Hot on the heels of the HONOR X9c 5G launch, HONOR Philippines rolled out another smartphone model carrying the X9c designation, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G. Like its relative, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G boasts its durable characteristics as key selling points, but this new smartphone still has more aces up its sleeve, which we will explore in this review.
Starting with its durable features, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G can withstand a drop from two meters (6.7 feet) onto a hard surface (such as a smooth granite floor) and endure water splashes for up to three minutes. These claims are not only verified by HONOR Labs but are also supported by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), a globally recognized testing, inspection, and certification company. SGS granted the HONOR X9c Smart 5G with a 5-star rating for durability. Other HONOR smartphones with 5-star SGS certifications are the X8b and the X9b 5G, both of which were recognized for their overall drop resistance.
Sporting a 6.8-inch touchscreen display with 1080p resolution, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G has a peak brightness level of 850 nits, which is good enough for occasional outdoor viewing, and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, which is ideal for gaming. The HONOR X9c Smart 5G display also supports dynamic dimming for improved image quality and flicker-free dimming for eye protection by reducing strain and fatigue due to prolonged exposure to the screen.
On the imaging front, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G has a rear camera system consisting of a 108MP main camera with f/1.75 aperture and a 5MP wide camera with f/2.2 aperture. The rear camera also supports up to 10× digital zoom. Meanwhile, above the display, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G carries a 16MP front camera with f/2.45 aperture. The rear camera and the front camera support 1080p video recording. Images captured by both cameras have decent quality in general and a warm tone by default. Previously available in more expensive HONOR smartphone models, AI Eraser is also in the HONOR X9c Smart 5G. This AI feature allows you to remove unwanted elements from the photos, such as photobombers and signages, for more enhanced outputs.
Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7025-Ultra, which consists of eight cores (two Arm Cortex-A78 at 2.5GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 at 2.0GHz) and IMG BXM-8-256 GPU, the HONOR X9c Smart 5G comes with 24GB (12GB + 12GB) RAM and 256GB onboard storage. Running on MagicOS 8.0 (based on Android 14), the HONOR X9c Smart 5G finished AnTuTu Benchmark with a score of 420215, which still falls within the score range of the top 100 smartphones in AnTuTu Benchmark ranking for February 2025.
In terms of battery life, the HONOR X9c 5G packs a 5800mAh lithium-ion polymer module that supports 35W charging. With such battery capacity, the phone can stay up to 19.8 hours of online video playback or 41.9 hours of online music playback. Dubbed Super Durable Battery, the Li-ion polymer module of the HONOR X9c 5G can remain at high capacity (more than 80%) even after 1000 cycles of complete charging and discharging, according to HONOR Labs.
Available in Midnight Black and Ocean Cyan (our review unit), the HONOR X9c Smart 5G is exclusively available through Shopee for ₱11,999 (lower than the standard price ₱13,999). This makes the HONOR X9c Smart 5G one of the most affordable 5G smartphones today from HONOR. Apart from 5G (dual SIM) and Wi-Fi 802.11ac connectivity, other points that make the HONOR X9c Smart 5G a smart buy for the price are its decent camera, long battery life, good display, and certified durability for added peace of mind.