HONOR 90 Review – This smartphone is “Girlfriend Approved”

 HONOR 90: A real eye-catcher 

»I'm usually not the person who jumps at every new smartphone model«, Lena begins as we talk about her experiences with the HONOR 90. »But when I got the opportunity to test the HONOR 90, I just had to grab it. My trusty Galaxy A54? It got a well-deserved break.”

From the start, Lena was impressed by the design of the HONOR 90, which comes in four unusual colors. »It is the variety of colors that immediately sets it apart from the crowd«, she explains. »Among all the uniform designs out there, the HONOR 90 really stands out. 'Emerald Green' is a color that radiates vibrancy without being intrusive. There's something elegant yet fresh about it that you rarely find on smartphones.«

Here the color "Emerald Green". Also available in “Diamond Silver”, “Peacock Blue” and “Midnight Black”.

She was particularly impressed by the “Moon Phase Rings” around the camera. »They are not just a visual highlight that rounds off the design. They draw attention to the central element of the smartphone – the camera. A clever design that impresses both functionally and aesthetically.«

But Lena attaches importance to the fact that a smartphone has to do more in everyday life than just look good. »A smartphone is a daily companion for me, so handling and comfort are extremely important.« The HONOR 90 with its slim design of just 7,8 mm and a weight of 183 g  »Not only does it fit comfortably in the hand, it is also light enough to use for hours without your arms becoming heavy. This makes it the perfect companion for long evenings on the couch scrolling through social media or reading e-books.«

The power and volume buttons are located inside the right side of the case. »I can easily operate the buttons with one finger without having to grip the smartphone. It's these small but subtle details that make a big difference in everyday use and significantly improve the user experience.«

The Moon Phase Rings stand out like two eyes.

Lena is positively surprised by the workmanship quality of the HONOR 90. »Despite a few small mishaps on my part - my smartphone has to withstand a lot - the HONOR 90 still looks like new even after months of use.« The only drawback for them is the lack of water protection. »Although I don't normally use my phone near water, additional protection would be a plus for me. It just gives you a reassuring feeling knowing that the device is protected from splashes of water.«

 HONOR 90: My highlight? The display! 

»The absolute highlight for me about the HONOR 90? The display!" says Lena enthusiastically. "Since I often travel by train, my smartphone quickly becomes the center of my entertainment - watching videos, surfing the Internet or reading books, I usually do all of this on the go."

The HONOR 90 is equipped with a 6,7-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2664 x 1200 pixels. A dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1.600 nits are supported. »The colors are strong, the resolution is incredibly sharp and the display is ultra-smooth. Even if the sun shines directly on it, I can see everything on the display perfectly.«

The HONOR 90 uses a curved display with an eye-friendly 3840Hz PWM dimming rate.

At first, Lena was skeptical about the curved display edges of the HONOR 90. »I was only used to the flat screen of my Galaxy A54 and was worried about possible incorrect entries. To my surprise, I got used to the curved display very quickly. The feared incorrect entries? None. It actually feels more natural and intuitive than expected.«

But no highlight is without small downsides. "The only thing that bothers me is the display's susceptibility to fingerprints." Lena points out. »Especially after applying cream, my fingers leave unsightly streaks on the protective film that are not always easy to remove. My Galaxy A54 is less sensitive.«

HONOR 90: Ideal for mobile games

Hardware

»So far, mobile games haven't really been my thing« Lena admits. »My old Galaxy A54 simply couldn't cope with the demands of modern games. But with the HONOR 90 that has changed. My favorite is Genshin Impact, which I already enjoy playing on the PC and can now play smoothly on the go with my smartphone.«

From a performance perspective, the HONOR 90 is placed in the mid-range segment. Equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition processor, 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of data storage, it offers more than enough power and storage space for demanding applications and games.

The necessary energy is provided by a 5.000 mAh battery that can be quickly charged with up to 66 watts. »I am satisfied with the battery life. I can get through the day easily if I fully charge the smartphone overnight. A clear advantage over my Galaxy A54 is the faster charging speed of the HONOR 90. A real lifesaver when I need to charge spontaneously and don't have much time for it.«

When it comes to connectivity, it also leaves nothing to be desired: Wi-Fi 6, 5G, Bluetooth 5.2 LE and NFC are on board. A USB-C port and a dual SIM card slot (2G, 3G, 4G and 5G) complete the package. »What bothered me was the weak and muffled sounding speaker. The stereo speaker on my Galaxy A54 delivers significantly better sound.« says Lena about the mono speaker of the HONOR 90.

The SIM tray on the left, USB-C in the middle and the mono speaker on the right.

Software

On the software side, the HONOR 90 runs with the in-house MagicOS 7.1 interface, which is based on Android 13. »Switching from my Galaxy A54 to the HONOR 90 was child's play thanks to the problem-free data transfer and I got used to the user interface very quickly.« she says about the move to HONOR's MagicOS.

While the HONOR 90 shines in many areas, there is a downside when it comes to software updates. Compared to flagship models, Honor only offers two major Android updates and three years of security patches - a significant disadvantage compared to what Samsung and Google support in this price range.

Lena has used the so-called HONOR Connect a lot, with which the smartphone can be easily connected to the Windows PC, allowing direct access to smartphone data from the PC. »A real added value in everyday life« she thinks, although she notes that »Notifications sometimes arrive with a slight delay.«

HONOR 90: The 200 MP camera

On paper, the camera of the HONOR 90 presents itself with solid hardware: a 200 MP main camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor and an aperture of f/1.9, complemented by a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle and a depth sensor. HONOR does not use optical image stabilization, which means that the stabilization is only done electronically (EIS).

By default, images are captured with a resolution of 12 MP, although a special 200 MP mode is available for high-resolution images. Up to 10x magnification is possible thanks to the integrated digital zoom.

»Under good lighting conditions, the camera takes great pictures and in some situations outperforms my Galaxy A54.« explains Lena. »But as soon as the conditions are less than ideal, the weaknesses quickly become apparent in the form of muddy details, so that you can only really take snapshots in the dark. This is particularly clear with the ultra-wide-angle camera, which is hardly usable in the dark.«

There are both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to color reproduction. »I really like the color reproduction of the main camera. The colors are strong, but not quite as exaggerated as they are on my Galaxy A54. However, the camera sometimes tends to overexpose in bright, cloudy conditions, which often causes clouds to appear as a gray mass. There are inconsistencies when switching between the main camera and the ultra-wide-angle camera, which presents less saturated colors.

A 90 MP front camera with f/50 aperture is responsible for selfies on the HONOR 2.4, which saves images with 12,5 MP and videos up to 4K. There is no autofocus. »The front camera convinced me that it takes sharp, detailed and natural images. In portrait mode, the foreground is beautifully isolated.«