Honor 10X Lite review: quad camera, NFC and cool battery for 16,990 rubles

Specifications

Platform	Android 10, firmware Magic UI 3.1.1
Display	6.67 inches, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 394 ppi, TÜV Rheinland certified eye protection mode
CPU	Kirin 710A 8-core, 4 × Cortex A73 2.0 GHz + 4 × Cortex A53 1.7 GHz
Memory	4 + 128 GB
Cameras	Main module - 48 megapixels, aperture - f / 1.8, CMOS sensor - 0.5 inches Wide-angle module - 8 MP with a viewing angle of 120 °, aperture - f / 2, 4 The module for determining the depth of field in portrait mode - 2 megapixels, aperture - f / 2, 4 Macro module - 2 Mp, aperture - f / 2, 4 Front camera - 8 MP, f / 2.0
Battery	5,000 mAh, fast charging SuperCharge, 22.5 W (included)
Dimensions (edit)	165, 65 × 76, 88 × 9, 26 mm
The weight	206 g
Additionally	USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi, NFC

Design and ergonomics

Complete with a smartphone, the buyer receives a USB Type-C cable and a 22.5 W adapter - in 2020, such details have to be reported separately.

The model has a discreet design. The camera module only slightly protrudes above the monophonic cover, but nothing else hurts the eyes. You can choose one of three colors: emerald green and "ultraviolet sunset" received a matte lid, "midnight black" - a glossy body.

For testing, the editorial office came to the "ultraviolet sunset", and, in our opinion, this is the most beautiful shade: the back panel shimmers with pale pink and blue and looks very delicate. However, this is where all the external airiness ends: Honor 10X Lite is a rather large and weighty smartphone. At the same time, it fits comfortably in the hand and does not slip due to the same matte body.

There are almost no fingerprints on it. But on the street with a smartphone, you should still be careful: there is no super protection against moisture and dust, which means that it is better not to experiment with different weather conditions.

The front camera on the front panel is located in the center of the upper part of the screen and is not conspicuous. The narrow bezels do not attract too much attention. On the right side there is a volume up and down key, as well as a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The latter works pretty well, as does face unlock. On the left side of the smartphone there are slots for two nano-SIM and microSD cards - the device supports up to 512 GB of memory.

Photo: Kostya Ptichkin / Lifehacker

At the bottom are the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, microphone and speaker.

The design can be summed up in one phrase: nothing superfluous. Yes, the model is not very compact, but that is where the nitpicking ends. So neat that it’s even a little boring.

Screen

The gadget received a display with a diagonal of 6, 67 inches, a resolution of 2,400 × 1,080 pixels and a pixel density of 394 ppi. The screen occupies 90.3% of the area of the entire front panel - that's quite a lot.

The maximum refresh rate is only 60 Hz. The clarity of the display can be adjusted manually: set a high value of 2,400 × 1,080 or lower it to 1,600 × 720. The default is auto-adjusting the resolution. There is an option to turn on UV filtering to reduce eye fatigue, or an e-book mode if you plan to read a lot. The dark mode is also available, and you can also hide the cutout under the front with a black fill.

There are no complaints about the display: the stock of brightness is high, the contrast is maximum, and the color reproduction is quite natural.

Software and performance

The smartphone runs Android 10 with Magic UI 3.1.1 without Google services. Instead of Google Play, applications can be downloaded from the AppGallery. It is also important to remember that there is an NFC module, but Google Pay is not supported. For contactless payment, you can use SberPay, Wallet or Yandex. Money services for Contactless payment for purchases on HONOR smartphones.

The hardware platform - Kirin 710A, is rather modest and not the most powerful. The model received 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of permanent memory. On the plus side, the smartphone has a separate microSD slot, which does not force you to choose between a second SIM card and additional memory.

There is more than enough filling for all your daily tasks. However, if you are used to playing heavy games, then the graphics settings in them will have to be lowered.

Sound and vibration

Honor 10X Lite does not have stereo speakers, and the model cannot boast of a flagship sound. At the same time, the volume margin is high, and the sound is quite clear. We would not recommend using a smartphone as a portable speaker, but the basic functions are in order: it is comfortable to talk, watch YouTube too. But the vibration is barely noticeable and rattling - in the silent mode the incoming call may not be noticed.

Camera

Honor 10X Lite has a quad camera: there is a 48 MP main module, an 8 MP wide-angle module with a 120 ° viewing angle, a 2 MP macro module and a 2 MP depth sensor. This quartet allows you to capture landscapes with wide-angle capture of the picture, photograph tiny objects up close and take portraits with background blur. There is also a 6x digital zoom in case you need to zoom in on something. The function works, but at maximum magnification, objects are blurred a lot.

Shooting with a standard camera

Selfie

Macro lens

Shooting with a standard camera

Wide angle lens

Daytime photos are bright. The camera picks up fine details well. But the colors are not always transferred to the top five: sometimes the smartphone embellishes reality too much. This can even be considered a plus when filming nature, but terribly enrages when a slightly reddened nose takes on a crimson hue in a selfie. However, white balance and shutter speed can be adjusted manually in Pro mode.

Macro lens shoots well. The front camera is vigorous and knows how to work in the "Portrait" mode.

Shooting in night mode

Flickering objects are overexposed

Night selfies come out pretty good

Shooting with a macro lens

Night shooting causes less positive emotions: small objects in the frame are blurred, luminous objects turn into one spot, halftones are eaten. A macro lens focuses on small objects, but almost does not convey details: you will understand what exactly you photographed, but you will not be able to see the thing properly. Tolerable shots are obtained only in the night mode, which increases the contrast and thus slightly raises the quality of pictures from the knees.

The video is quite bright, the transmission of details is good, but the smartphone is sorely lacking in stabilization. You can shoot in standard mode at 30 frames per second or increase it to 60.

Autonomy

One of the main advantages of the smartphone is a capacious 5,000 mAh battery and support for SuperCharge 22.5 W fast charging. If you do not stick too much on the Internet, the battery will last for two and a half days, with the active use of games and applications, the smartphone does not fall asleep for about a day and a half.

It will take 1 hour 35 minutes to charge the model from scratch, while in half an hour the smartphone will be powered up to 46%.

Outcomes

The Honor 10X Lite is a handsome guy that has a ton of pros. Among them are a nice neat design, NFC module, fast charging and a capacious battery. In order to steal your heart, it lacks the quality of the shooting: if during the day most of the shots come out well, then the night shots are more likely to disappoint. The lack of familiar Google services may also be a downside.

The price outweighs the scale in the positive direction: the smartphone costs 16,990 rubles. By pre-ordering before November 19, you can get a discount of 4,000 rubles, and the model will go on sale on November 20.