When the honor 5X (Amazon) was announced in CES 2016, it was one of the most anticipated smartphones to hit the market in 2016. After all, it offers a 5.5″ full HD display with a metal allow body, a second-generation rim-free fingerprint reader, and a Qualcomm octa-core processor for less than US$220.
However, it was just a matter of time before honor introduced a variant powered by the new Kirin processors processors (more accurately known as SoCs) from HiSilicon, a sister company under Huawei. Check out the differences between the two models :
| Specifications | honor 5X | honor 5C |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 5.1.1 with EMUI 3.1 | Android 6.0 with EMUI 4.1 |
| Processor Platform | Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 (MSM8939 v2) | HiSilicon Kirin 650 |
| Processor | 4 x ARM Cortex A53 (1.5 GHz) 4 x ARM Cortex A53 (1.2 GHz) | 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 (2.0 GHz) 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 (1.7 GHz) |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 405 | ARM Mali-T830 GPU |
| Display | 5.5" IPS display - 1080 x 1920 resolution - 403 ppi pixel density - 72.5% screen-to-body ratio | 5.2" IPS display - 1080 x 1920 resolution - 424 ppi pixel density - 68.7% screen-to-body ratio |
| Memory | 2 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM | 2 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM |
| Storage | 16 GB flash memory microSD card slot (up to 128 GB) | 16 GB flash memory microSD card slot (up to 128 GB) |
| Main Camera | 13 MP sensor f/2.0 lens with single LED flash | 13 MP BSI sensor with 5-element f/2.0 lens and single LED flash |
| Selfie Camera | 5 MP sensor 22 mm wide-angle f/2.4 lens | 8 MP BSI sensor with 4-element f/2.0 lens |
| Dual SIM Capability | Dual SIM, Dual Standby capability - One MicroSIM slot + One nanoSIM slot | Dual SIM, dual standby capable - Second SIM shared with microSD card |
| Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) WiFI Bluetooth 4.1 (Class 1) micro USB 2.0 | 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) WiFI Bluetooth 4.1 micro USB 2.0 |
| GPS | GPS / AGPS / GLONASS | GPS / AGPS / GLONASS |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Second-generation, rim-free touch sensor | Second-generation, rim-free touch sensor |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery (non-removable) | 3,000 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery (non-removable) |
| Chassis | Diamond-polished aluminium alloy body | Aircraft-grade aluminum-alloy with brushed metal-effect finish |
| Dimensions | 76.3 mm wide 151.3 mm tall 8.15 mm thick | 73.76 mm wide 147.1 mm tall 8.3 mm thick |
| Weight | 158 g (including battery) | 156 g (including battery) |
| Available Colours | Sunset Gold / Dark Grey / Daybreak Silver | Sunset Gold / Dark Grey / Daybreak Silver |
The honor 5C (Amazon) comes in 3 colour options, with the Grey and Silver options priced at ~$200 (RM 799), while the Gold model retails at ~$213 (RM 840). However, all three models have the same features and performance.
Now, let’s take a look at the new Kirin 650-powered honor 5C smartphone!
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Unboxing The honor 5C
The honor 5C (Amazon) comes in a hard aqua-coloured cardboard box, with a security seal on each side. In this video, you will witness our unboxing process and check out each component inside the honor 5C box. Take a look!
Inside, you will find the following items :
- One honor 5C smartphone (Amazon)
- One honor 5C travel charger
- One micro USB cable
- One honor 5C Quick Start Guide
- One Huawei Warranty Card
- One SIM card slot extractor
- One strip of 6 IMEI number stickers
Next Page > The honor 5C Smartphone, Buttons & Slot
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The honor 5C Smartphone
The honor 5C (Amazon) has a large 5.2″ IPS display that covers almost its entire front – with a 68.7% screen-to-body ratio. To achieve that, honor eschewed the use of physical buttons, in favour of virtual on-screen buttons.
The back metal chassis comes protected with a plastic film that doubles as an information sheet, with labels and tips. This plastic film has cut-outs for the fingerprint sensor and camera, so you can use the honor 5C without removing it, especially if you intend to fit a case over it.
The honor 5C (Amazon) uses a second-generation rim-free fingerprint sensor. As you will later see in the Initial Setup video, it registers your fingerprint in fewer steps. It is also much faster and more accurate than the previous generation sensor at reading your fingerprint. Once you have used it, it will become second nature to turn on and instantly log into the honor 5C by simply touching the fingerprint sensor.
Although higher-end smartphones are trying to go ridiculously thin, the honor 5C (Amazon) is reasonably thick at 8.3 mm. The slight increase in thickness not only allowed the inclusion of a large 3,000 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, as well as an earphone port at the top.
Although not explicitly mentioned, the honor 5C has stereo speakers. The second speaker emits through the left row of ports in the picture above. The right row of ports is for the microphone. The honor 5C still uses a micro USB 2.0 port, instead of the newer reversible USB-C port.
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Buttons & Hybrid SIM
The honor 5C (Amazon) only has two physical buttons, because it uses virtual on-screen Android buttons instead of physical buttons. They are both on the right side – a volume switch and a Power button.
The honor 5C is Dual SIM, Dual Standby capable. However, you cannot use two SIM cards together with a micro SD card. Instead, it comes with a hybrid SIM slot on the left side. The tray inside fits two nano SIM cards, or one nano SIM card and a micro SD card.
Next Page > The Initial Setup, Memory & Storage, OTG Support, The Cameras
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The Initial Setup
This video will show you the initial setup process when you power up the honor 5C (Amazon) for the first time. If you do not need to restore a backup, the whole setup process should take about 2.5 minutes. Note how fast it takes to register a fingerprint.
Available Memory & Storage
The honor 5C (Amazon) comes with 2 GB of memory of the LPDDR3 type. The Android 6.0 OS and honor pre-loaded apps takes up about 1.1 GB of memory. This leaves you with only 692 MB of free RAM to use. It would be helpful if honor can cut down on the pre-loaded apps.
The honor 5C (Amazon) also comes with 16 GB of internal flash storage. This is expandable via a microSD card (up to 128 GB). Fresh out of the box, the honor 5C has 10.4 GB of available space (excluding the system files), of which 9.78 GB is free to use.
OTG Support
Please be aware that the honor 5C (Amazon) does NOT support USB OTG (On-The-Go) drives. If you plug any USB OTG flash drive into its micro USB 2.0 port, it will not be detected.
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Cameras
The main camera has a 13 MP sensor with a 5-element f/2.0 lens, supported by a single LED flash. The photos have a maximum resolution of 4160 x 3120 in the 4:3 format. If you prefer a wider format, the honor 5C will do that by cropping the image to 4160 x 2336 (16:9). It is capable of recording video in full HD quality (1080p) with electronic stabilisation.
The honor 5C’s front camera is a significant improvement over the honor 5X, boasting an 8 MP BSI sensor with a 4-element f/2.0 wide-angle lens. It will deliver a maximum photo resolution of 3264 x 2448 in the 4:3 format. Again, a wider 16:9 format will crop that to 3264 x 1840. It will record videos in 720p quality.
For a smartphone in this price category, the honor 5C (Amazon) comes with a pretty good set of cameras. We will examine its photographic and video recording performance later in the next page.
Next Page > honor 5C Camera & Video Recording Performance
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Camera Performance – Photos
The honor 5C’s main camera has a 13 MP sensor with a fast f/2.0 lens, which allows it to take pretty decent photos in relatively low-light conditions. The photos have a maximum resolution of 4160 x 3120 in the 4:3 format.
honor did not reveal what sensor was used in the honor 5C (Amazon) smartphone, but the pictures we took look like they came from the same Samsung ISOCELL S5K3M2 sensor used in honor 5X.
The Samsung ISOCELL S5K3M2 is a relatively noisy sensor. If you blow up the picture on a desktop, you can see consistent noise (speckling and artifacts). However, they are only of real concern if you are going to make large prints of these photos.
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Camera Performance – Video Recording
The honor 5C (Amazon) can record full HD (1080p) videos with electronic stabilisation. This is an improvement over the honor 5X, whose main camera does not support electronic stabilisation. Here is a sample video we recorded of a piano performance by Mr. Yang I-Deun.
And this is a sample video taken at an ice skating rink.
The honor 5C (Amazon) did a better job of controlling the exposure of the subjects than the honor 5X. However, we noted some focus issues – it can sometimes lose and readjust focus, causing the subject to be temporarily blurred. Still, it was a decent performance for a smartphone at this price point.
Next Page > Work Performance, Battery Life & Recharging Performance
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Work Performance – PCMark
We tested the honor 5C’s performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
| honor 5C | ASUS ZenFone Zoom | Samsung Galaxy S6 | |
| Work Performance Score (Average) |
5357 | 5829 | 5078 |
| Web Browsing | 5643 | 5751 | 6788 |
| Video Playback | 4487 | 4536 | 3091 |
| Writing | 5944 | 5270 | 5918 |
| Photo Editing | 5469 | 8400 | 5357 |
The honor 5C (Amazon) may be powered by the mid-range Kirin 650, but these PCMark results show that the Kirin 650 is no performance slouch. In these work-related tests, the honor 5C actually keeps up with top smartphones like the ASUS ZenFone Zoom and the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Battery Performance – PCMark
We then tested the honor 5C’s battery performance using PCMark. It basically ran the PCMark work tests until its battery capacity dropped to 20%.
The honor 5C (Amazon) lasted just over 11.5 hours on the PCMark stress test. That was a really amazing result, as this is a stress test that simulates the worst possible workload using work apps. In our real world experience, we had no problem using it for 16-18 hours with light loads, although its battery life dropped to about 8.5 hours while playing games.
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Battery Recharging Performance
The honor 5C (Amazon) has a large 3,000 mAh lithium-ion battery, but it does not have Fast Charging capability. In fact, it only comes with a 5 W travel charger. Even so, it was able to recharge its battery pretty quickly.
Our tests showed that the honor 5C (Amazon) will recharge from 19% to 100% in just 180 minutes (3 hours). This is very good performance, especially since it only uses a 5 W charger.
Note that it only took the honor 5C just over 2 hours to recharge its battery to 90%, and that the battery temperature did not go beyond 35°C.
Next Page > Overall & Gaming Performance, Our Verdict & Award
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Overall Performance – AnTuTu Benchmark
AnTuTu is a nice benchmark for testing various performance aspects of Android devices.
| honor 5C | ASUS ZenFone Zoom | Samsung Galaxy S6 | |
| TOTAL SCORE | 53417 | 65914 | 75222 |
| 3D SCORE | 9842 | 16839 | 20579 |
| – 3D (Marooned) | 5795 | 9863 | 12475 |
| – 3D (Garden) | 4047 | 6976 | 8104 |
| UX SCORE | 19297 | 21371 | 24065 |
| – UX Data Secure | 5577 | 5896 | 5507 |
| – UX Data Process | 2706 | 4353 | 4392 |
| – UX Strategy Games | 4109 | 4118 | 6948 |
| – UX Image Process | 3144 | 2926 | 3413 |
| – UX I/O Performance | 3761 | 4078 | 3805 |
| CPU SCORE | 19254 | 23110 | 25402 |
| – CPU Mathematics | 4198 | 5196 | 7823 |
| – CPU Common Use | 5947 | 8699 | 7585 |
| – CPU Multi-Core | 9109 | 9215 | 9994 |
| RAM | 5024 | 4594 | 5176 |
The honor 5C (Amazon) did well in AnTuTu, coming in only 19% and 29% slower than the ASUS ZenFone Zoom and the Samsung Galaxy S6 respectively. This is surprising performance, since the Kirin 650 is only a mid-range chip.
Gaming Performance – 3DMark
We tested the honor 5C’s gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.
| honor 5C | ASUS ZenFone Zoom | Samsung Galaxy S6 | |
| Gaming Score | 11560 | 21372 | 21166 |
| Graphics | 11067 | 21748 | 23298 |
| Physics | 13698 | 20152 | 16031 |
| Graphics Test 1 | 63.4 fps | 112.6 fps | 120.6 fps |
| Graphics Test 2 | 38.8 fps | 81.5 fps | 87.3 fps |
| Physics Test | 43.5 fps | 64.0 fps | 50.9 fps |
The honor 5C (Amazon) is pretty fast in 3D, but only half as fast as the ASUS ZenFone Zoom and Samsung Galaxy S6. The Kirin 650 may boast the ARM Mali-T830, but it still cannot beat the ZenFone Zoom’s PowerVR G6430 graphics processor, or the Galaxy S6’s ARM Mali-T760 graphics processor.
Our Verdict
When we reviewed the honor 5X, we were very impressed by its value proposition. It offered a solid set of features in a smartphone that costs less than US$220. The honor 5C (Amazon) follows the same philosophy but takes it one step further.
[adrotate banner=”4″]Thanks to the use of the Kirin 650 chip, the honor 5C offers even better performance at a lower price point. The other key features of the honor 5X were maintained or even enhanced :
Full HD display? Check!
Aluminium alloy body? Check!
Dual SIM, dual standby capability? Check!
13 MP main camera with 1080p video recording? Check!
Fast fingerprint sensor? Check!
The honor 5C (Amazon) has one disadvantage though – it only comes with a hybrid SIM slot. That means you can choose to use a second nano SIM card, or a micro SD card; but not both at the same time. This may be a deal breaker for those who need to use two SIM cards since the honor 5C only has 10.4 GB of free storage capacity to use, and does not support USB OTG drives.
On the other hand, the honor 5C (Amazon) comes with a much better 8 MP front camera, with either a Sony or Hynix sensor. The front camera also has brighter f/2.0 lens, allowing for much better selfie shots in dim conditions. In addition, both front and rear cameras now support electronic stabilisation.
The honor 5C (Amazon) comes with the same 3,000 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery as the honor 5X, but it now lasts 11.5 hours of non-stop benchmarking on PCMark. In real world usage, it should have no issues lasting 16-18 hours of non-stop use.
honor continues to impress us with their ability to focus on creating no-nonsense Android smartphones with practical features. The honor 5C is not flashy, but it’s sleek and packed with the only features you will really need. If you were impressed with the honor 5X, you will be even more impressed with the honor 5C (Amazon).
In fact, we like it so much, we are awarding it our Reviewer’s Choice Award! Congratulations, honor!
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