HONOR X7a Review: Long-lasting entry-level smartphone

Normally, entry-level smartphones doesn’t really have something much to offer as they focus to have a balanced specifications or hardware but not the HONOR X7a because the smartphone might offer an entry-level processor but this one has a pretty large 6000mAh battery inside.

Design and hardware

For the design and hardware of the smartphone, the HONOR X7a comes with an ergonomic design and also a curved body. The smartphone is actually pretty hand to hold and I can’t actually feel that the smartphone packs a 6000mAh battery inside as it was light and easy to hold. 

As for the materials, the HONOR X7a features a matte metallic back that surprisingly looks premium and feels more premium than I expected. It also houses the camera setup at the back that looks clean and then there’s the power button that also acts as the fingerprint scanner on the right along with the volume rocker.

Below the smartphone is where you can find the USB-C port along with the headphone jack and also the speaker grill of the smartphone. Since the smartphone is an affordable one, I didn’t expect too much from its charging speeds but 22.5W will take some time to fully charge the smartphone.

Speaking of the battery, there’s 6000mAh battery inside and in our PC Mark Work 2.0 battery test, we got a score of 19 hours and 12 minutes which is pretty long and one of the few who went past 15 hours. And by the numbers, that’s pretty good. In real life, We’re getting here a day a half to two days of usage on the smartphone.

Display

For the display of the smartphone, there’s the 6.75-inch HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. While that might not sound impressive, you have to remember that this one is an affordable smartphone.

That resolution might not be crisp for its display size but it’s bringing in a longer battery life as it has a smaller resolution. There’s the dynamic 90Hz refresh rate as well which adds to the smoothness when navigating on the smartphone.

As for the quality, it’s definitely not the best one out there but it’s usable outside but you don’t get to have the best quality of course. As for the colors, it was better than I expected and I do like that they have a 90Hz refresh rate on the smartphone.

Software and performance

The smartphone comes with Magic UI 6.1 that is based on Android 12. Honestly, it does look like the Huawei UI for now and it’s not a bad thing as this one is easy on the eyes and it was a breeze to use whatever I want on the smartphone. 

For the processor, the smartphone comes with a MediaTek Helio G37 processor along with  6GB of RAM but of course, you could also extend its RAM by getting some from its storage.

When it comes to performance, it’s what you can expect from an entry-level smartphone. It’s definitely not the best one out there but it should do just fine for the basic apps and games that you need on the smartphone.

As for gaming, the smartphone can run the most basic games but don’t expect games like Genshin Impact to run at a playable frame rates. Games that are lighter would be playable such as Call of Duty Mobile and Mobile Legends but again, you have to set your expectations as this one comes with a low-end processor. 

And since this one is an entry-level smartphone with Helio G37 processor, there’s no 5G on this one.

Camera

For the camera, the HONOR X7a come with a 50MP main camera along with 5MP ultrawide camera and depth and macro lenses. Thankfully, they still included an ultrawide camera on this one as most smartphones are neglecting on ultrawide to save costs and to focus on the main camera instead.

As for the camera, well, it’s not the most ideal that we can expect as the colors aren’t great and the contrasts were a miss most of the time. It’s a little bit soft sometimes as well but again, this is an entry-level smartphone so this is really what we can expect from its price range. 

Verdict

If you want something that is affordable and you need a smartphone that has a long battery life then you might want to consider the HONOR X7a. It’s definitely not the most powerful but the smartphone’s battery is long and the display and usability of the smartphone isn’t that bad.