The HONOR 90 is one of the best mid rangers we’ve reviewed recently. The HONOR 90 is intended for young user as per HONOR, and is considered a budget phone.
Should you buy it? we took the device for a spin, and this is what think.
Design, Hardware, and Display
The HONOR 90 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip with 8GB or 12GB or RAM, weighs 183g and measures 161.9mm x 74.1mm x 7.8 mm. The design is very similar to its predecessor, the HONOR 70, with some modifications on the back with the the two camera rings. The device has rounded edges making it easy to hold and use with one hand. Colors wise, the HONOR 90 comes in three variants: Midnight Black (the unit we’ve reviewed), Emerald Green and Diamond Silver. Is the black variant a fingerprint magnet ? Ye it is, unfortunately.
On the front. There’s a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, with a resolution of 2664 x 1200 and an adaptive screen refresh rate of up to 120Hz, that can reach a brightness level of 1,600. The display curves more at the corners, which sometimes can be annoying which some apps, that feel like they are cut. The screen-to-body ratio is 93.3% thanks to the slim bezels that make the display feel almost end to end.
HONOR has also stressed a lot on the dimming and refresh capabilities of the HONOR 90 which packs a 3840Hz PWM dimming rate, making it very light and less harmful to the eye.
The display is big and bright, and suitable for gaming and watching movies, thanks to HDR10+ support and HDR certifications from streamers, such as Netflix and others.
Quick look at specs
| Display | 6.7-inch OLED (2664 x 1200) |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz/90Hz/60Hz |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB |
| Rear cameras | 200MP main (f/1.9), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 2MP depth (f/2.4) |
| Front camera | 50MP selfie |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging | 66W wired |
| Size | 6.37 x 2.92 x 0.31 inches (161.9 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm) |
| Weight | 6.46 ounces (183g) |
| Colors | Diamond Silver, Emerald Green, Peacock Blue, Midnight Black |
Camera
The HONOR 90 packs an impressive camera setup to be honest for its price range. It packs a triple-camera system that powered by a 200MP main lens (with a 1/1.4-inch sensor), a 12MP ultra-wide lens (with a 112° field of view) and a 2MP depth sensor. The 200MP main sensor is super in daylight, carpeting some great photos with accurate color reproduction and sharpness. When it comes to Low-light shots, as expected, the photos are fine, but not the best out there, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker to be honest.
On the front, the HONOR 90 packs a 50MP camera with AI optimization. In terms of video, 1080p 60fps is super crisp and stable, but with 4K video locked to 30fps.
Photo samples below
Performance and Battery
HONOR chose Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset for this device, and whits it isn’t the latest chipset, it’s still one of the best optimized processors out there. We never felt any lags, nor stutters during out tests with continuous browsing, social media, taking photos, playing games and watching videos. The device was supportingly very reposntovie under heavy load.
Software side, the HONOR 90 comes with MagicOS 7.1, which is based on Android 13. The device I pre-loaded with miscellaneous apps like Netflix, Facebook, TikTok, etc. Additionally, the full suite of Google apps is also available at initial configuration, including the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and others. Overall, we’ve covered the MagicOS in previous phones, and there’s nothing new here, same experience across all HONOR devices.
Battery wise, there’s a 5,000mAh battery, which can be charged with the included 66W charging brick, and no there is no wireless charging on this one. The battery easily lasted more than 30 hour in our daily use on a single charge.
Verdict
Overall, the HONOR 90 is actually very appealing and impressive for its category. This is a great option for young users who are looking for something affordable yet has good camera, battery life and performance, all in one.
