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GADGETS | HONOR X7a: Smartphone that never runs out of juice

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In this review, we will take a closer look at how the HONOR X7a performs in terms of design, display, battery life, camera, gaming and other software features.

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The HONOR X7a is an entry-level smartphone that offers a stunning 6.7 inch display, a long-lasting 6,000mAh battery, a 50MP quad camera system, and 128GB storage for an affordable price of P7,990. It runs on Android 12 with HONOR’s Magic UI 5.0 on top, and is powered by the MediaTek Helio G37 chipset with 6GB of RAM. 

In this review, we will take a closer look at how the HONOR X7a performs in terms of design, display, battery life, camera, gaming and other software features.

A closer look

The HONOR X7a has an elegant and simplistic design for its price tag. The back panel is made of plastic, which is reflective and sort of a solid fingerprint magnet. Nonetheless, the phone is available in different colors: Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue and Midnight Black.

On its sides you have the volume rocker, power button with built-in fingerprint scanner, and on the bottom you have a headphone jack, USB-C port, and bottom-firing speaker. No real water resistance or dustproofing for this one unlike other higher end phones with IP68 rating.

The phone has a quad camera setup on the back arranged in a rectangular module with an LED flash. The camera bump is not too prominent but it does still wobble on a flat surface. 

For the screen, we see a 6.7 inch LCD-screen that has a dynamic high refresh rate of 90Hz with a resolution of 720×1600 (also known as HD+ resolution). It also has a notch with an 8MP f/2.0 selfie camera. The screen is pretty okay for daily use and gaming and we think it’s also good to note that the screen could be set to have a dynamic refresh rate that changes from 30hz to 90hz depending on the activity happening on your screen. This in turn helps save battery life.

Software

The HONOR X7a runs on Android 12 with Magic UI 5.0 on top, which is a customized version of HONOR’s own user interface. The software offers a smooth and intuitive experience, with various features such as dark mode, smart assistant, app drawer, gesture navigation, face unlock, and more. HONOR’s own services are pre-installed such as HONOR Club, HONOR Choice, and HONORHealth.

Hardware

The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G37 chipset, which is an octa-core processor with four 2.3GHz Cortex-A53 cores and four 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores. The chipset also has a PowerVR GE8320 GPU for graphics performance. The phone has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

Performance and Battery

The HONOR X7a has a massive 6,000mAh battery that could last up to three days on a single charge. This is one of the biggest selling points of this phone, as it offers an industry-setting battery life among all HONOR X Series smartphones to date. The phone also supports 18W fast charging, which could charge up to 50% in just 40 minutes.  

On our synthetic battery drain test we measured that this phone lasts up to 19 hours on continuous loop. That battery drain test result is the worst case scenario however, and using this phone normally for over a week, we found ourselves only needing to charge once after several days.

This is very apparent as on normal daily use like social media, streaming videos, and chat apps, the phone lasted around three and a half days with a little bit of extra just in time when we needed to get home to charge the device.

Gaming-wise, this phone could not run Genshin Impact smoothly at a consistent 30 FPS (frames per second) even at the lowest graphical settings. However, we had a pleasant experience with other games such as Mobile Legends and Call of Duty Mobile that ran smoothly at a consistent 60 FPS even on medium to high graphical settings. 

Camera

The HONOR X7a has a 50MP Ultra-clear Quad Camera system at the back, which consists of a 50MP f/1.8 main camera, a 5MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera, a 2MP f/2.4 macro camera, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth camera. The main camera could capture detailed and sharp photos in good lighting conditions, while the wide-angle camera could fit more scenery or people in one shot. We don’t think the macro camera is good at taking close-up shots of small objects because it just uses a 2MP sensor, while the depth camera could create a bokeh effect for portraits.

The phone also has an 8MP f/2.0 selfie camera at the front, which could take decent selfies with beautification options and HDR mode.

The camera quality of the HONOR X7a is good for its price range, as it offers more cameras and higher megapixels than some of its competitors. However, it may not perform well in low-light situations, as it tends to produce noisy and blurry images with glare. The phone also lacks some advanced features such as night mode, optical zoom, or video stabilization.

Final Thoughts

The battery life of the HONOR X7a is impressive, as it could handle various tasks and activities without worrying about running out of juice. You could enjoy hours of social media browsing, phone calling, music or movie streaming, gaming, and more with this phone. The phone also has a power-saving mode that could extend the battery life even further by limiting some functions and reducing screen brightness.

Aside from that, the hardware performance of the HONOR X7a is decent for its price range, as it could handle most daily tasks and casual games without much lag or stutter. However, it may struggle with more demanding games or apps that require higher graphics settings or faster processing speed. The phone also tends to heat up slightly after prolonged use. 

The way we look at it on the technical side, the HONOR X7a was able to have a long battery life thanks to the efficiency of the MediaTek Helio G37 chipset running at a base frequency of 1.8Ghz and 2.3Ghz max. To add to that, the fairly low resolution of 720×1600 (HD+) combined with the Dynamic Refresh Rate tech reduces battery consumption overall. 

Summing it all up, we think HONOR X7a is a great choice for users who value long-lasting battery performance and convenience at a low price of just ₱7,990 (SRP). You don’t have to carry a power bank or look for a socket when you use this phone.

PROS

  • The 6.74-inch display is capable of high refresh rate up to 90Hz which gives the phone a smooth and fluid response especially when playing games.
  • Long battery life of its 6,000mAh battery with 22.5w fast charging support. Can literally last at least a few days with moderate use.
  • Decent Camera modules: 50MP main sensor and the 8MP selfie camera could take good photos in good lighting conditions. 

CONS

  • It’s a mixed bag but the MediaTek Helio G37 chipset may struggle with multi tasking and heavy games (as we experienced on Genshin Impact)
  • The phone’s build is mostly plastic which does not feel premium or durable and is pretty much a fingerprint magnet. (Thankfully it comes with a silicone case and pre-installed front glass protection)
  • Some might feel that the HG+ Display (720×1600 resolution) is outdated and does not produce sharp and vivid images compared to other phones with FullHD or even QHD resolution.

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by Ira James, contributing writer
Contributing writer at TechSabado.com | Website

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