HONOR X6a Review—As Clear as the Sky

POSTED BY: Lionell Go Macahilig
2023-11-28 15:58:05 PHT

Just in time for the gift-giving season, HONOR Philippines has released more affordable smartphone models priced at less than ₱10,000. One of these new releases is the HONOR X6a, which comes in two color variants: Midnight Black and Sky Silver. The folks at HONOR Philippines sent us the latter, which is the subject of our review.

As its moniker suggests, the HONOR X6a Sky Silver comes in light blue with a frosted finish, radiating greenish or subtle rainbow colors under typical ambient lighting. The body is smooth yet provides adequate grip for comfortable handling and maneuverability. The body also has a matte surface that makes unsightly fingerprints less visible.

Featuring a 6.56-inch FullView Display with 720 × 1612p screen resolution, the HONOR X6a offers adequate brightness and sharpness for any content accessed on the phone. The display also provides decent responsiveness and a pleasant view of subjects when taking photos or recording videos using the phone camera.

Speaking of camera, the HONOR X6a carries a triple rear camera system, which consists of a 50-megapixel camera (f/1.8), depth camera (f/2.4), and macro camera (f/2.4). The rear camera has 10× digital zoom and supports up to 1080p video recording. At first sight, one may assume that HONOR X6a has four cameras on the back. However, the fourth lens on the upper right is simply an LED flash for low-light shooting. Meanwhile, the front camera uses a 5-megapixel (f/2.2) image sensor, which also supports 1080p video recording.

Images captured using the HONOR X6a are generally decent and have mellow colors and minimal post-processing. When using auto mode, shoot in settings with sufficient ambient lighting. Enable night mode when shooting under low light settings. The HONOR X6a has ample 128GB internal storage to accommodate numerous images. Just insert a microSD card if more storage space is needed.

Inside, the HONOR X6a operates with a MediaTek Helio G36 octa-core processor, which consists of 4x Cortex-A53 with up to 2.2GHz clock and another 4x Cortex-A53 with up to 1.6GHz frequency. The smartphone also uses an IMG GE8320 GPU and 4GB RAM to work with the processor. The HONOR X6a smoothly runs on MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13 with these hardware components. Running AnTuTu Benchmark, the device scored 150907.

Battery-wise, the device integrates a 5200mAh lithium polymer module rechargeable through a USB 2.0 Type-C connector. The device has a 3.5mm audio jack--a traditional yet reliable way to connect personal audio devices like headphones. The HONOR X6a also offers Bluetooth 5.1 as a connectivity alternative for users who prefer using wireless earbuds. The HONOR X6a is a dual-SIM smartphone that supports 4G and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac for internet connectivity.

In the Philippines, the HONOR X6a retails for the price of ₱6,990. With an attractive exterior, decent camera and display for daily use, and a roster of features found on more expensive smartphone models, the HONOR X6a is a sensible choice not only because of its sub-₱10,000 price point.