Another year, another seemingly indestructible phone from HONOR. Yup folks, the HONOR X9c 5G is among us (or will be very soon) and we got a sneak peek into the tech wizardry behind HONOR’s toughest phone to date.
The guys at HONOR weren’t kidding when they coined their campaign slogan for this release as from “tougher to toughest” considering the new protection the HONOR X9c 5G got from its predecessors. If you think the HONOR X9b 5G was wild, wait till you get a load of this guy.
Tough on the Outside
The HONOR X9c 5G is stated to be immensely tougher than its already tough predecessor, the HONOR X9b 5G and the brand showed us all the new reinforcements the new device got. First is the new reinforced curved AMOLED screen. Most curved AMOLED breaks at the corners, but HONOR was able to solve this with the use of the Super Double Tempered Glass AGC Dragon Tail star2 Plus protection for both the 6.78” curved AMOLED display AND the rear camera module housing. The new curved tempered glass has a reported 35% Glass Strength Depth and 60% Anti-fall competence versus previous generation. The phone also comes with a thicker screen cover that should add to the protection as things seem to bounce on its surface more.
But it’s not just the glass that’s been reinforced. The SGS 5-Star All-Angle Ultra Drop Resistance that the brand is touting means that the bezels, the hinges, the back plate and even the internals have been further reinforced to withstand accidental drops even in the most bizarre of instances.
The HONOR X9b 5G had a maximum drop resistance of 1.5m (or roughly 4 feet), the HONOR X9c 5G extended this to 2 meters (or about 6.5 feet). So, if you accidentally drop the phone on the 2nd floor, your phone should still more or less survive. We’ve seen various tech media and content creator throw their HONOR X9c 5G on much higher heights and their units turned out still pretty pristine. Heck, HONOR is even attempting to drop the phone at a height of 500 feet – 300 more from their attempt last year with the HONOR X9b 5G.
The side bezels are also with reinforced aluminum which not only gives the phone a more premium feel but adds another layer of protection. The backplate, while not made from glass, is extremely durable. They had us bend the polymer backplate to test and see if it would break – it would not. Force is redistributed along the surface which prevents the phone from direct physical breakage and adds to the unit’s Ultra Bounce Anti drop Technology 2.0. We’re only skimming the surface here in terms of how the engineers (or tech wizards) at HONOR were able to make this their strongest phone yet.
Tough on the Inside
While physical breakage protection is important, the more important detail that a lot of people may neglect is what happens inside when a phone gets damaged or dropped. For an improved water-resistant phone, the engineers at HONOR added rubberized padding on key highly delicate components like motherboards and other entry point of dust and water – camera, USB modules, speakers, etc.
These padding prevents not only dust from entering but also water. The HONOR X9c 5G does have an IP65M dust and water resistance rating ensuring that the phone can be submerged in shallow water for 5 minutes without suffering any lasting damage.
The new sealant also played a crucial role in the phone’s added protection against dust and water. In fact, the sealant used around the HONOR X9c 5G is one of the thickest we’ve ever seen. HONOR Philippines Service Supervisor Hans Mora dismantled a live unit in front of us and it took him a couple of tries to pry the phone open. He said it’s because of how sturdy the sealant is to ensure that no water and dust can penetrate through.
He further explained that the HONOR X9c 5G employs 3 layers of water resistance starting from the outer ring which prevents water intrusion, to waterproofing sensitive parts of internal device down to the core device shielding for boards & processors. The last layer adds waterproof detection and software protection as well.
The important parts of the board are covered with the metal alloy for better dust & water protection as well as promotes better cooling.
But perhaps the latest addition to the stress test that the HONOR X9 series has is its ability to withstand extreme temperatures. In a document sent to us by the brand, they claimed that the unit can withstand temperatures of -40°C cold to 70°C hot. The improved external structure plus IP65M rating, coupled with all the internal cooling and reconfiguration of the motherboard might lend to the phone’s freeze and boil resistance. Heck, we even tried to boil the phone, and it survived a couple of seconds on bubbling hot water.
While amping up the crazy marketing stunt from last year, HONOR Philippines assured us that with the technical improvements the claim of having the toughest phone around isn’t an exaggeration but something that can be proven by hard factual science, engineering, and new technology.
The fact that the brand literally pulled the covers away from the phone and have us look deeper into the unit speaks volumes to how confident the people at HONOR are with the release of the HONOR X9c 5G.
Of course, as with anything, we will still encourage potential new users of the phone to take as much care as they can with their units. These tests and new additional safeguards are just there should an actual accident happen. At the end of the day everything breaks – but with proper safeguards and protection, we can make these devices last as long as they have to…and the HONOR X9c is built to last a long, loooong time.
Catch the HONOR X9c 5G as it officially launches locally on January 10, 2025. Join us as we try and see if the phone will survive the 500-foot drop. For more on the HONOR X9c 5G, follow HONOR Philippines’ official Facebook page.