HONOR Philippines is ramping up its presence in the country with three more phone launches, bringing in the mid-range powerhouse HONOR 90 Lite 5G, and a couple of entry-level smartphones with the HONOR X5 Plus and the HONOR X6a. Here with us is the HONOR X6a, a sort of middle child from the recent launch and the newest member of the HONOR X-a series launched earlier this year.
Design: 4/5
The HONOR X6a’s design bears similarities to its X-series sibling, particularly the HONOR X8a. It has a similar boxy shape with a similar camera layout. Our review unit was the Midnight Black color, but there’s also a Silver Sky color for those who are not fond of black.
The HONOR X6a has a 6.56-inch TFT LCD Panel with a 720 x 1612 resolution and up to 90 Hz refresh rate. Also on the display is the 5-megapixel selfie camera. At the back is the familiar camera setup with a 50-megapixel shooter, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
Finally, on the bottom is the USB-C charging port, the downward firing speaker, a mic hole, and the
3.5mm headphone jack. On the right are the volume and power buttons. On top is the sim-card tray
with the micro-SD slot and another mic hole.
Hardware: 3.5/5
Powering the HONOR X6a is a Helio G36 processor with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. The phone has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage but is expandable via microSD. Right off the bat, let me tell you, this phone is not meant for gaming or any hardware-intensive tasks.
It scored 150823 in Antutu V10, and 153 pts for single-core performance and 727 pts for multiscore performance for Geekbench 6. Finally, it scored 5171 for PCMark for Android.
In terms of gaming, I tried Genshin Impact and League of Legends: Wild Rift. Unfortunately, Genshin Impact was a no-go. Wild Rift was able to run but achieved only 40-45fps at the lowest setting.
The camera is where the HONOR X6a distinguishes itself from the pack. 50-megapixels may not sound like a lot compared to its bigger siblings, but definitely a highlight for a phone at this price point. Daylight shots are decent and social media-worthy. Low light and night time photos can be hit or miss, as expected.
Finally, it has a 5200mAh battery that lasted me around a day and a half, just about the advertised (2-day) battery life. For straight usage, you’re expected to last around 19 hours, based on PCMark’s battery test — pretty good, if you ask me.
User Experience: 3.5/5
The HONOR X6a is an entry-level smartphone and is pretty basic. Nevertheless, it can handle most daily browsing chores as well as video streaming on Netflix or YouTube.
Speaking of streaming, the audio quality of the speakers is also fine. It’s loud when you punch it to full volume and able to fill a small room easily. There’s some noticeable lack of lows and bass, but this can be easily solved by using your own headset or an external speaker.
The HONOR X6a isn’t the fastest phone, nor does it aim to be. Using the phone you’ll notice some slowdowns here and there, but that’s due to hardware limitations. The Helio G36 is not a fast processor, and the limited 4GB of RAM hinders any chance of multi-tasking. Is that a bad thing? It depends on what you want from a phone. If you’re just looking for a simple phone, then the 4GB RAM would be enough to run a single game or 2 smaller apps. If you’re a power user who wants to stream while playing a game, then the HONOR X6a is not made for you.
Value: 4/5
Coming in at PHP6,990, the HONOR X6a is a simple smartphone that delivers on all the essential stuff. If you’re looking for a simple phone or a secondary phone, the HONOR X6a should be good enough. But for anyone looking to game, multi-task, or any other power use, then you might consider its older siblings.
Specifications:
- Display: 6.56-inches LFT LCD, 90Hz Refresh Rate, 720 x 1612 resolution, Dynamic Dimming
- Processor: MediaTek Helio G36
- Graphics: PowerVR GE8320
- Memory: 4GB
- Storage: 128GB expandable via MicroSD
- OS: MagicOS 7.1, based on Android 13
- Camera: Rear: 50-megapixel (f/1.8) Main Camera, 2-megapixel (f/2.4) Depth Camera, 2-megapixel(f/2.4) Macro Camera, Front: 5-megapixel Camera (f/2.2)
- Battery: 5200mAh with 22.5W HONOR SuperCharge
- Connectivity: Dual-Band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Other features: Side-mounted Fingerprint
- Dimension: 163.3 x 75.1 x 8.4mm
- Weight: 188g
- Colors: Midnight Black, Sky Silver
What’s Hot:
- Affordable price
- Good battery life
What’s Not:
- 4GB is too small for 2023
- Not made for power users
Bottomline:
The Honor X6a is not a standout, but is nonetheless a great device.
Reviewed by Gabriel Pe