Honor 7X review

Research Center:
Honor 7X

In a year when multiple phones from big-name manufacturers have come very close to, and sometimes surpassed, the $1,000 mark, it’s time to redefine what we mean by good value in phones. If manufacturers want to gain any sort of attention in the increasingly expensive smartphone world, a low price just isn’t enough. The OnePlus 5T proved we don’t need to spend more than $500 to get a good flagship smartphone; and Huawei’s subsidiary Honor now shows us you don’t need to spend more than $200 for a good phone. The latest from the Chinese company is the Honor 7X, and while there are compromises, we found the phone to be the best bargain of 2017.

Bezel-less at a budget

If you buy a phone in 2017, you don’t really want it to have massive edges flanking the screen. Thick bezels already look old fashioned, and they’ll stand out even more next year. The 5.93-inch Honor 7X meets the design requirements for a 2017 edge-to-edge, or “bezel-less,” display. Put it alongside the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and you’ll find the top and bottom bezels are almost identical in size. Even the 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution is the same. It’s the side bezels that are slightly more pronounced on the Honor 7X.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The bigger screen doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger phone, and the advantages of an 18:9 aspect ratio screen are there — fitting more content on screen in landscape format, along with more immersive gaming and video too. Honor wants you to make the most of it too. Under the Display menu in Settings is a full-screen mode, where you can choose which apps automatically open up and use the total length of screen available. It often pops up in-app too, to save jumping into the Settings. Sadly, there’s no way to hide the Android navigation buttons like there is on the Mate 10 Pro.

The body is made of metal, and the glass on the front has a 2.5D curved effect, blending in perfectly with the rounded sides of the phone. The back of the Honor 7X is flat, with a matte blue finish on our review model. There’s also a fast fingerprint sensor in an easy to locate, recessed and chamfered spot. In the top left are two pronounced camera lenses. It’s here where more savings are made, because the camera lenses on the Huawei P10, Mate 10, and even the Honor 9 are flush against the rear panel.

You’ll hardly believe it costs so little

The Honor 7X is the result of 28 prototypes and 15 months of design development work. The in-hand comfort is exceptional, and Honor has managed to sidestep the common problem of slipperiness too. Even with a light grip, the Honor 7X never feels like it’s going to escape from your hand.

It’s a tough little thing too. The phone was dropped several times by the Honor team when we first saw the device, and it survived without a scratch, due to what Honor calls an airbag-style internal design at each corner. It’s not officially shockproof, but “life proof,” according to Honor. Elsewhere, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it sits alongside a MicroUSB port for charging. It’s a shame Honor didn’t swap it for a USB Type-C. It’s also a shame that there’s no NFC chip inside the svelte body, so you won’t be using the Honor 7X for Android Pay.

When you see how incredibly modern the Honor 7X it looks, you’ll hardly believe it costs so little.

Good dual cameras

The dual camera lenses, which sit inside two raised bumps on the back of the phone, are perhaps the least visually-pleasing part of the phone. But it’s easily forgivable because they perform well. Due to sharing the same Android user interface as Huawei phones, the Honor 7X’s camera app will be familiar to anyone who has used the Huawei P10 or Mate 9. The app is simple, logical, and packed full of features. Slide to the left to show the options list, and slide to the right for different camera modes. Icons for special features are shown along the top of the screen.

The main f/2.2 aperture lens has 16-megapixels, but the secondary lens has only 2-megapixels. The second camera doesn’t exclusively shoot in monochrome, unlike many Huawei phones, but the dual cameras work together to produce a bokeh or blur effect. The software has also been tweaked to speed up wide-aperture focusing by six times, and improve low-light performance.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Share the photos with friends, or on social media, and no-one will know you didn’t splash out on an expensive camera phone. Honor is pulling the same trick Xiaomi has mastered — provide solid cameras inside a reasonably priced phone, that produce shots that are perfect for posting online. On a series of sunny days, the Honor 7X really showed its strengths with colorful, fun photos. At night, it also captured some great variably-lit scenes. It’s not perfect — dark scenes lack pop, and it didn’t enjoy shooting in low afternoon sun, for example.

The bokeh Wide Aperture mode is a direct port of Huawei’s system, and you can alter the focal point in photos taken later on. This flexibility cuts down the emphasis on making sure you’re getting the right shot in the first place, and lets you get creative later on. When you choose a focal point and save the image, the original is retained, so you can save multiple versions with different objects in focus. The Honor 7X’s bokeh mode is excellent. It’s fun, creative, simple, and never frustrates.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

It’s certainly better than the Portrait Mode, which is very hit-or-miss. It never seems to “grab” an object or face to effectively blur out the background, especially in challenging light. We’ve experienced similar problems using it on the Huawei P10. There’s also a Moving Picture mode, which acts like Apple’s Live Photo and takes a short video instead of a still. We’d rather use Instagram’s short video modes, as the results are easier to share.

We mentioned the rear camera is skewed towards shareable images with plenty of color and pop. The 8-megapixel front camera is also made for social media, and has a bokeh Portrait Mode, along with built-in face filters. These are reminiscent of those featured on Snapchat, Snow, and other similar apps. They’re fast to activate, accurate with face tracking, and most importantly: Cute. It’s not a feature everyone will use, but it’s definitely in-line with what the primary audience for the Honor 7X will already be using elsewhere. It seems sensible to have it ready to go in the standard camera too.

For $200, the Honor 7X’s camera is great, and a genuine reason to buy the phone.

Good performance, Android 7.1 Nougat

In the U.S., only the 3GB/32GB Honor 7X will be sold, and for a very reasonable $200. In the U.K., the Honor 7X costs 270 British pounds and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space. Both have the Kirin 659 processor, and the hybrid SIM card slot has space for a MicroSD card too in case you need more space.

We reviewed the 4GB/64GB version here, and we don’t expect there to be much of a difference in terms of performance between the two. Here are our benchmark results:

• AnTuTu: 63,311
• Geekbench 4 CPU: Single-Core 906, Multi-Core 3,556
• 3DMark SlingShot Extreme: 399

The 4GB/64GB benchmark scores won’t set the world alight, but are comparable to the similarly powered Motorola Moto G5S Plus, and to the Moto G5 Plus. It comes in below the HTC U11 Life and the Moto X4. However, the Honor 7X is $200, considerably less than either of those two phones, and it obliterates the $180 Moto E4 Plus in tests. It’s no surprise they’re half of what phones like the OnePlus 5T and Galaxy S8 achieve.

We played Riptide GP3, Crossy Road, and Modern Combat Versus, the latter apparently being optimized for the phone. It didn’t come pre-installed on our review model though. While it doesn’t reach the gaming supremacy of the Razer Phone, the Honor 7X is still a strong gaming device for those not wanting to spend $700. Riptide GP3 played well enough, although it struggled a little with frame rate during very busy scenes. Hardly a surprise given the processing power available; but there’s more than enough for a bit of casual gaming.

The Honor 7X is still a strong gaming device

You’ll find Android 7.1 Nougat installed with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 user interface layered on top. This isn’t good news. Android 8.1 Oreo has been out since August, and regardless of whether this is a cheaper phone or not, it should be installed on new devices we’re buying now. Huawei has also released version 8.0 of EMUI, so even the user interface is out of date. It’s not slow, but it’s not as refined as EMUI 8.0, and you’re missing out on new Oreo features like Notification Dots and picture-in-picture mode.

Using EMUI isn’t the annoying experience you may fear. No, it’s not stock Android, but you can add the app drawer as an option if you miss it, and the settings menu and notification shade are more refined and less heavily customized than older models. It’s not slow, which is very important, and all our usual apps worked without a problem.

We like the split-screen mode, which is activated simply by long pressing an app in the Recents view, and dragging it to the top of the screen. Another advantage of the 18:9 aspect ratio is that you can see a lot more information on these apps at a quick glance.

Honor has added a daytime viewing mode to its reading mode for late-night use. The reading mode is great, and can be scheduled to come on at a set time each day. There are quite a few pre-installed apps, such as a torch, mirror, sound recorder, compass, download manager, and some Huawei-specific apps. A theme manager app lets you change the look of the interface, a Phone Manager app will scan for viruses and optimises the system, along with providing battery and data use information. Not all these can be uninstalled.

Using the Honor 7X alongside the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, it’s clear the Honor phone is slower; but that’s to be expected. Used on its own, the software experience is slick enough for general everyday use. Just remember this is not a phone for power users, and you’ll be satisfied.

Battery and audio

Does the Honor 7X have enough battery power to last the day? In our experience, yes it does. The 3,340mAh cell is charged using a MicroUSB cable, and supports fast charging using the included charger. Starting out the day with an almost full battery, we used GPS navigation, the camera, browsed social networks, played games, and the 7X reached 20 percent by late evening. We’d hoped for a little more, given the modest processor and screen resolution.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

A 3.5mm headphone jack can be found on the bottom of the phone, and Honor has added Histen audio enhancements to the 7X. This offers a 3D surround sound effect when using headphones, and it’s marginally successful. We like the basic Histen enhancements, but the 3D audio — you choose between a Near, Front, or Wide style — made our favourite songs sound different, and not in a good way. We left it on Near, or turned it off entirely. Listen without the 3D audio, and the Honor 7X sounds great.

Warranty, availability, and price

In the U.S., Honor gives a one year warranty with its phones, which is a repair or replace scheme. It doesn’t cover accidental damage, misuse, water damage, or normal wear and tear. Parts and labor are included, but shipping is down to the owner. In the U.K., the coverage is the same, but the warranty period is 24 months.

The Honor 7X is just $200 in the U.S., which gives you a 3GB/32GB unlocked phone without a contract. It will be available through the official HiHonor store online. In the U.K., you can only buy the 4GB/64GB Honor 7X, and it costs 270 British pounds. In addition to the HiHonor online store, Amazon and Very will sell the phone, as will high street retailers Argos. Buy through the U.K. HiHonor store and for a limited time you’ll get a free pair of Honor AM61 Bluetooth headphones.

Honor 7X Compared To

OnePlus 5T

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact

Lenovo Moto G5S Plus

HTC U11 Life

Google Pixel 2

LG V30

Sony Xperia XZ1

Asus Zenfone AR

Moto Z2 Force

Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom

Moto Z2 Play

Motorola Moto E4

Huawei Nova 2 Plus

Motorola Droid Turbo

LG Optimus G Pro

Our Take

Taken only at face value, the good-looking Honor 7X doesn’t appear to be a $200 smartphone. Add in a decent, fun-feature packed camera, solid performance, and a great screen, and you’ll question the price even more. Yet it does only cost a bargain $200.

Are there better alternatives?

The Honor 7X is almost ridiculously cheap in the U.S. This is easily one of the best looking and strongest performing cheap phones you’ll buy. It punches well above its weight, and it easily beats Motorola’s budget phones like the E4 Plus for style and for performance. To improve on it, you’ll need to spend $350 on the HTC U11 Life, or $400 on the Moto X4. That’s a big difference, and if you’re considering the Moto X4, we recommend saving up an extra $100 to secure a OnePlus 5T.

How long will it last?

The Honor 7X’s body may withstand a few knocks, but it won’t be happy if it gets wet: There’s no water resistance at all. The software is already out of date, and neither Huawei or Honor are especially fast at sending out Android version updates. While this is a $200 phone, and we understand compromises must be made, it’s a shame we’ll be forced to wait for Android 8.0 Oreo.

If you buy the Honor 7X, and aren’t a demanding smartphone user, then the phone will happily last for a year or more before feeling a little old. The design is slick enough that it won’t look ancient by that time, so provided you aren’t suddenly wanting the phone to do a lot more, it should carry on serving you well past this time.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Honor 7X is an absolute bargain. To help you understand just how much value the Honor 7X represents: It’s $50 less than the Honor 6X that came out at the beginning of the year, yet it looks better and performs better. We like that kind of advancement, and think you’ll like the Honor 7X too.

Lifeprint’s ‘magic’ moving photo prints just got larger and more connected

Lifeprint photos may be physical images to hold, but they also unlock a video using an augmented reality app — and now those images that come to life are larger and more connected than ever. Today, December 5, Lifeprint launched the 3 x 4.5-inch, Wi-Fi-connected update to the photo printing lineup.

The latest photo printer brings the same ability to print videos, GIFs, live photos and more, while scanning the print with the app plays that video on screen. But with the latest version of the app, the printed images are a larger 3 x 4 inch size that’s closer to the size of classic instant film. Like earlier models, those prints are made using Zink paper, a glossy photo paper that has ink embedded within it that is activated by heat from the printer, which means no ink cartridges are required.

The second big update to the printer is connectivity — the new Lifeprint connects with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. With Wi-Fi, users can send prints to their photos even when the printer is on the opposite side of the globe, while Bluetooth allows for simpler wireless printing while close to the device. While the original printer used Bluetooth for easier connection, the update adds Wi-Fi so users can connect even when the printer isn’t close at hand.

Lifeprint is both a printer and a social network for sharing physical photos rather than the digital ones. Lifeprint users can send photos with an embedded video to friends and family and the company says the process is as easy as sending a text.

“For our second printer, we wanted to go bigger and broader,” Lifeprint said in a statement. “The larger film is classic instant camera size and really captures that retro look and feel. Perfect for decorating your walls. But more importantly, the Wi-Fi capability means you are always connected. This allows users to print to and from anywhere in the world. No matter where you are, you’re connected and ready to print. And of course, the magical Harry Potter-like Hyperphotos still bring those videos to life in your hands.”

The updated Lifeprint 3 x 4.5 retails for $150, with exclusive availability from Apple Stores and apple.com. The Zink paper costs $30 for a pack of 20 or $50 for a pack of 40.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Prints photos in seconds with the Polaroid Insta-Share Printer Moto Mod
• This isn’t the end of printed photos, it’s the golden age
• Get cheaper prints than ever with Brother’s new all-in-one home office printer
• Kodak Printomatic review
• Fujifilm’s new mobile printer makes square prints right from your phone

Google’s Android Go for low-end smartphones to launch alongside Android 8.1 Oreo

Remember Android Go? In May, Google announced it would be making a scaled-down version of Android to run on entry-level devices with between 1GB and 512MB of RAM. These sorts of low-powered devices have proven key in getting smartphones into developing markets like India and Brazil, and Google was keen to offer a smooth and full-featured experience on those devices. At a Google For India 2017 press conference, the company said it’s finally launching Android Go alongside the updated version of Android Oreo, Android 8.1 Oreo.

Essentially a pared-down version of Android, Android Go focuses on a few specific areas that allows it to run smoothly on low-powered, entry-level smartphones. First off is the massive decrease in operating system (OS) size. As Android has matured and phones storage spaces have increased, the amount of space the operating system eats up has grown. Since entry-level phones are less likely to have room to spare, the less space the OS takes, the more people have for their pictures and videos. Android Go is roughly half the size of Android 7.0 Nougat, saving a good deal of space for media the user really wants.

Android Go is roughly half the size of Android 7.0 Nougat.

Google’s companion apps have also been downsized. Each Android Go phone will come with “Go” versions of the usual pre-installed Google apps; Google Maps, YouTube, Google Assistant, and Gmail all have “Go” versions that take up less space, require fewer resources to run, and run faster than their usual versions. The company said most “Go” apps run an average of 15-percent faster than the normal versions.

Also included in Android Go is Google’s Data Saver mode from its Chrome browser. Mobile data can cost quite a pretty penny in developing markets, and a megabyte saved is a megabyte earned. It’s why Google worked hard to reduce the amount of data used by Android Go, because this mode is turned on by default. The company estimates that Chrome’s Data Saver can save the average user 600MB of data in a year, so it expects this system-wide feature to help even more. You can also share content with other people via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, helping you save even more data.

A new app called Files Go, which is available on the Play Store for all Android phones, also will help clean up space on your phone.

In Android Go, the Google Play Store offers a streamlined experience, showcasing Go-optimized apps that won’t impact storage space or run slowly, and phones are also protected with Google’s Play Protect, which is now a standard security feature in all Android Oreo devices.

Android Go will launch tomorrow, alongside the new version of Android 8.1 Oreo, and it will be shipped on various entry-level devices within the coming months. Google also has a program called Android One, where it installs stock Android on low-end smartphones and offers instant version and security updates. It’s likely we’ll see Android Go installed in future Android One smartphones. We’ve reached out to Google for comment.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Everything you need to know about Android 8.0 Oreo
• Android Oreo only on 0.3 percent of active devices, Nougat jumps to 20 percent
• Android vs. iOS: Which smartphone platform is the best?
• When is your phone getting Android 8.0 Oreo? We asked every major manufacturer
• How to install Android apps on a Chromebook

Apple ‘listening’ to Mac concerns, but no word on hoped-for improvements

Apple’s chief design officer, Jony Ive, has doubled down on previous statements made by the company that it is listening to feedback from owners who have expressed Mac concerns. However, Ive didn’t go so far as to reveal what changes could be expected with future revisions of this Apple hardware.

Although Apple has been at the forefront of innovative changes with some of its Mac hardware in recent years, the resulting devices haven’t always gone down well. The single USB Type-C port on its standard MacBooks raised charging and accessory concerns and the Touch Bar on its MacBook Pro was considered by many to be a relatively useless but expensive upgrade.

Other problems with Apple devices, like flimsy keyboards, underpowered internal hardware, and the death of the “MagSafe” magnetic chargers, have also raised complaints, as per Business Insider. However, Apple does want fans of its hardware to know that it’s listening, as Ive stated earlier this week in an interview in Washington DC.

During the chat, he said that “All of your feelings and feedback around the MacBook you use, we couldn’t want to listen to more. And we hear,” he continued. “Boy – do we hear.”

While this doesn’t go far enough to actually highlight any changes Apple is planning to make to its Mac or MacBook ranges, it does at least suggest that the feedback will be considered for future generations of the hardware. It is also the second time an Apple executive has made it a point to reassure Apple fans that the firm is listening. As BusinessInsider points out, earlier this year Apple told journalists that it was aware its recent Mac models didn’t suit all of its customers.

At that time, Apple did confirm that a new model iMac would be released in December. Considering we were still rather impressed with the currently available version when we compared it to its contemporary competition in August, any big upgrade could see Apple on to a winner. The new version is said to be aimed at professionals, and so it may well come with powerful internal hardware.

WCCFtech seems to think it’s still on for a mid-December unveiling, possibly containing something as hefty as an 18-core Intel Xeon CPU, though that could be a mistranslation from Google search bots.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Apple aficionado, huh? Here are the 20 best Mac games
• Do Macs always apply firmware updates properly? No, but there’s a fix
• Apple renders 2011 Mac Mini and two iMacs from 2009 obsolete
• Looking to wipe your laptop? Here’s how to restore a Mac to its factory settings
• Report reveals vulnerabilities in Mac firmware affecting thousands of computers

Upgrade to the 2nd-gen Amazon Echo for just $80 today

Let’s do this, Alexa!

If you somehow missed your previous chance to grab the 2nd-gen Amazon Echo for just $79.99, don’t worry. Amazon is once again discounting the latest Echo hardware by $20, including the limited edition Product(RED) version. To sweeten the deal even further, Amazon is offering a TP-Link Smart Plug for just $5 when you purchase new Echo hardware.

This smart speaker was only just recently released, and it has a number of enhancements over the first one. Its features include:

• All-new Echo (2nd Gen) has a new speaker, new design, and is available in a range of styles including fabrics and wood veneers. Echo connects to Alexa to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, control smart home devices, and more—instantly.
• Just ask for a song, artist, or genre from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, and more. With multi-room music, you can play music on compatible Echo devices in different rooms. Echo can also play audiobooks, radio stations, news briefs, and more.
• Call or message anyone hands-free with your Echo device. Also, instantly connect to other Echo devices in your home using just your voice.
• New speaker, now with Dolby processing for crisp vocals and dynamic bass response. Echo can fill the room with 360° omnidirectional audio.
• With seven microphones, beamforming technology, and noise cancellation, Echo hears you from any direction—even while music is playing
• Just ask Alexa to check your calendar, weather, traffic, and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control your compatible smart lights, thermostats, garage doors, sprinklers, and more
• Alexa is always getting smarter and adding new features and skills. Just ask Alexa to control your TV, request an Uber, order a pizza, and more.

Amazon also has a bunch of discounts on other Echo hardware and bundles. For example, you can grab the 2nd-gen Echo and a Philips Hue Starter Kit for $249.99, which is $50 off, or you can opt to go with the more affordable Echo Dot for just $29.99. You can also save $150 on two Echo Show’s if you add two of them to your cart. This is $50 more than previous savings, and you can add the $5 smart plug to each of them, making it an even crazier deal.

See at Amazon

Google Home vs Amazon Echo — Which smart speaker are you using?

Here’s which smart assistant our forum users are siding with.

This holiday season, there’s a good chance you’ll be picking up a smart speaker for someone on your shopping list. Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home line of gadgets are currently the top dogs in this field, with each company having an all-star lineup of different speakers to choose from.

Although Echos and Homes serve the same general purpose, there’s a distinct difference in how they operate due to Alexa powering Echos and Google Assistant powering the Home speakers. Our forum users recently got into a discussion about which smart home assistants they’ve been gravitating towards, and this is what some of them had to say.

bigbearballs
12-01-2017 01:56 PM

“

I switched from Alexa to mini and the biggest thing I’ve noticed is how much more my mini knows. It gives overall better and more answers to questions. I didn’t use Alexa for Bluetooth, so it wasn’t a big deal to lose that. I’m trying to integrate everything into Google and it’s been pretty easy. I have a home, mini, pixel 2, and now a Chromecast. I want a hub but I’m waiting since I heard Google…

Reply

Chex313
12-01-2017 04:05 PM

“

I find the mini only useful when I am near it. When I am in any other room and I query my Pixel 2 XL the mini answers….It even makes phone calls when I do not want it to…Its made voice searches to my phone useless. It is going to be relegated to the garage. It is useless for me until it can allow my phone to answer.

I much prefer my dots and echos. If I need a smart search I prefer my…

Reply

Almeuit
12-01-2017 04:18 PM

“

I tried Alexa for awhile .. I couldn’t stand it. I returned it and exclusively have been using Google Home for awhile now (way before the mini). I just didn’t like simple tasks such as “What is the traffic like to (X)?” not working with Alexa. How is it a smart assistant if it can’t answer a basic thing?

So far I have 2 mini / 1 home. I am pretty tied into Google. I also have Google WiFi,…

Reply

bhatech
12-01-2017 04:19 PM

“

Personally I’m not that impressed with Alexa, I like and prefer the Google Assistant which works much better for me. I’m all in on Google Assistant in turn Google home. I do also have an echo dot, costs so less so why not. I just use it when I’m forced to use like in case of some Amazon deals via Alexa etc.

Reply

Now, we’d like to pass the question on to you – Are you team Google Home or Amazon Echo?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Google Home

• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

Google Store Best Buy Target

Some Nintendo Wii games coming to NVIDIA Shield TV in 1080p

This is…unexpected.

The NVIDIA Shield TV is currently the best way to experience Android TV. Support for 4K HDR content allows your movies and TV shows to look as good as possible, and access to the NVIDIA Games channel turns the streaming box into a decent little gaming system.

There’s already a solid selection of Android games, ports of select PlayStation and Xbox titles, and even the ability to stream games from your Steam library if you have the proper computer hardware. Now, according to a report from Nintendo Wire, the Shield TV will soon pick up certain Wii titles.

Daniel Ahmed recently shared a trailer on Twitter for the Shield TV in China, and sure enough, it highlights games such as Super Mario Bros Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princes, and Punch Out!!. In addition to these, Metroid Prime is also expected to make an appearance soon.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, all of these games will be playable in a resolution of 1080p Full HD – quite the jump from the Wii’s output of 480p.

Unfortunately, as the story goes, there’s currently no reported plans of bringing any of these titles outside of China. I’m sure there are plenty of NVIDIA Shield TV owners in other parts of the world that would love to play through most all of these, so we’ll have to wait and see if any other countries are graced with an expanded release.

NVIDIA Shield Android TV

• Read our Shield Android TV review
• The latest Shield Android TV news
• Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
• Join the forum discussion
• Complete Shield Android TV specs

Amazon

Deal: Get a free Gear Fit2 Pro with purchase of unlocked Galaxy S8/S8+

Get a head start on your New Year’s resolution to be more active.

Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now behind us, that doesn’t mean the time for awesome deals on tech is gone. Samsung is currently running a “12 Days of Joy” promotion for numerous products on its website, and the latest allows you to get a Gear Fit2 Pro for free.

Buying an unlocked Galaxy S8 or S8+ through Samsung will come bundled with a red Gear Fit2 Pro completely free. Seeing as how the Fit2 Pro normally costs $199, that’s not a bad deal at all.

You’ll pay $725 for the S8 and $825 for the S8+, but you can get up to a $300 discount on either one when trading in a select phone – such as the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge or iPhone 7/7 Plus.

This promotion is available starting today, December 5.

See at Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Unlocked

Honor 7X review: The new budget champion

Honor’s latest affordable phone packs an 18:9 screen, a beautiful aluminum chassis and a decent camera into a device that sells for just £269.99.

The quick take

There are always trade-offs when buying a phone for less than £300, but Honor manages to successfully walk the budget tightrope, with only a few minor concerns around UI and the lack of NFC for mobile payments.

The Good

• Premium design and good-looking display
• Decent mid-range performance
• Dependable camera for general use
• Decent one-day battery life

The Bad

• Ships on Nougat
• Uses outdated microUSB port
• EMUI weirdness persists

Honor 7X Full Review

The budget phone world is a hugely competitive space, as Huawei’s Honor brand well knows from its recent efforts with the Honor 5X and 6X. These phones have generally managed to balance feature set, build quality and price with generally successful results. The Honor 5X was one of the first handsets to bring metal construction and fingerprint recognition to a cheaper price tier. And a year ago, the Honor 6X added a surprisingly competent dual camera rig to the experience.

A year on, Honor has taken the bones of the 6X, and fleshed it out into something that looks and feels more premium than anything I’ve used at its price point of £269.99. A brushed aluminum body with distinctive colors, including a trademark blue hue. A beautiful 18:9 display. And software which, though not entirely current, gets the job done.

About this review

We’re publishing this review after just over two weeks with an unlocked European Honor 7X (BND-L21). I (Alex Dobie) have been using it on Three in the UK, and also in Taiwan on Taiwan Mobile. The phone was running software version 101, based on Android 7.0 Nougat, with the October 5, 2017 Android security patch.

Metal slab

Honor 7X Hardware

On the outside, the Honor 7X broadly resembles a mash-up between an Honor 8 Pro and a Huawei Mate 10 Pro. It boasts a new, taller 18:9 aspect ratio, with a 5.93-inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) LCD panel — a first in such an inexpensive handset. The curves of the Honor 7X are more iPhone-like than other metal-bodied Android phones, including OnePlus’s just-launched 5T. As a result, it’s a little slick in the hand, though not disastrously so.

The body of the phone is furnished with a brushed, anodized aluminum finish that’s almost identical to the much more expensive Honor 8 Pro — including the signature navy blue hue that’ll be the main color for the UK. A plain old black model will also be offered, for the color-averse.

Other distinguishing features: top and bottom antenna bands, a slight bump around each of the two rear cameras, and a recessed rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. The 7X’s biometrics, by the way, are fast and accurate — though, naturally, lagging behind the speed of the Mate 10 Pro.

You could argue about whether, like the 6X and 5X, the design is a bit derivative. What’s more important is that there’s nothing at all cheap-feeling about this phone. Around the front, the 2.5D glass of the display finally has an oleophobic coating, which sounds like a small thing, but is hugely important in stopping the screen getting gunked up by fingerprints. That’s aside from the tall aspect ratio that gives makes phone just as modern-looking as a OnePlus 5T or LG V30.

The 7X’s premium finish is a leap beyond the Honor 6X.

The premium design and brushed finish of the Honor 7X takes a step beyond 6X and 5X.
Fortunately, the flagship-like aesthetics of the Honor 7X don’t come at the cost of durability. While Honor isn’t advertising the 7X as being drop-resistant in the same way as, for example, a Moto Z2 Force, the 7X does boast reinforced corners — the main impact point for any drop — to reduce the likelihood of permanent damage if it hits the floor. I haven’t put this to the test with my unit, but I did witness the phone survive a few impromptu drop tests at a meeting in London ahead of today’s announcement.

It also feels sturdy and well-built, with good weight distribution and haptics that are a little soft, but not rattly.

On the inside, the Honor 7X runs the latest of Huawei’s mid-level Kirin chips, the Kirin 659 — an octa-core 16nm part, along with 4GB of RAM and (in the UK) 64GB of storage, plus microSD. Like many other dual-SIM phones, the 7X’s hybrid slot can support either a single SIM plus SD Card, or two SIMs and no SD card.

It’s worth noting, however, that unlike some other dual-SIM handsets, the second SIM will only work in 2G mode, not 3G mode. Why does that matter? In some places like South Korea and Taiwan, 2G networks have been deactivated, making the second SIM slot useless.

Overall performance throughout my two weeks with the Honor 7X has been solid, though somewhat less dazzling than what I’ve seen from Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 630 chipset. In day-to-day tasks, the Honor 7X is performant enough to handle everything you might want to throw at it. But with heavy background tasks running — for example, app updates — a little performance jank can creep in.

There’s also no NFC, which makes Android Pay a non-starter on the phone. This omission in particular feels like a big miss.

On the other hand, at least the roomy 4GB of RAM means app reloads are seldom a problem.

A great-looking screen with no fingerprint-related issues.

And the display itself, a 2160×1080 LCD panel, has been given the attention it deserves. Along with the all-important oleophobic coating, it’s a solid upgrade from the 6X’s display in all the key metrics — outdoor visibility, color vibrance and viewing angles. This is no flagship-tier panel, but it’s also not as disappointing as the LCDs used in some of Motorola’s G5-series phones.

Audio-wise, the ever elusive 3.5mm headphone jack is thankfully present, alongside a single bottom-firing that gets reasonably loud, but is lacking in bass.

There’s another slightly weird component decision here too — the Honor 7X’s use of a fairly dated microUSB port, as opposed to the newer USB Type-C. It works just as well for charging, which maxes out at 5V/2A anyway, but it goes against the grain of what is otherwise quite a forward-looking phone.

Overall, then this is a device with good-enough mid-level internals packaged inside a deceptively high-end chassis. The Honor 7X’s hardware has just enough power to get the job done, and just enough style to stand out at its chosen price point.

EMUI 5.1

Honor 7X Software

On the software side, the compromises of running a mid-range chip are also apparent: The Honor 7X runs the older EMUI 5.1 firmware from the Huawei mothership, based on Android 7.0 Nougat. That’s as opposed to the newer EMUI 8 found in Kirin 970-powered handsets like the Honor V10 and Huawei Mate 10. Visually, this doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, and Honor has even ported some of EMUI 8’s more useful features back to the older software. Apps that don’t support 18:9 natively can easily be scaled up to fill the full size of the display. And some messaging apps can (optionally) open messages in a split-screen view if you’re watching full-screen video.

The Honor 7X’s lock screen has also been tweaked slightly compared with what we’ve seen on earlier EMUI phones (on both 5.x and 8.0). With the re-tooled lock screen, it’s now easier to expand notifications and swipe to unlock. Both changes make for a more polished experience in a part of Android you’ll use every day.

EMUI 5 adapts to a new, taller aspect ratio, with a couple of other feature additions ported from version 8.

Besides that, this is EMUI 5.1 just as we’ve seen it on a number of phones over the past twelve months. It’s an improvement on what came before, with a clean blue-and-white color scheme, but there’s still some software weirdness, including icons that don’t quite gel with the rest of Android.

However, I do appreciate many of EMUI’s many convenient additions , like the one-handed mode, which is easy to activate with a swipe along the software keys. EMUI can also run multiple instances of certain messaging apps, like WeChat, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which is particularly useful in a dual-SIM device, where you might be juggling both work and personal numbers.

We’ve gone into much more detail on Huawei’s EMUI 5 software in our reviews of the Mate 9 and Honor 9, and much of the software experience is unchanged. It’s a fast, responsive interface occasionally held back by weird design decisions.

Dual shooter

Honor 7X Cameras

Around the back, the Honor 7X 16-megapixel main camera with PDAF (phase-detection autofocus) behind an f/2.2 lens, backed up by a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for depth-sensing and portrait mode. (Unlike some Huawei-built phones, the secondary sensor doesn’t capture fine details, it just captures depth.)

Not a huge upgrade from the Honor 6X’s camera hardware, but the 7X’s camera still impresses.

The resolution is upgraded from the 13-megapixel sensor used in the Honor 6X, but besides that, many of the strengths and weaknesses of that camera carry over. There’s no OIS (optical image stabilization), so performance can quickly degrade in darker conditions, and hand motion can introduce blurring into photos, even in relatively well-lit shots.

That’s even more noticeable in the 7X’s new portrait mode, the performance of which quickly tails off in darker conditions.

Honor’s excellent post-processing picks up the slack, though, and just like the Honor 6X, a steady hand will be rewarded with surprisingly good-looking shots. In particular, the 7X manages to eke out impressive dynamic range from daylight shots, considering the price of this phone.

Despite the general smudginess of night-time photos from the Honor 7X compared to more expensive models, I’ve been generally happy with the photo quality from this phone. Don’t expect miracles, but also don’t expect a camera that’s a total afterthought.

Around the front, there’s an 8-megapixel setup that’s also capable of capturing portrait mode shots — a feature that’s only just starting to gain prominence in the Android world. Again, in the context of this phone’s price, the selfie camera works pretty well. Noise is generally absent from selfies, though images are much softer than higher-end offerings. (And edge detection can be pretty rough considering the limits of the camera and the processor.)

Power up

Honor 7X Battery Life

Last year’s Honor 6X proved to be a pleasant surprise in terms of battery longevity. And the 7X promises at least decent performance in this area, thanks to the same 3,340mAh internal battery capacity that served its forerunner so well. That’s nothing to write home about in the flagship space, it’s plenty for a device like the 7X, running lower-powered silicon.

An average battery capacity goes a long way, thanks to efficient innards.

Between an efficient CPU using Cortex-A53 cores and a relatively large battery, the Honor 7X has enough juice to get you through a full day of use. I regularly got solid 16-17 hour days from the phone’s battery, with mixed use on LTE and Wi-Fi, and screen-on time in the 4-hour ballpark. The Kirin 659’s use of four A53s makes power draw relatively predictable, and I didn’t notice any excessive power draw even in intensive tasks like desktop web browsing or gaming.

Unfortunately there’s no advanced quick charging solution to be found here, like Huawei’s Super Charging, or even 9V quick charging. But the Honor 7X’s 5V/2A rapid charging is speedy enough that occasional evening refills aren’t too tedious with the bundled 2A plug.

The bottom line

Should you buy the Honor 7X? Yes

The Honor 7X has flagship looks, but not quite flagship brawn. You’ll need to settle for a less powerful CPU, a less capable camera, especially in low light, no NFC, and year-old Android software. Nevertheless, despite these compromises, which were surely necessary to hit the £269.99 price point, the Honor 7X delivers an enjoyable, high-performance Android experience in a chassis that’s just as desirable as phones costing twice as much.

You may well notice how much faster, say, a OnePlus 5T is compared to the Honor 7X. But in terms of the construction and overall quality, there’s really not much in it at all. And in normal day-to-day use, the 7X’s performance is perfectly fine, with no cutting of corners around RAM or internal storage.

Mid-range internals in a high-end chassis makes for a pretty good phone.

Like other Huawei and Honor phones, contending with weird-looking software continues to be a thing. As well as running an old version of Android — which, to Huawei’s credit, is no longer a given for the company’s phones — the Honor 7X’s EMUI 5 interface will be jarring to newcomers in the West. It’s not as attractive as stock Android, and niggling app compatibility issues remain.

Ultimately, though, a phone at this price is all about balance, and the Honor 7X certainly offers the best balance of any handset I’ve used in the £250-300 bracket. If you’re after a stylish budget phone that doesn’t skimp on performance or features, it’s absolutely worth a look.

Google will soon let you pay and manage your bills with Tez

In honor of 12 million users, Google has big things in store for Tez.

This past September, Google launched a new mobile payment service in India called “Tez.” The goal of Tez is to allow users to send money to friends and make payments to merchants, and it appears to have taken off quite well as Google recently announced that the service is about to cross 12 million users.

Google made this announcement at an event it held in New Delhi, and along with this, unveiled a new feature that will allow users to pay and manage their bills right within Tez.

There are more than 70 service providers throughout India that have already partnered with Google for this feature, and it’ll enable folks in the country to manage payments for their phone service, electricity, heating, etc.

Tez will show your full billing history and let you pay for new ones with just a few taps.

You’ll be able to view your full billing history for these various services in Tez, and when it comes time to pay a new one, all you’ll have to do is tap the “Pay bill” button since the amount that’s owed is automatically entered for you.

Tez’s new bill payment feature will be available through an update that’ll land in the coming weeks, and next year Google will focus on adding even more features to it so smaller businesses and independent contractors can use it for their services as well.

Google Tez: Everything you need to know