This new device resembles the Honor 50 in terms of design, but offers features such as a unique camera system and a larger battery. However, it comes with a higher price bracket than its predecessor.
The Honor 70 is a sleek mid-range smartphone that gives the impression of a high-end device. Its thin and curved design is reminiscent of phones that cost twice as much.
The most notable feature of the Honor 70 is its new camera system, which is the first to use a 54MP Sony IMX800 wide sensor. Along with some innovative video capabilities, this is a phone that offers outstanding photography at a fraction of the cost.
It also has great performance from the Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset. It features a 6.67-inch FHD+ 120Hz OLED display and 66W fast charging. All these features make the Honor 70 an attractive smartphone option for under £500.
Honor 70 Specifications
- Release date: 2022, May 30
- Colors: Black, Green, Blue, Silver
- Dimensions: 161.4 x 73.3 x 7.9 mm.
- Weight: 178 g.
- Screen: 6.67" in, 1080 x 2400, OLED
- Camera : Triple, 54MP
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7325-AE Snapdragon 778G+ 5G (6 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (1x2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
- Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM
- Battery: 4800, Li-Ion, non-removable
- Network: GSM / CDMA / HSPA / CDMA2000 / LTE / 5G
- Operating system: Android 12, Magic UI 6.1
- Sensors: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
If you are curious to find out all the details before reading the full review, visit the page for Honor 70 Specs, where you will find even the smallest detail about the phone.
Honor 70 Price and competition
The Honor 70 is only available in one variant in the UK, which includes 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage and costs £480. This makes it difficult to compare it to other phones as there aren't many that fall into the same price range.
Its closest competitors are the OnePlus Nord 2T (priced at £319), the Pixel 6a (priced at £384), the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (priced at £399) and the Nothing Phone (1) (priced at £449). If you're looking for more expensive options, you'll have to look to the £600 Pixel 6.
Honor 70 Design and key features
While many manufacturers are moving towards flatter displays and sharper edges, the Honor 70 maintains the premium dual-curved display design of the Honor 50. The phone has a slim body of 7.91 mm, flat metal top and bottom edges and a small side bezel. resulting in a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio.
It is also relatively light - only 178 g. The model is available in Emerald Green, Midnight Black and Crystal Silver colors. The glass back is smooth to the touch, but leaves fingerprints. However, it should be noted that the phone does not have a waterproof IP rating, unlike the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and Pixel 6a.
The phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is becoming increasingly common among smartphones. Another limitation is the lack of stereo speakers. A single bottom-mounted speaker provides loud but limited sound.
The Honor 70 runs Magic UI 6.1, which is built on top of Android 12, but still has a similar look and feel to Huawei's EMUI. This means that on initial setup the phone may have cluttered menus and many pre-installed apps on the home screen.
Honor 70 Display
The Honor 70 features a 6.67-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 (FHD+). It has a high refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 300Hz, ensuring smooth and fast response while gaming.
The phone also has a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimming speed of 1920Hz, which aims to reduce eye strain. That's higher than the iPhone 13 Pro's PWM dimming rate, which is 480Hz. The Honor 70's display is generally smooth and fluid, and its color accuracy is decent at 95.6% sRGB.
With the auto-brightness function turned off, the maximum measured brightness of the Honor 70's display was 445cd/m², which is considered good, but not the best in its class. The phone's dual-curved display can cause discoloration around the edges when watching video, which can be distracting for some users. This is a result of the phone's design and something to keep in mind if you spend a lot of time streaming media.
Honor 70 Performance and battery life
The performance of the Honor 70 has not seen a significant improvement with the inclusion of the Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G processor. Although it adds a few extra hertz, it's still a mid-range chip, as demonstrated by the Nothing Phone (1).
Single-core and multi-core performance benchmark results put it among its mid-range competitors. GPU performance is also competitive, though not the fastest in its class. The gaming experience is decent, with Genshin Impact remaining playable at medium settings and 60fps, with occasional stuttering.
The Honor 70 comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, which is typical for a mid-range Android phone. It also has a 4,800 mAh battery, which is an improvement over the 4,300 mAh battery on the Honor 50. Battery life is strong, capable of lasting a full day with 4-5 hours of screen on and still around 50% power left.
The phone's battery life is comparable to other mid-range phones and slightly better than the Nothing Phone (1) and the Pixel 6a, almost on par with the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G, but not as long-lasting as the OnePlus Nord 2T.
The phone also comes with a 66W Honor SuperCharge charger in the box, which can charge the phone from 0-80% in about 30 minutes and fully charge it in 45 minutes.
Honor 70 Cameras
One of the most notable features of the Honor 70 is its camera system. It has a dual camera setup with a primary 54MP sensor. It is the first device to use a 54MP 1/1.49” Sony IMX800 sensor. The camera takes sharp, bright and well-exposed photos in good to moderate lighting. Combining the 4-in-1 pixels creates an equivalent pixel size of 2.0 μm.
The Honor 70's camera performance is less impressive in low-light conditions. The lack of optical image stabilization (OIS) affects the image quality of night mode photos, making them slightly blurry, but not necessarily bad.
The second camera is a 50MP ultra-wide angle that doubles as a macro lens. The ultra-wide photos are of good quality, but there are purple streaks at the edges of the frame. The secondary sensor excels in macro mode, where it is able to capture fine details up close.
There is also an additional 2MP depth sensor, which does not significantly affect the performance of the camera.
The Honor 70 has a 32MP front-facing camera that takes well-exposed photos in good lighting. The subject stands out well from the background, and portrait mode adds bokeh for a more dramatic effect.
Honor 70 Conclusion
The Honor 70 is a sleek smartphone with good performance, long battery life and a camera that performs well in optimal conditions. Its design, while not unique, carries a touch of high class.
However, it faces competition from other mid-range devices like the OnePlus Nord 2T, Pixel 6a, Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and Nothing Phone (1) that offer similar or better features at a lower price.
While the Honor 70 is a good phone, it doesn't offer the best bang for your buck. If you're looking for a stylish, rounded design, the Honor 70 is one of the best options under £500, but if camera quality, performance or features like water resistance or wireless charging are more important to you, there are better options available for more Less money.
Honor 70 video review
Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is based on our team's personal experience with the Honor 70 and third-party sources. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and reliable information, readers should keep in mind that this is a subjective assessment. The writing of this article was not paid for or sponsored by Honor.
