HONOR 90 5G Review – Not Just For Photography

Honor continues to fill the Philippine market with constant releases of its phones across various price segments. This time around, Honor is aiming at the midrange market with the release of the Honor 90. The Honor 90 5G comes with a 200MP Main Camera aimed at photography and videos as Honor brands the smartphone a “camera king.” Does it have anything to offer aside from the superb 200MP main sensor? Well, let’s find out in this review.

HONOR 90 Specs

• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
• Display: 6.7-inch OLED, 120Hz, 2664×1200
• RAM: 8GB, 12GB
• Storage: 128GB, 256GB
• Battery5,000mAh
• Ports: USB-C
• Operating System: HonorOS 7.1 based on Android 13
• Front camera: 50MP
• Rear cameras: 200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 2MP depth
• Dimensions: 161.9 x 74.1 x 7.8mm
• Colors: Emerald Green, Midnight Black, Diamond Silver, Peacock Blue
• Weight: 83g
• Charging: 66W wired

HONOR 90 Unboxing and First Impressions

The HONOR 90 comes in an all-white box with silver text-markings of the phone model.

Contents of the packaging are as follows:

• Honor 90 Smartphone
• Clear Silicone case
• Sim Ejector Tool
• Manual
• 66w Power Adapter
• Type-C charging cable

The HONOR 90 has a large 6.7″ AMOLED Quad Curved Floating display. It’s still quite surprising to see curved screens on budget-ranged phones let alone a 120Hz AMOLED one. Its resolution however is not as dense as you would find on flagship ones as it only as it only has a 2664x1200p. That said it’s still an upgrade for the typical 1080p screen you would find on budget phones.

The HONOR 90 comes in four color variants: Diamond Silver, Emerald Green, Peacock Blue, and Midnight Black. The Peacock Blue colorway won’t be available in the Philippines. Our review sample is the Midnight Black colorway which is frankly the worst color variant in the lineup due to its fingerprint magnet nature of the glossy black finish. That said, this won’t impact the device’s performance.

All buttons are located on the right side of the device and are at a more ergonomic placement compared to the HONOR X8A that we previously reviewed. The volume buttons are also noticeably larger so you’re likely less prone to misclicks.

The bottom part shows the USB Type-C port, SIM card tray as well as speaker grill. The HONOR 90 has a higher capacity battery at 5000mAh despite having a more powerful CPU compared to the HONOR X8A’s 4500mAh capacity. The HONOR 90 supports 66W HONOR SuperCharging which can charge the phone to 20% in 5mins.

Display and Camera

As mentioned earlier, HONOR positions the HONOR 90 as a “camera king” with its beefy 200MP f/1.9 sensor. HONOR also equipped the device with a 12MP Ultrawide & Macro f/2.2 camera, and a 2MP depth f/2.4 sensor. Here are some samples shots:

Packing a large 200MP sensor and pairing it with a 12MP and 2MP sensor clearly shows the difference in picture quality as you can not only see the pixelation but also the shift in colors. That said, the shots taken from the 200MP main camera are stunning considering the phone is priced at Php 24,990.

Like most phones, night or dimly lit shots can be a bit challenging especially when you capture images that have different light sources such as a car headlight or lamp posts. That said, using Night Mode shows a clear improvement in picture quality however it doesn’t solve the light source issue. So, depending on your shot scenery you’d be mostly having a great time with the HONOR 90.

Moving to the front camera is a whopping 50MP f/2.4 Selfie Camera.

The selfie camera captures very crisp images even in dimly lit environments. There’s no visible so long as there’s a somewhat decent light source. The 0.8 and 1x modes don’t have a shift in colorway as the 1x mode is just cropped from what the 100-degree selfie camera sees.

Performance and Battery Life

Powering the HONOR 90 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition 5G chip paired with 12GB ram and 512GB storage. In other regions, the HONOR 90 is also being offered in 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB configurations.

3DMark Test Suite

GeekBench 5

PCMark Work 3.0 Performance

Benchmark numbers are what you would expect for a smartphone priced under Php 30,000. During our benchmark run of the HONOR 90, the phone didn’t get uncomfortably hot so prolonged usage and gaming should be no problem. Speaking of gaming, the HONOR 90 can run popular titles such as Mobile Legends, COD: Mobile, and Genshin Impact with decent framerates and very minimal frame drops. Surely it isn’t a gaming phone as the 200MP camera is its main selling point but its good enough to play some games here and there.

PCMark Work 3.0 Battery Life

Considering the HONOR 90’s 5000mAh battery and its Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated 5G Chip, the 11 hours and 45 min battery life via PCMark’s Work 3.0 battery life test is impressive. The efficient SoC paired with a robust battery will power the device throughout the day – if you’re not gaming frequently.

Verdict – Not Just For Photography

Priced at Php 24,990, the Honor 90 provides a very premium experience that’s usually only found on flagship poles. While you don’t get the “full” premium hurrah, you’re given a taste of what’s it like to own such a device but with obvious drawbacks. You have a 120 Hz curved AMOLED screen but with a 1200p resolution. You get a stunning 200 MP main camera and 50MP selfie but lacks quality in the ultrawide and macro departments. You get a sleek design and various colorways but it doesn’t make the phone stand out compared to previous devices. You have a generous 12GB+512GB storage configuration but the Android 13 MagicOS 7.1 skin’s bloatedness feel reduces the overall premium feel. Nonetheless, these complaints are more nitpicks especially when you consider its price bracket. At Php 24,990, the Honor 90 is a solid option for an all-rounder phone that somehow gives you more than what you would find on other phones in its price bracket.