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Verdict
The Honor 9 is not an innovative handset, and it won’t offer you much you haven’t seen on a smartphone before.
However, Honor has managed to create an all-around great handset that offers everything you’d like in a phone in an attractive, easy-to-use and top-of-the-range package.
But the highlight feature is still that it’s around half the price of some of the major flagship phones, and it’s hard to find a reason not to recommend the Honor 9 if you’d like a cheaper alternative to some of the big names.
Who’s this for?
If you’re looking for an attractive flagship phone but you’re not overly concerned with owning a big-name handset, the Honor 9 will be the perfect device for you.
It’s hard to recommend this product to true Honor fans who already own an Honor 8 or 8 Pro as the innovation here is rather limited, but if you own an older Honor product, such as an Honor 7, this could be the perfect time to upgrade your phone.
Should you buy it?
The Honor 8 offers a lot of features that expensive flagships like the Huawei P10 or Samsung Galaxy S8 offer, so if you don’t want to spend that money and are happy to miss out on a few bells and whistles you should go for the Honor 9.
You may want to hold out for the Honor 10 if you already own a recent Honor product, but if you want all of the features listed throughout this review in an easy-to-use package then the Honor 9 will be perfect for your next phone.
First reviewed July 2017
Competition
Here are the phones you may prefer over the Honor 9...
OnePlus 5T
The OnePlus 5T is one of our favorite phones in the world, and it’s one of the best options for an affordable flagship phone.
We cited it as having a great camera, awesome design and phenomenal performance, and if you’re happy to spend a little extra over the price of the Honor 9 then it’s a great option.
Plus it has an almost 6-inch screen in around the same size body as the Honor 9, so you get more screen without having to hold a bulky phone. There’s an 8GB of RAM version of this phone, and it also packs a dual 16MP sensor rear camera that offers similar features to the Honor 9’s setup.
Read our OnePlus 5T review
Huawei P10
There are a lot of similarities between the Huawei P10 and the Honor 9, but one of these phones is much more expensive than the other – and it’s not the Honor 9.
The metal design and optical image stabilization in the camera are the big differences between these two devices, but if you’re not looking for either of those features you can save some cash by sticking with the Honor.
Before you decide on the Honor though, be sure to check out the P10, to see if you think those extra features are worth the extra money.
Read our Huawei P10 review
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
The Galaxy A5 (2017) is its top mid-range handset from Samsung. We gave it four stars in our review, and it may be a better fit for you than the Honor 9.
It costs a bit less than the Honor 9, but still packs an octa-core processor, an AMOLED display and a water-resistant design. It also has a similar design to the flagship Samsung phones too, so it’s an affordable way to get that look.
You’ll be restricted to 32GB of storage and you don’t get a a dual-lens camera, with Samsung instead opting for a conventional 16MP rear shooter, but it may still be a good option for your next phone.
Read our Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) review
