Huawei brought another interesting mid-ranger to the Indian market: the Honor 9X. With its innovative design and its well-balanced specifications, it offers a high value for money. But will it be high enough to be the preferred choice for most of the users searching for a new smartphone in that price range? In order to give you an idea, we decided to compare it with two other devices with a very high value for money: Redmi Note 8 Pro and Realme X2 from Xiaomi’s and Oppo’s sub-brands which became independent from both the famous companies. Let’s see who is the best and the one with the highest value for money.
Huawei Honor 9X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro vs Oppo Realme X2
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro | Oppo Realme X2 | Huawei Honor 9X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 161.3 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm, 199 grams | 158.7 x 75.2 x 8.6 mm, 182 grams | 163.5 x 77.3 x 8.8 mm, 196.8 grams |
| DISPLAY | 6.53 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 395 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 403 ppi, Super AMOLED | 6.59 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 391 ppi, LTPS IPS LCD |
| PROCESSOR | MediaTek Helio G90T, octa-core | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, octa-core 2.2 GHz | Huawei Hisiliscon Kirin 710F, octa-core 2.2 GHz |
| MEMORY | 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot | 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – micro SD dedicated slot | 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 4 GB RAM, 128 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, MIUI | Android 9 Pie, Color OS | 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 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.2, f/2.4 and f/2.4 20 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4 32 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Triple 48 + 8 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.4 and f/2.4 16 MP f/2.2 front camera |
| BATTERY | 4500 mAh, fast charging 18W | 4000 mAh, fast charging 30W | 4000 mAh, fast charging 10W |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Hybrid Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot | Hybrid Dual SIM slot |
Design
The design is one of the strongest points of the Honor 9X. It is one of the few affordable smartphones to sport a full borderless display without the need of a notch, thanks to the presence of a motorized pop-up selfie camera. It is the most beautiful device not only because of that but also because of its elegant glass back. Well, Realme X2 has an even cleaner rear side thanks to its in-display fingerprint reader, but it is a device with a standard waterdrop notch, so nothing surprising. Redmi Note 8 Pro is born as an affordable gaming device and despite having a nice design, the aesthetics are not its strong point.
Display
A lot of people, including me, would prefer the display of the Realme X2. It is the only smartphone from this trio to sport an AMOLED panel with deep blacks and vivid colors, as well as an in-display fingerprint reader. Both Redmi Note 8 Pro and Honor 9X come with IPS display, but their image quality is still high. Redmi Note 8 Pro is particularly surprising because it is HDR-compliant and it even boasts a very high brightness for the display. But Realme X2 would be my choice due to its AMOLED panel with its in-display fingerprint reader.
Specs & Software
On the paper, the most powerful handset is the Redmi Note 8 Pro. It boasts an Helio G90T providing higher graphics performance and more suitable for gamers and power users. But the Snapdragon 730G on board of the Realme X2 is almost as powerful as the Helio G90T. Further, it has lower energy consumption. Honor 9X has an inferior Kirin 710F, so you should not go for it if you are looking for the best hardware. Talking about the software, Redmi Note 8 Pro is more advanced than Realme X2 with its MIUI, but with ColorOS 7 coming soon things will get a lot better for Realme X2.
Camera
Redmi Note 8 Pro and Realme X2 offer superior cameras to the Honor 9X. Realme X2 is slightly better because it boasts a better selfie camera: a 32 MP snapper with an f/2.0 focal aperture. In both cases, the rear camera setup is composed of a 64 MP main sensor (Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1), an ultrawide lens, a dedicated macro camera, and a depth sensor, all with the same resolutions. Honor 9X is still a pretty nice camera phone, but it lacks a dedicated macro camera and it comes with inferior sensors.
Battery
The biggest battery belongs to the Redmi Note 8 Pro with 4500 mAh. Despite the handset has a less efficient processor built with a 12 nm production process, it boasts a longer battery life due to its higher capacity. Right after, we got the Realme X2: despite it has the same battery capacity as the Honor 9X, its efficient AMOLED display and its 8 nm chipset make it last longer on a single charge.
Price
Honor 9X costs about €178/$199 in the Indian market, Redmi Note 8 Pro starts from €203/$226, and Realme X2 starts from €215/$240. I would personally discard Honor 9X despite its better design. Realme X2 is my favorite one due to its Snapdragon 730G chipset and AMOLED display, but Redmi Note 8 Pro offers a more interesting software, longer battery life, and even better hardware.
Huawei Honor 9X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro vs Oppo Realme X2: PROs and CONS
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
PROs
- Great performance
- Nice cameras
- Affordable
- Good battery life
- HDR display
CONS
- IPS display
Realme X2
PROs
- Great performance
- Good AMOLED display
- Nice front camera
- Affordable
- Advanced rear cameras
- Faster charging technology
CONS
- Nothing particular
Huawei Honor 9X
PROs
- Best design
- Nice display
- Affordable
CONS
- Inferior performance
