Design & Display: More vivid and vibrant
The new Honor 9 is all about power and sophistication in a premium metal design on top of a vivid display that showcases classy design and power in a single package. Unlike the predecessor, Honor 9 has a more vivid 5.15-inch LTPS IPS LCD 1080p display with vibrant colors, but the display measures 0.05-inch less compared to the 5.2-inch display of Honor 8, though the display size is slightly less compared to the later, Honor compensated that by giving a pixel density of 428 PPI to Honor 9 over the 423 PPI pixel density of the Honor 8.
The Honor 9 also steals the show with a much more less screen-to-body ratio over the Honor 8 which is great, as we can see premium smartphones are moving towards a more bezel-less design.
Camera: A major improvement than before
Huawei has done a better job with the rear camera by equipping the Honor 9 with a Dual 20MP + 12 MP, f/2.2, phase detection autofocus camera having 2x optical zoom and dual-LED (dual tone) flash, over the Honor 8 that falls behind only with a Dual 12 MP, f/2.2, 35mm, laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash camera.
In the front camera section both the smartphones have an 8 MP camera for selfies, so nothing much to say here, but the winner is the new dual 20 MP camera of the Honor 9 which will provide crisp clear images in any lighting conditions and is a major improvement in camera specifications when compared with the other smartphones available in the market with similar price tag.
Processor: A tweak that made a difference
Huawei is one of the very few companies to develop their own processors for use in their smartphones. In the Honor 9, they used a HiSilicon Kirin 960 Octa-core processor which is an improved one over the HiSilicon Kirin 950 packed by the Honor 8.
HiSilicon Kirin 960 is a tweak version of the HiSilicon Kirin 950 with more power using 4 Cortex A73 cores clocked at 2.4GHz over the 3 Cortex A72 cores clocked at 2.3GHz. The Kirin 960 is the first processor to support 2160p 60fps HEVC HD decoding when compared to the Kirin 950, which can only go past 30fps. The Kirin 960 is expected to produce 30% more performance that its predecessor, so the Honor 9 will have more wings to fly as compared to Honor 8 in performance.
Internal Storage: A much-needed improvement
The Honor 9 runs on Android Nougat out of the box and comes with 64 GB/ 128 GB of internal storage with 4 GB of RAM and 6 GB of RAM respectively.
Huawei has given a good job by giving a 128 GB internal storage to Honor 9 as Honor 8 was only available with 32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM versions and lacked a 128 GB internal storage. But both the smartphones have a hybrid sim slot, Huawei could have made a dedicated micro SD card, but this drawback can be settled in with the choosing of a big internal storage.
Software & Other Specifications: Small tweaks and picks over the later
Both the smartphones come with Android Nougat out of the box and with the Honor 9, the company will roll out the new Android version; Android O as it comes out, and we will experience a much more smooth user experience and elevated performance in the Honor 9.
The Honor packs all the necessary feature like the dedicated voice cancellation mic and a front-mounted Fingerprint scanner which can be seen in many new premium smartphones but when the Honor 8 is compared it have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which is a let down for many smartphone users.
The Honor 9 also have basic features like the accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor and compass and dual band Wifi. The smartphone also supports fast battery charging with a big non-removable Lithium-Polymer 3200 mAh battery compared to the 3000 mAh battery of Honor 8.
Price
When coming to the price, Huawei priced the Honor 9 at approximately 26000 INR in India. The pricing is done fairly with the specifications and the smartphone is available in various shades; Amber Gold, Seagull Grey, Charm Sea Blue.
Verdict
Huawei has made major improvements in design and specifications when compared to its predecessor Honor 8, and one could easily mark the changes the company has tried to bring down, there are major upgrades in camera and design, while it shows small tweaks in specifications. Honor could have made a dedicated Micro SD card, but only provide an option of a 128 GB internal storage over the Honor 8.
While the processor is taken into consideration, the new Kirin 960 shows performance that could is not far from the likes of the high-end processors like the Snapdragon 821 and Apple A10.By comparing the Honor 8, we can say that Honor 9 is a major improvement over its predecessor and will outshine other smartphones competitors with it stellar design, top in class quality and premium metal design.
