One key feature that can save budget oriented smartphone from falling right on its face is the user experience. Budget oriented phones can’t have a unique or very high-quality build, they can’t have super processors or 3-4GB RAMs, and a lot better camera.
But, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good hit in the low price section. We all have already experienced what a good user experience can do because of Moto G and Moto E like phones, and it looks like few other manufacturers are learning their lesson.
Still, it is tough to find a device that can offer you complete pleasure i.e. being good in every section.
Welcome Huawei Honor 4X, which is present in the Indian market at a price of 10,499INR (on Flipkart) which does offer impressive imaging quality, decent user experience which is wrapped in good build and simple design.
If you came here to know the story, in short, then that’s your window. Buy Huawei Honor 4X, only if you are looking for a device that can perform decently, looks good, and does the camera functionality pretty well. The device is strictly not meant for high standard gaming and we both are aware of the fact that this isn’t the price group to look for a device of that standards.
Since, you are interested in details, so here I start with my Huawei Honor 4X review which consists of the experience I had so far.
Design and Build
As per the competition is concerned, this device is both lighter and slimmer than Xiaomi Redmi Note. In the design and build section, Huawei Honor 4X can easily stay on top of the competition.
The build holds a good level of sturdiness and delivers a good feel while holding and using. microSD card and dual SIM card slots are under the rear cover which is removable while the battery bar isn’t accessible for users.
The volume rocker and power buttons are on the right side, 3.5mm audio jack is at the top and microUSB port is placed at the bottom, neighboured to a loudspeaker. The primary mic is at the bottom while the top holds another set of the mic, for the active noise cancelation.
The back cover has a matte finish which isn’t a powerful fingerprint magnet. The front portion is colored black and holds three capacitive touch screen buttons beneath the screen.
Overall, the device is comfortable to hold and no doubt, delivers an impressive look, which is an essential feature to consider before buying, at least for me.
Display
Just like the Lenovo A7000 I reviewed earlier, Honor 4x doesn’t have a screen protection. You need to be totally responsible for protecting its 5.5inch sized display and that’s why a good quality of screen protection is recommended to be part of the device, always.
Huawei has used IPS LCD panel which is known for its good viewing angles and delivering a good quality of display in this low budget. The case stands the same in this case as well.
The resolution offered is HD (720×1280 pixels) and it makes elements look really nice. The device was also comfortable using under the direct sunlight.
Overall, as of any other device, Honor 4x stands firmly in the display section and there is nothing to complain about. Almost every device with this price tag is offering only the HD resolution, so no one is a winner here.
Performance
Simplicity is the word, Huawei went for while painting the user interface which shipped with this phone. Android 4.4.4 based Emotion UI (EMUI 3.0) was really pleasing to use and luckily it didn’t come with a lot of bloatwares. As always, Google apps were there, pinned in a single folder, and so does the Tools.
File Manager, Music, Videos, Phone Manager, Kingsoft Office were in there along with a useless Browser application. I call it useless as everyone prefer using Chrome, and it’s there.
There are two modes of the home screen, one with the Android feel and second with the Windows Phone like. I would recommend you to stay with Android one, but if you don’t like any clutters on the very first screen, then switch to Simple mode, which will leave everything other than Time and Weather widget, Dialler, Messaging, Contacts, Camera, Music and Gallery.
An active Theme Store is built-in to quickly change the way UI looks. The app killer switch was also improved from the base Android and I only need to flip up to clear all the running apps in a single instance.
Notification Toggle also looks good and it is added on a clean white colored background. The icons are simple and adorable and it offers a quick access to notifications, shortcuts, and let you dive into the complete Settings section. Do not disturb option is right there along with a little brightness controller.
One useful feature in the notification is that a timeline is maintained for every notification, which really helps in knowing the exact time of occurrence of that particular event.
Unique features like One-hand UI (useful when you are doing two works at a time), sets of Gestures, and smart cover are also part of the software. You can even disable the touch sense for a moment when the device is put in your bag or pocket. Another useful feature but I continued locking up the device normally, using the power button.
Out of total 8GB, around 3.57GB is available for users. In case if you are not aware of the device specifications, then it is powered by an octa-core 1.2GHz processor which is coupled with 2GB of RAM and Mali-450 GPU.
Together, the CPU they form is good enough to meet all basic and average standard of smartphone requirements. I tried playing high-quality games like Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger, but I never get a satisfying experience.
Still, when using the device for normal usage and playing not the high-standard games, everything was working perfectly and functioning smoothly.
I also found that sound quality, particularly through the loudspeaker isn’t that loud and good. Also, I wasn’t impressed with the call quality I was getting during normal voice calls. 4G LTE is supported, but I wasn’t able to test it because of its unavailability in my city.
Overall, the experience I got was pretty good, which isn’t found in a lot of devices of this price range. I have never been a fan of Android skins, but EMUI is the one which can help me change my mind.
Camera
13MP shooter is placed at the back with LED flash and 5MP is at the selfie center. The picture and video qualities I got during every day of my usage, were really impressive and I can definitely call it as the best camera device of this price section.
The images coming out while using the rear camera were impressive every time and also the shutter was quick to respond and capture the moment. Face detection and autofocus were also functioning at a decent pace. Pictures using HDR mode and during low light conditions are also worth sharing over the social networks.
The front camera of this device also has a good story that can further support your decision of buying it. A 5MP unit with software gimmick like Beautify is pleasant to use. To be honest, I am not a big fan of selfies but my friends did manage to capture good moments every time.
Now, talking of the camera software, it looks inspired by the iPhone’s camera app but it still manages to look somewhat different. If you live among the fan boys of Android and iOS, then this device will definitely give something to talk and fight over.
But as a user, who doesn’t care who copied whom, camera software works pretty good and it is quick to remember from initial hours of using.
Battery Life
The press release of this device claimed a battery life of 72 hours (over 2G), which clearly indicates that it can make out a single day on average usage, easily.
Surprisingly, Huawei managed to insert a 3,000mAh battery in this slim profile and it offers enough power to the device which is required to meet that power hungry 5.5inch display.
Ultra, Smart, and Normal are the three power modes you can toggle between, and even at 10% of battery remaining, Ultra mode can easily run the device for about 4-5 hours.
After testing all three modes, I always preferred to keep the device running on Smart mode, which saves enough power juice to keep it alive easily for a day, and sometime even stretch on the next.
Over to You
Cover of the story here is that if you have 10.5k to buy a new good looking smartphone with good camera and clutter free software, then Huawei Honor 4X should be your first choice.
But, if you are looking for a high performance, mainly for gaming purpose, and doesn’t really bothered by software experience, camera quality and build, then go for Lenovo A7000 or the Redmi Note 4G.
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