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Huawei has already shown it can do phablets well with the Mate 8, but somehow the company has managed to do the same again but for half the price with its Honor division.
Huawei very much want to keep the brands separate, but there's so much that is shared between the two it's hard to not compare them together.
And when you consider that this phone is half the price of the Huawei offering, the Honor 5X is astounding in what it can achieve.
We liked
The number one thing I like about the Honor 5X is the price. Hands down, this is one of the most affordable phones out there with high-end spec.
If you compare this to what you can get for the same amount of money it's impressive what Honor is managing to achieve.
It can be a pain for some that it's only online and you can't try this out in a store, but when you consider this is at least a third of the price of an iPhone or is less than half the price of the Huawei Mate 8 it's a no-brainer if you're looking for a cheaper option.
The screen on the Honor 5X is gorgeous and can do just exactly what the Mate 8 can as well. Honor has managed to prove here that you can make a good screen without just having to update the pixels and squeeze in as much tech as you can find.
The processing power of the Honor 5X is also impressive for how much you're paying. High-end games are easy to run and even though there is the odd little flicker and the frame rate can drop a little, you shouldn't be put off of the Honor 5X.
And then there's battery life. Having a reliable phone that doesn't just die on you half way through a day is a feature worth paying a lot of money for. Here, you don't even need to pay that much for it.
We disliked
Honor still has a problem with its UI. Whenever I broach the subject with honor and Huawei spokespeople I always get the answer that it works well in china, why can't it here?
The thing is, people don't want overcomplicated versions of Android with the customisations already there. The general Android fan wants to make the phone their own and Honor's Emotion UI makes that an issue.
The design on the Honor 5X can make it sometimes feel a little cheap. When you compare it to other phones in this market it's actually a lovely looking phone, but it's light and you can tell it's not as premium a design as the Huawei Mate 8.
But the problem is Honor is hooking the design as the key selling point of the Honor 5X, and I think that's misreprenting what this phone can do. The design isn't phenomenal, but it does the job for someone who wants something cheap.
Verdict
The Honor 5X is a cheaper version of the Huaiwe Mate 8. It may not have the same premium feel or strong camera, but the 5X does have a number of the same key features and a much lower price tag.
For a sub £200 (sub US$200) phone, it's quite amazing what Honor has managed to achieve and if you're looking for something that will compete with the high-end flagships, but not cost anywhere near as much, the 5X is a great choice.
If you've got that little bit of extra to spend, I would recommend the Huawei Mate 8 over the Honor 5X. But if you're more worried about how much you're spending this is probably a better option.
It offers a strong battery life, which is a killer feature for those who want aphone that doesn't let you down and the fact the display is this good makes me really consider how much flagship phones should be costing these days.
I can't wait to see what Honor can achieve next, and if it manages to keep making high-end products with this kind of spec and this low price, maybe it will become a major competitor to rival the Western giants in the next few years.
First reviewed: February 2016
