The HONOR X9c 5G is positioned as the toughest phone of 2025. It’s a solid midrange offering that is more than well-equipped against scratches, drops, and even boiling.
For today, we’ll be unpacking what else it offers aside from its durable build. Needless to say, we’re sure that readers will be pleased with how HONOR kickstarted the year of 2025.
For reference, our review unit came with 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. Now then, let’s dive right into what makes the HONOR X9c 5G tick.
Design and Construction
At first glance, the HONOR X9c has a premium feel. The device has sleek curves, a smooth surface, and a thin form factor. It’s fairly easy to lug around as well, weighing just 189 grams.
Our review unit came in Jade Cyan, which sports a polycarbonate back panel. Frankly, the tie-die-like (or seashell patten) design is cool. I wouldn’t want to use it with a case, not that users would need to with how durable it is.
Speaking of durability, the phone has an improved IP65 rating for dust and splash resistance. On top of that, it’s also resistant to extreme heat and cold temperatures. Plus, it’s also rated for drops up to two meters.
If you’ve seen its predecessor before, you’ll notice that it has a similar watch face design for the camera enclosure. Instead of a cross-like pattern, the sensors are now more reminiscent of a cube.
At the front, we have the phone’s screen. Users will find that it has asymmetrical bezels with a camera in a pill shaped notch. We’ll cover how these do separately later in the review.
For buttons and ports, users will find the power button and volume rocker on the right side. As for the left, it’s clean from anything on it.
At the bottom, there’s a loudspeaker, a Type-C charging port, and the dual nano-SIM card tray. On the top, we have the other loudspeaker.
Overall, we’re pretty happy with how this iteration of the device was fleshed out. Last year, it was mainly marketed for durability’s sake. Now, it finds a good balance between design, performance, and versatility.
Display, Multimedia, and Biometrics
The phone sports a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The display panel is also protected by Asahi double tempered glass. I mostly used the device for video streaming, browsing, and a bit of gaming.
At first glance, I could tell that the display was smooth from scrolling alone. It felt fluid and got better when I caught up on some videos from my favorite creators on YouTube.
The quad-curved display was complemented by thin bezels. This, along with sharp and vibrant colors, made for more than a pleasant media consumption experience.
It’s even good under direct sunlight as it has 4,000 nits of peak brightness. In other words, feel free to browse, watch, and game in broad daylight.
Next, we have dual stereo speakers found at the top and bottom of the device. While I did spend most of my time connected to wireless earbuds, I found that the speakers provide decent audio too.
It’s not one of those devices that sacrifices audio quality when you max out the volume. They don’t dip in clarity even if your fingers get in the way as well. For context, this is for when you need to hold your device horizontally for gaming and watching videos.
For biometrics, users get the usual means for modern smartphone security. This includes an in-display fingerprint sensor and facial recognition.
The fingerprint sensor can be found on the bottom of the display. It works relatively quickly to identify your prints. The facial recognition also works just as well, taking half a second to register.
Cameras
For optics, the phone has dual-rear shooters. This consists of a 108-megapixel main camera with OIS paired with a 5-megapixel wide camera. At the front, it’s also equipped with a 16-megapixel camera for selfies.
It fares decently under this segment, leveraging post-processing from AI to produce the final images. Notably, it has one less sensor at the rear when compared to the Honor X9b. However, we felt like it didn’t take away from its performance at all.
Photos taken with the X9c are certainly Instagram-worthy. Personally though, I feel like the colors aren’t too accurate. I’d advise users to turn off beauty mode for the most part, as it feels a bit too aggressive for my taste.
We’ll leave the sample photos below for readers to judge.
As you can see, the photos are great both indoors and outdoors. Again, the saturation is something I can’t overlook. Then again, it does compensate through subject separation.
For video recording though, it can shoot 4K at the rear but only 1080p at the front. For noteworthy features, the phone has multi-view. This lets users record with different viewing options.
While the main camera does well, the front camera struggles indoors and with low light. Generally though, recording as a whole isn’t half bad.
All things considered, I believe the HONOR X9c sports decent cameras for its price range. Feel free to let us know what you think of the photos in the comment section below!
OS, Apps, and UI
The HONOR X9c 5G runs on MagicOS 8.0 based on Android 14 out of the box. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been word from HONOR yet concerning software updates, upgrades, and the like. However, we’ll update the review when and if details will be made available.
The software skin is clean, smooth, and user-friendly. Users will find app folders after booting up to help you get started, which is appreciated. You can choose to get your apps from either the Google Play Store or HONOR App Market as well.
I also have to point out that the skin comes with a handful of bloatware, which should be expected. While some of the pre-installed apps are useful like Netflix and TikTok, we could certainly live without the others.
As for the UI, it feels like your standard Android makeup with a little bit of inspiration from Apple’s iOS. This felt evident in how the Control Centre was fleshed out. Overall, the segment felt pretty digestible and straightforward with no major gripes from my end.
Performance and Benchmarks
This device is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset found in its predecessor. Unlike the HONOR X9b 5G though, this device comes with models equipped with 512GB of internal storage in the Philippines.
Generally speaking, users should find that the device is reliable and consistent for any task. Just like its previous iteration, it can provide a stable 60 frames for mobile gaming.
I’ve used the device for games like Asphalt, Genshin Impact, and Mobile Legends. Other use cases include streaming on YouTube, listening to music on Spotify, and browsing.
I have no gripes in mind with how the device fares at its price point. After all, it’s made to be an offering that balances the essentials as an accessible pickup for 2025.
I’ll leave our benchmark scores below for readers to see. My general consensus for the device is that it’s consistent enough to be a daily driver.
| Benchmark | Score |
|---|---|
| AnTuTu v10 | 606,921 |
| AnTuTu v10 Storage Test | 124,330 |
| S. Read | 20,049 |
| Speed | 2016.0MB/s |
| S. Write | 22,907 |
| Speed | 1996.3MB/s |
| R. Access | 65,054 |
| R. Speed | 760.0MB/s |
| W. Speed | 688.0MB/s |
| AI Read | 16,320 |
| Speed | 408.0MB/s |
| 3D Mark: Wild Life | 2379 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Single | 928 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Multi | 2777 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU OpenCL | 1337 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU Vulkan | 248 |
| PC Mark Work 3.0 Performance | 12,612 |
Upon comparing its benchmark scores to its predecessor, nothing much has changed. Notably, the X9c is up by ~100,000 points in Antutu. I can infer that the addition of AI processing heavily contributes to its scores.
Battery and Connectivity
This iteration of the device series packs a massive 6,600mAh battery with support for 66W of HONOR SuperCharge. For reference, these are insane upgrades compared to what the X9b offered.
Users may also opt to long press the center of the screen to for faster charging speed. Just keep in mind, it’ll heat up once you do this.
While this is a neat feature, we found that the device generally offers roughly the same uptime estimates as its predecessor. We based this from a couple of tests that we’ll cover below.
In PC Mark’s Work 3.0 Battery Test, our review unit scored 15 hours and 34 minutes of activity. This test was conducted with the phone brightness set to 50%, volume muted, and in airplane mode.
We also had the phone run our video loop test, where it lasted 24 hours and 4 minutes of playback. This test was done by playing a full HD movie with the same variables mentioned above.
For charging, it should take around 1 hour and 10 minutes to charge from empty to full. Of course, this is with the 66W charging brick that comes in the box.
When compared to the HONOR X9b 5G, this device only wins out by just a tiny bit. Of course, it doesn’t take away from the fact that these are great numbers. Users should find it good for the whole day with mixed use variables like video streaming, gaming. etc.
For connectivity options, the phone offers 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and GPS. The phone is fitted with a dual nano-SIM tray as well as offering standard call quality.
Pricing and Conclusion
As for local price in the Philippines, the Honor X9c is pegged at Php16,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage combo (the same SRP as last year’s Honor X9b). Customers who pre-order will also get the chance to win a brand new Rolex DateJust watch that’s worth Php600,000.
In any case, the HONOR X9c 5G is proof that end users don’t need to break the bank to get a well-rounded smartphone. This device is a good mix of design, durability, and performance.
It doesn’t have too many cons, to be honest. The main thing I didn’t appreciate about the device is incremental changes in battery life and performance. To put it bluntly, it didn’t really do better than its predecessor under these segments.
I feel like things like bloatware and front camera recording quality can be ignored considering its price point. I mean, the phone offers reliability in almost every other segment.
If readers are looking for a great device that covers most bases to start the year of 2025, then we recommend that you check out the HONOR X9c 5G. Let us know what you think of it so far in the comment section below.
What we liked:
* Updated modern design and durability
* Thin bezels, smooth display
* Biometrics responsiveness
* Cameras
What we didn’t like:
* Incremental changes in performance and battery life
* Bloatware
* Front camera video recording quality
HONOR X9c 5G specs:
6.78-inch FHD+ (2700 x 1224) AMOLED display (~437 ppi)
120Hz refresh rate, 4,000 nits (peak)
Asahi AGC DT Star2 Glass protection (double tempered)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (4nm)
4x Cortex-A78 (2.2GHz)
4x Cortex-A55 (1.8GHz)
Adreno 710 GPU
8GB, 12GB RAM
256GB. 512GB internal storage
108MP main camera (f/1.75, OIS)
5MP wide camera (f/2.2)
Up to 4K video recording
LED flash
16MP front camera (f/2.45)
Up to 1080p video recording
Dual stereo speakers
Dual SIM
5G
Wi-Fi 5 (dual-band)
Bluetooth 5.1
NFC
GPS
USB Type-C
MagicOS 8.0 (Android 14)
Fingerprint sensor (in-display)
Face unlock
IP65 rating for dust and water resistance
6,600mAh battery
66W HONOR SuperCharge
162.8 x 75.5 x 7.98 mm (dimensions)
189 grams (weight)
Jade Cyan, Titanium Black, Titanium Purple (colors)
