As mentioned earlier, the biggest upgrade of Honor 50 is the camera part. The Honor 70 offers a brand new 54MP Sony IMX800 sensor and f/1.9 aperture. The lens itself looks wide, maybe even too wide for the Honor. The native focal length listed by EXIF is 24mm, so the Honor cropped to an equivalent focal length of 27mm. The end result is a 12.5MP image instead of a 13.5MP sample, but at least it’s not upscaled. This is not the first time Honor and Huawei have done this. Many other phones from both companies use a similar method.
Honor 70 review: Design
It doesn’t forget the fact that all phones look the same, but the Honor’s camera module is at least different, with its two bumps sticking out nicely from the back. It’s typically a thin phone with curved edges on the sides but flat ends. The bottom has the usual volume rockers and lock button, as well as a single speaker, SIM tray, and USB-C port. Since it’s 2022, there’s no headphone jack. Our test model has an attractive metallic blue/silver finish (although it’s marketed in “emerald green,” suggesting our eyes need color calibration), and the black camera circle adds noticeable contrast.
This phone is based on Qualcomm 778G+ platform, 8-core CPU (big.LITTLE arrangement, 4 Cortex-A78 performance cores and 4 Cortex-A-55 cores) + 10GB RAM, 8 generations + 2 arrangements and merged to steal some storage space to Complementary RAM, 256GB of storage (a 128GB version is also available), and 5G cellular. There is also Wi-Fi 6 on board,
It sits firmly in the middle, but that doesn’t mean you’ll notice a lack of performance or features. The camera is great and the screen is especially beautiful. It’s an HDR OLED, 6.7 inches corner-to-corner, with a resolution of 2400 x 1080, a pixel density of 395ppi (425ppi for the Samsung Galaxy S22, 416 for the Google Pixel 7), and a 20:9 aspect ratio.
Weighing just 178 grams without the case, it’s much lighter than the Pixel, Nothing Phone, or other heavyweight phones.
Honor 70 review: Camera
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Honor 70 is its main camera, which puts a Sony IMX 800 54MP sensor (you can get 12MP files thanks to pixel binning) behind an f/1.9 main lens with an equivalent focal length of about 28mm. A 2021 leak of the sensor was touted as a gigantic (from a smartphone perspective) 1-inch sensor, like the ones found in premium compact cameras like the Sony RX-10 series or Experia Pro-I phones. same sensor. That’s exciting, but it turns out that’s not the case at all. The sensor is still fairly large for a phone, though, and has good light-gathering capabilities, but no image stabilization.
There’s an ultra-wide camera (50MP, also with binning), that can focus down to 4cm, has an f/2.2 aperture, and a depth sensor. On the front is a 32MP f/2.4 selfie camera that pierces the screen in the form of a small circle. There’s no dedicated telephoto lens, instead the phone digitally zooms the main camera’s output by up to 10x. We found the ultra-wide camera to be particularly soft around the edges, but otherwise, the main camera produces sharp, well-saturated images that are on par with the top of the market.
Honor’s camera app replaces the stock Android app and is excellent. There’s a lot of AI processing trying to add saturation to the scene, the AI (we’re not talking Deep Thought here, but running image recognition) also pops up behind a knob in the interface to turn the Turn scene mode on and off, and depending on what you try Content detected in captured images automatically changes settings. You can also turn on smile detection in the settings, which will automatically take a photo when it detects some pearly whites.
You also get an automatic flash mode and a constant video light. Filters are in place and can be applied live on-screen before taking a photo. In the settings menu, you can change the aspect ratio and resolution, and even move the position of the shutter button.
Video users are also well served by the Honor 70’s camera with 4K 30FPS recording. Dropping it down to 1080p allowed for 60fps, but there weren’t any options for high frame rates other than a slow-mo mode in the “More” menu. You can record in HEVC if you want, there’s multi-video using the front and rear cameras simultaneously (we’re sure someone will find a use for it), and a clever “Solo Cut” tracking mode that follows a person as they move around the frame , also hidden in the More menu.
Honor 70 review: Performance and interface
Our phone runs Android 12 with Honor’s Magic UI 6.0.1 on top. Honor’s UI additions are barely noticeable, with newly installed apps appearing on additional pages on the home screen rather than in the app drawer. There’s also an Honor 70 app that walks you through the phone’s standout features and showcases its specs. Theming apps make it easy to change the look of your phone without delving into settings, while the mirroring app simplifies selfies. There’s also a whole host of Google apps if that’s your thing.
It’s easy to use, but it might take a while to get it working with the phone off, as there’s no power icon in the quick settings shade, and holding down the power button just brings up Google Assistant. As it turns out, all you have to do is long press the power button.
Review of the Honor 70: Battery and charging
A 4,800mAh battery is included in the Honor 70, which is more than the Pixel 7 or Nothing Phone 1. This large battery contributes to a very respectable battery life; it can easily last a day of ardent use and, with extreme caution and thrift, two days.
There is no support for wireless or reverse charging, and charging is only possible through the USB-C port. However, if you have a 66W charger, you can fill it in about 45 minutes. So you do get fast charging. Thankfully, the box includes a charger with 66W.
Must you purchase the Honor 70?
Why not, unless you really like flagship iPhones or Android devices? There is much to like about this device, including the respectable chipset, agreeable RAM and storage capacities, a good screen, and an improved camera. It is slim, light, has a long battery life, and doesn’t burden you with extraneous software or UI features. It even makes phone calls. Even though the price is significantly lower than the outrageously expensive flagships that sell for twice as much, you don’t feel like you’re losing out too much by making the switch.
One of the best things you can say about a mid-range phone is that we left the Honor 70 without any sense of disappointment. It immediately accomplished everything we asked of it and also produced some excellent pictures.
