Should you buy the latest Honor 7X smartphone

Here's a little pre-Christmas treat for those who want a sturdy smartphone but are a bit frugal. Well, actually, whenever Honor whips out a new device, it's really always a treat; the sub-brand of Chinese powerhouse Huawei always makes it a point that you'll be satisfied on all fronts.
So after reviewing the Honor 9 in the not-so-distant past, here we are again with another tempting proposition: the Honor 7X.
For those wondering why it's some steps back in terms of numbering, well, put it this way: the Honor phones without the letters are even more affordable than those with single-digit monikers - but they definitely won't allow themselves to be inferior.
The biggest news here is that the 7X is the first mid-range smartphone that has an 18:9 ratio, AKA a bigger screen crammed in a slimmer body - in this case, a 5.93-inch full-HD one, which is bright and has FullView tech, though I wanted to see lesser bezels on it as it makes the phone bigger. This innovation was first championed by the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8, which were then followed by the likes of OnePlus 5T, Huawei's own and most recent Mate 10 Plus, and some other thing called the iPhone X.

Welcome to the big league of slim: The Honor 7X between the iPhone X and Galaxy S8.
(Okay, to be more specific, the G6, 5T and Mate 10 Pro have an 18:9 ratio, the Galaxy S8 has 18.5:9 and the iPhone X has 19.5:9. Still, you get it.)
Which makes the 7X more comfortable to use in your hands. I will admit, though, that having used 5.5-inch smartphones with the wider, garden-variety 16:9 aspect ratio, I could say I haven't fully-adjusted to this slimmer profile (anyone who knows me will tell you I love big phones).
However, there are a lot of apps that don't use the extended screen by default, as they still open to the 16:9 ratio. You will, though, find a 'full screen display' button below, which does the obvious when you hit it. However, it does cause certain apps to crash: I tried switching Facebook to full-screen mode, but it kept crashing and crashing until I gave up and just used its default size. That's our 'Beef of the Review'; pretty annoying, but we do hope updates will be there to adress it.  
Anyway, on the 7X, you'll find the power button and rocker volume to the right, SIM/microSD card tray to the left, fingerprint scanner dead centre on the rear (which works fast and can unlock the phone from sleep), and 3.5mm audio jack and micro-USB port below. Wait, not USB Type-C? Uh-oh, not future-proof. And I'm really loving that blue hue on the device's metal-finish body, which gives it a rather premium look.
I have no general issues with the shots produced by the 7X's dual-lens 16MP/2MP camera - which can churn out images with bokeh effects, but it isn't as accurate as the Honor 9. But I noticed something: you will feel a lag before it takes the actual snap. Sure; pound-for-pound, that lag may only be a split-second, but if you're used to other higher-end phones, you may readily notice this. That's not surprising given the device's price point, but it does lead to this: that split-second lag may cause you to capture a blurry shot, especially if you move the phone right after taking it.
Battery's pretty sturdy, and you can do well over a day with not-so-savage use. Our usual one-hour video test at full brightness yanked 19 per cent of power out of it.

AND SO...
The Honor 7X is not a bad deal for its looks and offerings, though I think the inclusion of NFC would've been great as more users are leaning towards contactless payments. It's worth a shot if you're looking for your next decent smartphone - and to save money for all the Christmas presents you need to buy.
 
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