Earlier this week Honor brought its Honor 70 to the UK market after debuting in China earlier in the year and the phone is expected to arrive in more regions in the coming weeks. At £ 479.99 for the 8 / 128GB casing and £ 529.99 for the 8 / 256GB model, Honor has big goals for its new workhorse, but it has what it takes to be your next phone ?
The mid-range Android segment is arguably the busiest area in the smartphone market with many great options from a variety of manufacturers. Big names like Samsung, Xiaomi, and the BBK group regularly offer great devices with ups and downs when it comes to chipsets, cameras, and builds.
Honor aims to give you a flagship experience on a tight budget, and design is a big goal. Honor 70 features a double glass design and a curved OLED display. The panel measures at 6.67 inches and refreshes at 120Hz while the resolution is 1080 x 2400 pixels. The back also features a clean design with the Crystal Silver option getting a diamond pattern while the other options stick to a satin finish.
The cameras on the back are quite capable too – you get a 54MP main camera that is based on Sony’s IMX 800 sensor. It is a new 1 / 1.49 ”sensor with 1.0µm pixels and all autofocus pixels and is the same sensor used in the flagship models Honor 70 Pro and Honor 70 Pro + which are still exclusive to China. There is an additional 50MP ultrawide module that doubles as a macro cam and 2MP depth.
And now we come to the chipset: Honor has chosen the Snapdragon 778G +, also used in a variety of well-received midranges such as the Galaxy A52s 5G, Xiaomi 12 Lite and the newer Galaxy A73 5G and Nothing Phone (1). Although the 778G is an all-round SoC, there are more capable chipsets among other midrangers such as Snapdragon 870, SD 7 Gen 1, or some of MediaTek’s newer Dimensity chips.
The Honor 70 has a decent-sized 4,800mAh battery and charging should be fast enough – Honor includes a 66W adapter in the box, which should give you a 0-60% charge in 20 minutes. The software side is covered by Magic UI 6.1 on Android 12 with full GMS support.
Honor 70 color options
There’s no water resistance, headphone jack, or a microSD card slot on the Honor 70 which can turn off some potential buyers. Audio is handled by a single speaker from below, which doesn’t help its case either. Honor has an advantage for early bird buyers: a free pair of Earbuds 3 Pro which we found a great pair of gems in our review.
With the case for the Honor 70 out of the way, let’s take a look at the competition.
Samsung’s Galaxy A52s 5G comes to mind – it’s also powered by the Snapdragon 778G chipset and offers a large 6.5-inch AMOLED that refreshes at 120Hz. The main cam is a 64MP shooter with OIS while the auxiliary modules are less impressive with a 12MP ultrawide and two 5MP modules for macro shots and depth data. The Galaxy has a smaller 4,500mAh battery and charges much slower at 25W.
Software support is a key benefit for the Samsung phone as it grants three Android versions and four years of security packages. The phone also gets IP67 water and dust resistance, while also boasting a microSD card slot and stereo speakers making it a much more capable multimedia device. You can get a 6 / 256GB A52s 5G for just £ 300, which is a lot less than the Honor 70.
Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
Another phone in Samsung’s field is the Galaxy S21 FE which offers a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen and a 120Hz refresh rate. You get a superior Snapdragon 888 chipset here and the same great software support with three Android version updates. and four years of security updates.
The main (12MP) and ultrawide (12MP) cameras are less impressive on paper even if you have an 8MP telephoto lens to compensate. You also get IP68 water and dust resistance, Corning Gorilla Glass protection on the screen, and stereo speakers. Pricing here too is pretty competitive, the Galaxy S21FE 6 / 128G currently costs £ 456.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
You might also want to check out the Poco F4 GT, one of the most popular midranges around. It boasts the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, magnetic pop-up buttons for gaming, and an incredibly fast 120W wired charging 4,700mAh battery. The camera setup is less impressive: a 64MP main cam and an 8MP ultrawide module, as well as a 2MP macro shooter. It’s a complete and compelling package, and the base 8 / 128GB model currently retails for £ 584.
Little F4 GT
The Realme GT Neo 3 offers the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset, class-leading 150W charging and a large 6.7-inch AMOLED with a refresh rate of 120Hz. Battery life in our tests was stellar, with a clock of over 102 hours. When you need to recharge, a full charge from 0 to 100% takes just 16 minutes. The 50MP main camera takes pretty good photos in daylight. Realme GT Neo 3 150W currently costs £ 599.
Realme GT Neo 3
Depending on where you live, there are many other alternatives. With all of that in mind, can you see yourself buying the Honor 70 or would you choose another phone?
If you are having trouble with the poll incorporated above, please try to cast your vote here.
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