Getting started with the Honor 90: the mid-range is gaining momentum

Mid-range smartphones are rare. And for good reason, the brands usually positioned on the market of terminals between 400 and 600 € tend to operate a move upmarket which leaves the field open to Galaxy A54 from Samsung and Pixel 7a from Google, which are among the rare representatives of this tariff segment.

Honor, which began its return to the European smartphone market two years ago, intends to occupy it with its newcomer, the 90. A model made official at the end of May in China, and whose European launch was expected. It is now done, with a smartphone that completes the 90 Lite, already marketed in France.

The device succeeds, on the European market at least, the Honor 70 and improves the main lines of its design. We observe on the front a screen with four curved sides, pleasant in hand; it is still a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel, whose refresh rate reaches 120 Hz and the brightness is announced at 1600 cd / m² in HDR peak, which we will try to verify using our probes. Still, the display is all the more pleasant as the resolution is high (1200 x 2664 pixels, or 435 dpi).

Honor takes just as much care with the back cover of the 90. The brand has opted for two colors, as for the Magic 5 Pro: a shiny black and a matte green with a frosted effect (to which is added a silver version reserved for his website) rather elegant. This shell accommodates metal-rimmed photo modules, in the wake of the 70 series. With its 161.9 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm and its weight of 183 grams, the smartphone is in line with the average of current smartphones .

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 finally shows up

If the design of the smartphone evolves, the changes hide in its bowels. We haven’t had the chance to put Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 to the test, as few smartphones have adopted it to date. It sits here in an “accelerated edition” flanked by 12 GB of RAM, promising to offer significant power to its users. The manufacturer relies on an enlarged steam chamber to limit heating. Let’s add that a 5000 mAh battery accompanies the set, and that it benefits from compatibility with 66 W charging, which should make it possible to fill it up in less than an hour. It goes without saying that the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 includes a 5G modem; it also ensures compatibility with wifi 6. On the other hand, we regret that it does not authorize more than two years of software updates and three years of security patches; note in this respect that the smartphone is immediately marketed under Android 13 with MagicOS 7.1.

Always more megapixels

If the ultra-defined sensors initially seemed the prerogative of high-end smartphones, they are now found at more affordable prices. This Honor 90 thus includes a 200 megapixel main sensor, promising very detailed photos that we will have to evaluate in our laboratory. If this sensor is more defined than that of the Honor 70, in return, the 90 has a 12 Mpx sensor (and not 50 Mpx) linked to its ultra wide-angle optics, which also officiates for macro images. The manufacturer nevertheless promises improved photos in low light, but also a redesigned portrait mode (benefiting from a 2 Mpx depth sensor). Various video editing assistance options are also available to suit the needs of vlog enthusiasts, including editing assistance, or even a “dynamic photo” option reminiscent of “live” photos on iPhone.

The Honor 90 is marketed from July 6 in a single 12/512 GB version, generous in terms of its price positioning, since it costs €599 at launch. On this occasion, the brand’s site is setting up a reduction coupon system of up to €100 and offers a pair of Earbuds 3 Pro headphones on its site. Enough to bring the price of the smartphone to the level of its predecessor, since the Honor 70 (in 8/128 GB) cost €499 when it was released.