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HONOR X9c 5G Review—Officially Amazing

HONOR Philippines welcomed the new year with a new smartphone, the HONOR X9c 5G. Like its successor, the HONOR X9b 5G, the HONOR X9c 5G boasts durability as its key selling point. Highlighting all-angle triple defense, the HONOR X9c 5G features above-average resistance against accidental (or even intentional) drops, immersion in liquids, and exposure to heat. However, apart from these points, the HONOR X9c 5G has more things to offer that consumers will find attractive. Let us explore them further in this review.

Beginning with the display, the HONOR X9c 5G sports a 360° Tough AMOLED Curved Screen, measuring 6.78 inches with 2700 × 1224p resolution, 1.07 billion color depth, and 4000 nits brightness level. With these display characteristics, the HONOR X9c 5G delivers a pleasing viewing experience when navigating websites and social media channels, playing mobile games, shooting photos, and watching or recording videos. Surpassing the 1200 nits brightness level of the HONOR X9b 5G for sunlight legibility, the higher brightness level of the HONOR X9c 5G (in addition to its durable characteristics) makes it an ideal companion for outdoor activities. Users should not worry about accidentally dropping the phone on a hard surface (height of two meters) and breaking its screen or rear camera. Both components are protected by Super Double Tempered Glass and AGC Dragontrail Star 2 Plus protective glass. Aside from the display and rear camera, other parts of the HONOR X9c 5G are also ensured drop resistant (10-sided drop resistance). The phone survived more than 10 drop tests on asphalt, cobblestone, gravel, and marble, according to HONOR.

HONOR achieved the all-angle triple defense of the HONOR X9c 5G by filling the gap between the screen and the middle frame with shock-absorbing materials to reduce the impact of hard supporting objects on the middle frame on the screen. Meanwhile, the 3-layer water resistance structure of the HONOR X9c 5G consists of the following: first, an external leakage port protection for the side key port, SPK hole, and card tray hole upgraded to liquid injection molding (LIM) rubber ring; second, the protective layer for the interface has a USB rubber sleeve, adopting straight surface matching and double sealing ribs, and the cardholder pokes pinholes to control roughness, reducing leakage; and third, the layer for board level and software protection features BTB protection with added foam, waterproof detection, and software protection. The HONOR X9c 5G offers up to 25 cm (9.84 inches) depth water resistance for up to 5 minutes. The phone can also withstand extreme temperatures (−40°C to 70°C, normal use (55°C, up to 3 min exposure) and 100°C maximum, 10 sec to 20 sec exposure). We immersed our review unit in a water heater to test its capability and the phone survived the ordeal unscathed.

Equipped with a 6600mAh silicon carbon battery module, the HONOR X9c 5G can withstand long hours of use, lasting up to four days on standby mode. With 66W SuperCharge feature, the battery can charge up to 50% in 15 minutes.

Complementing the tough body of the HONOR X9c 5G, HONOR also equipped the smartphone with a powerful system-on-chip, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Mobile Platform, which consists of eight cores (four 2.2GHz Cortex-A78 and four 1.8GHz Cortex-A55) and Adreno 710 GPU. With 24GB (12GB + 12GB) RAM, 256GB onboard storage, and MagicOS 8.0 operating system (based on Android 14), the HONOR X9c 5G scored 587179 in AnTuTu Benchmark. With such a score, the X9c 5G can be included among the top 100 smartphones in AnTuTu Benchmark ranking (February 2025). Mobile Legends: Bang Bang ran smoothly on the HONOR X9c 5G at Ultra High graphics settings with ideal battery and CPU temperatures hitting between 41°C and 42°C.

The HONOR X9c 5G has a dual rear camera system (108MP main camera (f/1.75) and 5MP wide camera (f/2.2) with rear flash and a physical interface that looks like an elegant timepiece. The dual camera system has up to 10× digital zoom and supports 4K video recording. Meanwhile, the front camera of the HONOR X9c 5G comes with a 16MP (f/2.45) image sensor and supports 1080p video recording. Images captured by the X9c 5G are sharp (thanks to optical image stabilization), brilliant, and noise-free even when shot in low light settings. Portraits are AI-enhanced but not too much post-processed to the point that they appear unnatural. The HONOR X9c 5G also has the AI Eraser feature that allows users to remove unwanted elements (photobombers or signages) from the photos for enhanced outputs.

Certainly, the HONOR X9c 5G is a worthy successor of the HONOR X9b 5G. The X9c 5G impresses in many aspects, from its durable build, brilliant display, long battery life, and powerful hardware to remarkable image quality. You can enjoy these features for a reasonable price of ₱16,999, which you can also avail through various convenient payment options. In the Philippines, the HONOR X9c 5G is available in three color variants: Jade Cyan, Titanium Black, and Titanium Purple.