Source: Huawei
It feels like I review a Huawei device every month. That’s not a complaint, just an observation at how much they have going on. This time, it’s the Honor 6x. Last year’s 5x was kind of “meh” (sorry, Huawei PR). This year, though, it has two big things going for it.
I’m going to break from my usual format for a second and get the bad out of the way first. The 1080p screen on the 6x is very, very clearly where they saved the most money. It’s not utter trash, but colors are… off. It’s not as noticeable in regular mode, but when you switch to Eye Comfort mode (which filters blue light, is easier on my eyes, and one of my favorite features), things get way, way too yellow. Kudos to Huawei for sending it with a screen protector, though.
In terms of software, a recent update put Android 7 (Nougat) on the 6x and it runs like a charm. But I have to keep it in the “bad” because they still insist on bundling a ton of extra software and their EMUI user interface. Additionally, the speakers are very much budget phone speakers. Finally, if you’ve invested in USB-C and ditched all your Micro-USB cables, you’ll be disappointed, as the 6x uses the older standard.
With that out of the way, there’s one feature of the 6x I need to gush about: dat battery! Seriously, people, you can get a day and a half to two days of battery life out of this phone. That includes leaving it unplugged all night. This is an amazing feature.
That’s not how Huawei is selling this, though. Their slate is that they’re the first budget phone with a dual camera system. This is similar to the setup on their 8x and P10, but not as powerful. One camera is a full color 12 MP camera. The other, a 2 MP unit, is used for sensing depth. Obviously, it’s not as good as the 8x, but photos came out great. I was particularly impressed by a photo I took of a mansion. The cameras caught the interplay of light on the bricks perfectly. Something I didn’t notice when I took the photo, because of that “meh” screen.
Throw in 32 GB of built-in storage, dual SIM support (or you can use the second SIM slot for MicroSD expansion), an exceptional fingerprint sensor that can map to specific functions, and you have a darn good value for $249.99 (247.49 if you get it on Amazon in gray
Are there cheaper budget phones? Absolutely. Do some of them have less invasive interfaces? Certainly. Can they match the battery life, camera specs, and flagship-class fingerprint scanner of the 6x? No way.
Note: Huawei sent me a 6x for review purposes and to keep. I’m naming it Sixy.
