Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has taken the wraps off the all-new Honor 6X. The smartphone succeeds last year’s Honor 5X and is priced at Yuan 999 for the base model (Rs 9,880 approximately) and goes up to 1599 Yuan for the most premium model (Rs 15,800 approximately).
The Honor 6X features a metallic finish and sports a 5.5-inch full HD display with 2.5D curved glass on top. Under its hood is Huawei’s own Kirin 655 octa-core chipset clocked at 4 X 2.1GHz + 4 X 1.7GHz speeds. The smartphone follows the growing trend of dual-camera setup but skips the USB Type-C frenzy. The Honor 6X essentially brings improvements over its predecessor Honor 5X on the camera front, battery power, and RAM. It is currently only available in China. Right now there’s no word on when Honor will bring the device to other international markets, including India. Other than the Honor 6X, the company also launched a handful of other devices including the Honor Pad 2 tablet and Honor Watch S1 wearable.
Honor 6X specifications
Talking about the specifications, the Honor 6X boasts of a range of improvements from the Honor 5X. With looks resembling the Redmi Note 3, the Honor 6X also comes with a circular rear fingerprint scanner placed right below the rear camera setup. Unlike the horizontal placement of dual rear cameras as seen on the iPhone 7 Plus, the one of Honor 6X are vertical. Interestingly, the Honor 8 and Huawei P9 both have horizontal setup for the dual camera. The Honor 6X might also be one of the cheapest smartphones offering dual camera setup. The smartphone comes with one 12-megapixel rear sensor and another 2-megapixel sensor for depth of field. It also has an 8-megapixel front camera for selfies. The rear camera is capable of video recording in up to 1080p resolution.
The Honor 6X also improves upon its predecessor in terms of RAM and battery power. The new flagship is available with 4GB of RAM while the Honor 5X was available in 2GB and 3GB variants. It is also to be noted that while the older version was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 octa-core chipset, the Honor 6X runs Huawei’s own Kirin 655 chipset, which the company claims is more battery efficient. ALSO READ: Honor 8 vs Lenovo Z2 Plus vs OnePlus 3 vs Mi 5: Price, specifications and features compared
In terms of internal storage, the Honor 6X offers 32GB of on-board storage which can be further expanded up to 128 GB via microSD card. The higher-end model comes with 64GB of internal storage with 4GB of RAM. If compared to Honor 5X, the internal storage has now been doubled while the storage expansion ability remains the same. On the battery front, the Honor 6X draws its juice from a 3340mAh, an upgrade from the 3000mAh battery in the Honor 5X.
Connectivity options with the Honor 6X include dual-SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and GPS. The smartphone further runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Huawei’s own EMUI 4.1 layered atop.
When launched last year, the Honor 5X was priced at Rs 12,999. If the Honor 6X is launched in India for a price between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, it will compete with a host of rivals including the likes of Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Moto G4 Plus, and also the newly launched Holly 3 which comes from the same brand. ALSO READ: Motorola Moto G4 Plus: Hands-on and first impressions
The Redmi Note 3 is also available in RAM choices of 2GB and 3GB, giving the Honor 6X an advantage with its 4GB of RAM on offer. While the Honor 6X offers a dual rear camera setup, the Redmi Note 3 offers a 16-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel front camera. What also differentiates the two is the bumper 4050mAh battery on the Redmi Note 3 which is more than the 3340 mAh battery available on the Honor 6X. The Redmi Note 3 also comes with OTG support which Honor 6X lacks.
The newly launched Holly 3, priced at Rs 9,999, comes with a 5.5-inch HD display. Under its hood is a low-end Kirin 620 octa-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz coupled with 2GB of RAM. However, it offers internal storage of only 16GB which can be expanded to 128GB using a microSD card. On the camera front, the Holly 3 sports a 13-megapixel primary camera and an 8-megapixel front facing camera.
The Moto G4 Plus, priced at Rs 13,499, also comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. It offers 16 GB of internal storage that is expandable up to 128 GB. On the photography front, the Moto G4 is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and up front is a 5-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture, wide-angle lens and display flash. It is powered by a 3,000mAh battery with TurboPower support.
All the competing devices feature a rear fingerprint sensor, but the Honor 6X enjoys an advantage over its 4GB of RAM and also the dual rear camera setup which none of the competitors is offering at the given price point.
Honor Pad 2
Other than the Honor 6X, the company also unveiled the Honor Pad 2 tablet. The device is available in two variants – 3GB/16GB internal storage (Wi-Fi only) and 3GB/32GB internal storage (Wi-Fi only); along with a 4G LTE model with 3GB/32GB internal storage. Price of the base model is 999 Yuan (Rs 9,880 approximately) and goes up to 1499 Yuan ( Rs 14,800 approximately).
The Honor Pad 2 boasts of an 8-inch full HD display offering 1920X1200 pixel resolution. Under its hood is a 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor, paired with Adreno 405 GPU. Running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the Honor Pad 2 also runs Huawei’s own EUI 4.1 layered atop. The tablet draws its juice from a 4,800mAh battery. In terms of storage, other than the on-board storage, users have the option to further pump up the storage up to 128GB via microSD card.
In terms of camera, the Honor Pad 2 boasts of an 8-megapixel rear camera with f2.0 aperture and LED flash. It is coupled with a 2-megapixel front snapper for selfies. Connectivity options offered with the Honor Pad 2 include 4G LTE (select models), Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, and microUSB port. Select models also offer voice calling support on 4G LTE network. The Honor Pad 2 will start selling in Honor’s home country China starting October 25 and will be available in Gold and White color options.
Honor Watch S1
Adding to its line of wearables, Honor introduced its Watch S1 fitness watch, which is priced at 699 Yuan (roughly Rs 6,920). The smartwatch comes with a circular dial that can be used with interchangeable 18mm straps. The Honor Watch S1 weighs 35 grams and comes with a 1.04-inch b/w LCD display offering 208 x 208 pixels resolution.
The Honor Watch S1 is compatible with smartphones running on Android 4.4 and above or iOS 8.0 and above. It further comes with support for Bluetooth 4.2. Data on the Honor Watch S1 can be synced with smartphones using the Huawei Fit app. ALSO READ: Fossil enters ‘connected’ wearable segment in India, launches smartwatches, fitness trackers and hybrid watches
The smartwatch features a heart rate monitor and offers notifications for calls, messages, and reminders when synced with a smartphone. The water-resistant smartphone is claimed to offer a battery life of up to six days with a single recharge of its 80mAh battery.
The Honor Watch S1 will be available in color options of Vibrant Orange, Space Gray, and Navy Blue. The company is yet to announce its dates for international launch of its new products.