Honor 70 review

Introduction and specifications

The Honor 70 lineup made its debut in May, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in Europe. Honor 70 is the most affordable option in the series, with the Honor 70 Pro and Pro + being a higher tier. The Honor 70 is also a direct successor to the Honor 50 from December last year and only a few changes have been made to the newer model.

However, Honor made the right ones. We have a slightly updated SoC, newer Android with Magic UI 6.1 on top, and most importantly, new cameras. The new Honor 70 has a slightly larger sensor, albeit with fewer pixels, and to our surprise, the ultrawide camera has been replaced with a proper 50MP autofocus camera. Honor has also skipped the useless macro camera and uses ultrawide for close-ups instead.

Additionally, the Honor 70 is powered by a 4,800mAh battery, which is a bit below average for a midranger, but it’s also a big upgrade over the previous generation adding 500mAh to the total. We also have 66W fast charging and reverse charging support, which is a rare feature to have in this price range.

The Honor 70 specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.4×73.3×7.9mm, 178g; glass front, plastic back and side frame.
• Screen: 6.67 “OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1080x2400px resolution, 20: 9 format, HDR10 + 395ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7325-AE Snapdragon 778G + 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (1×2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 and 3×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 and 4×1.9 GHz Cortex-A55); Adreno 642L.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM.
• Operating system / software: Android 12, Magic UI 6.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 54 MP, f / 1.9, 1 / 1.49 “, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f / 2.2, 122˚, AF; Depth: 2 MP, f / 2.4.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f / 2.4, (wide angle).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30 / 60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4800 mAh; Fast charging 66W, 60% in 20 min (advertised), Reverse charging 5W.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.

From a design standpoint, there is little or no change, and that’s a good thing. We liked the build the first time and are happy to see the same smooth, light body.

We also see the same curved OLED display on board, which supports 10-bit color depth and goes up to 120Hz. Although this time it measures 6.67 inches diagonally, exactly 0.1 inches more than the Honor 50.

However, we think the main appeal of this phone is the cameras. Most of the phone’s competitors fail to impress with good cameras aside from the main ones. It is quite refreshing to see a mid-range smartphone with a good ultrawide camera. This is also the biggest upgrade over the Honor 50.

From a price point of view, however, the situation is complicated. Just like its predecessor, the Honor 70 faces some competition, but we believe the device is better equipped for the job this time around and some features help it stand out.

Unboxing the Honor 70

The Honor 70’s retail packaging is nothing out of the ordinary. The device comes with the usual user manuals along with the USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer, as well as the appropriate 66W charging brick.

The box also contains a clear silicone case as a bonus.