Honor 70 review
When looking for a mid-range phone, there is a sweet spot between value and performance that defines a truly great device. Is the phone fast and packed with useful features, yet doesn’t break the bank? Honor has released some great devices that achieve this mix, and the Honor 70 is one such device, combining these two qualities to form a fantastic smartphone in the mid-range category.
In our Honor 70 review, we will highlight the best features of this impressive device, to help you decide if it’s the next phone for you. The Honor 70 is available at Mobiles.co.uk in three colour styles and up to 128GB storage.
Design
First and foremost, the Honor 70 is a beautiful phone to look at. With its curved display and metallic frame, it shouts premium across every inch. This also makes it great to hold, and at only 178g is incredibly light; an ideal phone to carry around without feeling weighed down.
Each colour style of the Honor 70 gives the phone a matted look, which looks stunning in light or dark environments. The classic Midnight Black offers an appealing contrast when it hits the light, as does the Emerald Green option.
The final choice is Crystal Silver, a style which not only looks a superb colour, but also gives the Honor 70 a sparkling triangular pattern finish, akin to looking at a diamond. Smudges are also less frequent due to it avoiding a high-gloss finish.
For those who like to plug in their headphones, there is no audio jack here. For that reason, you will need to use a Bluetooth or USB adapter to connect for sound.
Display
The Honor 70 not only looks and feels like a premium phone, but it also has the display technology to stand out in more than just aesthetics. The front panel is a brilliant 6.67-inch OLED, with a 1080p HD resolution and a fast 120Hz refresh rate. In any value category, this display would stand out, but on a mid-range phone, it demolishes the opposition with its outstanding colour accuracy and detail. The impressive refresh rate is another winner for the Honor 70, keeping it feeling silky-smooth when scrolling or watching videos.
The benefit of being an OLED display is that the Honor 70 can output realistic contrasts and true-to-life, compared to the dull visuals that can be seen on some LCD panels. It is a significant boost to the visual quality of videos, games, and photos, with dark and light colours that look bold from all viewing angles.
Performance
When it comes to processing performance, the Honor 70 stands its ground in the competitive mid-range arena. It is powered by the Snapdragon 788G Plus, an improved chip on what was in the previous model, the Honor 50. The new chip inspires faster loading times and reduced stutter that will be music to gamers’ ears. 8GB RAM supports the chip as it processes tasks, helping reduce the load and maintain a smooth experience.
The Honor 70 uses the brand’s own Magic UI 6.1 alongside Android 12. This user interface impresses due to being fast and snappy when opening apps, further contributing to the phone’s already excellent performance.
Battery
Honor has made huge strides in battery life with the 70 model. The 4800mAh battery provides enough power to get through most days of medium-to-high usage; considering the Honor 50 had a 4300mAh battery, it is easy to see the improvement in battery life over previous phones in the range.
Recharge times for the Honor 70 are also excellent. It comes in the box with a 66W charger, which can recharge the Honor 70 from 0% to 100% in approximately 45 minutes. This is a superb battery performance overall, but for a mid-range phone, this is an achievement worth shouting about.
Cameras
Not only will on-the-move users and gamers find a lot to love in the Honor 70 but so too will photographers. It features a triple camera array, fronted by a 54MP lens, and accompanied with a 50MP ultra-wide and 2MP depth camera. The sharp detail and colour accuracy when you take photos is fantastic, with little to no blurriness around objects. The Honor 70 really showcases its HDR capabilities here too, particularly in bright images where light can mask detail.
An exciting mode featured in the Honor 70 is Solo Cut, which helps you focus on one person in a crowd. For vloggers, this mode is a dream and adds another tool to the Honor 70’s already-impressive arsenal.
Summary
The mid-range area of smartphones is extremely competitive as brands compete to balance value and performance. The Honor 70 is a prime example of getting this balance right; by including technology that performs well but isn’t as expensive as premium models, Honor has produced a phenomenal phone that doesn’t compromise.
The Honor 70 is one of many excellent phones released throughout 2022. Check out our detailed breakdown of the year’s best available phones.