A Budget Phone that Can (Almost) Last You Forever

Review Verdict: HONOR adds another durable budget phone to its lineup with the X7c, boasting an IP64 rating to make it comfortable to use even during rainy weather. Battery life and main camera performance has improved—however, at the expense of a lower display resolution and the omission of the ultra-wide camera.

Pros

• Better main camera performance
• Solid battery life
• IP64 on a budget phone

Cons

• No Ultra-wide camera
• Same set of internals as predecessor
• Lower display resolution

HONOR continues to solidify its reputation of durable budget phones with the X7c. While it has focused on durability against drops in the past, HONOR is adding a new spin to the X7c by touting its IP64 rating against water splashes. Is this upgrade worth considering for a budget phone?

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Design

Unlike previous X7 models, the X7c looks more similar to the X8b down to having a vegan leather option. The noticeable differences include a different pattern on the vegan leather, a darker shade of green, and one less camera. It’s also different in the sense that the X7c boasts an IP64 rating, making it not just durable against drops but also resilient against water splashes and minor drops in bodies of water.

Save for an upgraded IP rating, the X7c’s button and port layout is the same as its predecessor. That means you get stereo speakers, a headphone jack at the bottom, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Display

The X7c’s display is slightly smaller, and sacrifices resolution (now HD+) for a smoother 120hz refresh rate, which is a trend among budget phones lately. Aside from the HD+ resolution being a downgrade, the X7c’s bezels appear to be thicker compared to the X7b. The downgraded display resolution also meant that you’re only getting Widevine L3, which limits your Netflix streaming to HD resolution.

Other than the thicker bezels and a lower display resolution, the X7c’s display still has decent color accuracy. Brightness is better than some budget phones we’ve tested, making the X7c’s display still legible even when you use it outdoors. You still get stereo speakers, with overall sound quality being typical of what we expect on budget phones. If you’re not happy with the stereo speakers, you do get a headphone jack for plugging in your favorite wired earphones.

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Cameras

There are two cameras on the back, but only the 108-megapixel main shooter is the one that matters. It’s the same camera used on the X7b, but the image processing on the X7c is better, especially in low light conditions where image noise is less compared to our experience with the X7b.

While the performance of the main camera has improved, this comes at the expense of removing the ultra-wide camera from the X7b. We don’t know why HONOR did this, but we prefer an ultra-wide over another filler camera.

Just like its predecessor, the X7c has a 2x digital zoom feature, and we also noticed improvements in detail preservation as well.

The same applies to video recording, where you’re limited to Full HD recording at 30FPS since the X7c is running on the same hardware.

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life

The X7c comes with a Snapdragon 685 processor that’s paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage, which is the norm for phones under Php 10k these days. While the Snapdragon 685 is not meant for gaming (it’s essentially an overclocked Snapdragon 680), this budget processor excels in battery life. Scrolling and multitasking felt generally smooth, and the X7c’s bezels appear can handle less demanding games like Honor of Kings if you really want to use it for gaming.

The X7c comes with Android 14-based MagicOS 8.0 out of the box, and we appreciate that HONOR is tame when it comes to bloatware so that you can make the most out of its 256GB internal storage.

The X7c has the same huge 6000mAh battery found on its predecessor that can last you more than a day. We got a result of 24 hours and 35 minutes in PCMark’s battery benchmark test, making the X7c one of the longest-lasting budget phones we’ve tested to date. Like its predecessor, you also get support for 35w charging, which should be enough to top up the huge battery in under 2 hours.

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions

Beyond getting better durability with its IP64 rating, the HONOR X7c proves to be a budget phone that can last you (almost) forever with a stellar battery life that’s arguably one of the best we’ve seen on an under Php 10k device this year. The lower display resolution and the omission of the ultra-wide camera might turn off some, but we’re glad to see the main camera get improved post-processing performance.

HONOR X7c Review Philippines: Price

The X7c is priced at Php 8,999.