Honor 90 review

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Introduction

The Honor 90 is the latest in the company's numbered series. As such, it is not a proper flagship offer. That role seems to currently be reserved for the Magic line of devices. The Honor 90 is a solid midranger instead, with some very appealing aspects and features and a stylish and modern design.

Honor didn't skimp on the exterior at all. The Honor 90 is slick and slim, well-built, light and well-balanced, and has a universally rounded body for a great in-hand feel. Its design is also very elegant and even luxurious.

The Honor 90 can be had in a number of eye-catching colors and interesting finishes. Our review unit comes in the just-released Peacock Blue variant, which is quite visually striking. It has a uniform, almost silky surface on the back in terms of texture and a playful "splash" of color that catches reflections in the light. The Honor 90 can also be had in Diamond Silver, like the unit we had for our hands-on review. In contrast, its back actually has two distinct surfaces. It looks really striking in person, with plenty of reflections. Then there are also Midnight Black and Emerald Green, which seem to be the two tame color options of the bunch.

Honor 90 specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.9x74.1x7.8mm, 183g; glass back and front, plastic frame.
• Display: 6.70" AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1600 nits (peak), 1200x2664px resolution, 19.98:9 aspect ratio, 435ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition (4 nm): Octa-core (1x2.5 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.36 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 644.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 13, MagicOS 7.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 200 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.4", 0.56µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 112-degree, AF; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.4, 100-degree, (ultrawide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 66W wired, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.2, aptX HD; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical).

Despite being a mid-ranger at heart, the Honor 90 does come with some pretty high-end features. One of its highlights is unquestionably the curved 6.7-inch display. It is a 10-bit panel with HDR10+ support and a whopping 1600 nits of advertised peak brightness. It also has a 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 3840Hz PWM dimming, as well as 400-grade dimming adjustment.

Then, there is the impressive camera setup on the Honor 90. On the back, the phone has a massive 200MP, f/1.9 main camera alongside a 12MP, f/2.2 autofocus-enabled ultrawide that can double as a powerful macro cam. On the front, the Honor 90 is rocking a 50MP ultrawide selfie. Both of these cameras are capable of 4K@30fps video capture and support EIS.

A 5,000 mAh battery with 66W charging and additional features, like NFC, help the Honor 90 be a well-rounded device overall. It still has some notable omissions, like the lack of official ingress protection and stereo speakers. It's nothing dramatic, but it's still worth mentioning.

Unboxing

Before we get into any particulars regarding the Honor 90, we should take a look at the retail package. The phone ships in a simple two-piece cardboard box. There isn't anything particularly eye-catching about its design, but we can appreciate that it is quite sturdy. There is also a plastic cradle for the phone itself on the inside to keep it safe during shipping.

Honor is very generous when it comes to the contents of the retail package. First and foremost, the Honor 90 comes with a 66W fast charge in the box and an accompanying USB Type-A to Type-C cable. The charger is proprietary, but the cable seems standard, which is nice to see. A good quality soft, transparent TPU case is inside the box, so you can start using your new phone immediately. It is worth noting that some markets won't be getting a charger in the box, whereas others will get both a charger and a protective case. Check with your local vendor.