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Huawei’s sub-brand Honor is ready to take on Xiaomi and Oppp’s newly created online-only Realme brand with two new budget smartphones – the Honor 7A and the Honor 7C. Even though both phones look virtually identical, right down from the design to a dual camera setup on the back. But take a closer look and you’ll notice a ton of differences between the two handsets – especially the screen size, choice of build materials and internal specifications. While the Honor 7A is seen competing with the popular Redmi 5, the Honor 7C will be pitted against the Redmi Note 5. I’ve had a chance to take an early close look at the Honor 7A and Honor 7C ahead of the launch, and here is my first impressions.
Honor has been known for making high-quality smartphones, even in the mid-end segment. Take the Honor 9 Lite, for example. The phone has a glass back which makes it distinctive looking in the similar price bracket. With the Honor 7A and Honor 7C though, the company has settled for less exciting design materials – either metal or polycarbonate, depending on which model you choose.
In case of the Honor 7A, the phone has a polycarbonate build with a matte finish look. Sure, the phone does lack a premium finish but it still looks fancy. Whereas the Honor 7C is a metal-clad smartphone. Notably, the top and bottom part of the back cover are covered by plastic to improve signal strength.
Honor is launching the Honor 7A and Honor 7C in two screen sizes. The Honor 7A has a 5.7-inch screen and the Honor 7C has a 5.99-inch screen. Both models sport 18.9 aspect ratio and have the same 720 x 1440 resolution. The resolution isn’t sharp, but should be good enough to watch videos and play games. Also, keep in mind that some apps and videos don’t make use of the extra space.
Also Read: Honor 7A, Honor 7C India launch highlights
As I said in the beginning, both phones look and feel the feel. Of course, what makes them apart is the screen size and choice of design materials. Neither the Honor 7A nor the 7C gets the USB Type-C port, instead they rely on the old MicroUSB standard. But, yes, you do get a 3.5mm headphone jack and fingerprint scanners on both the phones.
Honor 7A and Honor 7C are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 and 450 mobile processors, respectively. Honor 7A comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage and the Honor 7C gets either 3GB or 4GB RAM and either 32GB or 64GB storage. And they both have a three-in-one microSD slot (up to 256GB), which also lets you use two SIMs.
Also Read: Honor 7A, Honor 7C launched in India: Price, specifications, sale date
In my – limited – time with each device, I was able to open apps smoothly without any lag or stutter. Unfortunately, I have not got time to play games on the devices during my hands-on. Both the phones are budget devices at the end of the day and they’re designed to meet the expectations from a smartphone in this range. In my opinion, the Honor 7A and 7C should solve the purpose.
Both the Honor 7A and Honor 7C offer an identical 3,000 mAh battery that promises to last a day on a single charge. Since I’m yet to test the battery life on the phones, it’s better to keep the judgment safe for the detailed review. Honor 7A and Honor 7C run on Huawei’s EMUI 8.0 overlay, which is based on Android 8.0 Oreo. As you’d expect, there’s no app tray by default. Instead, users need to drag and drop apps on the homescreen. If you have used Honor’s phones before, you’ll know what to expect.
Honor is making sure all its phones now come with a dual-camera setup as standard, and the Honor 7A and Honor 7A are no different. In fact, both the handsets feature a 13MP primary and a 2MP sensor on the back. Around front, there’s an 8MP camera with a soft selfie flash.
I was able to capture good photographs in decent lighting. The camera is fast and quick. Thanks to a dual rear-facing camera setup, users can blur the background and then adjust the intensity of the blur afterwards. You can check out some of the camera samples below. The front-facing 8MP camera also comes handy, in case you take a lot of selfies. As a bonus, both the phones feature a soft selfie fash that will help you take clear seld portraits even in dark.
Both the Honor 7A and Honor 7C are targeted at the mass market segment, where the consumers choice of the device is dependent on the price and specifications. The Honor 7A and Honor 7C are priced at Rs 8,999 and Rs 9,999, respectively. In India, they will be offered in three colours: Blue, Black, and Gold. We’ll have a full review of the Honor 7A and Honor 7C in the coming days.
