Introduction
Smartphones specifically for gaming are one of the fastest growing categories in the mobile device market. Devices from the Razer Phone to the ROG and everything in between are trying to offer the best possible performance and gaming experience in a mobile form factor.
The next such smartphone is Honor Play. This is a device with the highest specifications and a large cutout on the screen. It has some smart optimizations, like a thermal management system and enhanced graphics.
So, is this affordable gaming smartphone really as good as it looks on paper? Working with it for more than a week and playing PUBG frequently allows us to give an answer.
Performance
There's no doubt that the Kirin 970 performs great in the real world. Be it heavy gaming like PUBG and Asphalt 8, intense work sessions on a 4G connection, or multitasking on social media, the 6GB RAM variant of the Honor Play we tested didn't slow down at all.
Honor boasts a new antenna design that the company claims improves call quality. Indeed, the signals were excellent, even in areas with poor communications. We didn't have any problems with the headphones and they sounded quite loud and clear.
Gaming is touted to be one of the highlights of the Honor Play smartphone. The smartphone is sold in China as a gaming phone and as far as the global market is concerned, it comes as a premium mid-range offering. However, we tested the new GPU Turbo technology with one of the two games that have been optimized for it so far - PUBG and Mobile Legends.
After winning a few online PUBG matches, we noticed that the performance was smooth. The GPU Turbo feature can't be turned off, so it's hard to say what would have happened without it. However, we did notice that the battery level dropped by a significant amount, which is not unexpected given the challenging nature of the game. The phone also got a little warm after about 25-30 minutes of continuous play.
We even tested the newest game, Asphalt 9:Legends, which delivered great results on Honor Play. Please note that this new mobile game is not yet included in the list of GPU Turbo optimized games. Huawei has announced that the Honor Play game will add a force feedback vibration feature called "4D Gaming" with a future OTA update.
Review of the Honor View 20 smartphone
Specifications
- Dimensions and weight: 157.91 x 74.27 x 7.48 mm, 176 g
- Biometrics: fingerprint scanner
- Material: metal
- Colors: black
- OS: Android 8.1
- Screen: 6.3 inches IPS LCD, 1080 x 2340, 409 ppi, 83.13%
- Cameras: rear 16 MP, f/2.2, LED flash; second 2 MP, f/2.4; phase detection autofocus, 4K 30 fps video. Front 16 MP
- Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 970 8-core 64 bit, ARM Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A73, 2360 MHz, 10 nm, Mali-G72 MP12
- Memory: 6 GB, storage 64 GB
- Battery: 3750 mAh
The best Huawei / Honor smartphones 2021 with Google / Google Play services. Top 10
9th place.
Honor 8A 32GB
The average price in Russia is 8,000 rubles.
The model went on sale in Russia at the end of March 2021 and today has received 60% of fives in Yandex Market and 88% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics: frameless screen with a drop-shaped cutout, 6.1-inch diagonal, resolution 1560×720 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 32 GB of storage and 2 GB of RAM, slot for a memory card up to 512 GB, support for two SIM cards . MediaTek Helio P35 8-core processor. The result of the AnTuTu performance test is 86.3 thousand points. Battery capacity - 3020 mAh. The result of the UL Benchmarks autonomy test is 10 hours 55 minutes. There is a fingerprint scanner. There is NFC.
The 13MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture lets in more light for better night shots and bokeh for portraits. The 8 MP front camera with artificial intelligence supports a beautification function that will make everyday selfies bright and unforgettable.
see The best smartphones under 8,000 rubles
8th place.
Honor 8A Pro
The average price in Russia is 10,000 rubles.
The model went on sale in Russia on March 27, 2021 and today received 87% of fives in Yandex Market and 86% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics: frameless screen with a drop-shaped cutout, 6.1-inch diagonal, resolution 1560×720 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 64 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM, slot for a memory card up to 512 GB, support for two SIM cards . Battery capacity - 3020 mAh. 8-core MediaTek Helio P35 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner. There is NFC.
Main camera 13 MP with f/1.8 aperture. Front camera 8 MP.
In terms of technical specifications, this smartphone is a complete copy of the Huawei Y6s 2021 64GB and occupies a higher place in our ranking due to its greater popularity in Russia.
see The best smartphones under 10 thousand rubles
7th place.
Honor 10 Lite 64/3GB
The average price in Russia is 12,000 rubles.
Today's latest Honor model, which is an updated version of the Honor 10 light model, went on sale in Russia in November 2021.
Technical characteristics of the model: frameless IPS screen with a drop-shaped cutout of 6.21 inches with a resolution of 2340 × 1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 64 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, there is a slot for a memory card with a capacity of up to 512 GB. Battery capacity 3400 mAh. The result of the UL Benchmarks autonomy test is 10 hours 57 minutes. Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor with Mali-G51 MP4 graphics accelerator. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 151.6 thousand points. Fingerprint scanner on the back panel. There is NFC.
The main camera is double: the first module is 13 megapixels with f/1.8 aperture, the second is 2 megapixels with f/2.4 aperture. Front camera 24 MP.
6th place.
Honor 20e
The average price in Russia is 14,000 rubles.
The new product went on sale in the Russian Federation in September 2021 and today has received 67% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 100% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics of the model: frameless IPS screen with a drop-shaped cutout for a 6.21-inch camera with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, memory card slot up to 512 GB. Battery capacity 3400 mAh. Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710F processor. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 153.4 thousand points. Fingerprint scanner on the back panel. There is also a face unlock feature. NFC.
Three cameras: main 24 MP (f/1.8), ultra-wide-angle module 8 MP (f/2.4) and module for bokeh effect 2 MP (f/2.4). Front camera 8 MP (f/2.0).
This model takes 4th place in the ranking of the best smartphones under 13,000 rubles.
see The best smartphones under 15 thousand rubles
5th place.
Huawei P Smart Z
The average price in Russia is 16,000 rubles.
The model from Huawei went on sale in Russia in June 2021. The model received 62% of fives in Yandex Market and 86% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics: frameless screen (no cutout, because the front camera is retractable) 6.59 inches with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, slot for memory card up to 512 GB, support for 2 SIM cards. Battery capacity - 4000 mAh. 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 138 thousand points. Fingerprint scanner on the back panel. There is NFC.
The main camera is double: the first module is 16 megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture, the second module is 2 megapixels with an f/2.4 aperture. Front camera 16 MP.
4th place.
Honor 9X Lite
The average price in Russia is 15,000 rubles.
The smartphone went on sale in Russia in September 2021 and today has received 90% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 94% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics: LTPS screen (with unibrow) 6.5 inches with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 128 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, slot for memory card up to 512 GB Battery capacity 3750 mAh. Eight-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 182.4 thousand points. Fingerprint scanner on the back panel. There is NFC.
Two cameras: 48 MP (f/1.8 aperture) + 2 MP depth-of-field sensor (f/2.4). Front camera 8 MP, f/2.0 aperture.
3rd place.
Honor 9X 128/4GB
The average price in Russia is 16,000 rubles.
The successor to the mega-popular Honor 8X went on sale in Russia on November 8, 2021. The model received 68% of fives in Yandex Market and 90% of recommendations for purchase. This is the best-selling frameless smartphone in Russia without a cutout on the screen in 2021 .
Technical characteristics: frameless IPS screen (no cutout, because the front camera is retractable) 6.59 inches with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system with Google services, 128 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, memory card slot up to 512 GB, support for 2 SIM cards. Battery capacity - 4000 mAh. Battery life in talk mode is 24 hours, while listening to music is 120 hours. The result of the UL Benchmarks battery life test is 9 hours 6 minutes. 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 182.4 thousand points. The fingerprint scanner is on the back panel, which is made using a three-dimensional pattern in the shape of the Latin letter X: the surface shimmers and shimmers when light hits it from different angles, which creates a mesmerizing optical effect. There is NFC.
The main camera is double: the first module is 48 megapixels with an f/1.8 aperture, the second module is 2 megapixels (used to determine the depth of field). The 16 MP front camera is located inside the body and will not interfere with your enjoyment of what is happening on the screen. The camera will appear in just 1 second when you want to take a selfie, and will automatically return to its place when you finish shooting. Honor 9X is the first Honor smartphone with a retractable camera.
see Best bezel-less smartphones without notch/notch/drop
2nd place.
Honor 20s
The average price in Russia is 18,000 rubles.
The Honor model went on sale in the Russian Federation on November 19, 2021 and today has received 62% of five reviews in Yandex Market and 92% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics of the model: frameless IPS screen with a drop-shaped cutout 6.15 inches with a resolution of 2312 × 1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system, 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, without a memory card slot. Battery capacity 3340 mAh. Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor with Mali-G51 MP4 graphics accelerator. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 145 thousand points. Fingerprint scanner on the back panel. There is NFC.
Three cameras: main 48 MP (f/1.8), ultra-wide-angle module 8 MP (f/2.4) and macro module 2 MP. Front camera 24 MP (f/2.0).
see The best smartphones under 20 thousand rubles
1 place.
Honor 20 6/128GB - the best Huawei / Honor smartphone with Google services
The average price in Russia is 25,500 rubles.
The flagship Honor went on sale in Russia in July 2021 and today has received 73% of fives in Yandex Market and 92% of recommendations for purchase.
Technical characteristics: 6.26-inch frameless IPS screen with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels, Android 9.0 operating system, 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards. Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor with Mali-G76 MP10 graphics accelerator. The result of the AnTuTu Benchmark performance test is 401.2 thousand points.
Battery capacity 3750 mAh. Battery life in video viewing mode is 12 hours 18 minutes. Fingerprint scanner on the side. There is NFC.
4 main cameras. The first module is a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586, which is used in such flagships as Xiaomi Mi 9, ASUS Zenfone 6 and OnePlus 7 Pro. The second is a 16 MP ultra-wide-angle module with a focal length of 13 mm and autofocus. The third is a 2 MP sensor for macro photography. The fourth module (also 2 megapixels) is designed to create a bokeh effect.
Front camera 32 MP.
Design
In terms of appearance, the Honor Play's main achievement is the fact that it doesn't look like a nerd phone. This is an ordinary smartphone, and a sturdy one at that. It has a durable yet sleek metal construction.
There are as many as five color options available: black, blue, purple, red and another black. This review focuses on the red device.
At the front there is a frameless screen with a cutout. The physical buttons are on the right side. This is the power button and volume rocker on the top. At the bottom there is a speaker, microphone, USB-C port and a 3.5 mm jack for wired headphones.
The fingerprint scanner is on the back, it works very quickly. The device unlocks instantly after pressing. This is common for Huawei and Honor smartphones; recognition reliability is also high.
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To unlock, you can also use the front camera, which also pleased me with its speed. The unlocking process is simple and fast. All you have to do is pick up the device and look at it.
At the back there are two cameras with vertical modules. What's missing here is water resistance and wireless charging.
Honor Play design
One of the most significant things about the Honor Play is its metal body, which is reminiscent of last year's Honor View 10. It's a departure from Huawei's recent glass back craze, which has seen many recent premium offerings, including the Honor 10 and Huawei P20 Lite. and Huawei P20 Pro.
While offering a stylish and elegant look, glass, however, cannot compete with metal in terms of durability. The Honor Play feels significantly less slippery than, say, the Honor 10, but it definitely doesn't look like a premium smartphone. The tall display and thin body also make the phone too large to hold comfortably in small hands.
The Honor Play borrows most of the design thinking from the Honor 10 with smaller borders on the sides of the screen. Also on this smartphone, the inscription is much larger.
The chin at the bottom is smaller, but still has the Honor logo. Honor Play is not entirely convenient, although it is quite compact for a smartphone with a 6.3-inch display. In fact, this large screen is suitable for the form factor of a 5.5-inch phone - such as the iPhone 7 Plus.
Screen
Whether you like cutouts or not, they're here to stay. Like many devices after the iPhone X, Honor Play received a medium-sized cutout at the top of the screen. You could say it's as elegant as it gets. You can try to hide it with a black stripe if it's annoying. In games, the cutout is hidden automatically so as not to interfere with the interface.
It's good that there is no big frame at the bottom. This adds style to the device and allows for more screen real estate.
This is a 6.3 inch LCD panel. It is even longer than current flagships due to the aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The resolution is 1080 x 2340 pixels, which is enough to get a clear picture.
This is not to say that this is a great screen. This becomes clear immediately after you start comparing it with other high-quality LCD screens, and even more so OLED.
The panel looks dull, lacks saturation and strength, and has too much glare. Because of this, games lose some of their appeal. Despite the high performance of the processor, the screen can ruin the gaming experience.
Interface and functionality
Honor Play runs EMUI 8.2 on top of Android 8.1. EMUI comes down to two things: good optimization with smooth transitions across the interface and a terribly outdated appearance. You can change the icons and install a different bootloader, but you will still regularly come across the same outdated appearance in key applications. You can't get rid of them and it can be annoying.
As with any smartphone that isn't called Google Pixel, updates are a concern. When will Android 9 Pie be here? Will there even be Android 10 here? There are no answers to these questions now.
To make matters worse, it's full of unnecessary software. A number of unnecessary and duplicate applications are pre-installed on the device.
Processor and performance
Powered by HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor. This is the same chip that is used in the flagship Huawei P20 Pro with a triple camera. We can say that it couldn’t be more premium until the Kirin 980 appeared.
Kirin 970 is manufactured in 10 nm process technology, which means high speed and low power consumption. There are Cortex-A73 cores for demanding tasks and Cortex-A53 for minimal power consumption under light loads. The balance between them allows you to achieve an optimal balance between performance and energy consumption.
There is a technology called GPU Turbo. The developers claim that these are optimizations of software and hardware components. They should increase the efficiency of the GPU by 60% and reduce energy consumption by 30%. The technology was tested in the popular game PUBG. There, the increase in the efficiency of Honor Play was 15%, which will allow you to play longer.
Another new term is AI 4D Smart Shock. The smartphone will vibrate in response to actions within games. An interesting thing for entertainment and nothing more.
The real test is the game PUBG. Honor Play performed well in it. It was possible to set the maximum graphics settings and get a high frame rate without significantly heating the smartphone.
Benchmarks were also launched to compare the device with its competitors. The device is inferior to the best smartphones on Snapdragon 845, but at a similar price it has no competitors.
The storage capacity is 64 GB, there is support for microSD memory cards.
Colors and controls on Honor Play
This smartphone is available in dark blue and black colors. We reviewed the first one, although we found both color options to be considered relatively dull. This is another attempt by the Huawei-owned brand to offer its customers a variety of design options to choose from.
With minimal bezels and an edge-to-edge display, the fingerprint sensor is located on the back of the phone. The high form factor makes the fingerprint sensor difficult to access. Users will have to hold the phone in a certain position to reach it naturally.
The volume buttons and the power key are located on the right side of the device. We would have appreciated a little more tactility or depth of movement in the buttons. On the left is a hybrid dual-SIM tray that can accommodate two Nano SIM cards or one Nano SIM card and a microSD card to expand the phone's 64GB of built-in storage to 256GB.
At the bottom of the smartphone, there is a USB Type-C port, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack, a main microphone and a loudspeaker. We tested the speaker with audio files, YouTube videos and games and found the sound to be shrill and distorted at maximum volume. The phone is about 7.5mm thick and weighs 176g.
Internet and communications
Honor Play is not sold in all countries, so it has limited 4G support. In any case, the device is sold in Russia, so there is nothing to worry about here.
Versions for some countries do not support the NFC standard, but the Russian version does have it. This means you can pay using your smartphone using systems like Google Pay.
There is GPS, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2.
Cameras
Honor Play has a dual rear camera and a single front camera. The main camera on the back is 16 MP with f/2.2 lenses. The second is only 2 MP f/2.4, it is intended to collect information about the depth of the image. The front camera resolution is 16 MP.
Typically, the camera starts up by double pressing the power button. In this case, double-clicking down on the volume control is used to do the same.
Image quality
The photos look good, but nothing more. Compared to the best cameras, it lacks dynamic range and attractive colors. Bright areas are often faded.
In low light, noise begins to appear, making it difficult to focus and get a clear shot.
In the center of the camera app is an artificial intelligence button. He can recognize flowers, plants, blue skies, food, etc. When this happens, it automatically enhances the colors, but too much. The result is unpredictable and not always correct.
I liked selfies much more. The front camera takes clean, crisp photos with good dynamics and high detail. There is no portrait mode here, but otherwise the quality is very good.
Camera app
The camera app doesn't have the most intuitive user interface, but it gets the job done. The app offers modes such as Manual Aperture, Portrait, Photo, Video, and AR Lens. There's also slow-motion recording, night mode, time-lapse mode, 3D panoramas and more.
In terms of quality, daytime images looked to have poor dynamic range at best. We found that photos taken without AI actually looked better in terms of color reproduction. Although the front and rear camera sensors support bokeh effect, the real-time portrait mode on the front camera is unstable.
In most cases, indoors, the mode could not recognize faces correctly and we had to move to where there was more light. Portrait shots were of good quality in daylight, but disappointing in low-light conditions. But considering the price of this phone, we can't complain too much about the quality of the pictures captured.
The rear dual camera of Honor Play is capable of recording 4K video, and the video recording capabilities of the front camera are maximum at Full HD+ resolution (2280x1080). Electronic image stabilization is supported, but the results still look a little shaky and the video quality overall isn't that good.
Autonomy
The large 3750 mAh battery ensures long gaming sessions. In everyday use, the device also does not discharge for a long time. The developers promise 15 hours of video viewing and 95 hours of music playback. Since it is not possible to manually set the brightness to a specific level, the tests failed.
It is unlikely that the device will be able to work for two days, but its autonomy is still solid.
The package includes an adapter for charging up to 18 W. This will quickly replenish the lack of energy. Wireless charging is not supported.
