The Honor 90 hits Europe with a huge pixel count camera
Style-centric mid-ranger also packs fast charging
These days you’ve gotta go big to earn a place among the best mid-range smartphones – so that’s exactly what Honor has done. The Honor 90 hits Europe as a mid-range phone with a colossal 200MP rear camera, which could help it rub shoulders with far pricier rivals when it comes to image quality. It’s not a one trick pony, either: a big battery, ample storage, rapid charging and a stunner of a screen are all promised, for less cash than you might think.
The 200MP main camera is the star of the show, squeezing in significantly more pixels than you’ll find on rival mid-range phones. It has an f/1.9 aperture lens and uses phase-detect autofocus, but skips out on any kind of optical image stabilisation. Selfie fans should appreciate the front-facing camera, which gets a similarly high 50MP sensor. The Honor 90 is also rocking a 12MP ultrawide, which should put in a decent showing, but we’re not expecting much contribution from the 2MP depth cam.
A dual-ring design contains all three rear cameras, surrounded by metal effect trim that compliments each of the four distinctive colour schemes. Emerald Green and Midnight Black are more introverted, but still do a convincing impression of glass and metal, while Peacock Blue shines multiple colours at different angles like an opal. Diamond Silver might be the pick of the bunch, though: it’s got a textured rear panel to mimic the precious gemstone, and the central frame is finished in a fetching champagne gold hue.
The 6.7in AMOLED display has subtle curves on all four sides, something you’d normally find at the upper end of the smartphone spectrum. Resolution is a pin-sharp 2664×1200 and it’s rocking a 120Hz refresh rate. Honor has made major gains on brightness compared to the previous generation, so it now tops out at 1600 nits. That should be plenty to give HDR vids proper impact, and for clear visibility when you step outdoors.
Power comes from a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, paired to either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 256GB or a generous 512GB of on-board storage – something you won’t find in many similarly-priced rivals. That CPU might not pack a whole lot more grunt than the previous generation, but it’s a lot more efficient, which should mean great things for battery life. The Honor 90 has a 5000mAh cell, and can manage speedy wired charging at 66W, although you’ll need to provide your own power brick as there’s not one included in the box.
It’s running Android 13, with Honor’s familiar MagicOS 7.1 skin on top. Buyers can expect three years of security and operating system updates.
You’ll be able to snag an Honor 90 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for £450, putting it up against big hitters like the Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy A54. There’s also a version with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which will set you back £500. Both are available to buy right now through the Honor website.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
