Honor is making a great name for itself in the global smartphone market. Owned by Huawei, it’s a separate brand that often takes the exact same specs of a Huawei phone, repackages it in some typically snazzy designs, and sells it cheaper.
Turns out, that’s a great thing for the consumer.
We tend to ignore Honor’s youth-focused branding, as these often affordable smartphones are great for everyone (particularly if you like the colourful finishes, which has become a bit of a trademark for the brand. Otherwise, they often have multiple cameras, attractive designs, and the same AI software features that Huawei phones have for hundreds more.
Of course, there is one downside to the Huawei relationship: the US trade ban. Honor is affected by the same trade restriction that currently prevents Google from working with Huawei. The result is that any new Honor devices may run Android but can't include Google Play Services. In practical terms, that means no access to the Google Play Store, limiting you to the apps available through the Huawei App Gallery (unless you're brave enough to sideload Google).
None of the phones in our chart right now are affected, as they were all certified in time to come with full Google support, so you can buy one without fear. But upcoming handsets like the 9X Pro and View 30 Pro will come without Google services, so you should buy those with caution.
1. Honor View 20
- Unavailable
The Honor View 20 is stunning to look at - from just about any angle, thanks to the one-two punch of the pinhole camera on the front and the genuinely unique holographic V effect on the glass rear. The photos look great, but don't really do this thing justice - it's properly gorgeous.
At just £499 for the base model, and £579 for one with extra RAM and storage, this is genuinely affordable too. Honor's flagships have always offered serious specs and slick design while undercutting rivals on price, but it usually feels like there are a couple of compromises along the way.
For perhaps the first time, the View 20 doesn't feel that way. Sure, premium features like wireless charging and waterproofing are still missing, but for most people those remain nice-to-haves - whereas with the core features here Honor is firing on all cylinders.
2. Honor 20
- £299
The Honor 20 is a great-value phone that offers a lot for your money. It has better cameras than the View 20 and now costs about the same, though the premium finish (and headphone jack) help the View 20 just pip it in our view - though there isn't much in it.
The 20 is more powerful than the similarly priced Google Pixel 3a, but the trade-off is that you don't get stock Android or the guarantee of fast updates to new versions.
3. Honor 10
- $399
Battery life might not be anything to write home about but that's not unusual and there's so much to like here. Much of what the Honor 10 offers, like display, cameras and build quality are at the level you'd expect from a phone twice the price.
The software is better than ever and you get a whopping 128GB of storage as standard. Add in smooth performance, a headphone jack, dual-SIM and attractive design and you can see why this is a mid-range king.
4. Honor 10 Lite
- Approx $200
Honor has done it again with the 10 Lite, one of the best budget smartphones you can buy. For just £200 it has the best battery life of a phone in its price range, a large screen and dual cameras.
Those cameras fall down in low light and it's a very clearly a plastic phone but the performance is excellent. It's up there alongside the Moto G range as the best cheap phone about.
5. Honor 9X
- £249 (approx $320)
The Honor 9X manages to mimic some elements of flagships but for a fraction of the price. With a geometric, shimmery exterior and a notch-free display thanks to a pop-up camera, you'd find it hard to believe that this is a phone below £250 - especially when you take into consideration the camera that comes with it.
Of course it's not without its flaws. The triple lens camera isn't quite as good as the specs suggest, and night mode in particular doesn't hold up, while performance across the board gives away that this isn't as high-end as it looks. But still, you get a lot for the price, and a phone that looks like a lot more.
6. Honor 20 Pro
- £549.99
With flagship phones costing around a grand these days, the option of a much cheaper phone with cameras that are just as good is pretty tempting. You miss out on some high-end features: no wireless charging, no OLED screen and no water-resistance, but in just about every other area the Honor 20 Pro is top notch.
7. Honor Play
- Approx $300
At £279, it's very easy to recommend the Honor Play. The display is no match for rival gaming phones like the Razer Phone or Asus ROG, but the Play offers top notch performance at a far lower price than either of those, which might make it the ideal phone for gamers on a budget.
The specs are almost identical to the pricier Honor 10 and even the much pricier Huawei P20, though it's worth noting that it's got a metal chassis rather than a glass back, and the camera isn't a patch on the ones in those phones.
Still, even if you're not a gamer, this is one of the best value phones on the market, offering flagship performance at a fraction of the price, so long as you don't mind missing out on the best photography features.
8. Honor 8X
- $269
Though it only costs £229.99 in the UK, the Honor 8X looks, feels and performs like a high-end smartphone in most respects. It features a gorgeous shimmering glass back and a stunning 6.5in FHD+ bezel-less display on the front, complete with a Notch housing a 20Mp camera.
It offers advanced features including facial recognition that works well in most environments, and although performance isn't perfect when running demanding apps, it should be more than enough for casual browsing and gaming.
9. Honor 20 Lite
- £249.99
It's a bit of a stretch to call this a budget phone, but it's a quarter of the price of an iPhone XS. Given that perspective, the 20 Lite offers solid value with decent cameras and performance.
It's still built to a price and is no flagship rival, but if you have this much to spend it's very good indeed.
10. Honor View 10
- $399
Another great mid-range option from Honor is the View 10 that's high on specs, low on price. It's similar in style to the Honor 8 Pro rather than the recent Honor 9.
Instead of a glass back, the View 10 favours AI software and Android Oreo. It's a sweet deal, especially if you want dual cameras and a large screen. We wouldn't be surprised if you were tempted by one of Honor's cheaper devices, though.
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