Verdict on the Honor 90 5G: Good, but not perfect

Smartphones are becoming more and more expensive, but the boundaries between classes are also beginning to blur. Honor packs some hardware into its mid-range device 90 that was previously reserved for flagship devices. In Germany, the Honor 90 only comes with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage space. Our review shows that the inbuilt storage works quickly.

Another highlight of the smartphone is the 6.7-inch AMOLED display that supports a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The panel is curved on the sides. The maximum brightness of 1461 cd/m² that we measured is excellent. Thus, the Honor beats the comparison devices by far. The manufacturer also installs a special PWM dimming mode.

Visually, the cameras on the back stand out thanks to two large circles. The main camera lives up to expectations; photos are nice and sharp and have good dynamic range. The night mode also performs well with good photos in low light. Many details are visible, but our test photos display a red cast.

Although the Honor 90 is very slim, it uses a 5000 mAh battery, which can be charged with a maximum of 66 watts. This charges the smartphone from 0 to 100 percent in less than an hour.

Honor uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 in the “Accelerated Edition”. The SoC clocks a little higher than the normal 7 Gen 1, so the benchmark values are correspondingly a little higher. However, the chip in the Honor is also power-hungry. Therefore, the runtimes are slightly shorter than the comparison devices.

Overall, Honor delivers a very good overall package in the 90. The smartphone corrects some of the predecessor’s weaknesses, such as the WLAN transmission rates. However, there is still room for improvement. We would have also liked stereo speakers and wireless charging for the price.

The Honor 90 is currently listed at an RRP of US$525 on Amazon US.

Technology and journalism have always come together in my past. However, it was mostly cars and motorcycles that I put under the microscope. Since my active triathlon days, I’ve been a fan of sports watches and smartwatches – triathlon is history for me, but the enthusiasm for watches is still there. That’s why, in parallel to my dissertation in theology, I write at Notebookcheck mainly about smartwatches, but also about other news and technology that interests me.

Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 254 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.