HONOR X9d 5G set for PHL launch on Jan. 9

HONOR PHILIPPINES is set to launch its latest mid-range smartphone, the HONOR X9d 5G, in the country on Friday (Jan. 9.)

The brand is dubbing the device as “the toughest phone,” with pre-release promotions showing it being subjected to various durability tests, including a high-altitude drop test from an ultralight plane and pitting it against the all-steel Tesla Cybertruck in smash and rollover tests.

“Positioned as the toughest mid-range smartphone of the year, the latest addition to the X Series is built to withstand extreme challenges while delivering powerful everyday performance,” it said in a statement.

“Year after year, HONOR fans and consumers push us to go beyond expectations, and that inspires everything we do,” said Stephen Cheng, vice-president of HONOR Philippines. “The HONOR X9d 5G was designed with Filipino users in mind — combining toughness, innovation, especially value. Our extreme durability tests reflect our confidence in delivering a device that can keep up with real life challenges.”

Based on the brand’s website, the HONOR X9d 5G has a 6.79-inch AMOLED screen made of aluminosilicate glass.

It has water and dust resistance ratings of IP66, IP68, IP69, IP69K, which HONOR said would allow it to withstand up to 85°C high-temperature water, 24 hours of high-humidity, salt-rich environments, and 10,000 water exposure cycles. Users can automatically expel dust and water with a single tap, and the phone also has rainproof and glove friendly touch control.

It also has drop resistance of up to 2.5 meters.

The HONOR X9d 5G is powered by a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 octa-core chipset and runs on MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15. It has 12GB in memory and 256GB storage.

At the rear, it features a 108-megapixel (MP) main camera and a 5MP wide lens. The camera system supports up to 10x digital zoom and 4K video shooting, and also has optical image stabilization. It also has various capture modes, including Highlights Capture, Moving Photo, AI photography, time-lapse photography, and Multi-Video, among others.

The smartphone also has a 16MP front camera that supports up to 1080P video recording.

It has a typical battery life of 8,300 mAh and supports 66-watt wired charging, as well as reverse charging. — Bettina V. Roc