The Honor X70 has made its debut in China, turning heads with features that emphasize battery endurance and ruggedness while keeping a sleek profile. Honor’s latest mid-range device brings a fresh perspective to the smartphone landscape, where battery life and real-world usability often play second fiddle to design and cameras.
Big Battery in a Surprisingly Slim Frame
The standout specification is undoubtedly the colossal 8,300mAh silicon-carbon battery. This capacity dwarfs what we typically see in modern smartphones and rivals some tablets for sheer stamina. Despite this, the X70 manages to stay under 200 grams and remains just 7.76 millimeters thick. According to Honor, users can expect up to 27 hours of uninterrupted video playback or nearly 16 hours of GPS navigation on a single charge. Charging the phone barely requires compromise. All models support speedy 80W wired charging, and if you opt for the top-tier 512GB version, you also get cutting-edge 80W wireless charging.
Built to Brave the Elements
The X70 is not just about battery life. Honor has gone all-in on durability. The phone holds triple IP certifications (IP66, IP68, and IP69K), making it dustproof and resistant to water immersion, high-pressure jets, and even boiling water. The display is covered with tempered glass and layered with extra shock-absorbing materials, upping defenses against drops from up to 2.5 meters. There are also features like AI Rainstorm Touch and AI Glove Touch, ensuring responsiveness in heavy rain or with gloves, which could prove genuinely useful in harsh European winters.
Sharp Display and Familiar Performance
The 6.79-inch AMOLED display stands out with its 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an eye-popping 6,000 nits of peak brightness. For color quality and eye comfort, Honor touts DCI-P3 gamut coverage and ultra-high PWM dimming (3,840Hz). Under the hood, the X70 is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, a reliable mid-range chipset, combined with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. The focus here is on lasting performance for everyday use rather than chasing the flagship crowd.
Other Features and Pricing
The phone includes a 50MP main camera with optical stabilization, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and an 8MP selfie camera. Features like an in-display fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, NFC, and the YoYo AI assistant round out the package. The X70 arrives in several colours, including Cinnabar Red, Bamboo Green, Moon White, and Midnight Black, with storage options ranging from 8GB/128GB to 12GB/512GB.
Pricing in China starts at roughly 180 € (1.399 yuan) for the base model and rises to about 257 € (1.999 yuan) for the top-end configuration. Sales begin in China on July 18. As of now, Honor has not confirmed if or when the X70 will launch in Europe. Given Honor’s expansion in recent years, a European release could follow, but details remain up in the air.
Initial Impressions
The Honor X70 challenges industry norms by focusing on endurance and durability instead of slimmer bodies or camera innovation. While the processor sits comfortably in the mid-range segment, the phone’s uncompromising battery and protection features could make it a compelling option if it finds its way to European markets. For now, the X70 stands as a reminder that there is more than one way to build a modern smartphone.
