Global technology brand and South African innovation favourite Honor, unveiled the eagerly awaited Honor X9c on Thursday.

The latest addition to its acclaimed X Series line-up is sensationally setting yet another benchmark in the midrange smartphone market. This release is impossible to ignore as it seamlessly integrates outstanding durability, long-lasting battery life, stunning display quality, photography capabilities and an advanced AI experience. Encased in a lightweight design that elevates premium aesthetics to new levels, the Honor X9c offers a high-end experience that makes its midrange pricing incredibly surprising.

“We are incredibly proud to introduce the Honor X9c unbreakable AI smartphone to South Africa. This is our first midrange device that brings flagship-level AI capabilities to the local market. This innovation marks a significant milestone for Honor as we continue to lead the conversation in both AI technology and the foldable smartphone space. With a focus on providing competitive pricing and cutting-edge features, we’re making advanced technology accessible for South Africans,” said Fred Zhou, CEO of Honor South Africa.

Honor South Africa has seen exceptional growth, with the business expanding by 180% in 2024. The company achieved a significant milestone, selling a million units, reflecting the increasing trust and loyalty of its customers.

“In addition to strong sales in smartphones, Honor also experienced a notable rise in tablet sales, underscoring our broadening product portfolio and commitment to meeting the diverse needs of consumers. Brand awareness surged to 80% in 2024, driven by an increased Google search volume, which highlights the growing recognition of Honor as a leading technology brand,” said Zhou.

The company continues to strengthen its presence in South Africa by fostering deeper relationships with its stakeholders, solidifying its position as the most trusted brand in the market.

A host of new innovations await South Africans

Honor addresses South Africans’ phone-drop fears with the revolutionary Honor X9c. Featuring the next-gen Honor anti-drop display, it boasts ultra-tempered glass and a Bézier-curve design for unmatched durability, surviving drops from up to 2m. With a 166% boost in reliability over its predecessor, it offers ultimate peace of mind.

Built to endure, the Honor X9c’s three-layer waterproof structure, IP65M water and dust resistance, and wet-hand touch control make it a true durability champion, functioning even after 5 minutes underwater at 25cm. This is innovation built to impress and last.

Enduring power with enhanced safety and fast charging

Made to last longer and outlast all expectations. Honor impresses with the industry’s first smartphone with an ultra-large 6 600mAh silicon-carbon battery. This new standard in battery innovation is the largest capacity available today. From Table Mountain to the Drakensburg, you can enjoy a full day of seamless use, with up to 48.4 hours of music streaming and 25.8 hours of online video playback on a single charge.

To enhance durability, the battery features an Armor-level protective coating and a specialised safety coating that works with the Honor power management system to isolate the electrodes in extreme conditions. With multi-point temperature monitoring, the battery performs well in temperatures from -30°C to 55°C, delivering up to 20 hours of audio calls in -30°C and 30 hours of audio calls in 55°C. Additionally, the AI enables the device to maintain continuous calls for up to 50 minutes when the battery drops to 2%, while the 66W wired Honor SuperCharge rapidly revives the battery for extended usage. The AI safe-charging system ensures safe and efficient charging, providing even more peace of mind while powering up.

…article continues below…

Exceptional visual display for optimal immersion

If all the colours, cultures, languages and landscapes of South Africa were to be captured in one picture, the Honor X9c would be the screen you’d want to view it on. It makes it possible to see infinite details, amplified by a subconscious feeling that you have experienced more of the world around you.

The Honor X9c comes alive with a 6.78-inch Eye-comfort OLED display, which supports 1.07 billion colours and a 1.5K resolution, delivering vibrant hues and breathtaking details for a more immersive viewing experience. With a high refresh rate of 120Hz, the display showcases incredibly smooth motion and improved responsiveness for a more fluid interface. In addition, the display ensures an exceptionally sharp and clear viewing experience with its industry-leading peak HDR brightness of 4 000 nits. The Honor X9c also guarantees a comfortable viewing experience with eye-comfort features such as 3 840Hz risk-free PWM dimming, circadian night display and dynamic dimming.

AI-powered smartphone photography experience

Packed with a robust, 108-megapixel ultra-sensing camera featuring a 1/1.67-inch large sensor, the Honor X9c captures images with exceptional detail and enhanced brightness. Leveraging its 9-in-1 pixel binning technology equivalent to a pixel size of 1.92μm, this main camera allows users to take well-lit and sharp images in any lighting scenarios.

With 3x lossless zoom and three distinct portrait modes – 1x environmental portrait, 2x atmospheric portrait and 3x close-up portrait – users can create stunning portrait shots with diverse focal lengths. To elevate the photography experience, the main camera is equipped with optical image stabilisation, effectively reducing blurring and shakiness for ultra-clear images. Better still, the Honor X9c integrates AI photography features like Honor AI Motion Sensing and AI Eraser, enhancing image quality and streamlining photo editing on smartphones.

Smart user experience in a stylish design

The Honor X9c’s ultra-slim design is further refined with a titanium finish. Lightweight and sleek, weighing just 189g and measuring 7.98mm in thickness, form now meets unlimited functionality. This includes the latest MagicOS 8.0 based on Android 14 to create a personalised experience, enriched with intelligent features including Magic Capsule, Magic Portal and Parallel Space.

Designed for a country of diverse tastes, the Honor X9c unifies its fans with two captivating colourways: titanium black and jade cyan. The X9c recommended retail price starts at R10 999 with the X7c at R5 999.

During his speech at the launch event, Zhou also teased the imminent arrival of the Honor Magic Book X14 laptop, a first in South Africa from the brand.