Pretty solid

With an R11,000 price tag, you'd expect this phone to be... well, mid-range. And in parts it certainly is. There's a gimmick or two in here but its advertised toughness isn't one of them. It really should be hard to kill. Other features are hit-and-miss but they're easier to overlook than you might think. Overall, though, it's well-priced and well-featured enough that you'd be happy to own one.

Design 8

Performance 7

Battery 9.5

Camera 7

Value 8.5

User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

To stand out in the crowded mid-range segment, brands must do things… differently. Honor’s X9c, like its immediate predecessor, has taken the Chuck Norris route to grab your attention. It’s supposed to be rough, tough stuff – better able to shrug off mishandling than the average phone.

In that, the company has succeeded. It didn’t ship a 20mm steel ball bearing with our review unit for nothing. We weren’t supposed to whip it at the phone like Tesla showing off the Cybertruck but it does bounce right off if you conduct an impromptu drop test (terms and conditions apply). But for all that, it’s still a smartphone. There are other qualities the X9c should have to prove its worth.

A slab of marble is remarkably hard to destroy. That doesn’t mean we want to stick one in our pockets. Is this handset more than a shiny lump of stone?