Honor 90 review – Smart design with sharp display at a premium

• The Honor 90 is the first smartphone from HTech, which has partnered with PASV Global to sell Honor branded smartphones.
• The device has been priced starting at ₹37,999 and is available in two variants.
• Here’s my review of the Honor 90 that will help you decide whether to buy the device or not.

HTech on Thursday launched the Honor 90, its first smartphone in collaboration with PSAV Global, which marks the return of Honor branded smartphones in the country after the company pulled its operations in July 2020 after the brand was sold by Huawei.

The Honor 90 is a feature-packed smartphone that offers premium features at an affordable price. The main highlight of the device includes its vibrant display, cameras and the design.

I have been using the Honor 90 for a few weeks now, and here is my detailed review of the latest mid-range offering from Madhav Sheth-led HTech.

Honor 90 price and availability

The Honor 90 has been priced at ₹37,999 for the 8GB RAM variant and ₹39,999 for the 12GB RAM variant. The device comes in Midnight Black, Emerald Green and Diamond Silver colour options. It will go on sale starting from September 18 from Amazon India.

In the box

• Honor 90 smartphone
• Silicon case
• 30W charger
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• 3.5mm to Type-C convertor
• Documentation

Honor 90 specifications

Honor 90 pros and cons

Pros

• Camera performance
• Display

Cons

• 30W charger in the box
• Price

Design and display

The Honor 90 comes with a frosted glass back and is available in three colour options – Midnight Black, Emerald Green and Diamond Silver. I received the Diamond Silver colour option and having seen all three colours, I feel the Silver one is the best among the three.


The Honor 90 Diamond Silver smartphone comes with etched diamond grid patterns at the bottom half at the back that not only gives it a different look, it also offers slightly better grip.

The frosted glass back prevents fingerprint smudges on the device and feels premium to hold. The frame is plastic and comes with a silver finish.


On the upper half, the Honor 90 comes with two large cutouts for the rear camera module, which includes three cameras and the LED flash. The upper half of the device features a plain glossy design.

Apart from the camera module and the diamond grid patterns, the device comes with Honor branding and some text on the right side.


On the right side, the smartphone features the power button and the volume rockers.


The left side of the device and the top features a microphone.


The bottom of the device is packed, featuring a SIM tray, a microphone, USB Type-C port and the speaker grille.


Coming to the display, the Honor 90 smartphone features a 6.7-inch Full HD+ curved OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It offers 1,600 nits peak brightness, which ensures that the display is visible even under direct sunlight.


The display is one of the highlights of the device. It is a quad-curved display that leaves little room for bezels. The curved edges make it easier to hold and offer an immersive visual experience while watching content or gaming.

The smartphone features 3840Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, which the company claims is the fastest in the market. What this does is screen flicker and is claimed to be better for the eyes. It has TUV Rheinland flicker-free display certification.

Software and performance

The Honor 90 runs on Android 13 out of the box and comes with the company’s MagicOS 7.1 skin on top. Honor has revealed that the device will receive two years of Software updates and three years of security patches.

While the device features a custom skin, it offers a clean user interface. While it cannot be considered stock, it offers a near-stock feel.


However, the phone does have some bloatware in the form of pre-installed applications such as “Game of Sultans”, “Lords Mobile” and more. While these applications can be uninstalled, it would have been better if they were not pre-installed.

Another issue in terms of software is that the device runs on Android 13 and will only get two years of Android updates and with Android 14 just around the corner, the company should have offered three years of updates, which is a standard in this segment.

Coming to the performance, the Honor 90 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition coupled with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

The device comes with a powerful chipset and is equipped with ample RAM and storage. I played popular titles such as Battlegrounds Mobile India and Asphalt 9 on the smartphone to see how it holds up while gaming. It offers a good gaming experience and even with Full HD graphics enabled along with high refresh rate, I did not notice any stuttering or lag.

However, it is worth noting that the iQOO Neo 7 Pro, which is priced similarly, offers the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, a much more powerful option.

Coming to the battery, the device is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 30W fast charging support. The device easily lasts for a day on a single charge and the 30W charging ensures it can be quickly charged.

Camera

The camera is another highlight of the Honor 90. The device is equipped with a triple camera setup at the back, consisting of a 200MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth sensor.


Both the front and rear cameras support 4K video recording at 30 FPS, which is good to have, especially on the front. The device however misses out on OIS, which is important to achieve shake-free shots.


The images captured by the primary camera are 12.5MP pixel-binned. Images captured in daylight turned out quite well, capturing good details with good colour accuracy. The dynamic-range is slightly impacted when the lighting changes.


Images captured using the 200MP camera offer improved details but the colour accuracy takes a hit.

Portrait shots turned out well with good edge detection. The ultra-wide sensor performs well in good lighting conditions, delivering good details and colour accuracy.


Coming to low-light conditions, the device is able to capture decent images but there is some loss in detail. As the device lacks OIS, you may also struggle to properly stabilise the images when capturing images in low-light.


On the front, the device sports a 50MP selfie camera. It captures good images in daylight and low-light conditions.

Launch offers

As part of an introductory offer, HTech has announced a few launch offers –

• Discount of ₹3,000 for ICICI Bank and SBI debit and credit card users
• Additional exchange discount of ₹2,000
• Free TWS worth ₹5,000

Verdict

The Honor 90 ticks a lot of boxes, including good design, excellent display and good cameras. It also offers decent performance and battery life. The Honor 90 is a good option if you are looking for a smartphone with a good design and cameras.

However, you need to consider the price it is offered at and other devices available in this segment. If you are looking for a more powerful option, you can consider devices like the iQOO Neo 7 Pro, the OnePlus Nord 3 and the Poco F5 that offer better processors.

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