HONOR X5 Plus is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers a decent camera system, a large and vibrant display, and a long-lasting battery. But is it powerful enough to handle demanding games and tasks?
Design: 4.5/5
The HONOR X5 Plus got my attention due to its design and weight. To start off, the unit that I received was a simple black in plastic-matte finish that depicts the Midnight Sky which, for me, was an epitome of minimalistic design. Some gradient or shimmer effect would have been a nice touch to truly reflect the Midnight Sky. It is also available in Cyan.
The HONOR X5 Plus is lightweight and comfortable to hold. At just 188g, it’s significantly lighter and easy to carry it around in my hand or pocket for long periods of time. The back camera housing design is also well-designed with a circular shape, blending in perfectly with the overall look of the smartphone. In addition to its sleek and modern appearance, the HONOR X5 Plus is easy to grip because of its round edges and is just 8.35mm thin.
The HONOR X5 Plus has a single SIM card tray and a hybrid slot that can hold another SIM card or a memory-expanding microSD card. This is placed at the top part of the smartphone, beside the microphone. The bottom part is where the earphone jack, loudspeakers, microphone, and USB Type-C port for charging are located. On the right side are the power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner and the volume buttons.
Inside the box of HONOR X5 Plus, aside from the smartphone, are the TPU protective case, the 5200mAh battery with its USB Type-C cable, the eject pin, quick start guide, and the warranty card.
Hardware: 3/5
With a commendable 5200mAh battery, the HONOR X5 Plus has power for at least 2 days, which legitimately captures the meaning of long-lasting in using this smartphone. I used it for photography and gaming for two days, and the battery life stayed at over 30%.
How about performance? Its Geekbench 6 single-core score came to 186, while the multi-core score was 837 — not stellar figures, but well within expectations from a budget-friendly smartphone. Powered by a Mediatek Helio G36 processor, the HONOR X5 Plus has an octa-core chipset that is designed for casual gaming. It has a clock speed of up to 2.2GHz and comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage.
Do note that the processor of HONOR X5 Plus is not able to achieve high-quality graphics when playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honkai: Star Rail. The games suggest setting a low graphics settings to for a lag-free experience. On the plus side, the operating system of HONOR X5 Plus runs on MagicOS version 7.1 based on Android 13, which means that the smartphone will benefit from all of the latest features and security improvements that Android 13 offers.
User Experience: 3/5
The 50MP f/1.8 main camera with 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor on the HONOR X5 Plus is able to capture clear and detailed photos in most lighting conditions. However, the photos can sometimes lack brightness and saturation, especially in low-light conditions. I also found that the camera can sometimes be difficult to focus. As for its front camera, 5MP with an F/2.2 aperture is also enough to capture clear photos, although sharpness and detail are not as good as the main camera. Videos recorded with the main camera are clear at 1080p resolution, but the lower 30fps frame rate can result in a lack of smoothness, especially when recording fast-moving subjects.
The HONOR X5 Plus has a wide 6.56-inch Water Drop display screen, perfect for watching movies and videos, playing games, and doing some productivity tasks such as video editing and typing on Google Docs. The phone comes pre-installed with the full suite of Google apps such as Play Store, Gmail, Maps, Drive, Google TV, Meet, and Google Photos, so if you are a longtime user of Google apps, then you’ll feel right at home on the HONOR X5 Plus.
With a resolution of 1612×720 and 90Hz refresh rate, the visuals are good enough to look smooth. However, pixels can still be noticed in videos, a common-trade off on budget smartphones. Audio from its loudspeakers is crisp and clear, great for watching action films or series on this smartphone.
The HONOR Share feature makes it convenient to share files with other HONOR devices. Sharing files to other Android phones is similarly seamless with no complications. As for gaming, I tried to play Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and although I was able to play with the game, I experienced quite a bit of lagging. I also tried to play the Honkai: Star Rail, but downloading the gaming assets took very long, and the graphics were of poor quality. I was able to play some casual games such as Angry Birds 2 and Penguin Diner with graphics that are their highest quality, for a truly fun experience.
Value: 5/5
Overall, the HONOR X5 Plus is a great phone for students and working professionals looking for an affordable and reliable device with a good display, long-lasting battery life, and a decent main camera system. The HONOR X5 Plus is priced at a very affordable PHP5,490.
Specifications:
- Colors: Cyan Lake, Midnight Black
- Dimensions: 163.32 x 75.07 x 8.35 mm
- Weight: 188g
- Display: 6.5inches, 90Hz Refresh Rate, 720 x 1612 resolution
- Processor: Mediatek Helio G36
CPU Type: Octa-core
GPU: IMG GE8320 - Storage: MicroSD
- OS: MagicOS 7.1 (Based on Android 13)
- Memory: 4GB+64GB
- Camera: Dual Rear: 50 MP camera (f/1.8)+depth camera (f/2.4), Front: 5 MP Camera (f/2.2 aperture)
- Battery: 5200 mAh
- Connectivity: Type-C, USB 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack
What’s Hot:
- Long battery life
What’s Not:
- Processor
- Photos lack brightness and saturation
Bottomline:
An affordable smartphone for students and working professionals.
Reviewed by Alyssa Silva