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The Honor Play debuted in China last month as a gaming-centric smartphone, and it’s coming to a store near you. Read our In-Depth Review of the Honor Play, and find out why it’s designed for mobile gaming!
The Honor Play – Designed For Mobile Gaming
The Honor Play is specially-designed for mobile gaming. From the front, it looks like the Honor 10 (Price Check, with a display notch and an ultra-wide FullView display. Instead of an Aurora Glass back panel, it features a metal unibody design and a larger 6.3-inch display.
Like the Honor 10 (Price Check), the Honor Play is powered by the Kirin 970 SoC, which features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that speeds up certain AI functions. To ensure that you get to play your games for hours on-end, it comes with a larger 3,750 mAh LiPo battery that supports 18 W fast charging.
Honor Play Full Specifications
Here are the specifications of the Honor Play (US Price Check | MY Price Check), compared against the Honor 10 (Price Check) smartphone.
| Specifications | Honor Play | Honor 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3 inch Full HD+ IPS display - 1080 x 2340 pixels (409 ppi) - 83% screen-to-body ratio | 5.84" Full HD+ IPS display - 1080 x 2280 pixels (432 ppi) - 19:9 aspect ratio |
| Operating System | Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.2 | Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.1 |
| System Platform | Hisilicon Kirin 970 | Hisilicon Kirin 970 |
| Processor | 4 x ARM Cortex-A73 (2.4 GHz) 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 (1.8 GHz) | 4 x ARM Cortex-A73 (2.4 GHz) 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 (1.8 GHz) |
| Graphics Processor | ARM Mali-G72 MP12 | ARM Mali-G72 MP12 |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB internal flash storage microSD card slot (up to 256 GB, shared with SIM 2 slot) | 128 GB No microSD card slot |
| Front Camera | 16 MP sensor with f/2.0 lens - 1080p video recording @ 30 fps | 24 MP sensor with f/2.0 lens |
| Rear Camera | Dual Lens Camera with LED flash - 16 MP PDAF sensor with f/2.2 lens - 2 MP depth sensor with f/2.4 lens - 4K / 1080p video @ 30 fps | Dual Camera System - 16 MP RGB sensor with f/1.8 lens - 24 MP monochrome sensor - single LED flash |
| SIM Capability | Dual SIM, Dual Standby Hybrid SIM Card Slot (shared with microSD) | Dual SIM, Dual Standby |
| Connectivity | WiFi : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual band Bluetooth : BT v4.2 USB 2.0 Type C | WiFi : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual band Bluetooth : BT v4.2 USB 2.0 Type C |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
| FM Radio | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, Rear-Mounted | Yes, Front-Mounted |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass | Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass |
| Infrared Emitter | No | Yes |
| Battery | 3,750 mAh Li-Po battery (non-removable) | 3,400 mAh Li-Po battery (non-removable) |
| Dimensions | 74.3 mm wide 157.9 mm tall 7.5 mm thick | 71.2 mm wide 149.6 mm tall 7.7 mm thick |
| Weight | 176 g | 153 g |
| Available Colours | Black, Blue, Violet | Phantom Blue / Phantom Green / Midnight Black / Glacier Grey |
Unboxing The Honor Play
The Honor Play (US Price Check | MY Price Check) comes in a plain white box. It is, after all, a mid-range smartphone. Don’t expect bling.
Once you fully unbox it, you will find the following items :
- One Honor Play smartphone
- One soft TPU bumper case
- One SIM tray extractor pin
- One 18 watt Huawei Quick Charge USB adaptor
- One USB Type C cable
The package may be sparse but practical. Who needs cheap earbuds? What’s more important is that it comes with a free TPU bumper case so you can protect your new smartphone right out of the box!
Next Page > Honor Play Up Close, Cameras + Fingerprint Sensor
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