The Honor 9i really earns our attention with dual-camera setups at the front and back, and a 5.9-inch full view display.
Lately, Huawei’s e-brand Honor has been playing some big cards, and very strategically. You can say they have been winning most of the deals. In a similar draw, the company has today launched the Honor 9i smartphone, which also claims to be the “world’s first” that features two dual-camera setups and a full view display. And what’s even more interesting here is the price tag of the smartphone, which is surprisingly affordable at Rs 17,999. I had a chance to spend a while with the device, and here’s what I gathered from my brief experience.
To begin with, when I pulled the device out of the box at first, it gave a complete vibe of a premium phone (which I was sure would be priced in the premium too), with its 5.9-inch full view display and a dual-camera setup at the front and back. And the display is pretty good, with an FHD+ resolution, 83 percent screen to body ratio and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The colors on the phone are nice and bright, and the right amount.
Another bit about the Honor 9i that was a good surprise was the one-hand usability of the device. When you think of a 5.9-inch smartphone, you’ll automatically think of the difficulty you’d have in handling the device in one hand. But this one, despite my small hands, fit perfectly in my palm. I wasn’t worried I’ll drop the phone. It sat snuggy between my fingers and my thumb. I even tried texting from one hand, and it wasn’t as much of a task as it usually is with most large-screened phones. ALSO READ: Honor 9i with 2 dual-cameras, edge-to-edge display launched in India: Price, specifications
Design wise, the phone looks great. Like most Android devices, it has the volume rocker and the power button on the right, SIM tray on the left, 3.5mm audio jack, USB 2.0 port and speaker grille at the bottom, and the fingerprint sensor placed right under the rear camera setup.
The phone has a dual-camera setup on the front, which is a combination of a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a second 2-megapixel one, and at the back is a 16-megapixel primary and 2-megapixel secondary sensor. I did take a few shots from the phone, and they were nothing less than impressive, with great clarity, crisp colors, and just the right amount of sharpness. The front cameras on the Honor 9i feature something called smart selfie tone flash, which basically adjusts the light you need in a picture, according to the ambient light. Honor says the camera sensors have a 120-degree lighting angle.
Stepping inside the phone is quite smooth. I immediately setup my fingerprint when I got the device. I locked and unlocked the phone a bunch of times, and found the sensor to be quite responsive. Although there are a bunch of Honor apps pre-installed on the phone, along with third-party apps like Facebook, Instagram and Flipboard, the app drawer is pretty much neat. Switching between apps wasn’t an issue when I used. I could smoothly swap between apps, without any lag.
Another thing I noticed with the Honor 9i is that the company seems big on gestures with this one. In addition to gesture-controlled selfies, Honor 9i also has knuckle-enables functionality. Which means, as per your customizations, a single or a double-knock on the device will launch the app you’ve selected.
Gathering my thoughts, even with a Rs 17,999 price tag, I see this smartphone competing with biggies such as the Galaxy S8 duo, the new iPhone 8 Plus, the OnePlus 5, and maybe its own Honor 8 Pro. I can’t exactly give a verdict on the device right now, which would only be fair once it is reviewed. However, the Honor 9i feels like it could really earn a place among the most important launches of 2017.