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Android and interface
- Android 7.0 Nougat based EMUI 5.1
- Features like multi-window already present
The Honor 7X runs on Android 7.0 Nougat under the company’s custom EMUI (Emotion UI) 5.1. Currently, there’s no information available if the smartphone will get an upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo, which is a big deal for a phone that's launched almost 6 months after the Oreo release.
Some of the latest features in Android such as multi-window support and the ability to directly reply to texts and emails within the notification bar are already present in this build of the EMUI 5.1, which are very beneficial in a general use case.
After going through the setup, users will be greeted by the homescreen which houses all the apps in the phone. Now, I am not a great fan of this kind of homescreen setup and thankfully, there is an option to enable the app drawer which opens up to a single page of apps users can scroll through.
Pre-loaded apps such as Emergency will allow users to set up call and SMS alerts. Huawei Health will monitor all kinds of dynamic activities such as walking running, speed and other data that will be helpful for people looking to keep a track of their fitness. HiCare is another app that comes default with the Honor 7X and is essentially a support system that lets a user interact directly with the support in case of issues with the phone. Users can also register their phone for warranty and early beta updates.
Honor also provides a Phone Manager app with its smartphones that performs cleanup of cache, monitors mobile data, allows user to block phone numbers, scans for viruses, allows modification of permissions among other things.
In our usage of the Honor 7X, the EMUI 5.1 works pretty well. It was fluid and didn’t lag during our use. Interaction with the 7X went as smoothly as you'd expect from a good mid-range smartphone these days.
Movies, music and gaming
The big 18:9 aspect ratio display on the Honor 7X makes it an apt smartphone to consume media on. Be it movies, videos or songs, the visual experience on the 7X is amazing, to say the least.
Considering its price, the screen renders some really vivid and crisp pictures which makes this a great phone to watch videos on. There is infact a video player on the 7X which can play all kinds of videos on the phone.
On the other hand, the speaker on the smartphone isn’t something that we looked forward to. The audio output is average and one can use it occasionally. An issue which we faced a lot many times was the speaker being covered with our hand when watching a video.
Of course, with the retention of 3.5mm jack, one can always plug in a headphone or earphone and can even go a step ahead and pair the phone with a Bluetooth headset.
In our usage during gaming on the Honor 7X, we didn’t face any problem. Although once we started playing high-end games which demand solid graphic prowess, the phone did stutter and struggled to render graphics.
That said, you’ll be able to play a lot of popular, fewer graphics-intensive games on the Honor 7X without experiencing any problems.
Performance and specs
- Kirin 659 processor performs well throughout a day
- 4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB internal storage
The Honor 7X is powered by the company’s own HiSilicon Kirin 659 octa-core chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM which takes most of the load easily but we found it was able to cope with everything we wanted to do on a daily basis.
On Geekbench 4, the Honor 7X scored 3579 which is an improvement on the score of 3,105 that the Honor 6X achieved.
While the smartphone performs well normal usage, aggressive users may observe slow loading time while opening, closing or switching apps.
Users can also choose between 32GB and 64GB onboard storage wherein 12.5GB is taken up by the OS. Other than that, Honor 7X comes with a number of preinstalled apps that we think most users wouldn't need. Games like Asphalt Nitro, Bubble Bash 3, Danger Dash, Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour and Spider-Man: Ultimate Power all come as a demo on the Honor 7X with an option to purchase the game. Apart from gaming enthusiasts, these apps are worthless for the normal user. Other website shortcuts like the Hi Honor, Honor and Honor Community are also present disguised as apps. UC Browser and UC News also come preinstalled on the 7X. Thankfully though, all of these apps can be uninstalled but it spoils the first impression of the phone.
Overall, the performance of the Honor 7X didn’t let us down in any way and was able to churn most of the things we threw at it. It manages to keep a balance between performance and efficiency which is what we liked about it.
