HONOR Philippines recently launched its newest water-resistant AI smartphone, the HONOR X7d. The phone has been getting a lot of attention online because of viral videos showing it being tested in water and different durability challenges. But beyond the hype and social media buzz, many people are curious about what it is really like to use in real life, especially for Filipinos who deal with sudden rain, long commutes, and busy everyday routines.
Instead of focusing only on performance and design like most budget phones, the HONOR X7d puts more importance on practicality, durability, and everyday reliability. It is built for users who are always on the move, whether you are a rider, student, office worker, or someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. With its all-angle water and dust resistance, reinforced build, and large dual-cell battery, the HONOR X7d aims to be a dependable daily companion that can handle accidental splashes, light drops, and long hours of use. At the same time, it still offers smart AI features and useful tools through MagicOS to support productivity and entertainment.
We are fortunate enough to have our hands on the new HONOR X7d in the Ocean Cyan color variant with 8GB RAM, 512GB ROM, and dual SIM support. The device is also available in Velvet Black and Desert Gold, while Ocean Cyan is offered as an online exclusive option. In this hands-on review, we will walk you through everything from the unboxing experience to real-world performance and daily usability. If you are looking for a phone that can keep up with your productivity and entertainment needs, this guide will help you decide if the HONOR X7d is the right choice.
Table of Contents
Unboxing/Accessories
The HONOR X7d comes in a clean and simple box, and inside you will find everything you need to start using the phone right away. Aside from the smartphone itself, the package includes the 35W HONOR SuperCharge power adapter, a USB-A to USB-C charging and data cable, the SIM ejector tool, and the usual documentation such as the quick start guide and warranty papers.
HONOR also includes a transparent protective case inside the box. This is a nice addition, especially since the phone is positioned as a durable everyday device. Having a case already included makes it easier for users to add extra protection from the moment they start using it, without needing to buy accessories separately.
Build Quality / Design
The HONOR X7d is designed with durability in mind while still maintaining a clean and modern look. The back panel and frame are made of polycarbonate material, but the phone feels sturdy when held in the hand. It also features reinforced corners and a structure designed to absorb impact, which contributes to its SGS Premium Performance Certification for Drop and Crush Resistance. HONOR also highlights that the phone is built to handle drops under controlled test conditions.
What makes the design more appealing is its matte-like finish on the back, which has a subtle sheen that shifts slightly when you tilt it under light. This gives the phone a more premium and stylish feel while also helping minimize fingerprints and smudges. It looks simple yet elegant, making it suitable for both casual and professional settings.
One of the key highlights of the HONOR X7d is its IP65 rating for all-angle dust and water resistance. This means it is built to handle everyday situations like light rain, accidental splashes, or getting wet while washing your hands. It also becomes practical in moments where many users usually worry about their phone, such as replying to a quick message while in the bathroom, checking notifications during a shower break, or playing music beside the shower area while you get ready for the day. Thanks to its Wet-hand Touch Enhancement, the screen remains usable even when your fingers are slightly wet or soapy.
Of course, it is still important to remember that the phone is not meant for underwater use, but for real-life daily scenarios where moisture or splashes are unavoidable, the HONOR X7d offers extra peace of mind. Despite its rugged nature, it still looks lifestyle friendly and visually appealing. Our Ocean Cyan unit has a refreshing and youthful feel, while the Velvet Black and Desert Gold options offer more classic finishes. It is a phone that feels tough enough for daily wear and tear, yet stylish enough to bring anywhere.
Display
The HONOR X7d features a large 6.77-inch display that gives you a wide viewing area, which is great for everyday activities like browsing social media, watching videos, reading articles, or checking emails. The screen size makes content easier to see and read, especially for users who prefer bigger displays for comfort and productivity. It also supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate, depending on the scenario, which helps make animations, scrolling, and transitions look smoother in supported apps.
In daily use, the display feels practical and comfortable for long-form content such as Facebook browsing, YouTube viewing, or casual streaming. The larger screen is also helpful for commuters who often watch content or browse while traveling, and for users who like using their phone for note-taking, messaging, and multitasking. Because the phone focuses more on usability than pushing high-end visuals, it delivers a viewing experience that is simple, clean, and easy on the eyes for everyday tasks.
HONOR also highlights how the display design complements the phone’s durability features. With wet-hand touch enhancement and an anti-drop-oriented build approach, the screen remains usable even in situations where there may be light moisture or accidental splashes. This can be helpful when you are outdoors, commuting in unpredictable weather, or using your phone while doing daily routines where your hands may occasionally be damp. Instead of chasing premium display specs, the HONOR X7d focuses on practicality, energy efficiency, and comfort for real-world use.
Camera
The HONOR X7d is equipped with a 108MP Ultra Clear AI Camera, which allows you to capture detailed photos with just a single tap. The high-resolution main camera is designed to record millions of pixels, making it ideal for everyday moments such as travel snaps, food photos, casual portraits, or scenery shots during day trips. For users who love posting on social media, the level of detail is more than enough for sharing photos online or keeping memories in your gallery.
What makes the camera more interesting is the set of AI tools that help enhance and improve your photos after taking them. AI Eraser lets you remove unwanted people or distracting objects in the background, which is useful when taking photos in busy places like malls, tourist spots, or events. AI Outpainting allows you to creatively extend parts of your image, while AI Eyes Open helps correct group shots where someone may have blinked, so you can save more usable photos instead of retaking them.
The HONOR X7d’s camera feels built for casual photography and daily lifestyle use rather than professional shooting. It focuses on convenience and smart enhancements instead of complex manual controls. This makes it a good companion for users who like taking quick snaps during trips, get-togethers, or simple everyday moments, and want photos that already look clean and ready to share straight from the phone.
Here are some sample images taken with the HONOR X7d. These examples showcase its performance in various lighting conditions and scenarios:
Performance
The HONOR X7d is built for smooth and reliable everyday performance. It comes with 8GB of RAM, and with HONOR RAM Turbo Technology, the phone can deliver a 16GB-equivalent memory experience by using part of the storage to support running apps. This helps the device stay responsive when switching between tasks, opening multiple apps, or using it continuously throughout the day.
The phone runs on MagicOS 9.0, which introduces helpful smart features that make navigation and productivity easier. Magic Portal allows you to access certain services or actions in fewer steps, while Magic Capsule lets you view important information at a glance without needing to leave your current screen. These features are designed to make daily use feel more convenient, especially for multitaskers and users who rely on their phone for work, school, or communication.
In real-world usage, the HONOR X7d is suitable for browsing, social media, messaging, video calls, online classes, streaming, and light productivity. It is more focused on stability and long-term usability than on high-end performance. This makes it a good fit for users who want a dependable device for daily routines rather than a phone built for heavy gaming or intensive workloads.
Gaming Performance
We also tested the HONOR X7d for gaming, and it delivered a smooth and enjoyable experience in our sessions. We played three titles that many Filipino mobile gamers are familiar with: Mobile Legends, Call of Duty Mobile, and Farlight 84. All three games ran smoothly during our tests, with responsive controls and stable gameplay that made each match feel enjoyable and easy to play.
In Mobile Legends, matches felt fluid and responsive, even during team fights where movement and skill timing matter. The device handled animations and transitions well, allowing us to play comfortably for multiple rounds. Call of Duty Mobile also performed smoothly on typical graphics settings, with steady frame response and minimal stutter while moving, aiming, and switching between actions. Meanwhile, Farlight 84, which is slightly more demanding, still ran well on balanced settings, allowing us to enjoy longer gaming rounds without major slowdowns.
The large battery is also a big advantage during gaming, since we were able to play multiple matches without worrying about running out of power too quickly. Combined with HONOR RAM Turbo and system optimization under MagicOS 9.0, the HONOR X7d offers a gaming experience that feels stable, reliable, and comfortable for everyday gameplay and leisure gaming sessions.
Benchmark Results
To further evaluate its performance, we also ran several benchmark tests on the HONOR X7d. In Geekbench 6, the CPU scored 468 in single-core performance and 1528 in multi-core performance, which reflects its focus on efficient day-to-day processing and balanced workload handling.
For productivity simulations, the device achieved a Work 3.0 performance score of 9621, indicating that it performs well in tasks such as web browsing, document handling, and basic content consumption. In AnTuTu Benchmark v11.0.3, the HONOR X7d posted a total score of 514236, aligning with its positioning as a reliable and optimized device for everyday smartphone activities.
We also tested the graphics and thermal stability using the Wild Life Extreme Stress Test. The device recorded a best loop score of 138, a lowest loop score of 136, and stability at 98.6%. This shows that the phone is able to maintain consistent performance levels across extended usage without noticeable drops or instability.
Overall, these benchmark results position the HONOR X7d as a well-optimized smartphone that prioritizes stable, reliable, and sustained performance for everyday tasks, social media use, light gaming, and productivity, rather than focusing on peak benchmark power alone.
Storage
One of the biggest advantages of the HONOR X7d is its generous storage capacity. Our review unit comes with 8GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage, which gives users a lot of space for apps, photos, videos, downloads, and personal files. This is especially helpful for users who love taking photos during trips, recording videos, downloading movies or music for offline use, or storing work and school documents on their phone.
Having 512GB of storage also means you can install multiple social media and messaging apps, keep your gallery and files for months or even years, and still have plenty of space left for games and media. It gives a sense of convenience and peace of mind, since users do not have to constantly delete files or transfer photos just to free up storage.
The HONOR X7d also features HONOR RAM Turbo Technology, which works together with the large storage. HONOR RAM Turbo allows the phone to expand its physical RAM by using a portion of the storage (ROM) as virtual memory. This helps the phone keep more apps open in the background and reduces lag when switching between tasks like browsing, messaging, social media, and light productivity apps.
With its large built-in storage and smart RAM optimization, the HONOR X7d feels ready for long-term everyday use. Whether you use your phone for content consumption, mobile work, school tasks, or casual content creation, it provides enough space and multitasking support to match a busy modern lifestyle.
Battery
The battery is one of the strongest highlights of the HONOR X7d. It comes with a 6500mAh dual-cell battery, which is designed not only for long usage but also for safety and efficiency. HONOR explains that the dual-cell structure helps the phone manage power more effectively while supporting better charging reliability over time. Based on HONOR Lab simulations of daily usage, the battery is also built with long-term durability in mind.
To further test its endurance, we ran a PCMark Work 3.0 battery benchmark, and the HONOR X7d recorded an impressive 20 hours and 21 minutes. This reflects how well the device performs in productivity and real-world usage scenarios such as browsing, social media, and light multitasking across extended periods.
In real-life use, the large battery is ideal for users who are always on the go. Whether you commute daily, spend long hours outdoors, travel, attend events, or work remotely, the HONOR X7d can comfortably last through a full day of mixed usage and can even extend to the next day depending on your habits. It is also practical for users who rely on their phone for navigation, messaging, music streaming, or social media throughout the day.
The phone supports 35W HONOR SuperCharge, and the charger is already included in the box. In our testing, we were able to fully charge the phone from 0 to 100% in just around 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is quite reasonable considering its large battery capacity. This makes topping up more convenient, especially when you need to charge before heading out.
With its power-efficient system, strong benchmark endurance score, and fast charging support, the HONOR X7d delivers reliable all-day battery life that fits users with active and on-the-go lifestyles.
Verdict
The HONOR X7d is a smartphone that focuses on real-life durability, reliability, and long-lasting everyday performance. With its SGS-certified drop resistance, IP65 dust and water protection, reinforced build structure, and Wet-hand Touch Enhancement, it gives users extra peace of mind in situations where accidental splashes, bumps, light drops, or outdoor conditions are part of daily use. It feels like a phone designed for people who are always on the go and want something they can confidently bring anywhere.
Its 6500mAh dual-cell battery, strong Work 3.0 battery benchmark result of 20 hours and 21 minutes, and full charging time of around 1 hour and 30 minutes make it a great option for users who value endurance and dependable power. On top of that, the large 512GB storage, HONOR RAM Turbo multitasking support, and MagicOS 9.0 smart features make it suitable for productivity, entertainment, and lifestyle use.
The HONOR X7d also adds value through features like the Instant AI Button and AI-powered camera tools, which enhance convenience without making the phone feel complicated to use. It may not be built for high-end performance or heavy gaming enthusiasts, but for students, commuters, riders, travelers, and everyday smartphone users who want a device that is sturdy, long-lasting, and practical for daily life, the HONOR X7d stands out as a solid and worthwhile choice in its category.
HONOR X7d Specs
Display: 6.77-inch LCD (IPS) with 120Hz refresh rate, HD+ 1610 × 720 resolution, ~261 ppi, up to 800 nits peak brightness
CPU: 2.4GHz 6nm Snapdragon 685 octa-core processor
GPU: Adreno 610
RAM: 8GB
ROM: 256GB
Back Camera: 108MP f/1.75 main + 2MP depth sensor + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0
Battery: 6,500mAh with 35W HONOR SuperCharge
OS: Android 15 with MagicOS 9.0
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, Dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IP65 dust and water resistance, USB-C, Instant AI Button, Dual speakers with high-volume mode
Colors: Desert Gold, Ocean Cyan, and Velvet Black
Dimensions: 166.9 x 76.8 x 8.2 mm
Weight: 208 g
Price and Availability
The HONOR X7d is now available nationwide at HONOR Experience Stores and Partner Retailers in three color options: Desert Gold, Ocean Cyan, and Velvet Black, for a price of PHP 9,999.
For those who prefer shopping online, the HONOR X7d (256GB variant) is also available exclusively through HONOR’s official stores on Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop for PHP 8,999.
This gives users the flexibility to choose between in-store purchasing or convenient online availability, depending on their preferred shopping experience.
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