Honor 70 review: A solid Android phone value

The Honor 70 could also be arriving late to this yr’s midrange phone celebration, however it’s nonetheless making fairly an entrance. Whereas not as attractively priced as a few of its rivals, Honor justifies the fee by equipping the Honor 70 with a superb show, fast charging, lengthy battery life and efficient cameras. These final two are notably welcome to see, as they have been weak spots with final yr’s Honor 50. 

However flaws stay with the Honor 70, most notably a restricted replace schedule and humdrum efficiency, which holds again the Honor 70’s gaming skills regardless of an excellent large display. 

You could be higher off with the Google Pixel 6a, Samsung Galaxy A53 or OnePlus Nord 2T, relying on what you need out of your phone. But when you understand what you wish to use your new phone for streaming and photographs, and that utilization will not tax the chipset an excessive amount of, then the Honor 70 is there to supply that with an satisfying premium edge.

Honor 70 evaluate: Value and availability

The Honor 70 launches within the U.Ok. and the remainder of Europe September 2. Like earlier Honor telephones, this is not one for American customers, so anybody within the States ought to check out the Pixel 6a and Galaxy A53, that are simpler sufficient to trace down in that nation.

Honor has solely given the 70’s official worth in euros, begin at €549 and going as much as €599. That is a bit greater than the bottom Honor 50 from final yr price on the European mainland, however we must always anticipate the fee for U.Ok. consumers to return in at round £450, which is what the Honor 50 price right here. That’s what you’d pay for a Galaxy A53, however it’s a bit costlier than the iPhone SE (2022) and a complete £100 greater than the essential Nord 2T.

Honor 70 evaluate: Design

The flashy design of the Honor 70 makes it appear like a way more costly phone than it truly is.

The curved sides and central punch-hole digicam may persuade you it is a Galaxy S22 Extremely from a distance, though it is a lot slimmer and lighter than its nominal 6.7-inch show measurement would have you ever imagine.

Just like the OnePlus Nord 2T, the Honor 70 is responsible of utilizing overly giant digicam bumps to make its rear sensors look extra spectacular. Nevertheless, the general look with the 2 raised round bumps does assist distinguish the Honor from different telephones in its worth bracket, which are inclined to default to the everyday rectangular digicam block.

Honor additionally helps its phone look distinctive with some attention-grabbing coloration selections. There’s the diamond-patterned Crystal Silver (pictured) and the pearlescent Icelandic Frost that actually catch your eye. However you can even select from Emerald Inexperienced and Midnight Black if you happen to would somewhat go for a extra good selection.

Honor 70 evaluate: Show

The explanation to get the Honor 70 comes right down to its display. It is giant at 6.7 inches throughout, whereas providing the more and more widespread 120Hz refresh charge and the anticipated FHD decision. Simply remember that the 120Hz charge isn’t adaptive, as you’ll discover with the shows on costlier telephones.

Honor additionally boasts of its excessive 1920Hz pulse width modulation (PWM) which makes the display much less of a pressure in your eyes, notably in dim environments.

About the one factor you can actually object by way of the Honor’s show specs at this worth is the truth that the display is curved. Even after a number of years of many Android manufacturers making use of rounded left and proper edges, that is nonetheless a controversial function, however in my time with the Honor 70, I did not discover myself making any unintended touches on the curved a part of the display.

I had a watch of the Pinocchio trailer on the Honor 70, adopted by a screening on the Nord 2T. The larger, brighter, extra vibrant panel on the Honor made for the easiest way to observe the well-known puppet come to life. The one level within the Nord’s favor was picture sharpness, which regarded higher on the smaller display because it has the identical FHD decision because the Honor.

Honor 70 evaluate: Cameras

There are three cameras on the again of the Honor 70, however solely two are actually necessary — the 54MP primary digicam and 50MP ultrawide digicam. The remaining sensor is a 2MP depth sensor. To spherical issues out, there’s additionally a 32MP selfie digicam on the entrance of the phone.

I in contrast the Honor 70 to the OnePlus Nord 2T throughout a number of completely different pictures, coming away impressed by what the Honor was able to producing. As an illustration, the Honor 70 supplies the higher picture total of Farringdon Underground station with its richer colours. Plus, the Honor 70’s, higher HDR offers extra definition to the whitest a part of the clouds and helps the white textual content of the station signal come out extra. That stated, I do like the additional element the OnePlus picture brings out within the bricks and paving stones in comparison with what the Honor 70 captures.

This darker picture from indoors on the new Farringdon Elizabeth line platform additionally reveals how a lot hotter pictures from the Honor’s cameras will be. Once more, I just like the sharper outlines and markings you may see within the Nord 2T’s picture, however not how depressing the shot appears with its drab coloration palette.

The Honor 70 presents a lot better ultrawide photographs, too. This shot of a sculpture exterior the Tom’s Information London workplace involves life within the Honor’s shot, little question due to its bigger 50MP sensor. That very same picture seems very flat when seen via the 8MP Nord 2T ultrawide digicam, which does the design of the distinctive construction no favors.

As for this portrait selfie comparability, I feel it is the OnePlus’ spherical. The Honor 70’s shot is simply too gentle, which wipes out the element of my pores and skin and within the wall behind me. I can see why others could like that impact for his or her pictures, although, so I will not write off Honor’s selfie totally right here.

Honor 70 evaluate: Efficiency

The metaphorical engine for the Honor 70 is its Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset, which is joined by 8GB RAM. That sounds OK on its face, however this chip is definitely virtually a yr previous, and that age reveals when pitted in opposition to units with newer processors.

Because the desk of outcomes reveals, the Honor 70 edges out a win within the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark over the Nord 2T, however loses in the case of the 2 3DMark GPU checks and our customized Adobe Premiere Rush encoding process. 

In fact, the iPhone SE (2022) with its monstrous A15 chip sits miles forward on all fronts, however the Tensor-powered Pixel 6a additionally supplies some spectacular outcomes for its worth, outperforming the Honor on all of the checks.

The Honor 70 nonetheless has sufficient power to take care of day-to-day duties, so the one time I seen the ability distinction was after I was gaming. The automobiles of Grid Autosport look decidedly uneven if you happen to take a look at them for too lengthy, though a minimum of the gameplay was nonetheless clean.

The Honor 70 options both 128GB or 256GB of storage, which matches the capability choices on the Nord 2T whereas beating the 128GB-only Pixel 6a. Nevertheless, the 128GB Samsung Galaxy A53 goes one higher and presents microSD card help alongside its 128GB capability — that offers you as much as 1TB of detachable storage if you happen to purchase the precise card.

Honor 70 evaluate: Battery and charging

Honor generously throws in a 66W charger with the 70 within the field, so you will get most velocity charging as quickly as you get the phone. The charger, which will get the phone from 0% to 41% in quarter-hour and to 78% in half-hour, is fairly speedy, however the OnePlus Nord 2T does beat it, utilizing an 80W charger to succeed in 100% in 31 minutes.

The battery which that 66W brick powers has a 4,800 mAh capability. That’s a bit smaller than I might ideally like a phone of this measurement to have, although it’s a step up from the Honor 50’s 4,300 mAh cell. Operating my normal YouTube energy drain take a look at, it took me 4 hours to empty the battery from 30% to 0%, which is quicker than the OnePlus Nord 2T drained (12% in two hours, subsequently 24% in 4 hours). That result’s probably as a result of Nord’s bigger 5,000 mAh battery and decrease 90Hz show refresh charge.

Honor 70 evaluate: Software program

Honor’s previous as a division of Huawei is now most seen in its Magic UI pores and skin for Android. This specific denomination of Android 12 comes with some distinctive touches similar to swiping up on sure app icons to open its associated widget, and a closely redesigned interface and default app icon set that offers the entire phone a relaxed and sensible really feel. There’s nonetheless no app drawer although, so all of your apps will probably be splashed throughout your property display with solely folders to assist type them.

The Honor 70 can use Google apps, together with the Play Retailer. Whereas its telephones have been unable to for a few years resulting from its affiliation with Huawei, after going out by itself, the phone maker can as soon as once more entry the same old Android ecosystem.

Honor’s not informed us but what number of years of Android help the Honor 70 will get, however likelihood is it’s going to be two years of full updates, following the sample set by earlier telephones. That is not that spectacular, as now you can get three years of updates with the Google Pixel 6a, and 4 with Samsung’s Galaxy A53, which is able to assist maintain these telephones up to the mark with newer units for longer.

Honor 70 evaluate: Verdict

With the Honor 70, we’ve one other good phone from Honor, one that gives one other steady brick for the post-independence fame that Honor’s been constructing. The explanations you should purchase this phone over different equally priced ones are its wonderful show and its robust pictures, though the quick charging and environment friendly battery could assist tip the scales for you too.

Anybody wanting processing energy and the very best pictures will probably be higher off with a Pixel 6a although, due to its Tensor-fuelled efficiency and wonderful picture processing software program. These on the hunt for the very best value ought to head towards the OnePlus Nord 2T, whose base mannequin undercuts the Honor 70 whereas nonetheless offering many related capabilities (plus a number of higher ones like speedier charging and efficiency). There’s additionally the Samsung Galaxy A53, which advantages from expandable storage and longer software program help for extra long-term value.

If you happen to value a phone’s show above all although, and prefer to see a phone that stands out in areas like battery, the Honor 70 is price contemplating for anybody who naturally shies away from costly flagships.