14 DAY TRIAL // One of world's largest handset makers, Huawei, is back with yet another Android smartphone in the Honor family. For those unaware, the company's Honor lineup consists of affordable devices that sometimes offer great features for the price you pay.
On paper, this trait can apply to the Honor 4C as well, but let's just see how this smartphone performs in reality.
First of all, the Honor 4C is a pure mid-range device that got released on the market several months ago. Huawei introduced the Honor 4C in a few Asia countries initially, but now it's available worldwide and it's pretty cheap.
Speaking of which, depending on country, you could grab the Huawei Honor 4C for prices between $140 and $200, which isn't high for what the handset has to offer in terms of specs.
The only downside is that it comes with an older Android 4.4 KitKat operating system on board, though the Chinese version of the smartphone has already been confirmed for an upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
If Huawei keeps its promise, the Honor 4C could be one of the few affordable handsets released earlier this year that got upgraded to Marshmallow.
| Operating system | Android 4.4.2 with Emotion UI 3.0 on top |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.0-inch with 720p resolution |
| Processor | octa-core Kirin 620 clocked at 1.2GHz |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Cameras | Dual 13MP as primary; 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash 5MP secondary, 720p@30fps |
| Storage | 8GB expandable via microSD up to 32GB |
| Battery | 2,550mAh |
| Dimensions | 143.3 x 71.9 x 8.8 mm; 162 g |
Design - common form factor but heavier than expected
Huawei Honor 4C doesn't come with anything out of the ordinary as far as looks are concerned. It features a wide-rectangular style with rounded edges, which is very common to many smartphones in the same price range.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the fact that Honor 4C is very heavy for its size. It weighs no less than 162g (battery included), which is way above the weight of other handsets of similar sizes.
On the bright side, the plastic it's made of doesn't look that cheap at all. It features a slight matte finish, which looks better on black color rather than white. Also, the back cover is removable, but the battery isn't.
I should also mention that the back side of the Honor 4C features a ridgy pattern that's meant to improve the user's grip on the phone. It should also make it less prone to fingerprints and smudges.
Sadly, I can't say the same thing about the smartphone's 5-inch display, which will become pretty greasy after frequent use.
At the base of the display, there are three touch-sensitive keys: Back, Home and Recent. The secondary camera is positioned on the right of the in-ear speaker, above the screen.
The right side of the Honor 4C features the dual-volume rocker along with the power on/off button, while the left side has been left completely bare. On the bottom side, there's the microUSB port, whereas on top, Huawei placed the 3.5mm audio jack.
The 13-megapixel camera is positioned on the right left corner of the back cover, not in the middle. To its right, there's a small LED flash, while on the right bottom corner of the phone, there's a decently sized loudspeaker grill.
The “Honor” brand is etched in the middle of the back side so that everyone could see what family the smartphone belongs to.
Display and camera performance - the best things you can get from this phone
The Honor 4C sports a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution and 294ppi (pixel per inch) density.
I know an HD display isn't much of a wonder these days, on the contrary, but I have found Honor 4C's screen slightly better in terms of colors and contrast than other handsets in the same spec range.
It's visible enough in bright sunlight and looks perfect indoors. Keep in mind though that it does not feature Corning Gorilla Glass coating, so you will have to take extra care because there's no protection from scratches.
On the camera front, it's pretty clear that Huawei has started to make improvements to its processing software. The 13-megapixel rear-facing camera on the Honor 4C takes more than decent photos, although I have noticed some issues when trying to take closeups.
It appears that the camera can't focus on close subjects. You have a one in three chance to get a blurry picture when trying to take a closeup.
Aside from that, Honor 4C takes decent enough pictures both in low-light conditions and in perfectly lit environments.
The camera UI is intuitive and pretty straightforward to use. You get several options and settings that you can take advantage of, such as ISO, Shutter, Panorama, White balance, and Beauty mode.
When it comes to video, the Honor 4C can shoot clips at 1080p and 30fps, which is not bad at all for an affordable smartphone. We've attached a video sample shot at maximum resolution with the Honor 4C camera, so you can check out the quality.
The secondary 5-megapixel camera on the front is perfect for selfies, but you can also capture video in HD (720p) format if you'd like.
Power and performance - strong on paper, decent in real life
These days octa-core processors are very common in mid-range smartphones, but most of them opt to include MediaTek chipsets inside, which are really on par with Qualcomm's own SoCs (system-on-chip) in terms of performance.
Huawei Honor 4C offers neither of these options, instead it employs the services of its own HiSilicon Kiring 620 chipset that packs a 1.2GHz octa-core processor inside, along with 2GB of RAM.
According to the synthetic benchmarks, Honor 4C is better than most mid-range Android devices overtaking the more popular Xiaomi Mi 2 and Xiaomi Redmi Note.
It's also just a tad behind the old HTC One flagship smartphone, which suggests that it's real power under the Honor 4C's chassis.
That means that you won't have any issues running any app and/or game inside Google Play Store, but I can't help but mention that I had some trouble when unlocking the phone's display and pulling down the notification bar hidden on the top.
I sincerely hope that users won't experience app crashes after longer use of the Huawei Honor 4C, but this is a possibility worth mentioning.
Anyway, apart from that, the Huawei Honor 4C was quite snappy while browsing the Internet or the menus. You shouldn't have any issues running multiple apps at the same time and switching from one another either.
The bad news is you won't have too much storage at your disposal. The Honor 4C comes with only 8GB of internal memory, and about 4GB is already full without you installing anything. This leaves just around 4GB of free storage available to users.
Fortunately, you will be able to further expand storage via microSD card slot (up to 32GB). The SD memory slot is placed under the back hood, so you will have to remove the back cover, but not the battery.
Menu and software - the old Android 4.4.2 KitKat and a promised Marshmallow upgrade
As the title of this chapter says, Honor 4C comes with Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system and Huawei's Emotion 3.0 UI on top of it.
Although the Chinese company has already confirmed the Chinese version of Honor 4C will eventually receive Android 6.0 Marshmallow, many devices have yet to get upgraded to Android Lollipop.
Moving on to Emotion 3.0 UI, some might not like Huawei's take on Android, but the Chinese company insists on continuing to include this UI onto its handsets.
Emotion UI does not feature an app drawer, so you have all the apps spread between multiple panes that your can browse. Specific apps and services are grouped in folders for easier use.
For example, the Google folder contains all the apps and services that the search giant considers mandatory for any Android smartphone: Chrome, Gmail, Google+, Maps, Music, Drive, Play Games, YouTube, Hangouts and Photos.
It's also worth mentioning Huawei Honor 4C comes with a Gameloft folder that includes some free games published by the French company, such as: Cars Racing, Dragon Mania, Real Football 2015, Puzzle Pets, Spider-Man: Ultimate Power and more.
Obviously, you can download more, but you can also uninstall any of the games that come preloaded on the Huawei Honor 4C.
Aside from that, there are some social apps that are pre-installed on the phone, including Facebook and Twitter, which most Android fans are using, so there's no harm done here.
You also get some kind of control panel on the phone's lockscreen, which allows you to swipe up to access various apps and functions like camera, calculator, torch and recorder.
If you listen to music a lot on your smartphone, then you will be pleased to know that the lockscreen also comes with music controls (pause, stop, forward, etc.) that can be used without having to unlock your phone.
On the bright side, Huawei provides users with lots of themes for its Emotion UI, so you will be able to pick from hundreds available on the Internet.
Battery life - mediocre at best
Huawei included a non-removable 2,550 mAh battery inside the Honor 4C, which doesn't seem to provide with too much continuous usage.
On average use, your Huawei Honor 4C won't last more than a day, but once you start browsing the internet, install many apps and listen to music, the battery will start depleting very fast.
I've also noticed that it becomes hot if you're using it for various tasks for several minutes, which shouldn't really happen.
The good news is Huawei Honor 4C comes with a special app that will allow you to modify how the battery is used by the phone.
If you choose the Ultra mode, you will only be able to use the phone's basic features like calls and messages. The Smart mode automatically adjusts the phone's CPU and network usage for balanced performance (recommended for daily use).
Last but not least, with Normal mode, the CPU and network usage are adjusted to maximize performance. This will provide the lowest battery life, but the best experience for gaming and online videos.
Connectivity - you get everything but 4G LTE support
On the connectivity front, Huawei Honor 4G is an all-rounder. It comes with HSPA+ support (42Mbps download /5.76Mbps upload), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and GPS with AGPS and GLONASS.
However, the Honor 4C lacks 4G LTE support, which might be a deal breaker for some customers. On a more positive note, the smartphone offers dual-SIM support with dual standby, along with FM Radio.
