Today the Honor 9X officially debuted in the Indian market. A lot of months have passed since its official announcement, but finally one of the latest affordable smartphones from Huawei’s sub-brand is available to purchase in the Indian peninsula. But will it be nice enough to be a better choice than the competition? In order to establish that, we decided to compare it with two best-selling devices in the Indian market. We chose the best-selling Redmi Note 8 and the Realme 5i which is one of the main contributors to the huge Realme’s success in India.

Huawei Honor 9X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 vs Oppo Realme 5i

Oppo Realme 5i Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Huawei Honor 9X
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 164.4 x 75.6 x 9.3 mm, 198 grams 158.3 x 75.3 x 8.4 mm, 190 grams 163.1 x 77.2 x 8.8 mm, 206 grams
DISPLAY 6.52 inches, 720 x 1600p (HD+), 269 ppi, IPS LCD 6.3 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 409 ppi, IPS LCD 6.59 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 391 ppi, LTPS IPS LCD
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, octa-core 2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, octa-core 2 GHz Huawei Hisilicon Kirin 710F, octa-core 2.27 GHz
MEMORY 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB  – micro SD dedicated slot 4 GB RAM, 64 GB  – 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot
SOFTWARE Android 9 Pie, Color OS Android 9 Pie, MIUI Android 9 Pie, EMUI
CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS
CAMERA Quad 12 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4
8 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Quad 48 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/2.4
13 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Triple 48 + 8 + 2 MP f/1.8 and f/2.4
16 MP f/2.2 front camera
BATTERY 5000 mAh, fast charging 10W 4000 mAh, fast charging 18W 4000 mAh, fast charging 10W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Dual SIM slot Hybrid Dual SIM slot Hybrid Dual SIM slot

Design

If there is an impressive feature on the Honor 9X, it is the design. Thanks to a pop-up front camera, it offers a full borderless experience without the need for a notch, like some of the most amazing flagship smartphones. Further, it has an almost completely clean glass back thanks to a compact camera module and a side-mounted fingerprint reader (China version only). And how not to mention the suggestive X-shaped light effects on the rear cover. It is not one of the most compact phones out there, but it is definitely beautiful.

 

Display

Honor 9X is superior even when it comes to the display. It has a better looking LTPS panel with a wider size and a Full HD+ resolution. Even the Redmi Note 8 has a nice display and you would not notice big differences between the Honor 9X and Redmi Note 8. Realme 5i is way inferior due to its lower definition: its IPS display has just an HD+ resolution and it is even a very wide display, so you should notice the difference without many difficulties.

 

Specs & Software

The most powerful hardware department belongs to the Redmi Note 8, at least in its most expensive memory configuration. The handset is fueled by the Snapdragon 665 chipset paired with up to 6 GB of RAM and up to 128 GB of internal storage. Realme 5i has exactly the same chipset, but it offers just 4 GB of RAM and just 64 GB of internal storage in its high-end version. The Kirin 710F chipset found on the Honor 9X is inferior to the Snapdragon 665, but the Honor 9X has a 6/128 GB variant, unlike the Realme 5i. Each device boasts Android 9 Pie out of the box.

 

Camera

Redmi Note 8 offers the most complete rear camera setup: it consists of a 48 MP quad camera including an ultrawide sensor, a dedicated macro camera, and a depth sensor. Right after we got the Honor 9X with a 48 MP triple camera which lacks the dedicated macro camera. With Realme 5i you get a quad camera again, but the main 12 MP sensor is inferior to the ones found on both the Honor 9X and Redmi Note 8, as well as the selfie camera.

 

Battery

Realme 5i is the king if we talk about battery life. Not only it features a bigger 5000 mAh battery, but it even comes with a more efficient display. Thanks to the HD+ resolution, the energy consumption is inferior to the Redmi Note 8 and Honor 9X, that is why the battery life is even longer than you might expect. Honor 9X and Redmi Note 8 have the same battery capacity, but Redmi Note 8 lasts slightly more in various scenarios.

 

Price

The price of Honor 9X in India is about $197, Redmi Note 8 costs about €127 and Realme 5i is priced €115. Redmi Note 8 looks like the most complete and well-balanced device with a great hardware department and nice cameras. Honor 9X has a better design, while Realme 5i offers the longest battery life.

 

Huawei Honor 9X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 vs Oppo Realme 5i: PROs and CONS

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

PROs

  • Affordable price
  • Nice cameras
  • Good display
  • Faster charging

CONS

  • Nothing particular

 

Oppo Realme 5i

PROs

  • Huge battery
  • Affordable price
  • Splash resistant

CONS

  • HD display

 

Huawei Honor 9X

PROs

  • Nice display
  • Best design
  • Nice front camera
  • Affordable price

CONS

  • Just three rear cameras

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