HONOR 70 5G Phone Review

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Tech Specs

HONOR 70 5G

Device Manufacturer:	HONOR
Model Number:	70 5G
Release Date:	02/09/2022
Website:	https://www.hihonor.com/uk/phones/honor-70/buy/
Price:	£529.99

A review unit of the phone was very kindly provided by HONOR and returned.

I’ll be the first to admit, I hadn’t heard much discussion or even advertising for the HONOR brand of smartphones until 2021.  And even then, they were never considered to be a top player within the smartphone market, next to Samsung, Apple etc.  However, after gaining an invite to the product launch event and the opportunity to be able to review the phone (thank you for the invite to the event and phone to review), I have some thoughts about their most recent offering, the HONOR 70 5G.

Device Specifications

One of the first things I am usually looking for when I am purchasing a smartphone is how the phone feels and runs.  What I mean by runs is how snappy it is to be able to quickly switch between apps, the time it takes for apps to boot, integration with snapping to other smart devices and the memory and storage available.

It is safe to say that, in terms of the storage available, there are 2 models of the HONOR 70 5G available at 128GB or 256GB of memory on board.  I had the 256GB memory model, and I never had any issues with a lack of space available, even after taking various high resolution photos and videos, which often were quite large in terms of storage.  It was refreshing to be available to have all this storage to play around with, without the constant need to move pictures or videos to the cloud, or delete apps to maximise storage.

In terms of the performance of the HONOR 70 5G uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus CPU and a Adreno 642L GPU, which outputs at rough 2.5GHz.  In lay man’s terms, they are relatively powerful components considering the price point of the phone itself, and the performance is usually excellent on it.  I never found there to be many instances of slowdown, even streaming video on public Wi-Fi at high quality.  Additionally, snapping between different apps was mostly seamless, with less than a second on apps that had been recently used, or a few seconds if it was reopening from deep sleep. 

Battery Life

I find that a very important part of any phone purchase is without a doubt, especially if you are out travelling to and from work via public transport or are using your phone for long periods of the day, is how long the battery lasts. 

The HONOR 70 5G come equipped with a 4800 mAH, and boxed in with a 66w super fast charger, which is claimed to charge your phone from 0% to 60% in roughly 15 mins.  I was unbelievably surprised how quickly the device charged, often only needing about 45 mins for a full charge.

During my time with the HONOR 70 5G, I found that the battery managed to last most of the day, depending on usage of course.  Whilst using the phone, I spent the first few weeks using it in my day to day life, taking it with me to work, using mobile data and Wi-Fi, making calls etc.  For a week, I was out of the country, using it via flight mode, or without mobile data enabled.  For full disclosure, I will state in both instances how the battery held up under both modes of testing.

For the first few weeks, whilst I was using the phone in my day to day life, I would be utilising a lot of high data, and therefore high power consuming processes, I found that I would only have to charge the phone once a day.  I would usually start the day on 100%, and after going to work, using my phone for podcasts, Youtube videos, or music stored on the phone, as well as messaging via WhatsApp or social media apps.  By the time I was coming home at roughly 5.30 to 6PM, I would still have the battery available to not have to charge the device until when I went to bed.  I was incredibly surprised, and somewhat astonished by how little battery would be consumed during my day, even to the point I stopped taking my portable charger out with me for the most part.

For the week that I was using the phone whilst on Wi-Fi only, as I was out of the country, the device lasted so much longer than expected.  As no mobile data was constantly being consumed like when I was in the UK, the phone would often still have 50% after a full day’s activities, like using the camera, offline viewing of Google Maps whilst out and downloaded TV shows and movies, as well as music.  I was once again stunned by how much battery this device had and how much I could do with it before it needed to be charged.

Screen and Display

As the screen will be the thing on the phone you will see and interact with the most, you would expect the screen to be striking and be able to handle everything, such as high dynamic ranges, and an excellent picture quality whilst watching videos.  It is safe to say that this is one of the best and most visually pleasing displays on a phone I have ever seen.

HONOR claim that the display is capable of 120HZ display, which means that certain applications like games, will run at up to 120 frames per second, giving it (supposedly) incredible performance whilst watching videos or games.  I was unable to properly test the gaming function too much, as I am not a mobile gamer, and the Xbox Game Pass app isn’t configured properly for game streaming.  However, many videos that I had viewed, that were solely gameplay videos, didn’t show any video slowdown, or any buffering via YouTube when upping the video quality to the highest possible.  It was truly a sight to behold on such an inexpensive smartphone.

Calling and Texting

Importantly, whilst all these new smart devices are coming out, enabling our lives to be fully integrated with the Internet, and communicate with people from various parts of the world, what about those who live closer to home, such as family and friends, who still use the phone and text messages? This is, unfortunately, where the vast majority of the criticisms I have with the device.

When trying to make some phone calls to be able to test the device, the first few calls made wielded no unusual results.  The calls were snappy and prompt to connect, with no audio issues or connectivity.  However, after those calls, the phone functions started to dwindle. I had various calls to family members that wouldn’t connect, or them even being able to hear me, or vice versa, forcing me to disconnect the call and re-attempt.  On some occasions, it would take 3 to 4 attempts before they could hear me. It was incredibly frustrating that, despite all the great features available, that HONOR would drop the ball with the most important function, and the reason the device is called a Mobile/Cell Phone.

Camera

The camera has always been the function of a phone that is the least important focus, for me personally, when buying a new device, as I am not much for taking pictures and videos unless I am covering an in-person event.  However, the camera is likely to be the most important, and the greatest feature on the HONOR 70 5G.

Like I stated, I don’t usually take many photos or videos.  However, when testing this phone I made sure to take plenty of various photos, at different times of the day, as well as different vistas and surroundings from different parts of the world.  And I was absolutely blown away by the picture quality, and some of the features of the camera itself.

The camera boasts 3 rear cameras, a 54MP IMX800 Super Sensing Main Camera, a 50MP Ultra Wide & Macro Main Camera and 2MP Depth Camera.  These cameras help to give photos an excellent visual clarity and help to keep images sharp and ensure that light reacts correctly.  However, one feature within the camera is called AI Photography.  Whenever this is enabled, the camera needs to remain steady whilst an AI programme runs and automatically sharpens the image whilst the photo is being taken.  With AI Photography enabled, I was completely and utterly astounded by the visual clarity in photos, almost double taking as it was near impossible to see that it was a photograph.

Whilst I didn’t end up using the video camera too many times, seeing the options to be able to record at 1080P at 60FPS was truly incredibly, but the option to up the visual fidelity to 4K at 30FPS was something I never imagined to ever see on a phone, especially at the price point that the HONOR 70 5G boasts, which currently sits at £529.99.

Conclusion

With an incredible screen and visual quality, a camera that defines a generation of smartphones, and the ability to be able to be used nearly all day with only 45 mins required for a full charge, the HONOR 70 5G, at £529.99, is one of the best pieces of value for money within the mobile phone market today.  If the phone calling features were minorly improved, I would very much consider making this phone one that I would gladly purchase myself, and has put HONOR on the map when considering a smartphone purchase due on my next upgrade.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

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