just like the Honor 9i, the Honor 7X looks and feels premium - thanks to its all metal chassis, matte back and solid build quality.

The curved edges, rounded corners and 2.5D glass on the front aid in-hand feel and go a long way in reducing the bulk of the smartphone. One-hand use is still difficult thanks to the wide chassis and tall display. Overall though, the 7X looks classy and restrained - with no gaudy finishes to be found anywhere. All in all, Huawei has done a stellar job with the design and build quality of the Honor 7X.

The 5.9-inch FullView display is the star of the show on the Honor 7X - and the biggest improvement over its predecessor. In my limited time of use, the edge-to-edge panel came off as quite impressive. The FullHD+ display is vivid and has good brightness levels. Viewing angles are on point and there is no colour distortion to be seen.

The 5.9-inch FullView display is the star of the show on the Honor 7X

The tall aspect ratio lends itself well to gaming and multimedia consumption though just like the Honor 9i, the 7X does not allow YouTube videos to fill up the whole screen, which is a bit of a shame. What I personally really like is the fact that the smartphone has a very low minimum brightness level which allows for irritation free use at night. At the prospective price point the 7X is set to find itself in, the display should more than suffice.

Continuing the trend of a cheaper Honor 9i, the 7X carries forward more or less the same internals seen in the recently launched four camera smartphone. The 7X is powered by Huawei's custom octa-core Kirin 659 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and a 3,340mAh battery. The Honor 7X runs on Android 7.0 Nougat (in a day and age of Android 8.0 Oreo) with the company's custom EMUI 5.1 skin on top.

The Kirin 659 chipset did not end itself well to intensive tasks in the Honor 9i. In fact, even day to day use on the 9i was besotted with the odd lag and stutter. While a final analysis of the 7X's performance will have to wait for the full review, it does seem that Honor has done a better job at optimising the hardware-software this time around. While the 7X did display some lag when pushed, day to day use seemed more fluid than on the 9i.

On the connectivity front, the smartphone supports the usual culprits- Wi-Fi, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth and so on. The presence of a microUSB port in a day and age where the whole industry is moving towards USB-Type C is a bit disappointing. Audiophiles will rejoice at the fact that the 7X comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack - a port which is fast becoming a rarity in today's smartphone world.

Just like the Honor 9i, the Honor 7X looks and feels premium

The Honor 6X was all about the dual camera setup at the back and the 7X carries forward that tradition. There is a 16MP primary sensor paired with a secondary 2MP sensor whose sole job is to capture depth data for bokeh shots. On the front, there is a solitary 8MP camera for selfies.

While autofocus is very fast and there is almost no shutter lag that you would expect of a dual camera setup in this price, images are a bit of hit and miss. While a final verdict will have to wait till the full review, it seems that the rear camera produces images that have adequate detail but oversaturated colours. Bokeh shots look decent but blurring around the edges of a subject is visible at times.

The front camera seems adequate - good enough for social media use. Inspite of having a single sensor, the front camera can also shoot bokeh shots. Just like the Google Pixel and Pixel 2, the depth of field effect is achieved through software algorithms. The actual bokeh images are a bit hit and miss though - the sensor struggles at times to distinguish between the subject in focus and the background. A final analysis of the front and rear cameras and how they perform in low light will have to wait till the full review.

All in all, the Honor 7X looks set to be quite a compelling smartphone. If priced competitively, the 7X could trouble the likes of the Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto G5S Plus thanks to its premium looks, good build quality and vivid edge-to-edge display. However, the cameras and performance remain questionable for now. Whether the 7X has what it takes to stand out in the cut-throat mid-range segment is a question that can only be answered with the full review. Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.