Skip to main content

Everything you need to know about the Honor 9

Feast your eyes on the new 'Robin Egg Blue' color for the Honor 9

Huawei Honor 9 logo
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
The Honor 9 is the latest flagship phone in Honor’s arsenal. The company, a subsidiary of Huawei, unveiled the Honor 9 in China earlier this summer, and although it looks a lot like the Honor 8 there are a number of serious improvements. The Honor 9 has so far been officially announced in China, and now in European markets too.

New color

At IFA 2017, Honor unveiled a Robin Egg Blue color option for the Honor 9. With a 15-layer 3D-glass back of warm and cool color tones, it is different than the previously debuted Glacier Gray. The limited edition color is already on pre-sale in China and will be available in the U.K. mid-September for 460 pounds or about $595.

Price and availability

Honor announced the Honor 9 in China on June 12, without any indication whether the phone will also receive a wider international release in the future, but we now know that it will. It’s sold for 2,700 Yuan, or around $400, for the 64GB model, or 3,000 Yuan, which equates to $440, for the 128GB model. A competitive price, with the potential for it to become a serious contender in the U.K. or the United States.

During its June 27 unveiling, the company also revealed that the phone would receive a wider launch in Europe, though pricing has yet to specifically be confirmed by the company. The phone will be available in the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. There’s no indication of any U.S. release yet — and it’s possible there won’t end up being one.

At the same time, a pre-order page for the Honor 9 went live on Amazon’s U.K. site, offering the phone for 380 British pounds, or about $480. The phone isn’t pictured, but the specifications match those of the Chinese Honor 9, and there’s no delivery date attached either.

Specs

The Honor 9 boasts HiSilicon’s top-tier processor, the Kirin 960, also found in the Huawei P10 and Huawei Mate 9, which is coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage, depending on the variant that you end up going for. That storage is also expandable. Not only that, but the Honor 9 boasts a fingerprint sensor built into the front home button, rather than on the back, as was the case on the older phone.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The display on the Honor 9 is a 5.15-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel display, which is not necessarily on par with other flagship phones on the market — but should still be relatively crisp. When it comes to the camera, you get a dual-lens shooter with a 12MP and 20MP sensor, which is similar to Huawei’s flagship, the P10. That camera boasts two-times optical zoom, laser autofocus, and a f/2.2 aperture. The front-facing camera sits in at 8MP, which should be plenty for most selfie-lovers.

The design of the phone looks great, and you get a choice of gray, blue, or amber gold colors. The phone also boasts dual-SIM support, NFC, and a 3.5mm headphone jack — which is apparently a feature to speak of these days. We’ll keep you updated with all the Honor 9 news here, so check back often.

Update: Added new limited edition Robin Egg Blue color option 

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Does the iPhone 15 break easily? What you really need to know
And iPhone 15 Pro Max in white with a hammer head sitting on top.

Just days after the iPhone 15 series arrived in stores and people's homes, the list of controversies about the new phones has continued to grow. First, there were concerns the iPhone 15 had an overheating problem. Now, an alarming online test suggests that at least one of the four new iPhone 15 models can break easily.

Has Apple released inferior iPhones? Should you be worried? There are a few things to keep in mind.
How did this iPhone 15 controversy get started?

Read more
Honor’s new Android phone has a feature we’ve never seen before
Promotional photo showing the Honor 90 phone in different colors.

Honor isn’t happy with Samsung taking all the mid-range smartphone glory with the excellent Galaxy A54. As such, it has launched the Honor 90 to see if it can tempt you away from Samsung's colorful and capable device. The Honor 90 matches the Galaxy A54’s price, but what about its specifications?

Honor has highlighted the screen technology as a reason to buy, and it certainly has something we haven't seen before. It’s a 6.7-inch, 2664 x 1200 pixel resolution OLED with a quad-curve shape, meaning it flows down into the chassis for comfort and style. The panel uses 3840Hz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimming to minimize flicker at low brightness, and it's the first time we've seen this level of PWM dimming on any smartphone. Other phones have 1920Hz or 2160Hz PWM dimming (such as the Realme 11 Pro+) at the most. The technology should also help reduce eye fatigue when using the screen for a long time. The screen has a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ certification, and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits.

Read more
Have the Android 14 beta on your Pixel? You need to download this update now
Google Pixel 7a held in hand showing home screen

Google revealed a bunch of new goodies during its opening keynote for Google I/O 2023, showing off its latest advancements in AI with Bard, as well as the brand new Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet. There was also a sneak peek at upcoming features in Android 14, including new lock screen clocks, shortcuts, and generative AI wallpapers.

If you have a Pixel phone, like the new Pixel 7a or the older Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro, then -- surprise -- Google is rolling out the Android 14 Beta 2 starting right now.

Read more