IFA 2022 Review: Honor 70 Flagship Features in a Mid-range Phone

Differentiating a phone from its competition is almost impossible to do in this day and age. To do so in a mid-range phone is potentially even more difficult since the cost constraint will mean less budget to work with. Other than the aesthetics of the phone, especially in the rear panel, you're left with a game of picking favorites in deciding which of the features to bolster.

Though the Honor 70 which was launched at the IFA 2022 is a mid-range phone, it is making splashes in the smartphone market for its choice of features. Why is this a phone to get excited over for? Let's take a deeper look.

Flagship Grade Near-Bezel Less Display

Despite being a mid-range phone, the Honor 70 has a surprisingly well endowed display. The 6.67 inch OLED display has a FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution, which translates to around 395 ppi, just slightly shy of the flagship standard which is in the tune of 450 ppi. The large screen is enhanced with curved edges on the two sides of the phone, which gives the display a bezel-less look, improving the immersive experience. The OLED screen also has a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, to provide a buttery smooth navigation experience.

Since the screen is the most important interface of the phone, Honor's inclusion of a flagship worthy screen is a good choice in design, significantly elevating the overall user experience.

Dual Premium Camera Units in the Rear

The second feature that Honor has deemed worthy of bolstering is the camera setup, which is arguably the second most important feature of modern day smartphones.

Instead of including a high-end main camera coupled with an inferior wide-angle, optical zoom or macro camera, Honor included two flagship worthy cameras. On the rear of the Honor 70 is a 54 megapixel Sony IMX800 camera module, coupled with a super wide angle/macro 50 megapixel camera module. Both the cameras have auto-focus, and can shoot 4K videos.

By not skimping on the secondary camera, the Honor 70 camera setup looks more like something that's found on flagship smartphones.

Capable Selfie Camera made for Vlogging

According to Honor, the Honor 70 was designed with vloggers in mind, which means its front-facing camera is also unusually capable. The center-justified hole punch camera is a whopping 32 megapixel shooter that can record video in 1080P. It produces impressively sharp images, and is, as promised, a vlogging worthy camera.

66 W Super Charger Included

Included in the Honor 70 is a sizable 4800 mAh battery, which is on the larger size among modern smartphones. And to ensure the battery can be topped up quickly, Honor includes a 66 W charger in the package. To put this in perspective, there are flagship phones that are shipping with 20-30 W chargers.

The high wattage means this is a quick 30 minute recharge and can take the battery level from 0-70% - which can potentially last for the most part of a busy day.

Final Verdict

If making a good smartphone is about placing the chips on the right bets, the Honor 70 is a winner of a phone. The design team has isolated and identified the essential features people want out of their phone these days, and produce a mid-range phone that feels like a flagship phone in all the areas that matters.

IFA 2022 Honor 70 Review

Whether it's display, dual primary camera setup, or even the substantial battery and super fast charger, this is a phone that can outperform other phones that cost twice as much, and for that, we're awarding it with the IBTimes Best of IFA 2022 badge.

Sam is a production engineer turned tech writer who specializes in seeking out gadgets that enhances productivity while still looking sharp. This is a contribution to an ongoing IBTimes review series on gadgets for Business Travelers.