Honor has been making some really cool smartphones, focused heavily on the camera aspect in order to lure photo enthusiasts. By keeping a tab on the pricing, Honor has managed to get worthy attention and it is going now going to launch a new smartphone in India to continue the streak.
Honor sent us a media invite for an event to be held in New Delhi on July 24. Even though there isn't a lot of information that Honor decided to share in its cryptic invite, there's a hashtag #NOORDINARYBEAUTY to suggest the camera will once again be the highlight of its next phone.
Rumours are now starting to swirl around what the Huawei-owned sub-brand has in store for us and it appears we could soon be acquainted with the Honor 9i (2018), which was recently launched in China. But the Honor 9i (2018) could be rebranded as Honor 9X in India, as some reports suggest.
Since we already have all the details about the Honor 9i (2018) from its international release, the only information that is unavailable right now is the pricing and availability for the Indian market.
Honor 9i (2018) comes with 5.84-inch Full HD+ display, metal frame and a mirror-finish back. There's a dual rear camera setup with 13MP and 2MP sensors, accompanied by an LED flash, PDAF and HDR functions. On the front is a 16MP selfie shooter and going by the #NOORDINARYBEAUTY hint, we could see AI infusion to make your selfies light up.
Other features include an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset, 4GB RAM, 64GB/128GB storage options and a 3,000mAh battery. The handset supports microSD card, dual SIM Cards, microUSB, and 4G LTE. In China, the handset comes in Black, Blue, Green, and Purple options and it is priced at ¥1,399 (approx. Rs. 14,600) for the base model and ¥1,699 (approx. Rs 17,800) for the high-end variant. It remains to be seen if Honor will retain the same pricing or surprise us by going cheaper.
But let us warn you, this is just one theory and Honor is yet to confirm that it is indeed the Honor 9i (2018) aka Honor 9X that's coming to India on July 24. Another possibility is that Honor could be launching the Honor Play at its upcoming event.
Honor Play is a slightly upgraded version from the Honor 9i (2018), complete with improved features to justify a higher price tag. It retails at ¥ 1,999 (around Rs 21,000) for the 4GB RAM variant in China and there's a 6GB model for ¥2,399 (about Rs 25,100).
If the Honor Play is the device coming on July 24, here's a brief rundown of its specs. Honor Play comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a 19:9 aspect ratio, which means it has a notch. Powered by HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor, Honor Play comes with GPU Turbo technology, built-in NPU, 4D gaming experience and more.
In terms of camera, there's a dual camera setup at the back with AI features. The 16MP primary lens has an aperture of f/2.2 and PDAF while the secondary 2MP sensor comes with f/2.4 aperture. On the front is a 16MP selfie snapper with f/2.0 aperture. Clearly, Honor Play's optics are more impressive than the Honor 9i (2018).
Other features include 64GB expandable storage, Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.2 OS, USB Type-C port, a 3,750mAh battery with fast charging and three colour options to choose from, black, blue and violet.
Which one of the two phones are you expecting to see from Honor on July 24? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
