Honor 6X vs 5X: Worth upgrading?
The Honor 6X is finally coming to the US, almost exactly one year after the Honor 5X was launched. “Honor” is Huawei’s sub-brand and the 6X follows in the footsteps of the ultra-affordable 5X. The 6X was originally launched in October, but only for China. Now that it’s available here in the US, we can take a look at how it compares to its predecessor and whether it’s worth the extra $50-100.
Improvements
Processor
Honor made a few very important improvements in the Honor 6X. Let’s start with the processor. One of the biggest problems with the Honor 5X was the underpowered Snapdragon 615 processor. Honor has ditched Qualcomm this time and went with Huawei’s own Kirin 655. The 655 is still not a flagship-level processor, but it should be an improvement over the 615.
Camera
Next up is the camera, or should I say cameras. The 5X had a very average 13MP shooter, but the 6X has dual-cameras. The main 12MP camera can work in tandem with the secondary 2MP camera for depth-of-field effects. We’ll need some time to test the camera, but it’s probably not a huge improvement in terms of photo quality. The extra camera will allow you to do some cool things, but quality will be about the same.
Storage & RAM
Any device that only offers 16GB of storage these days is a disappointment, and that’s exactly what the Honor 5X did. Thankfully, the Honor 6X didn’t make the same mistake. Honor upped the storage to 32GB at the base and a 64GB model on top of that. Plus, you can still use a MicroSD card to expand your storage even further.
RAM has received an equally important upgrade. The base model includes 3GB of RAM, but you can also pay a little more and get 4GB. That’s right up there with many flagship phones that cost considerably more. The extra GB of RAM costs $50 more.
Battery
The Honor 5X had a decen7 3000 mAh battery and the battery life was pretty good too. That didn’t stop Honor from making improvements. The battery has been bumped up to 3340 mAh. Granted, that’s not a gigantic improvement, but it will make a difference. Along with Huawei’s aggressive battery-saving software, you will get great battery life from the 6X.
Stayed the same
Not everything received an upgrade. The Honor 6X maintains a few of the specs from the Honor 5X. The display is still 5.5-inches, a very nice size for a phone. Screen resolution stays at 1080p, which is perfectly acceptable for a budget device. As mentioned above, the 6X still has a microSD card slot for expanding storage and there is still a fingerprint sensor on the back. All perfectly fine features for a budget device.
Is it worth the upgrade?
In short, I would say the Honor 6X is absolutely worth the upgrade. Honor made improvements in every area that needed them. The new processor and more RAM should improve performance, the dual-cameras add interesting effects, and a bigger battery makes battery life even better. The 6X is a little more expensive ($249 for 3GB of RAM, $299 for 4GB), but it’s absolutely worth it if you want a great budget device. What do you think?
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