Honor 90 5G smartphone review: Display and storage giant

After Honor released great high-end devices in the Magic5 Pro and the Vs , the manufacturer is now courting the midrange with the Honor 90. Here, Honor focuses on the display and the cameras. The predecessor, the Honor 70 , had already won us over in these aspects.

However, there were weaknesses in the speaker, WLAN capabilities and software. At an RRP of just over US$500, the Honor 90 is in a price range in which there are also top devices from last year – so the expectations are correspondingly high. Honor uses a lot of plastic for the 90.

Both the frame and the back are made of it, which clearly shows the gap to the premium class. In return, the front impresses with thin display edges, which are also accentuated by the display’s curved side edges. The back is also curved on the sides, which Honor calls “quad-curved”.

The smartphone is pleasantly flat, which you can feel in the hands and this impression is further reinforced by the rounded sides. However, the camera humps protrude even more from the case due to its slim build. This causes the device to wobble when placed on a flat surface, such as a table.

This wobbling remains when the included protective cover is attached. The power button and the volume rocker are on the right side. Power and volume down are easy to reach, but the tester’s thumb has to stretch a lot for the volume up button.

The volume rocker on our test device is rather loose, but the power button is tight. Honor offers the smartphone in three colors: Emerald Green, Midnight Black and Diamond Silver. Our test device is silver, and the color changes to gold depending on the ambient light, but also shows reflections of blue, green and pearl.

The upper third of the device is smooth and glossy, the lower two thirds are textured, and this texture also has a particular feel. The workmanship of the smartphone is pleasing. It cannot be bent or twisted and gaps are even.

However, the back is very susceptible to fingerprints without a cover. Honor does not specify an IP certification for the 90. A rubber seal on the SIM card slot suggests that it is at least protected against splashes of water.

Honor is launching the 90 onto the German market in the largest memory configuration, namely a whopping 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. Storage expansion via a microSD card is not possible and buyers also have to do without a jack connection. Furthermore, the 90 only has a mono speaker and the USB-C port only supports 2.

0. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is used as the SoC. According to Honor, this is the “Accelerated Edition”, which has a slightly higher clock rate.

NFC is on board, so paying with the smartphone is possible. Dual SIM is also supported. Two physical SIM cards can be used, but an eSIM can also be installed.

The Honor 90 launches with Android 13, which is accompanied by an update guarantee. The smartphone should get two major version updates and security updates over three years. However, the interface of the Honor 90 differs from stock Android insofar that Honor uses its own Magic UI user interface.

No app drawer is found in this UI. Instead, Honor relies on folders, maps and widgets. The proprietary Yoyo assistant is intended to provide suitable app suggestions on the start page based on user data.

The assistant also recognizes and copies text in applications. If the Honor 90 is plugged into a computer, Honor Suite can be installed, which can be used to synchronize and copy data between the computer and the smartphone. Other Honor devices with the same Honor ID in the vicinity should be able to easily connect to each other via Honor Connect.

In testing, the Honor 90 automatically detects Honor X5 headphones in the vicinity of the smartphone. The Honor 90 supports current mobile phone standards, including 5G-Sub6. The device impresses with a broad band coverage of 23 LTE and 14 5G bands.

Thus, network coverage should not be an issue in Germany or in Europe. The device’s reception is inconspicuous in everyday use. In the Wi-Fi transfer test with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router, the Honor 90 performs solidly and is on par with the comparison devices.

Only the Xiaomi 13 Lite is in a league of its own. We particularly like the stability of the transmission. The Honor 90 is more stable here than the Samsung Galaxy A54 and significantly better than the Honor 70 predecessor .

Although the Honor 90 supports WiFi6, it does not exhaust the possibilities here at all. In regard to satellite communication, the Honor 90 makes a good impression. Although the device only establishes a single GNSS connection, it delivers stable and reliable tracking.

All common satellite systems are supported. We took the Honor 90 on a bike tour together with the Garmin Venu 2. The route is recorded reliably, and radii are also reproduced well.

Honor uses its own phone app. The software is clearly arranged and does not cause confusion. Settings for call forwarding, caller ID and voicemail can be set individually for both SIM cards.

Wi-Fi calling is also possible with the Honor 90. The voice quality during calls is good for both callers. There is no transmission interference, but background noise is constantly transmitted and hardly filtered.

Both the earpiece and the speaker get sufficiently loud during hands-free calls. Honor is said to have attached a lot of importance to the cameras of the 90. Visually, they clearly stand out owing to the two circles on the back.

The star of the cast is clearly the main camera with its maximum resolution of 200 MP. This is flanked by a 12 MP ultra wide-angle lens, which also takes care of macro shots. The triple is rounded off by a 2 MP sensor for depth information.

A dual LED flash occupies the remaining space in the second circle. On the front, Honor uses a 50 MP lens that sits in a punch hole. In doing so, Honor has completely changed the camera setup compared to the predecessor.

The main camera in particular made a good impression in our tests. The working speed is pleasing; the shutter button works promptly and images are processed quickly. The software also offers many additional functions, allowing users to take full-resolution photos, and the app also offers a Pro mode with manual adjustment of ISO, exposure time, aperture and white balance.

HDR recordings have to be activated separately via a menu. Zooming is only possible digitally with the 90 and this area is not one of the device’s strengths. Pictures with 5x zoom clearly lose detail, and stabilization is also difficult.

The front camera delivers good results. The images are sharp and have natural color reproduction. The portrait mode also works reliably most of the time.

The Honor 90 also offers numerous filters and a beauty mode. Video recordings are possible in 4K at a maximum of 30 FPS with all cameras, and the 90 also records at 60 FPS in a resolution of 1080p. Additional functions include slow motion and, while recording a video in landscape mode, the app can record a second one in portrait mode.

Photo stories can also be created as videos directly via the photo software. The quality of the video recordings is impressive. Although Honor doesn’t use optical image stabilization, it still manages to take solid pictures.

The autofocus also works quickly; only the adjustment of the automatic brightness is a bit erratic. The quality of the sound recordings is good and Honor also offers a filter to reduce background noise ex works. Photos with the main camera are pleasing and display a lot of sharpness, even in the details.

The sharpness only drops at the very edges. The camera is also capable of taking pictures in low light. At only one lux, the test chart is clearly visible with all details and there is only slight noise.

When analyzing the color representation, it becomes apparent that the Honor 90’s color tones are too warm. This is particularly clear in the case of white and dark green. The color reproduction in the dark, on the other hand, is surprisingly good, but the images have a visible red cast.

Honor includes a transparent silicone case with the 90 and attaches a protective film to the display ex-works. The box also contains a USB cable (USB-A to USB-C) and a needle to open the SIM card slot. Our review sample also comes with a 66-watt power adapter, and Honor offers a 24-month warranty for the smartphone in Germany.

This may differ in other countries, so buyers should double check before purchasing. Honor uses Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard ex works. The display reacts promptly to inputs and long typing sessions are unproblematic.

However, the keyboard layout in connection with the rounded sides can lead to incorrect inputs at the beginning. Also noticeable is that the keyboard takes up a lot of space in landscape format. Hardly anything can be seen apart from the keyboard, especially with the additional bars activated ex works.

The Honor 90 can be unlocked via 2D facial recognition and a fingerprint reader. The optical fingerprint reader sits under the display and works with a high level of reliability. However, the operating speed could be a little faster and the position a little higher.

Then again, the finger scanner is hardly ever used when unlocking via camera, as unlocking via the front camera works quickly and smoothly. The function can be activated by lifting the smartphone and the lock screen can be skipped if desired. Thus, lifting and looking at the 90 is enough to access apps directly.

The touchscreen recognizes all inputs reliably and gliding properties are good despite the protective film. The Honor 90 has a one-hand mode, but the display is quite large and so it is difficult to use it with one hand. The smartphone also supports gestures, such as tapping twice with an knuckle to take a screenshot.

The display is one of the highlights of the Honor 90. The 6. 7-inch AMOLED panel is rounded on the sides and supports a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz.

The refresh rate can be set to 60, 90 or 120 Hz; alternatively, the software can ensure dynamic adjustment of the levels to the displayed content. In terms of maximum brightness, the 90 is clearly at the top of the comparison devices at 1461 cd/m² and is even brighter than a Samsung Galaxy A54 (940 nits), a Google Pixel 7 (979 nits) or a Motorola Edge 40 (1106 nits). In this measurement, the ambient light sensor is activated and HDR content is displayed.

However, we did not achieve the 1600 nits advertised by Honor in our tests. Without an ambient light sensor, the panel achieved a maximum brightness of just 592 cd/m². The Honor display has to make concessions in terms of illumination, which is not particularly uniform at 88 percent.

All comparison devices are better in this area, but the inhomogeneity is not noticeable in everyday use. A special feature of the Honor 90 is PWM dimming at a frequency of up to 3840 Hz. The high frequency is intended to significantly reduce screen flickering.

We measured a frequency of 728 Hz in normal mode. The Honor 90 also offers different filter levels for blue light. The filters can either be used all day or they can be scheduled.

This is intended to adjust the amount of blue light to the circadian rhythm and reduce sleep difficulties – Honor calls this the circadian night display. While the screen’s maximum brightness is solid, there is still room for improvement in color matching. The display of the Honor 90 deviates from the target values, especially in the grayscale.

However, the average color deviation is okay. Without a measurement or a comparison device, these deviations are not noticeable in everyday use. The coverage of the sRGB color space at 99.

7 percent in the Calman 2D measurement is good. Outdoors, the Honor 90 shines with its large reserves at maximum brightness. Even in bright sunshine, the smartphone’s display is nice and bright and content is easy to read.

The viewing angles are also good. Although the displayed content is a little darker at acute angles, content remains clearly legible and does not show any color changes. The result of the GPU benchmarks is similarly balanced.

The Honor 90 has an Adreno 644 graphics unit and thus does not deliver top values, nor does it flounder. It falls almost squarely in the middle of the comparison devices across the board. The browser benchmarks paint a different story: the Honor 90 ends up in last place in all benchmarks, but the gap to the closest comparison device is only very small in each case.

Further runs with a different browser confirmed these results. Nevertheless, web browsing in everyday life functions flawlessly. In matters of storage, Honor not only gives the 90 a lot of storage space with 512 GB, but the read and write speeds are impressive.

Only Motorola’s Edge 40 can keep up in sequential read and write. All other comparison devices are downright outclassed. The UFS 3.

1 storage’s random read and write rates are on par with the class average. Just under 489 GB of storage is available after starting up for the first time. The performance of the Honor 90 is also sufficient for current gaming titles such as PUBG Mobile.

At most, the game can be played in HDR settings. The performance of the smartphone remains stable when gaming, as measurements with our partner GameBench show. No matter which settings are selected, there are no frame drops.

The frame rates of the Honor 90 are not only more stable than those of the Samsung Galaxy A54 , they are also higher. The frame rates are even higher in simpler games such as Dead Trigger 2, but the Honor 90 does not manage more than 60 FPS regardless of the selected settings. During gaming, the smartphone offers a well-rounded audio-visual experience.

Although the 90 only has a mono speaker, the sound quality is appealing. The speaker is also not covered by fingers during gaming. Another noteworthy feature is Honor’s gaming mode, which can be used to block notifications and access different performance modes.

While the Honor 90 stays nice and cool in everyday use, it gets hot under load. We measured a maximum temperature of 44. 4 degrees on the back and 47.

4 degrees on the front. This makes using the smartphone uncomfortable, but harmless. We recently used the Burnout benchmark for this measurement, so the values are not directly comparable with those from older tests.

However, these high values are only reached under extreme loads, such as benchmarks or complex applications and games. The device stays cool in everyday use, so it can be used without hesitation on hot summer days. Despite the high heat development, the Honor 90 was very stable in our stress tests.

Honor only installs a mono speaker on the bottom of the 90. Yet the speaker is surprisingly loud and the smartphone does not vibrate at full volume. Moreover, the device performs well with a fairly linear tuning of the mids and highs.

While the 90 hardly offers anything in the way of low-range frequencies or bass, these frequencies are linear. Overall, the smartphone convinces with good quality sound despite the single speaker. No noise interference was observed during testing.

Buyers of the Honor 90 have to do without a jack connection. Nevertheless, Bluetooth headphones are easily recognized. Common codecs such as SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX and aptX HD are supported.

Compared to the comparison devices, it is immediately noticeable that the Honor 90 has above-average power consumption in all areas. The significantly higher power consumption, especially under load, is particularly noticeable when compared to the Xiaomi 13 Lite with the same SoC. The high power consumption under load is also noticeable when looking at the average of all devices with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 .

However, we used the Burnout benchmark to determine power consumption under load. This should be taken into account when comparing with older measurements. The high energy consumption rates are already indication that the Honor 90’s battery runtimes are not bound to be outstanding.

Nevertheless, the smartphone performs particularly well in our real-world Wi-Fi test. The rates are okay under load or when playing videos in a continuous loop, but the comparison devices are still better. Fortunately, Honor installs a large 5000 mAh battery in the 90.

The smartphone thus achieves a runtime of about 1. 5 days in everyday use if no CPU-intensive apps are run or games are played. However, a Samsung Galaxy A54 with the same sized battery manages twice as long a runtime under low load.

With a suitable 66 watt power supply, the 90 can be charged from 0 to 100 percent in less than an hour. Wireless charging is not supported. Honor has upped the ante in the midrange.

We were already impressed by the Honor 70, but it also showed some weaknesses. Some of these have been recitified in the 90: the WLAN connection is stable and the slow storage is now a thing of the past. We also liked the maximum brightness of the panel and the good quality of the camera – especially in low light – in the predecessor.

The display and the camera systems remain two of the manufacturer’s main areas of focus in the 90. The panel is particularly impressive at maximum brightness and features functions that are intended to reduce eyestrain, such as PWM dimming and a certified blue light filter. In terms of camera setup, the main camera is particularly impressive.

The sharpness and performance in difficult lighting conditions are particularly pleasing. The selfie camera also performs well with the same characteristics. Zoom and ultra-wide-angle shots, on the other hand, are somewhat weaker.

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 in the Honor 90 is labeled “Accelerated Edition”, but cannot outclass devices with the normal 7 Gen 1 in terms of performance. The performance of the 90 is solid and ensures smooth operation in everyday life and also in current games. Considering the RRP, the 90 would have been better with a faster SoC.

Large battery, large memory, large camera sensor – Honor goes to great lengths in many areas. The performance of the smartphone remains stable under load, but the device gets very hot. And the power consumption of the Honor 90 under load is significantly higher than that of comparable devices.

Thanks to a large 5000 mAh battery, the runtimes are still okay. The smartphone’s high power consumption is a point of criticism. We would have also liked stereo speakers and wireless charging for the price.

Also a pity is that Honor shortens the update support for the 90 compared to flagships such as the Magic5 Pro . Nevertheless, the overall package is very solid. The 90 is a very well equipped smartphone with an ambitious price tag.

The Google Pixel 7 offers more performance but also much less storage. Samsung offers longer update support and longer runtimes in the Galaxy A54 . The Honor 90 is currently listed for US$525.

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