Honor 5X AMA (ask me anything)

[EarlyMon]

What's your screen on time?

I get better than 6 hours with auto brightness, just a little less that with full brightness.

Running Slack, Hangouts, Firefox, Chrome, Gmail and the occasional game - again, all on wifi.

I'd expect that to vary with 3/4G and go down with a bad signal of course.

 

[KOLIO]

I've been using the Honor 5X for a couple weeks now as a tester for Huawei. I'm not the best at writing out comprehensive reviews that touch on all the features, but I'll do my best to answer your questions on this exciting new phone.

So go ahead, as me anything.

THX to all the testers & the feedback you've provided.
Every one has given (what I deem) a fair/straightforward/unbiased review of the phone,KUDOS!

AFAICT,I think this is about as good of a phone one can ask for @ the price point,not gonna have a "I wish it had_______ " list,good bang for the buck.
One of my last curiosities of this device is this:
As for the mfg installed applications/UI/etc...(a la Touch Wiz/CM apps),can some or any of it be disabled/uninstalled?
Possible to get screenshots of what can & cannot be uninstalled/disabled?

THX!

 

[codezer0]

Okay, this is strange. The previous link shows the Honor 5X supports Band 12, 2, and 4, which would check it off as working for all the 4G LTE for T-Mobile.

However, GSMArena shows no such matching bands: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_honor_5x-7590.php
PhoneArena does: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/honor-5X_id9648

But http://www.willmyphonework.net/ shows no models that are compatible, at all.

Problem is I seem to be running into this with a lot of phones. I would compare against Wikipedia, but as an example, Wikipedia's article about the LG G4 doesn't even list bands supported by phone models; and more depressingly, neither does LG's own site about it.

 

[KOLIO]

Okay, this is strange. The previous link shows the Honor 5X supports Band 12, 2, and 4, which would check it off as working for all the 4G LTE for T-Mobile.

However, GSMArena shows no such matching bands: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_honor_5x-7590.php
PhoneArena does: http://www.phonearena.com/phones/honor-5X_id9648

But http://www.willmyphonework.net/ shows no models that are compatible, at all.

Problem is I seem to be running into this with a lot of phones. I would compare against Wikipedia, but as an example, Wikipedia's article about the LG G4 doesn't even list bands supported by phone models; and more depressingly, neither does LG's own site about it.

Will My Phone Work is fairly accurate,but,no one is 100% correct 100% of the time,no one.
I'm sure given time,a week or two perhaps (when the phone is actually for sale in the US),the site will be updated.

Remember,this phone has not been released to the US Market yet,so,Will My Phone Work is correct in this instance,as it is technically not available yet.

Also,they may purposely be avoiding listing the US phone,to prevent people from buying what is available now,thinking it is a compatible model.Sounds reasonable to me............

Perhaps one of the testers here can vouch for T-Mobile compatibility,so that you may place a pre-order w/Amazon with peace of mind...................

 

[Unforgiven]

THX to all the testers & the feedback you've provided.
Every one has given (what I deem) a fair/straightforward/unbiased review of the phone,KUDOS!

AFAICT,I think this is about as good of a phone one can ask for @ the price point,not gonna have a "I wish it had_______ " list,good bang for the buck.
One of my last curiosities of this device is this:
As for the mfg installed applications/UI/etc...(a la Touch Wiz/CM apps),can some or any of it be disabled/uninstalled?
Possible to get screenshots of what can & cannot be uninstalled/disabled?

THX!

EMUI cannot be disabled. Some of the worst parts can be circumvented, and it is improving as we speak. As far as other bloat, or preinstalled apps such as Amazon, Facebook, etc. they can all be uninstalled completely.

 

[KOLIO]

EMUI cannot be disabled. Some of the worst parts can be circumvented, and it is improving as we speak. As far as other bloat, or preinstalled apps such as Amazon, Facebook, etc. they can all be uninstalled completely.

Nice!
I may pick up one of these & try out AT&T's new unlimited bundle.
Gotta whittle down that T-Mobile Jump balance a bit 1st though.......

 

[codesplice]

Perhaps one of the testers here can vouch for T-Mobile compatibility,so that you may place a pre-order w/Amazon with peace of mind...................

Working fine on T-Mobile LTE here.

 

[DrakenFX]

..

1- Is true this Device don't have NFC and Gyroscope?

2- Have you try any Root Method?
(i know the device hasn't came out/release yet for public..so i bet is NO there,)

 

[codezer0]

I get better than 6 hours with auto brightness, just a little less that with full brightness.

Running Slack, Hangouts, Firefox, Chrome, Gmail and the occasional game - again, all on wifi.

I'd expect that to vary with 3/4G and go down with a bad signal of course.

That doesn't bode well to how long it lasts on 3/4G.

Even if not for me, I was thinking this might be a good choice for my fiancee. But she's still rather fond of her Windows phone of all things.

 

[Unforgiven]

1- Is true this Device don't have NFC and Gyroscope?

2- Have you try any Root Method?
(i know the device hasn't came out/release yet for public..so i bet is NO there,)

1) You are correct.
2) I think root will be accomplished shortly after release. As testers we weren't allowed to root the device for obvious reasons.

That doesn't bode well to how long it lasts on 3/4G.

Even if not for me, I was thinking this might be a good choice for my fiancee. But she's still rather fond of her Windows phone of all things.

EM was talking about screen on time, which is pretty impressive.

 

[EarlyMon]

That doesn't bode well to how long it lasts on 3/4G.

Even if not for me, I was thinking this might be a good choice for my fiancee. But she's still rather fond of her Windows phone of all things.

EMUI has a built-in setting to give its launcher that Metro look fwiw.



No phone does well on battery if the 3G/4G signal is a mess. The battery graph was more about its sleep capacity.

Everyone's mileage and opinion varies.

They also have a Huawei GX8 with the same specs on paper that will likely be sold through your carriers as well as sim unlocked for $350.

@Unforgiven and I have opposite opinions on it. I found that the screen on the GX8 had noticeably better color (not surprising because gamma was less far off from the 2.2 ideal), a better camera overall (includes OIS), 2.5d front glass, better sound quality and for me, a much more premium feel (opinions really split on that).

$199 only goes so far. I think it's easily the best low cost phone I've used in quite some time. But I also think that you may find more in a more expensive phone, whether by Huawei or another maker - and when on a budget you're going to be doing yourself a favor by asking if the more expensive phones are worth the extra money.

I'm going to predict that there won't be one, clear answer that everyone agrees with.

I still like the Huawei P8Lite that @Unforgiven mentioned - a lot. I think that the honor 5x beats it with the fingerprint sensor and for a lot of people, the metal body and larger 1080p screen.

But - if you want a more pocketable phone (5" screen) and faster graphics (only driving 720p instead of over twice as many pixels with 1080p) then the P8Lite is worth a look too, even at the same price as the 5x, in my opinion. One of WifelyMon's friends was looking for a phone, I let her compare all three without saying anything about details. She liked the GX8 for the color, and her daughter wouldn't be quiet about the honor 5x, but she immediately chose the P8Lite. She loved her last phone but has gotten sick and tired of bigger phones for her use.

Overall I guess I'm saying that Huawei is going to change the game on lower priced phone options and your choice (my favorite part of Android) won't be limited to just this one model.

 

[Unforgiven]

EMUI has a built-in setting to give its launcher that Metro look fwiw.

View attachment 99859

No phone does well on battery if the 3G/4G signal is a mess. The battery graph was more about its sleep capacity.

Everyone's mileage and opinion varies.

They also have a Huawei GX8 with the same specs on paper that will likely be sold through your carriers as well as sim unlocked for $350.

@Unforgiven and I have opposite opinions on it. I found that the screen on the GX8 had noticeably better color (not surprising because gamma was less far off from the 2.2 ideal), a better camera overall (includes OIS), 2.5d front glass, better sound quality and for me, a much more premium feel (opinions really split on that).

$199 only goes so far. I think it's easily the best low cost phone I've used in quite some time. But I also think that you may find more in a more expensive phone, whether by Huawei or another maker - and when on a budget you're going to be doing yourself a favor by asking if the more expensive phones are worth the extra money.

I'm going to predict that there won't be one, clear answer that everyone agrees with.

I still like the Huawei P8Lite that @Unforgiven mentioned - a lot. I think that the honor 5x beats it with the fingerprint sensor and for a lot of people, the metal body and larger 1080p screen.

But - if you want a more pocketable phone (5" screen) and faster graphics (only driving 720p instead of over twice as many pixels with 1080p) then the P8Lite is worth a look too, even at the same price as the 5x, in my opinion. One of WifelyMon's friends was looking for a phone, I let her compare all three without saying anything about details. She liked the GX8 for the color, and her daughter wouldn't be quiet about the honor 5x, but she immediately chose the P8Lite. She loved her last phone but has gotten sick and tired of bigger phones for her use.

Overall I guess I'm saying that Huawei is going to change the game on lower priced phone options and your choice (my favorite part of Android) won't be limited to just this one model.

Completely fair call, all three phones have similar internals, and I have 4 P8 LItes, and a GX8 and Honor 5X. Each has their own pluses and minuses. For me my favorite is the Honor 5X, even though I purchased multiple P8 Lites. That's the beauty of Android, and has been from the beginning, choice.

 

[Cerucir]

@Unforgiven The phone has 16GB internal storage. Can you tell me how much of it is usable?

I also saw that in order to take pictures in 16:9 the camera is knocked down to 10MP. I'm just wondering how different the quality of the photo would look.

Thanks

 

[codesplice]

@Unforgiven The phone has 16GB internal storage. Can you tell me how much of it is usable?

Welcome to Android Forums!

It will be roughly 10.5GB usable.

I also saw that in order to take pictures in 16:9 the camera is knocked down to 10MP. I'm just wondering how different the quality of the photo would look.

Thanks

It would look pretty much like a 13MP 4:3 cropped down to 16:9, because that's what it would be. If you really want to shoot in a 16:9 format, I'd suggest shooting in full-resolution 4:3 anyway and then manually cropping as needed. That way you can capture ALL THE PIXELS and also have control over which ones don't make the cut.

 

[KOLIO]

Welcome to Android Forums!

View attachment 99929

It will be roughly 10.5GB usable.

How about a lil' cross-promotion here?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.storagetruth&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.ramtruth&hl=en

 

[codesplice]

How about a lil' cross-promotion here?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.storagetruth&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.ramtruth&hl=en

 

[Cerucir]

@codesplice Thank you

Do you happen to know about how long it takes to charge the phone to 100% from say 25% or 0%? I was reading phonearena.com's review and they wrote that the recharge time was close to 6 hours, which is really disheartening...

Also what do you think about the call quality?

 

[codesplice]

@codesplice Thank you

Do you happen to know about how long it takes to charge the phone to 100% from say 25% or 0%? I was reading phonearena.com's review and they wrote that the recharge time was close to 6 hours, which is really disheartening...

Also what do you think about the call quality?

It's been a minute or two since I fully depleted its battery. It doesn't charge quickly by any measure but I also don't remember it taking six hours - maybe if you're running benchmarks while also charging?

I didn't bother plugging it in tonight, so I'll try to remember to test the charge rate at work tomorrow.

And someone else will have to answer about call quality... As much as I play with phones I don't really use them much for calls.

 

[KOLIO]

It's been a minute or two since I fully depleted its battery. It doesn't charge quickly by any measure but I also don't remember it taking six hours - maybe if you're running benchmarks while also charging?

I didn't bother plugging it in tonight, so I'll try to remember to test the charge rate at work tomorrow.

I just read the PhoneArena review & they actually state a 5hr 45min charge time.
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/honor-5X-Review_id4152

Not doubting their integrity,but,that does seem a bit long.
Perhaps a test with the stock charger vs something with a bit more oomph,like the stock Samsung S6/Note5 or Motorola Nexus6 chargers would perform better,if this long charge time is indeed in the 5-6 hr range.

 

[Cerucir]

It's been a minute or two since I fully depleted its battery. It doesn't charge quickly by any measure but I also don't remember it taking six hours - maybe if you're running benchmarks while also charging?

I didn't bother plugging it in tonight, so I'll try to remember to test the charge rate at work tomorrow.

And someone else will have to answer about call quality... As much as I play with phones I don't really use them much for calls.

Alright thanks. I haven't read about anyone complaining about the charge time...Somehow I doubt it's up to 6 hours. I read that it doesn't charge quickly. But then again I also read that the battery lasts quite a while. I don't normally use my phone until it dies anyway...

I also read that the call quality was rather good to decent. But thanks!

 

[Unforgiven]

Sorry, somehow my subscription to this thread got borked. Thanks for fulling my weight @codesplice. My experience is far less than 6 hours for full charge, but I honestly haven't tested it. Since I can easily go all day on a half charge, I've only bumped it from time to time when I forget to plug it in overnight. I'd say an hour or two will easily push it to between 50-75% and get through a day. Mind you, I use 2A Anker chargers, and I haven't ever used a stock Huawei charger, so that may be cause variation.

Regarding call quality, It is fine. I've occasionally got a tinny connection with a touch of an echo, but I think that is AT&T, not the phone, as I've had it on other devices too.

 

[codesplice]

Okay, so didn't drain as much as I'd hoped lol...

This phone gets incredible standby time!

About to plug it in though.

Edit: BTW, it currently indicates an estimated 1:45 to charge from 53% to full.

 

[codesplice]

About to slip out to lunch, but it's currently at 75% with an estimated 58 minutes to go.

 

[codesplice]

So I don't know when it actually finished charging, but my figuring shows that it took 86 minutes to increase the charge by 34% - call it a wild estimate of ~2.5 minutes per percent of increase so an even-more-wildly-extrapolated 250 minutes (just over four hours) for a full 0-100% charge. That's a long time, but it's not six hours long.

This is a completely wild estimate, and I'm also not that great at math. I feel like this estimate mirrors what I've seen, but I can't guarantee that it's accurate at all.

 

[KOLIO]

So I don't know when it actually finished charging, but my figuring shows that it took 86 minutes to increase the charge by 34% - call it a wild estimate of ~2.5 minutes per percent of increase so an even-more-wildly-extrapolated 250 minutes (just over four hours) for a full 0-100% charge. That's a long time, but it's not six hours long.

This is a completely wild estimate, and I'm also not that great at math. I feel like this estimate mirrors what I've seen, but I can't guarantee that it's accurate at all.

Was this with the stock/provided charger,or something else?