The successor to the HONOR X9a 5G will smash its way to the Philippines soon.

(Update, January 12: The HONOR X9b 5G is now available in the Philippines! Is it worth buying? Check out our review of the phone!)

According to HONOR, the HONOR X9b 5G will be launching in the country January 12. The key selling point here is still durability, with its 6.78-inch AMOLED screen — officially called “HONOR Ultra-Bounce Anti-Drop Display” — gets an SGS Five-star Overall Drop Resistance Certification. Meaning you should be getting a tough screen in all angles.

SEE ALSO: HONOR X9a 5G review: A smash hit

We’re currently reviewing the smartphone and even did an initial smash test earlier. So far, our unit is still working just fine, as captured on the video below. We don’t recommend you trying this for yourself, but it should give you some kind of reassurance that if you are the clumsy type or really just accidentally drop your device, the HONOR X9b 5G won’t be easy to break.

@revuphilippines The #HONORX9b5G helps us smash our way this 2024. This could be your tough companion as well, as it's launching in the Philippines Jan. 12! #HONORX9b #TheToughestPhone #AllAngleUltraTough #SmashTest #DurabilityTest #ToughTest #HONOR #HONORPH #HONORPhilippines #RevuDotComDotPH ♬ original sound – Revu Philippines

Our ‘Happy New Year’ video featuring the HONOR X9b 5G

Of course, there are still a lot of things going for it on paper besides the sturdy screen, from a battery that is said to last around three days, a large storage for files like photos shot on the phone’s 108-megapixel main camera, and IP53 water and dust resistance to an efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G processor paired with an expandable RAM, a user-friendly interface based on Android 13, and the design.

In Malaysia where it’s already available, the HONOR X9b 5G is priced at RM1,299 (roughly P15,661 or $283). Will this model retail at P16,990 ($307) then, the same launch price of its predecessor? We don’t have to wait that long to find out.

HONOR X9b 5G specs

• 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
• 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset
• Adreno GPU
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB storage
• Triple 108-megapixel main, 5-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro rear cameras
• 16-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• 5,800mAh battery with 35-watt fast wired charging
• MagicOS 7.2 based on Android 13
• IP53 rating
• Colors: Emerald Green, Midnight Black, Sunrise Orange

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