⇡#appearance and ergonomics
We usually don’t expect non-standard and interesting design solutions from inexpensive smartphones — here the emphasis, as a rule, is on functionality. There is no doubt — the 5C looks quite standard for an Android smartphone, and the only thing that distinguishes it from a dozen similar competitors is the “Honor” inscription at the bottom of the front panel.
Honor 5C – front panel
It’s not difficult to get used to the Honor 5C. As is often the case, there are no hardware keys on the front panel; the system navigation buttons are touch sensitive and are located on the display. At the top of the front panel there is a slot for the earpiece and the front camera lens.
Honor 5C – front panel
The device weighs 156 grams — only two grams less than the larger Honor 5X. The thickness of the case is 8.3 millimeters — not everything is great here, we are already accustomed to the fact that modern Android gadgets are usually thinner than eight millimeters. However, Honor 5X is almost identical here.
Honor 5C – side view
The power and volume keys are located on the right side. The audio output for connecting a wired headset is on the top edge, and the microUSB interface along with the speaker slots is on the bottom. Nano-SIM and microSD cards (or a second Nano-SIM, universal slot) are installed in a special tray on the left side.
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Honor 5C – location of connectors and keys | ||
The back panel of the gadget is smooth, it can slide in wet palms. Moreover, the surface of the “back” collects fingerprints and dust well – the smartphone loses its presentation quite quickly, even if this can be corrected with the help of any cloth. Despite the characteristic contour, the body of the Honor 5C is non-separable — accordingly, users do not have access to the battery.
Honor 5C – back panel
To be honest, the device is not assembled in the best way: when testing for twisting and breaking, there is quite a characteristic play, creaking can be heard — the parts are not ideally fitted to each other. By the way, all this was also observed in the more expensive Honor 5X — here they are, signs of savings!
⇡#display
The screen characteristics of the Honor 5C are standard for a mid-price smartphone. Display diagonal – 5.2 inches, resolution – 1920 × 1080 pixels. The pixel density is exhaustive — 423 dots per inch: reading electronic documents, surfing the Web and watching multimedia content on such a screen is quite comfortable.
The screen, of course, cannot do without a polarizing filter and an oleophobic coating; there is no air gap: there will be no problems with glare or difficult to wipe off fingerprints. Honor 5C responds to touches correctly: up to ten simultaneous presses are supported, the device recognizes gestures without any problems. The gadget can be used with loose gloves, but to do this you need to activate the appropriate mode in the settings.
The display is made using IPS technology, and a high-quality matrix is used — you can look at the screen from any angle, the contrast does not drop much.
The Honor 5C screen boasts a large reserve of brightness. The maximum luminosity of the white field is 521 cd/m2. You can see what’s happening on the screen even in direct sunlight—you don’t have to look for a shadow. True, such a high brightness also has an expected downside — the minimum backlight level also “bulls up”.
The static contrast ratio is moderate – 937:1. One and a half to two years ago, only the displays of flagship smartphones could boast of this, but now this is the norm for gadgets in the mid-price category — even more contrasting screens are found.
Honor 5C – grayscale color temperature
The white balance of the Honor 5C display is not set up very well out of the box: the color temperature of gray shades is on average 8300 K — this is significantly higher than the reference value of 6500 K. The colors on the screen look a little “colder” than they should be. It helps a lot that the proprietary Emotion UI shell provides a software option for adjusting the color temperature.
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Honor 5C – display settings | ||
The blue gamma curve is noticeably raised along its entire length, which is not at all surprising at such and such a color temperature. The red curve, on the contrary, is somewhat steep. Accordingly, shades of green look believable, shades of blue are brighter than they should be, and shades of red are darker. There is a completely unambiguous imbalance. The screen is not configured very well.
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Honor 5C – gamma curve of gray color (left) and gamma curves of color components (right) in comparison with the reference curve, indicated by a dotted line in the graphs | ||
The color gamut of the smartphone screen is close to the sRGB space, but does not coincide with it. However, this is not critical.
Honor 5C – smartphone screen color gamut (white triangle) compared to the sRGB reference color space (black triangle)
Review of the Huawei honor 4c pro smartphone: long-lived profession
One of the main features of this 5-inch smartphone, offered at a very attractive price, is the high-capacity battery. News. Hi-tech found out how else Honor 4C Pro differs from its “non-professional” version.
The announcement of the new Honor 4C Pro smartphone in Russia, along with other interesting promotions, was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the launch of the online store http://www.shop.huawei.ru/. Let us remind you that the world premiere of its predecessor – Honor 4C
Huawei held it last year in Moscow. In the then prevailing economic situation, this anti-crisis product with advanced filling for the public sector employee was quite well received by domestic users. And the focus on reducing costs, thanks to the a la carte sale of smartphones via the Internet, apparently played a role. So for the distribution of the “professional” version – Honor 4C Pro – the same strategy was chosen. The announcement of the new device gave rise to the start of sales of the first limited batch of this new product at a special price. The appearance of the definition “Pro” in the name of the model, taking into account the philosophy of the Honor brand, clearly indicates some new qualities of the smartphone’s filling. We decided to check which ones exactly.
Specifications
- Model: TIT-L01
- OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with EMUI 3.1 Lite
- Processor: 64-bit MediaTek MT6735, 4 cores ARM Cortex-A53, 1.3 GHz
- Graphics coprocessor: ARM Mali-T720 MP2 (600 MHz)
- RAM: 2 GB (32-bit, single channel, 533 MHz, LPDDR3)
- Storage: 16 GB, microSD/HC/XC card support (up to 128 GB)
- Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0 EDR, microUSB (USB 2.0) for charging/syncing, 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Screen: capacitive, IPS, 5-inch diagonal, resolution 1280×720 pixels, pixel density per inch 294 ppi
- Cameras: main – 13 MP, f/2.0 aperture, autofocus, flash, video recording 720p@30 fps, front – 5 MP, viewing angle 84 degrees, video 720p
- Network: 2G, 3G (HSPA, up to 42 Mbit/s), 4G (LTE-FDD: Band 1, 3, 7, 8, 20; LTE-TDD: Band 40), LTE Cat. 4 (150/50 Mbit/s)
- SIM card: two microSIM (3FF format), Dual SIM Dual Stand-by (DSDS)
- Navigation: GPS/GLONASS, A-GPS
- Radio: FM tuner
- Sensors: accelerometer, light and proximity sensors
- Battery: non-removable, 4,000 mAh (charge reverse capability)
- Colors: white, black, gold
- Dimensions: 143.1×71.8×9.7 mm
- Weight: 160 g
Design, ergonomics
The appearance of the “professional” version remained, in general, the same nondescript, or, to put it more “politically correct”, budget version, as that of Honor 4C
. For testing, we again received a device in black; the Pro also comes in white and gold versions.
The removable back cover of the smartphone is still made of matte plastic. At the same time, its original texture, designed to create the effect of a metal body, shimmers slightly in the light. However, fingerprints, at least on a dark surface, are still noticeable. A shaped metal frame runs along the perimeter of the body of the new smartphone. As for the mass-dimensional characteristics, there have been no revolutionary changes here either — 143.3×71.9×8.8 mm, 162 g versus 141.3×71.8×9.7 mm, 160 g. Thus, the “pro” has shrunk a little in size In terms of weight, I gained almost a millimeter (0.9 mm to be exact) and lost 2 grams of weight. At the same time, the capacity of the built-in battery has increased by more than one and a half times (from 2,550 mAh to 4,000 mAh). To be fair, we note that other budget 4-thousanders, for example, Lenovo Vibe P1m (141×71.8×9.5 mm, 148 g) and Highscreen Power Ice (143×69.9×8.5 mm, 185 g) are far from elegant forms. So, neither in weight nor in thickness, Honor 4C Pro does not lay claim to records.
The front surface of the new product is covered with tempered mineral glass (the manufacturer of which is not specified). Allegedly, the screen now occupies approximately 72% of the entire front panel area (versus 76% for Honor 4C
).
To the left of the speaker grille are proximity and light sensors, and to the right is the front camera lens. The charging/event LED indicator has moved to the same side.
The control panel with the “triangle”, “circle” and “square” icons (“Back”, “Home” and “Recent applications”) is no longer highlighted, like its predecessor, but on-screen. In the device settings, the icons of the extreme buttons («Back» and «Recent applications») can be easily swapped. The front panel of the smartphone still does not receive any logos.
Left edge of the case, like Honor 4C
, empty,
and the volume rocker and the power/lock button were placed on the right edge, placing them in the longitudinal recess of the metal frame.
At the top end there is a 3.5 mm connector for an audio headset.
The microUSB connector on the bottom is now
found himself surrounded by two decorative grilles, under which are hidden a “multimedia” speaker (on the left) and a “conversational” microphone (on the right).
In the upper part of the removable cover with a modest-sized Honor logo, there are holes for the main camera lens with a metal rim and a flash, as well as a second microphone.
Under the removable cover, on the left side of which (rear view) there is a special recess for easier opening, there are two slots for microSIM cards (3FF format) and a slot for a microSD memory card. Note that the high-capacity battery in Honor 4C Pro, like that of the “non-professional” version of the smartphone, is non-removable.
By the way, when you press the cover, especially in the area of the photo module, it bends slightly and creaks.
The manufacturer, without particularly sinning against the truth, calls the design of Honor 4C Pro ergonomic. Indeed, this 5-inch device feels quite comfortable in the palm of your hand and is quite easy to operate with one hand.
Screen, camera, sound
The screen of the new smartphone remains 5-inch, like that of Honor 4C
, at the same time, the resolution also did not change — HD (1280×720 pixels). The display uses an IPS matrix, the pixel density per inch of which, taking into account the diagonal and resolution, is 294 dpi. As already noted, the screen is completely covered with tempered mineral glass with an oleophobic coating.
The backlight level is adjusted either manually, or this function is assigned to the light sensor. At the same time, switching between the “Adaptive adjustment” and “Auto-adjustment” options, the icons of which are located in different places, is performed synchronously). Capacitive touch screen recognizes up to five simultaneous presses (у
Honor 4C
– up to ten) .
The results of the AnTuTu Tester program fully confirm this multi-touch. You can increase the sensitivity of the sensor, for example, when using a protective film, in the «Accessibility» section of the settings. The screen settings allow you to adjust the color temperature. This allows you to change colors from warmer to cooler, or vice versa. Viewing angles, traditionally for IPS matrices, are wide, and the colors and contrast of the picture, in particular for video with 720p quality, are quite good. And yet, overall, nothing special, an ordinary budget screen.
Let us remind you that for the main camera Honor 4C
A Sony IMX214 photo module with a 13-megapixel BSI matrix (Exmor RS, optical format 1/3.06) and an f/2.0 lens aperture is used. There is also autofocus and LED flash. A similar photo module for the Pro version received a lens with 5-element optics (viewing angle 78 degrees) and f/2.0 aperture, as well as a 13-megapixel OmniVision BSI matrix (presumably OV13xxx). The maximum image resolution is no different. So, with a classic aspect ratio (4:3) it is 4160×3120 pixels (13 MP) for both cameras, and 4160×2336 pixels (10 MP) for a widescreen frame (16:9). Examples of photos can be viewed here
.
The front camera in Honor 4C Pro is still content with a 5-megapixel matrix and a wide-angle lens (f/2.2 aperture, viewing angle 84 degrees). Note that Honor 4C
boasts a wider angle of 88 degrees. However, the maximum resolution of the “self” is the same for both models – 2592×1952 pixels (5 MP, 4:3) and 2592×1456 pixels (3.8 MP, 16:9), respectively.
Both the main and front cameras provide maximum quality only in HD resolution (1280×720 pixels, 16:9) with a frame rate of 30 fps. Let us remind you that the main camera of the predecessor can record video in Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) @ 30 fps. All content is saved in MP4 container files (AVC — video, AAC — audio).
Not much has changed in the Camera app interface. As usual, here you are asked to decide on the type of shooting — “Photo”, “Video” or “Decoration” (to improve portraits). In the settings menu of the six modes available in Honor 4C
, there are only four left, including HDR, Panorama, Watermark (adds information about time, location and current weather) and Audio Note (a 10-second audio file can be recorded after shooting). Unfortunately, the «Focus» mode (changing the depth of field after shooting) is no longer available.
In addition to selecting image resolution and video quality, the settings still adjust parameters such as exposure, saturation, contrast and brightness. Presets for white balance and ISO values are also available. The “Smile” function (releases the shutter when a smile is detected) remains in the settings. According to the manufacturer, a set of seven filters turned out to be in demand.
For example, effects such as “Sepia”, “Chalk on a black board” and “Underwater” change the original photograph.
For the front camera, out of three modes, only two remained – “Watermark” and “Audio Note”, but “Panorama” seemed redundant to some.
It’s convenient to shoot using the volume rocker, which can also be easily assigned to zoom the image. The transition to the “Camera” application (also with simultaneous shooting) from the lock screen is traditionally suggested to be activated by double-clicking the volume rocker (down button). In the case of Honor 4C Pro, this is called “quick shooting”. By the way, you can also initiate the shutter release with a voice command (the “Audio control” option).
We will again modestly define the sound quality of the “multimedia” speaker as “budget”, especially at high volumes. However, the proprietary Music application can play FLAC files created by codecs for compressing audio data without loss of quality. However, such compositions on a smartphone should be listened to, of course, through headphones. In addition, the FM tuner built into the smartphone requires a wired audio headset, which serves as a short-wave antenna. The broadcast of a radio station can be output not only to headphones, but also to a “multimedia” speaker. Thanks to the presence of two microphones, in the Voice Recorder application, in addition to working in normal mode, it is proposed to record stereo sound with noise suppression in the Meeting and Lecture modes.
Filling, performance
If you have Honor 4C
hidden under the hood is the “native” HiSilicon Kirin 620 crystal, where eight ARM Cortex-A53 processor cores operate at a frequency of up to 1.2 GHz; in the “professional” version, its place was taken by the more economical MediaTek MT6735 with four ARM Cortex-A53 cores (up to 1.3 GHz). Graphics operations are performed here by the ARM Mali-T720 accelerator with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.2.
Note that this single-chip 64-bit platform, made in compliance with 28 nm technology, can work with two SIM cards and includes IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi, FM radio, Bluetooth and GPS modules. Among the advantages of the platform used, we especially note its versatility in terms of supporting a large number of network standards and radio frequency bands. Generally speaking, the MT6735 chip, which is very popular among budget “long-livers”, is designed to compete, in particular, with the Qualcomm Snapgragon 615. The basic configuration of Honor 4C Pro includes 2 GB of 32-bit LPDDR3 RAM (533 MHz), associated with a single-channel controller . The performance of the MediaTek MT6735, which is not outstanding by modern standards, is reflected in the results of the tests performed.
In terms of the number of measured “virtual parrots” (AnTuTu Benchmark), as well as when assessing the amount of “horsepower” and the efficiency of using processor cores (Geekbench 3, Vellamo), the smartphone was expectedly at the bottom of the final tables.
On the most difficult setting of the visual test Epic Citadel — Ultra High Quality, the new product showed a result of 39.9 fps. At the same time, for performance settings at the expense of quality and vice versa (High Performance and High Quality), the average frame rate differed within the error — 58.8 fps and 58.5 fps, respectively. Of course, the low screen resolution – 1280×720 pixels – made a significant contribution to such results.
On the universal gaming benchmark 3DMark, where the smartphone was tested on the recommended Sling Shot set, a result of 124 points was recorded. Although Honor 4C Pro is not positioned as a smartphone for gamers, it runs games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Real Racing 3, World of Tanks Blitz, etc.
The total number of points earned by Honor 4C Pro on the cross-platform benchmark Base Mark OS II was 618.
Of the 16 GB of internal memory, approximately 10.55 GB are available, and, of course, even less is free (about 9 GB). Let us remind you that last year’s Honor 4C
carries only 8 GB on board. To expand the storage, there is a slot designed for microSD/HC/XC memory cards up to 128 GB (the predecessor is limited to 32 GB). It should be borne in mind that when installing such a drive, by default it becomes the main one for recording (for example, screenshots taken after this will already appear on the memory card). During testing, we were unable to connect the flash drive to the smartphone via the USB-OTG interface. As Huawei confirmed to us, this technology, which is implemented in Honor 4C
, is not supported in the Pro version, which, generally speaking, is somewhat strange.
Two microSIM (3FF) subscriber identification modules are connected to one radio module and operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode (always active, but if one of them is busy, then the other is also unavailable at the same moment). Voice communication and mobile Internet functions can be divided between installed SIM cards. The Pro version, unlike the “non-professional” version, already supports LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbit/s) on any of the slots in combination (2G – 4G/3G/2G). At the same time, the set of 4G frequency bands, among others, also contains the “Russian trio” — FDD-LTE Band 3 (1,800 MHz), Band 7 (2,600 MHz) and Band 20 (800 MHz). Other wireless communications remain unchanged — Bluetooth 4.0 EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz only).
The multi-system receiver successfully picks up signals from Russian and American satellites from the GLONASS and GPS constellations. In addition, the smartphone supports A-GPS technology.
As already noted, the capacity of the non-removable battery of the Honor 4C Pro has increased compared to its predecessor — Honor 4C
– more than 1.5 times and amounted to 4,000 mA*h (versus 2,550 mA*h). Judging by the published information, a fast charger should be included with the new smartphone. Our test unit didn’t even have a standard adapter. If you have a USB-OTG cable, you can easily recharge another smartphone or gadget from the capacious battery of Honor 4C Pro, remembering to first activate the “External battery” option in the “Battery” settings section.
Before receiving an impressive result — 14,996 points — the AnTuTu Tester test program tormented the “long-lived” battery for almost 4.5 hours. According to the manufacturer, with a 100% full battery you can count on 2-2.5 days of battery life. In addition, the device should last up to 113 hours when listening to music, up to 39 hours when talking, up to 18 hours when watching videos and up to 15 hours when surfing the web. At the same time, every hour of continuous playback of test videos (in MP4 format with hardware decoding in HD quality and at full brightness) reduced the battery charge by an average of 9.8% (estimated over 8 hours).
As usual, in the “Energy Saving” settings, which also provides for optimization and monitoring of energy consumption, three modes are offered — “Energy Saving”, “Smart”, and “Productive” (for Honor 4C
it’s called «Normal»). “Smart” mode involves routine daily work, but “Productive” mode is recommended for gaming and watching online videos. In turn, the “Energy Saving” mode becomes available at a given battery charge level (8%, 20% or 30%) and turns the device into a regular “dialer”, when you can only make voice calls, view contacts and exchange messages.
Software Features
The new smartphone runs on the Android 5.1 operating system, on top of which the proprietary EMUI 3.1 Lite shell is stretched, which is practically no different in appearance from the full version.
Among the useful “tricks” that make life easier, there are, for example, a simple screen (convenient for motorists), as well as the ability to create your own audio profile and mute the sound with a simple gesture. By the way, unlike Honor 4C
, the mode for one-handed control has been removed from the “pro” settings. It is clear that a 5-inch device can be handled without it.
Right from the lock screen, it’s easy to use the “Flashlight”, open the “Voice Recorder”, “Calculator” or “Camera” applications, and also control the player. Still possible
quickly change the screensaver (lock cover), delete or share it.
Purchase, conclusions
New smartphone, compared to Honor 4C
, stands out for its increased size of built-in memory, support for fourth-generation networks, and, of course, a larger battery capacity, confirming its profession as a “long-liver.” However, in a number of respects, the new product is inferior to its predecessor (for example, the multi-touch touch layer of the screen is worse, the functionality of the camera software is poorer). However, it is possible that these are “quirks” of the test sample. Unfortunately, the “pro” continued the traditions of the budget Honor 4C
, maintaining a faceless appearance and low performance. In addition, the new product was deprived of USB-OTG support.
The Honor 4C Pro smartphone in Russia is available in the company’s online store http://shop.huawei.ru/ and on the M. Video website from April 14. At the same time, they are asking 12,990 rubles for the device. The special price (for example, April 21 and 28) is lower by one thousand (11,990 rubles).
Real competition for the Honor 4C Pro can come from other 4,000-ton smartphones with very similar hardware and no less attractive prices, for example, Lenovo Vibe P1m or Highscreen Power Ice. Both of them are equipped with 5-inch HD screens, built on MediaTek MT6735Р/MT6735 chipsets, support LTE networks, and also received 2 GB/16 GB of RAM and internal memory, respectively. According to Yandex. Market, for Lenovo Vibe P1m in large retail chains at the time of testing they asked for 13,290 rubles, and for Highscreen Power Ice — 10,990 rubles.
Review results of the Huawei Honor 4C Pro smartphone
Pros:
- High Capacity Battery
- Availability of separate slots for two SIM cards and a memory card
- LTE support
- Attractive price
Cons:
- Nondescript appearance
- Low performance
- No USB-OTG support
