Most midrange phones try to find the middle ground of hardware, with every aspect taking a little hit, so the overall device is equally good. OK cameras, OK build, OK battery, OK performance, etc. Every once in a while, manufacturers try to put the part it finds most important at the forefront, which is exactly what Honor did with the Honor 90, which has one of the best displays I’ve seen on any mobile phone, but it costs just $430.
The Honor 90’s overall package is solid, but what really stands out is the thing you’ll spend the most time looking at – the screen. I still don’t know exactly what Honor did with the Honor 90 display, but it’s absurdly good.
The 6.7-inch display is 1200p (FHD+) and hits 120hz. It reaches a peak brightness of 1600 nits with full HDR support in apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
It also has quad-curved glass like the Motorola Edge+, but closer to a 2.5D curve that’s more comfortable and not overdone. The glass has one of the best oleophobic coatings I’ve seen on a midrange phone. It also has the best reflectivity I’ve used, comparing favorably to Samsung’s flagships.
There are features like PWM, how often the pixels turn on and off, of 3840Hz. A lower PWM in devices can cause headaches at low brightness and in dim lighting, and this should solve that. It also has a few eye care features that Honor likes to push, but frankly, they just seem gimmicky. Will they help? Maybe, but probably not for everyone.
The rest of the phone is pretty good, but obviously midrange, with room made for the expensive display.
Honor 90 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition. I have no idea what “Accelerated Edition” means here as the specs and even clock speed match normal Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, and it feels the same in actual use. That’s to say, it feels like just about any modern midrange phone, perfectly adequate.
It also has 5,000 mAh and 66W fast charging.
Honor says it’s using a plastic frame and a glass back, but both the phone’s frame and the back feel like plastic. It’s comfortable but not the most premium feeling.
The camera is where this phone starts to feel a little less midrange and a little more low-end.
It has a 200MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide, and near-useless 2MP depth camera. The rear camera setup is just all right, processing isn’t the best, and neither is quality. The result is OK – not good, but not bad. I think it’s an acceptable trade-off.
The selfie shooter is a 50MP that’s cropped into 45.3MP and binned down to 11.3MP. I think this is all right, too, especially since Honor’s quality in third-party apps is pretty good.
Overall, the camera setup is fine. Not the best in a midrange phone, as that crown goes to Pixel 7a, but easily one of the better ones. This isn’t a flagship phone – don’t expect the best of the best.
Final thoughts
Honor 90 overall is maybe one of the best midrange phones in the $400-450 range. The really outstanding feature is the flagship-grade display. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a midrange phone with any single outstanding feature that really goes blow for blow with a flagship, but Honor 90 display does exactly that. I’m not sure how they did it, but they did it, and it is glorious.
Honor 90 is available now in the UK for £449.99 and in Europe for €549.00.
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