HONOR X7d Review - Durable, long-lasting and reliable

Since its October release, HONOR's budget-conscious drop-resistant X7d has drawn attention. Here's our full review.

HONOR X7d back

To recall, the device features an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance, a 5-star durability rating from accidental drops, a Snapdragon 685 chip, a massive 6,500mAh battery, and a 108MP main camera.

Survives rain or water splashes

For our review part 1, you may check HONOR X7d HONOR X7d Unboxing, First impressions, and Camera Samples - Rainproof, big storage, and 2-day battery

Now, let's take a closer look at what the new device has to offer.

Multimedia Experience

The display

The HONOR X7d features a large 6.77-inch TFT LCD with an HD+ (1610 x 720) resolution. While not the sharpest, it delivers sufficient detail and decent colors for everyday multimedia.

Smooth visuals

The display shines with its smooth scrolling thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, bright 800-nit peak, and thoughtful eye-comfort features. These include a Super Low Brightness mode for nighttime use, alongside DC dimming, a Low Blue Light mode, and a Dark mode for a safer, more comfortable viewing experience.

Stereo speakers

The HONOR X7d features a stereo speaker system that can reach up to 400 percent volume, providing more than enough power to fill a room or adjust to an outdoor environment. For the best audio quality, it's advisable to stay at around 80 percent volume, as pushing it to the absolute limit can introduce distortions and piercings.

The cameras

Cameras

In the camera department, the HONOR X7d uses a 108MP f/1.75 snapper for the main camera and is paired with a depth helper and an LED flash.

On the selfie side, it uses an 8MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter.

Rear Camera Samples

The 1x outdoor

For a budget phone, it presents a remarkable daylight performance, as you can spot in our outdoor festive mall shot. There are sharp red details on the big ribbon and Christmas ornaments, while you can also view the reflection of clouds in the building. Its greens look natural, although the sky above appeared a little bit soft.

2x outdoor

3x outdoor

Going for the lossless 2x and 3x zoom retained most of the details thanks to the high-resolution sensor. But ofcourse there's also a limit to the sensor cropping as you can see them get darker as you further zoom in.

8x digital zoom

Using the 8x digital zoom, while usable, the noise becomes more visible. The color is still there, but the overall image quality is reduced. The clouds also appeared even softer than they already were.

1x indoor

For the indoor scenario, the HONOR X7d also showed impressive quality. You can clearly see the detailed use of decent details on the Christmas tree. Its ornaments and Christmas lights looked okay. Colors pop vibrantly with just the right green and reds based on what our eyes see during this scenario. However, it's not entirely perfect, as the greens on the upper floor appear dark, and the "POP MART" LEDs exhibit minimal bleeding.

2x indoor

The 2x mode is nearly identical, retaining most of the image quality. The 3x, on the other hand, goes darker and way warmer in tone. There's also a slight loss of details due to minimal noise if you zoom in closer.

Food shot 1

Food shot 2

Food shot 3

Food shots also looked appetizing with their precise and vivid colors and details, making them instant IG-ready images you can share on social media.

Human subject shot

The phone does take decent photos of human subjects, too; it shows natural skin tones, but details are a bit soft.

Bokeh shot

However, using portrait mode will be different; the blur looks unnatural and even affects details at certain angles (look closely at the eyeglasses). Edge detection, particularly in the hair, needs improvement too.

Low light 1x

In the low-light segment, you'll get nicely exposed photos of our building subject, capturing the right colors and acceptable details.

But still, the noise is much more visible, the dynamic range has reduced, making the leaves appear soft, while there are flares and glares visible, affecting the output.

2x low light

3x low light

Using 2x will make the image darker, a bit sharper, and have improved dynamic range, as evident in the leaves appearing with more details. Surprisingly, the noise has become less visible in these scenarios as well.

Selfie outdoor

Selfie with bokeh

Selfie indoor

On the selfie side, it gave decent images across daylight, indoor, and outdoor scenarios. We got well-exposed faces with good color tones, making them usable on selfies and video calls as needed. 

Low light selfie

Although at lowlight, noise is much worse, and there are areas that appear airy, so remember to use this on well-lit areas.

Performance

The phone is powered by the 6nm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor, clocked at up to 2.4GHz. This is complemented by 8GB of physical RAM, which is further extended by an additional 8GB of virtual RAM for improved multitasking. For storage, it offers a spacious 256GB to hold your apps, media, and files.

Below are its benchmarks:

The benchmark results

• AnTuTu Benchmark -  510,374 points
• Geekbench 6 - 470 (single core), 1494 (multi-core)
• 3D bench - 661 overall score, 3.96 average frame rate
• CPDT - 379.5Mbps sequential write speeds, 256/2Mbps sequential read speeds

In daily use, this hardware delivers a smooth and capable experience for essential tasks. Social media apps like TikTok and Facebook run with ease, offering fluid scrolling and responsive interactions.

The phone is decent for social media tasks, but don't expect it to be the fastest around for the price

The 16GB of combined (physical + virtual) Dynamic RAM handles standard multitasking well, allowing you to switch between several apps. However, performance has its limits. Opening an excessive number of browser tabs or demanding apps simultaneously can lead to occasional lag, so moderation is key for the smoothest experience.

The game settings

For gaming, the phone finds its sweet spot in popular titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which it can run stably at 60 fps on Ultra graphics settings. Don't expect it to push into higher refresh-rate territory as the 120 fps mode is beyond its reach. If you prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, you can lower the graphics settings to achieve a playable 90 fps in some games. 

For most users, the stable 60 fps at high visuals offers the best balance of performance and graphic quality.

For titles like Asphalt Legends, the phone capably handles default graphics settings at 60 fps, making it ideal for quick, engaging arcade sessions.

Additionally, the device has superb thermals during our gaming sessions, as it didn't have any heating or anything whatsoever for extended periods.

The battery life is also exceptional, capable of lasting up to two days on a single charge. You can use it heavily throughout a full workday and still have around 35 percent left for the next. With minimal use, its standby time can stretch to an entire week, making it both a reliable daily workhorse and a perfect backup phone for travel.

In terms of connectivity, the phone performs reliably. Its WiFi maintains a strong signal over a considerable distance, and its 4G reception is capable, sustaining a useful connection even in situations where we are far from a cell tower.

HONOR X7d UI

For software, the phone runs on Android 15 with MagicOS 9.0. It also comes with essential AI features that can aid users in their daily activities.

It has AI suggestions which recommend apps based on users' habits, Magic Portal for instant sharing, AI subtitle, AI Translate, and AI Writing.

Lastly, it also has a dedicated AI button to quickly launch several apps such as camera, DND, clean up, flashlight, calculator, note, screen recorder, and My Day. Still, to this date, HONOR has not added a function to use it as a shutter key.

Pros - Drop-resistant, IP65 rating, ample storage, large battery, decent 108MP camera

Cons - Not ideal for demanding tasks, no OIS, less sharp screen

HONOR X7d Specs

Display: 6.77-inch LCD (IPS) w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HD+ 1610 x 720 resolution at 261 ppi, up to 800 nits peak brightness

CPU: 2.4GHz 6nm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 610

RAM: 8GB

ROM: 256GB

Back Camera: 108MP f/1.75 + 2MP depth camera + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0

Battery: 6,500mAh w/ 35W HONOR SuperCharge

OS: Android 15 w/ MagicOS 9.0

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IP65 dust and water resistance, USB-C, Colors: Desert Gold, Ocean Cyan, Meteor Silver, Velvet Black

Dimensions: 166.9 x 76.8 x 8.2 mm

Weight: 208 g

Price: PHP 8,999 256GB), PHP 9,999 (512GB)

Verdict 

HONOR X7d back and front view

For a starting price of under PHP 9K, you will get a pretty tough device that is built for daily wear and tear with the HONOR X7d—thanks to its drop-resistant body and IP65 rating.

While its performance is not its strongest suit, you'll still have enough power to run daily apps and do some casual gaming. You can get a decent amount of storage at 256GB, good cameras, and a really long battery life to last you for two days.

If you are looking for these features, the HONOR X7d is worth considering.

What do you guys think?