We subjected the Honor 90 to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of range, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key Specifications:
- Battery Capacity: 5000mAh
- 66W charger (not included)
- 6.7-inch, 1200 x 2664, 120Hz OLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition (4nm)
- ROM / RAM combination tested: 512GB + 12GB
Pros
- Good charging experience, taking 1 hour 12 minutes to reach a full charge
- Good battery life when streaming video
- Decent gain in runtime after a 5-minute quick charge
Against
- Battery level drops after 5%
- High overall discharge currents
- Charging efficiency below average
- High residual power consumption by the battery charger
- Weak battery life during individual usage tests, except when streaming video
The Honor 90 struggled in some of our battery tests, scoring an overall score just below the average in our database. Compared to its predecessor, the Honor 70, the Honor 90 with its larger battery scored lower overall mainly because it was less efficient in both charging and discharging.
Runtime performance was average, with the 5000mAh battery lasting 56 hours and 37 minutes when used moderately. When testing individual indoor and outdoor uses, runtimes were below average. However, the battery life when watching videos was good. We also noticed that the battery gauge wasn’t accurate, displaying 20% and 100% when the actual battery capacity was 15.7% and 92.7%, respectively. The battery level also plummeted after 5% and the device automatically shut down 1 minute after displaying 2%.
The Honor 90’s charging experience was its main advantage. The 66W charger resulted in a nice runtime gain of 5 hours 29 minutes when plugging in the phone for a 5-minute charge boost. Also, the time it took to fully recharge the battery was faster than the average, at 1 hour and 12 minutes.
However, the charging efficiency was below average with high residual power consumption by the charger whether the fully charged phone was still plugged in or not. The discharge currents were significantly high for almost all uses such as gaming, music streaming, and on the go, but low when streaming video, indicating that the device is not well optimized.
Compared to other devices in the high-end price range ($400-$599), the Honor 90’s performance was slightly below average. Its charging experience for the segment was average, but its range was just below average. Its efficiency score was among the lowest we’ve tested for this segment.
Trial summary
Learn about SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers conduct a series of objective tests over a one-week period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone’s battery protocol.)
The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Drums | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honor 90 | 5000mAh | 66W (not included) |
– | OLEDs 1200 x 2664 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 |
| Honor 70 | 4800mAh | 66W (not included) |
– | AMOLED 1080×2400 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G |
| Sony Xperia 10V | 5000mAh | 21W (not included) |
30W | Triluminous OLED 1080×2520 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G |
| Google Pixel 7 | 4355mAh | 30W (not included) |
23W | OLEDs 1080×2400 |
Google Tensor G2 |
How the Autonomy score is composed
The Battery Life Score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes results from a full range of tests to measure range in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
80 hours
Light use
Active: 2h30/day
57 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4h/day
36 hours
Intensive use
Active: 7h/day
Home office
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, streaming video, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16 hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out.
In movement
109
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the go has a negative impact on range due to additional “hidden” demands, such as continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of precisely defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Calibrated
108
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and to ours bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (like gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting with an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have used at least 5% battery power.
Reload
130
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
How the recharge score is composed
Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where range is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score consists of two subscores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Fast Boost.
Charge complete
122
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
The full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy it takes for the battery to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and to an actual full charge.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The time to full charge graph breaks down the time required to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.
Quick push
139
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average range gain with a 5-minute quick charge.
Efficiency
100
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score consists of two subscores, charge rate and discharge rate, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated testing and charge rating, taking into consideration battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the product’s annual energy consumption, shown in the graph below, which is representative of overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge Up
123
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
The secondary charge score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, relating to the amount of energy required to recharge the battery compared to the energy the battery can supply; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the remaining consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
90
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
The sub-discharge score evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of battery capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery and its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same run time as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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