For quite some time, I’ve been underwhelmed by the pricing of smartphones that launch in the South African market. Premium devices feel like they’re not offering real value for money, while ultra-premium flagships continue to push pricing higher and higher while not updating much between versions.

But when I attended the launch of the Honor X9c, I was actually excited by its features at a mid-range price point. So I was really keen on trying out the device for myself, and not just because of its durability.

I spent a few weeks trying out the smartphone and here’s what I thought about it…

Honor X9c features

The Honor X9c has some impressive specs for a device that cost R10,999 at launch. While much of the launch event focused on the phone’s durability, I was drawn to other aspects of the device.

This includes it 6,600mAh silicon-carbon battery, 66W charging, and the slim design that feels extremely premium.

You can see a summary of the phone’s specs below:

• Main display: 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 2700×1224 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
• GPU: Adreno A710
• Main camera: 108MP main camera + 5MP wide camera
• Selfie camera: 16MP
• Battery: 6,600mAh silicon-carbon battery
• RAM: 8GB/12GB
• On-board storage: 256GB

Design

I’m a sucker for a good design and while many people are enjoying the return to flat screens, I enjoy the premium feel of a curved display.

I also like it when brands experiment with colours, and the Jade Cyan variant of the device is definitely striking.

The X9c is incredibly slim, measuring 7.98mm thick. When I held it in my hands without its cover, I was impressed by just how lightweight it felt.

Despite its low weight, the X9c has an immersive 6.78-inch display, so it doesn’t feel like the company had to compromise much in terms of screen real estate to maintain a lightweight body.

The fact that this phone is also so durable is a great benefit, since as much as I like curved displays, I also know they are extremely easy to crack.

Honor X9c camera

One of the most important smartphone features for me is the camera setup, which is why I usually opt for flagships over mid-range devices.

While the Honor X9c has a 108MP main lens, this doesn’t mean all your photos will be taken with the high-resolution camera.

I tested out the camera the most in its default shooting mode, since this is how most people will snap their own images. I tried out a variety of scenarios to see how it would handle the challenging lighting in my apartment and the washed-out views of summer in Cape Town.

I also tried out a few shots in the high resolution mode, as this mode often comes with trade-offs like a lack of zooming. I also usually find these images to be less saturated than the primary camera.

In good lighting, the X9c’s camera performs capably. It is able to capture details while bringing out the colours of plants and flowers.

The camera struggles a bit more with challenging lighting. While the colour balance remains, some areas become over-exposed when there’s too much backlighting. When post-processing the images, the phone’s software adds a bit of a halo around the dark subject (my black cat BV).

When it came to the high resolution camera, I was impressed that the image had adequate saturation despite the bright, washed out view of Table Mountain in summer.

That said, I do wish the camera had a bit more flexibility when it came to zoom. It also feels like there’s a huge gap between a 108MP lens and a 5MP lens, so I wish the wide-angle lens had a higher resolution since this would be the primary lens people use for most of their images.

Then again, most people aren’t pixel-peeping and just want their images to come out well. In that respect, the Honor X9c does a good job for a mid-range smartphone.

Battery life

Battery performance is an area in which the X9c excels. With normal usage, you can easily get around 2 days’ battery life on the smartphone.

When running it through the PCMark for Android benchmark, I set the phone to 50% brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. The benchmark runs through a series of tasks until the phone reaches 20% battery.

In that test, the battery lasted 14 hours and 35 minutes. I do wish it lasted a bit longer however, since when I reviewed the Honor X9a it lasted longer despite having a smaller battery.

This could be down to the screen’s refresh rate and a more power-hungry processor. For the average person, however, this is more than adequate battery life. Paired with 66W charging, you can also charge up the battery reasonably quickly when it runs low.

Performance

When it comes to the performance of the X9c, I was impressed with how seamless the interface felt. The apps and camera were responsive, despite me loading up the phone with dozens of apps.

But what about a more objective mark of performance? I used the PCMark benchmark for Android test again to see how well the phone performs. For the test, it scored 12,970.

This is a 2,000-point improvement over the Honor X9a and falls in a similar range to devices like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro.

I often find that mid-range phones struggle with performance and lag between app switching. But everything worked smoothly on the X9c.

Review verdict: Is the Honor X9c worth it?

If you’re looking for a mid-range device that performs well and delivers value for money, the Honor X9c is definitely worth it. While it’s by no means a flagship-killer, it has a premium design, a good battery, and a good camera.

It gives me hope that the company will continue to deliver good products at competitive price points for South African consumers.