The HONOR X7d is the latest in HONOR’s range of weather-resistant budget-friendly offerings to Filipinos. Though it is a direct successor of the X7c, it comes with some improvements like better weather resistance, overall improved durability, and longer battery life.
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 |
| Screen | 6.77-inch IPS, 1610 x 720, 120Hz, Tempered Glass Mohs Level 4 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| OS | Android 15, MagicOS 9.0 |
| Rear Camera | 108MP f/1.8 Main, 2MP f/2.4 Depth |
| Front Camera | 2MP f/2.4 |
| Storage | 512GB |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB-C |
| Battery | 6,500mAh, 35W HONOR SuperCharge |
| Others | Side-Mounted Fingerprint Scanner, IP65 Dust and Water Resistance |
| Dimensions | 166.9 x 76.8 x 8.2mm |
| Weight | 208g |
| Colors | Desert Gold, Meteor Silver, Velvet Black |
The HONOR X7d comes in 3 colorways: Ocean Cyan, Velvet Black, and Desert Gold. We have for review here is the Desert Gold variant. While not as premium-feeling as the hero Forest Green variant from last year and its faux leather rear, the X7c feels solid enough in the hand with its rounded corners, flat edges, and minimal design.
Its chassis is rated for IP65 dust and water resistance, which lets it withstand low-pressure water jets – a big improvement from the IP64 splash resistance of the X7c. Additionally, they are also assuring that the device can survive drops of up to 2 meters, which adds to its overall durability.
At the right-hand side is its volume rocker and power button with an integrated fingerprint scanner. Placed at the left-hand side is a dedicated instant AI button opens a set of apps and options such as selected apps, flashlight, note, calculator, and screen recorder. You can add your own features and apps. A long press of the AI button opens up Smart Recommendations and other Gemini-powered features.
Its USB-C port and speakers grilles are at the bottom. Its dual SIM tray also pops out here using a pin, but there’s no option for microSD card storage expansion. They have also removed the 3.5mm jack, which we suspect was done to improve its water resistance.
HONOR equips the X7d with a 6.7-inch 1610 x 720 120Hz IPS display. While this resolution is fine for entry-level devices, the X7d is placed in a competitive position where some of its peers have FullHD+ display. Though having a fluidity of a 120Hz panel is nice, we would have preferred a slower 90Hz but FullHD+ screen.
Its display does have its merits though. Colors look decent enough and there is wet touch support, which lets you use the screen even if it’s wet. They have also applied a Mohs Level 4 tempered glass to increase the scratch resistance of the screen.
There is only support for Widevine L3, which means that DRM-protected streaming services like Netflix are limited to 480p. While this is an issue for standard plans or higher, this is just fine for mobile plans that are already limited to 480p streaming.
Complementing its display for entertainment is a set of dual stereo speakers. Its earpiece acts as a second speaker for external audio. Audio clarity isn’t particularly amazing, but isn’t offensive. Vocals are clear with good mids, but bass can be a bit lacking. We don’t recommend maxing out the speakers as this can lead to clipped sound or even some tinny audio.
The HONOR X7d is equipped with the same set of cameras as its predecessor; A 108MP f/1.8 main camera with a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor and an 8MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter.
Its camera app supports most of the basic modes that you expect. Modes include Photo, Night, Portrait, Pro, Dual-View, Slow Motion (720p120fps), Panorama, and Time Lapse among others. Video mode is maxed out at 1080p30fps for both rear and front cameras.
The X7d’s imaging system is complemented by on-cloud AI features including AI Eraser that removes unwanted objects, AI Outpainting which allows reframing of photos, and AI Eyes Open that fixes people who blinked in photos.
Shots by the 108MP f/1.75 main camera aren’t particularly fantastic, but they’re decent enough for social media posting. Colors look fairly vibrant though and there’s good processing on the smartphone’s part. It does prefer lower shutter speeds to get good clarity, but it does mean that fast moving subjects might get blurred if you’re hand isn’t steady enough.
Powering the HONOR X7c is the trusty Qualcomm Snapdragon 685. Though it’s an older chipset from 2 years ago, it still has plenty of life still especially for a budget-oriented device. The device runs smoothly across most tasks, but the chipset’s age will start to show if you juggle multiple tasks, edit videos, or play graphically-intensive games.
Though it shares the same chipset as its predecessor, it scores noticeably higher in benchmarks. It reaches above the 500K mark in AnTuTu – nearly a 40% increase from before. Geekbench 6.5.0, however, largely retains the scores from last year. This could point to AnTuTu having optimized their benchmark programs in specific instruction sets.
Lightweight games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang or Honor of Kings will run on the device albeit with a bit of graphical tinkering to get the framerates just right. Intensive games such as Genshin Impact will still technically run, but there will be noticeable dips in frames which might lead to a stuttering experience.
A 6,500mAh battery provides juice for the X7d – a 500mAh increase from the X7c. Much like before, the pairing of a large battery, economical chipset, and HD+ display leads to a fantastic battery life.
A single charge with average use consisting of occasionally watching videos and playing games, browsing the Internet, and taking photos lasted us more than a day with some charge left for the next day.
It retains the same 35W HONOR SuperCharge as the X7c. It will take around 2 hours to fully charge the smartphone from empty to full, which is expected for this kind of charging speed. Better to plan your charging ahead if you plan to use the device for an extended amount of time.
The HONOR X7d is a fairly solid smartphone, but it is up against solid opposition. Its 6.7-inch HD+ 120Hz is one of its sore points as others in its price point has have FullHD+ displays with similar refresh rates and the Snapdragon 685 chipset is starting to show its age in heavy tasks and games.
It does have its advantages as its 6,500mAh battery can last fairly long and its IP65 rating is helpful in pools and other fresh water bodies. Cameras are decent, but nothing outstanding for its price point. Additionally, HONOR is throwing in 512GB storage – one of the largest in its class – even though it has no microSD expansion.
The HONOR X7d is a decent upgrade for anyone who has a cheap, old smartphone and for those who are out against the weather looking for a durable partner. Those who have anything recent, however, it’s probably a good idea to hold off for a few more cycles.
The HONOR X7d is priced at PhP 9,999 in the Philippines and will come in Ocean Cyan, Velvet Black, and Desert Gold colorways. It is now up for pre-order until October 24, 2025. Getting It early will net you a free Camping Light Speaker worth PhP 9,999. You can now pre-order it through HONOR’s official authorized stores and experience stores nationwide, as well as via Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok.
