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Honor 6A Smartphone Review

Let's do things properly. The Honor 6A is a declaration of war on entry-level smartphones. Priced at about $200, the 5-inch smartphone comes with a smart plastic/metal case, octa-core SoC, Android 7, HD screen and a 13-MP camera. Find out how the Honor 6A fares among current entry-level rivals in our review.

For the original German version, click here.

Honor has made a name for itself in the past few years, for selling affordable but powerful and well-equipped smartphones. Huawei's subsidiary is following the same line of thinking for its Honor 6A. The 5-inch smartphone belongs to the range of entry-level devices and offers an HD display, a 13-megapixel camera with phase detection autofocus, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, LTE and 16 GB of storage in a case that is 8.2 mm (~0.32 in) thin and made of aluminum and plastic - and all of this for about $200. Inside, it is powered by the octa-core SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, 2 GB of RAM and Android 7.0.

In the highly competitive entry-level segment, the Honor 6A has managed to make itself noticed, but it is not a superphone. Competitors such as the Lenovo Motorola Moto G5, the Nokia 3, the manufacturer's own rival Huawei Y6 (2017), the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) and the Sony Xperia XA all offer similar features and are available online, for about $10 to $20 less.

Honor 6A (6 Series)
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937) 8 x 1.4 GHz, Cortex-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
2048 MB 
Display
5.00 inch 16:9, 1280 x 720 pixel 294 PPI, 5-point touchscreen, 16 million colors, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
16 GB eMMC Flash, 16 GB 
, 8.3 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm audio jack, Card Reader: microSD cards up to 128 GB, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: accelerometer, proximity sensor, USB OTG
Networking
802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.1, GSM, HSPA, LTE, head SAR 0.44 W/kg, body SAR 0.94 W/kg, Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.2 x 143.7 x 70.95 ( = 0.32 x 5.66 x 2.79 in)
Battery
3020 mAh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Android 7.0 Nougat
Camera
Primary Camera: 13 MPix 28 mm, LED flash, PDAF, videos up to 1080p @30 FPS
Secondary Camera: 5 MPix videos up to 1080p @30 FPS
Additional features
Speakers: mono speaker, Keyboard: virtual, modular power supply (5V, 1A), Micro-USB cable, headset, SIM tool, QuickStart guide, EMUI 5.1, 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
142 g ( = 5.01 oz / 0.31 pounds), Power Supply: 35 g ( = 1.23 oz / 0.08 pounds)
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

"Metal case" and an "entry-level device" are usually two words that do not go together in the world of smartphones. But then came the Honor 6A, which manages to combine the two. Similar to the Nokia 3, the case of our test unit is made partly of aluminum, which, unlike the Nokia 3, covers almost the entire back cover. The slightly roughened surface of the back cover means that the smartphone is very easy and comfortable to hold. The Honor 6A also has rounded-off edges and corners, which make it visually and sensually appealing. The case comes in three color options: Gold, Gray and Silver.

The finish of the two narrow sides and the frame that connects display and back cover are made of plastic, but due to the identical color they seem to melt together with the metal parts and also have a nice feel. The case was basically resistant to warping and pressure, all we noticed were small waves on the screen when we put very high pressure on the display. But as this effect is minimal, it is not a real problem.

Size Comparison

144.3 mm / 5.68 inch 73 mm / 2.87 inch 9.5 mm / 0.374 inch 144.5 g0.3186 lbs143.8 mm / 5.66 inch 72.2 mm / 2.84 inch 8.85 mm / 0.3484 inch 150 g0.3307 lbs143.7 mm / 5.66 inch 70.95 mm / 2.79 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 142 g0.3131 lbs143 mm / 5.63 inch 71.4 mm / 2.81 inch 8.68 mm / 0.3417 inch 141 g0.3109 lbs143.6 mm / 5.65 inch 66.8 mm / 2.63 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 137 g0.302 lbs143.2 mm / 5.64 inch 70.3 mm / 2.77 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 148 g0.3263 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

The Honor 6A is using a rather fast octa-core SoC, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, which combined with 2 GB of RAM ensures a smooth operation. The smartphone can be expanded via a hybrid slot for Nano-SIM or microSD card. If you wish to use two Nano-SIM cards in the phone, you will have to give up the microSD slot and make do with the available storage. However, be aware that out of the 16 GB of internal storage, the Honor 6A only has 8.3 GB available for free use ex-works. 

Internal storage can be expanded with a microSD card by up to 128 GB, but you can only put photos and other media files on the memory card. We did not manage to outsource any apps to the microSD card in our test. There are also a few other things that will need to be accepted: Instead of an easy-to-use USB Type-C port, the phone has only a Micro-USB port with 2.0 speeds. You will also not find a fingerprint sensor on the Honor 6A, although the Lenovo Motorola Moto G5 shows that this can be included in an entry-level device.

left: microSD-/SIM hybrid slot
left: microSD-/SIM hybrid slot
right: volume rocker, power on
right: volume rocker, power on
top: microphone, audio jack
top: microphone, audio jack
bottom: speakers, Micro-USB 2.0 port, microphone
bottom: speakers, Micro-USB 2.0 port, microphone

Software

The Honor 6A has a current version of the Google operating system: Android 7.0 Nougat. The manufacturer has also added its well-known interface EMUI, version 5.1. There are only a few software additions, which is good considering the rather sparse available storage. Apart from the standard Google apps such as Chrome, YouTube and Gallery, the phone also has some useful tools installed, including the support app Huawei HiCare, which is a tool for backing up data, and a SIM toolkit.

Honor has been a little negligent in terms of security for the 6A. It does have a virus scanner from Avast included ex-works, which can be found under "Security and Privacy" and automatically updates on a regular basis. However, the Android security patches were not up-to-date at the time of testing (they were from June 5th 2017 at the beginning of September).

Communication & GPS

The Honor 6A supports GSM, UMTS and LTE. However, the manufacturer has not elaborated on which channels it uses to communicate and how fast uploads and downloads should go - all the information you get from the specification sheet is "LTE". But the SoC cannot support higher than LTE cat. 4 (downloads up to 150 MBit/s) anyway. Reception was always very good during testing and we usually had full reception in the German Vodafone network both in the city and in the countryside.

The Honor 6A's Wi-Fi is limited to the 2.4 GHz network with 802.11 b/g/n, but still does a decent job. It receives data with a speed of up to 52.9 MBit/s and transmits them almost as fast at 51.2 MBit/s. The Huawei Y6 (2017) and the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) do not offer more technical features either and are both a little slower. The Nokia 3, on the other hand, has managed to make better use of the 2.4 GHz bandwidth. The Honor 6A supports Bluetooth 4.1, but not NFC.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Lenovo Moto G5
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
110 MBit/s +115%
Nokia 3
Mali-T720, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
76.6 MBit/s +50%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, Exynos 7570, 16 GB eMMC Flash
53.5 MBit/s +4%
Honor 6A
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
51.2 MBit/s
Huawei Y6 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737T, 16 GB eMMC Flash
48.7 MBit/s -5%
iperf3 receive AX12
Lenovo Moto G5
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
121 MBit/s +129%
Nokia 3
Mali-T720, MT6737, 16 GB eMMC Flash
81.1 MBit/s +53%
Honor 6A
Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash
52.9 MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, Exynos 7570, 16 GB eMMC Flash
46.9 MBit/s -11%
Huawei Y6 2017
Mali-T720 MP2, MT6737T, 16 GB eMMC Flash
43.6 MBit/s -18%
GPS outdoors
GPS outdoors
GPS indoors
GPS indoors

The GPS module of the Honor 6A manages to locate us quite quickly and accurately within 5 meters (~5.5 yards) both indoors and outdoors.

It also did well on our 12 km (~7.45 mi) bicycle test route. Compared to the professional navigation system Garmin Edge 500, the Honor 6A is not quite as accurate at guiding us through the streets, bridges and woods, but the deviations are acceptably low and in total there is only a 20-meter (~ 21.8-yard) difference on the total route. The Honor 6A can support apps that require your position very well with this GPS module.

Honor 6A: total route
Honor 6A: total route
Honor 6A: turning point
Honor 6A: turning point
Honor 6A: bridge
Honor 6A: bridge
Garmin Edge 500: total route
Garmin Edge 500: total route
Garmin Edge 500: turning point
Garmin Edge 500: turning point
Garmin Edge 500: bridge
Garmin Edge 500: bridge

Telephone & Voice Quality

The Honor 6A uses the Android standard telephone app and has great voice quality in our test. Phoning both the landline and Vodafone mobile network worked well and we understood our contact perfectly. Voices are a little more muffled on speakerphone, but communication still works without any problems.

Cameras

HDR shot with main camera
HDR shot with main camera

The 13-megapixel main camera of our test unit takes pictures with a resolution of 4160x3120 pixels in the 4:3 format. In 16:9, maximum resolution is 4160x2336 pixels (11 MP). The camera uses an LED flash and phase detection autofocus, which, according to the manufacturer, needs 0.5 seconds to focus. In our test, the camera always reacted quickly and without any noticeable lags.

The camera menu is surprisingly well-equipped for an entry-level smartphone. It includes various settings such as smile recognition, a timer and audio control for shutter release that reacts either to the word "cheese" or a minimum volume. The camera settings also offer various modes such as Panorama, HDR or manual mode: If you choose "professional photo", you can set things like exposure time and sensitivity individually.

The main camera takes decent photos and at a first glance, there is nothing to criticize about them and the 13-MP lens is fine for snapshots. If you look closer, however, you can see some deficiencies. Details appear rather blurry, noisy and lack dynamics. On top of that, sharpening is too aggressive and transitions between high-contrast areas are overemphasized, which makes the images appear more vivid, but also a little unrealistic when combined with the strong colors. 

The Honor 6A records videos both with its main camera as well as with the 5-MP selfie camera at the front with a maximum of 1920x1080 pixels and 30 frames per second. This results in decent image quality.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images

The Honor 6A also has to prove what its camera can do under controlled lighting in our laboratory. As you can see from the ColorChecker chart, the smartphone always has oversaturated colors, which sometimes makes it deviate from the target color more, sometimes less. The Honor 6A seems to be at war with image sharpness: The test card remains blurry even in the center of the image, details appear frayed and are especially bad at the edges.

ColorChecker: The reference color is in the bottom field.
ColorChecker: The reference color is in the bottom field.
part of the test chart
part of the test chart
test chart (click for original)
test chart (click for original)

Accessories & Warranty

Honor 6A comes with a modular power supply, a Micro-USB 2.0 cable, a headset, a SIM tool as well as a QuickStart guide. The manufacturer does not offer any particular accessories for this smartphone on its website.

The Honor 6A itself has 24 months of warranty, but the warranty for battery and power supply lasts for only 6 months and the headset's only 3 months. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Handling

The capacitive touchscreen of the Honor 6A can register up to five fingers simultaneously and responds to inputs accurately and quickly. Handling remains smooth even when many apps are opened simultaneously, which is not a given for entry-level smartphones.

As Honor has not provided the 6A a fingerprint sensor, the physical keys are limited to the volume rocker and the power-on button, which are both made of plastic. They have snappy feedback, but do move to either side a little. Luckily, this did not impact easy operation or bother us in any way. The Android keys are integrated into the screen of the Honor smartphone.

The Honor 6 has the SwiftKey keyboard set as its standard, but the Google keyboard is also pre-installed. If you do not like either of these keyboards, you can download an alternative keyboard from the Play Store.

keyboard portrait mode
keyboard portrait mode
keyboard landscape mode
keyboard landscape mode

Display

Subpixel
Subpixel

The 5-inch IPS display of the Honor 6A has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. This equates to a high pixel density of 294 PPI, which means that the content is displayed sharply.

The touchscreen has an average brightness of 462.2 cd/m² (measured on a white background), which is plenty. With an even (and more realistic) distribution of lighter and darker areas across the screen (APL50), brightness basically remains the same at an average of 476 cd/m². The Honor 6A also has a very even brightness distribution of 94% and has a brightness sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness according to the ambient light. As our comparison devices show, a bright screen has become standard even in the entry-level segment.

If you set the display brightness to 20% or below, there is some screen flickering. However, the frequency that we measured was very high at 2232 Hz, so this should not be a problem even for sensitive people.

450
cd/m²
460
cd/m²
452
cd/m²
455
cd/m²
480
cd/m²
470
cd/m²
454
cd/m²
472
cd/m²
467
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 480 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 462.2 cd/m² Minimum: 5.28 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 480 cd/m²
Contrast: 1116:1 (Black: 0.43 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.2 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3.1 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.4
Honor 6A
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Lenovo Moto G5
IPS, 1920x1080, 5.00
Huawei Y6 2017
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Nokia 3
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
PLS, 1280x720, 5.00
Sony Xperia XA
IPS, 1280x720, 5.00
Screen
21%
27%
-23%
11%
-34%
Brightness middle
480
660
38%
438
-9%
481
0%
502
5%
518
8%
Brightness
462
625
35%
432
-6%
469
2%
494
7%
475
3%
Brightness Distribution
94
92
-2%
90
-4%
84
-11%
89
-5%
81
-14%
Black Level *
0.43
0.29
33%
0.13
70%
0.22
49%
0.35
19%
0.61
-42%
Contrast
1116
2276
104%
3369
202%
2186
96%
1434
28%
849
-24%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.2
4.9
6%
4.8
8%
8.1
-56%
4.6
12%
6.8
-31%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
8
7.6
5%
11.4
-43%
15.4
-93%
8
-0%
11.4
-43%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.1
4.8
-55%
3.2
-3%
8.5
-174%
2.5
19%
7
-126%
Gamma
2.4 92%
2.18 101%
2.23 99%
2.16 102%
2.29 96%
2.35 94%
CCT
6688 97%
7357 88%
7090 92%
9014 72%
6351 102%
8151 80%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 2232 Hz ≤ 20 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 2232 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 20 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 2232 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
21.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 9.2 ms rise
↘ 12 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 41 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
36.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 19.6 ms rise
↘ 17.2 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 46 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

The color temperature can be changed in the screen settings, either by choosing a dot on a color wheel or by choosing between the three profiles "standard", "warm" or "cold". 

In the preset "standard" profile, the Honor 6A is clearly above the target of 6500 K and reaches 7492 K, which means that the content is displayed with a bit of a blue cast. If you switch to the "warm" profile, the smartphone offers better parameters and an almost ideal color temperature of 6688 K. The deviation from the ideal color and gray scale is also a lot lower than in the "standard" profile with a maximum Delta E value of 5.2 (standard: 6.3). The ideal value for Delta E is below 3.

color accuracy (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color accuracy (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color space (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color space (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
gray scales (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
gray scales (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color saturation (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color saturation (color profile "standard", color space sRGB)
color accuracy (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
color accuracy (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
color space (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
color space (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
gray scales (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
gray scales (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
color saturation (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)
color saturation (color profile "warm", color space sRGB)

The high brightness of the screen means that the Honor 6A can be easily used outdoors, although you should avoid direct sunlight. The IPS panel ensures a good view on the content, even from wide viewing angles.

outdoor use
outdoor use
viewing angles
viewing angles

Performance

The Honor 6A is equipped with the octa-core SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 whose Cortex A53 cores are made up of 4 cores that clock at a frequency of 1.4 GHz and four at 1.1 GHz. The graphics solution is a Qualcomm Adreno 505. In terms of performance, the processor belongs to the lower mid-range and gives the test unit a good speed. Changing between menus is quick and there are no lags, even when several applications are opened simultaneously. 

The Honor 6A managed to keep up with its competition in the synthetic benchmarks and is on par with the Lenovo Motorola Moto G5 and the Sony Xperia XA. The Nokia 3 and the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) are both a little slower.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
43936 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
44653 Points +2%
Huawei Y6 2017
40981 Points -7%
Nokia 3
27703 Points -37%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
35669 Points -19%
Sony Xperia XA
48331 Points +10%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
4820 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
4730 Points -2%
Huawei Y6 2017
4607 Points -4%
Nokia 3
3439 Points -29%
Sony Xperia XA
4685 Points -3%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
3710 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
3583 Points -3%
Huawei Y6 2017
3487 Points -6%
Nokia 3
2568 Points -31%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
3436 Points -7%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Honor 6A
870 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
815 Points -6%
Huawei Y6 2017
839 Points -4%
Nokia 3
551 Points -37%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
704 Points -19%
Sony Xperia XA
1043 Points +20%
System (sort by value)
Honor 6A
1678 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
1656 Points -1%
Huawei Y6 2017
1354 Points -19%
Nokia 3
1081 Points -36%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1395 Points -17%
Sony Xperia XA
2289 Points +36%
Memory (sort by value)
Honor 6A
765 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
538 Points -30%
Huawei Y6 2017
1288 Points +68%
Nokia 3
703 Points -8%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1055 Points +38%
Sony Xperia XA
1076 Points +41%
Graphics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
734 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
722 Points -2%
Huawei Y6 2017
386 Points -47%
Nokia 3
211 Points -71%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
252 Points -66%
Sony Xperia XA
669 Points -9%
Web (sort by value)
Honor 6A
606 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
686 Points +13%
Huawei Y6 2017
734 Points +21%
Nokia 3
575 Points -5%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
662 Points +9%
Sony Xperia XA
717 Points +18%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
638 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
619 Points -3%
Huawei Y6 2017
680 Points +7%
Nokia 3
556 Points -13%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
634 Points -1%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
2612 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
2563 Points -2%
Huawei Y6 2017
1903 Points -27%
Nokia 3
1520 Points -42%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1858 Points -29%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Lenovo Moto G5
1731 Points
Huawei Y6 2017
1238 Points
Nokia 3
1045 Points
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1135 Points
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
9579 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
9494 Points -1%
Huawei Y6 2017
6858 Points -28%
Nokia 3
3665 Points -62%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
4381 Points -54%
Sony Xperia XA
11156 Points +16%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Honor 6A
9663 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
9617 Points 0%
Huawei Y6 2017
6184 Points -36%
Nokia 3
3177 Points -67%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
3725 Points -61%
Sony Xperia XA
10916 Points +13%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
9297 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
9089 Points -2%
Huawei Y6 2017
11088 Points +19%
Nokia 3
7925 Points -15%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
11426 Points +23%
Sony Xperia XA
12138 Points +31%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Honor 6A
588 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
572 Points -3%
Huawei Y6 2017
267 Points -55%
Nokia 3
152 Points -74%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
115 Points -80%
Sony Xperia XA
603 Points +3%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
507 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
496 Points -2%
Huawei Y6 2017
221 Points -56%
Nokia 3
124 Points -76%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
92 Points -82%
Sony Xperia XA
525 Points +4%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
1339 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
1243 Points -7%
Huawei Y6 2017
967 Points -28%
Nokia 3
745 Points -44%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
925 Points -31%
Sony Xperia XA
1259 Points -6%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Honor 6A
330 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
296 Points -10%
Huawei Y6 2017
176 Points -47%
Nokia 3
106 Points -68%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
79 Points -76%
Sony Xperia XA
422 Points +28%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
271 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
243 Points -10%
Huawei Y6 2017
143 Points -47%
Nokia 3
85 Points -69%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
63 Points -77%
Sony Xperia XA
306 Points +13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Honor 6A
1360 Points
Lenovo Moto G5
1245 Points -8%
Huawei Y6 2017
971 Points -29%
Nokia 3
686 Points -50%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
923 Points -32%
Sony Xperia XA
1236 Points -9%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
26 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
14 fps -46%
Huawei Y6 2017
17 fps -35%
Nokia 3
10 fps -62%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
11 fps -58%
Sony Xperia XA
28 fps +8%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
16 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
16 fps 0%
Huawei Y6 2017
11 fps -31%
Nokia 3
6 fps -62%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
6.8 fps -57%
Sony Xperia XA
18 fps +13%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Honor 6A
15 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
7.4 fps -51%
Huawei Y6 2017
8.1 fps -46%
Nokia 3
4.5 fps -70%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
5.4 fps -64%
Sony Xperia XA
15 fps 0%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
7.1 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
7.1 fps 0%
Huawei Y6 2017
3.9 fps -45%
Nokia 3
2.2 fps -69%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2.6 fps -63%
Sony Xperia XA
7.2 fps +1%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
11 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
5 fps -55%
Huawei Y6 2017
6 fps -45%
Nokia 3
3.2 fps -71%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
3.8 fps -65%
Sony Xperia XA
11 fps 0%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
4.6 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
4.6 fps 0%
Huawei Y6 2017
2.5 fps -46%
Nokia 3
1.4 fps -70%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
1.7 fps -63%
Sony Xperia XA
4.8 fps +4%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
5.6 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
2.7 fps -52%
Huawei Y6 2017
fps -100%
Sony Xperia XA
5.4 fps -4%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Honor 6A
2.5 fps
Lenovo Moto G5
2.5 fps 0%
Huawei Y6 2017
fps -100%
Sony Xperia XA
2.5 fps 0%

Legend

 
Honor 6A Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937), Qualcomm Adreno 505, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Moto G5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937), Qualcomm Adreno 505, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei Y6 2017 Mediatek MT6737T, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Nokia 3 Mediatek MT6737, ARM Mali-T720, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 Samsung Exynos 7570 Quad, ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash
 
Sony Xperia XA Mediatek Helio P10 MT6755, ARM Mali-T860 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash

The Honor 6A is also one of the faster smartphones in the comparison in terms of browser performance; only the Sony Xperia XA is a little faster. We used the flipper game letsplay.ouigo.com to test how well the smartphone can display complex HTML5 animations. The result: There was a lot of juddering, but the game was still (only just) playable. The Honor 6A should basically have enough browser performance for everyday surfing.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Sony Xperia XA (Chrome 51)
27.5 Points +29%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
21.32 Points
Lenovo Moto G5 (Chrome 57)
20.36 Points -5%
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
17.64 Points -17%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
17.17 Points -19%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
13.97 Points -34%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Sony Xperia XA (Chrome 51)
4046 Points +22%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
3326 Points
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
3092 Points -7%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
2921 Points -12%
Lenovo Moto G5 (Chrome 57)
2604 Points -22%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
2269 Points -32%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
16759 ms * -53%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
12791 ms * -17%
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
12255 ms * -12%
Lenovo Moto G5 (Chrome 57)
11358 ms * -4%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
10921 ms *
Sony Xperia XA (Chrome 51)
9610 ms * +12%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Sony Xperia XA (Chrome 51)
72 Points +64%
Huawei Y6 2017 (Chrome 60)
65 Points +48%
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 (Chrome 59)
60 Points +36%
Lenovo Moto G5 (Chrome 57)
57 Points +30%
Nokia 3 (Chrome 59)
49 Points +11%
Honor 6A (Chrome 55.0.2883.91)
44 Points

* ... smaller is better

Sequential reading rates are only average as the Honor 6A accesses its internal storage with a maximum of 123.6 MB/s. Times for opening apps are normal, neither particularly fast nor annoyingly slow. While our comparison devices are surprisingly fast (sometimes twice as fast as our test unit) at random reading of 4-KB data blocks, our 6A only managed 7 MB/s, although it still beat the Nokia 3.

When reading and writing on our reference microSD card (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501, reading rates up to 270 MB/s, writing rates up to 150 MB/s), the Honor 6A has rather fast transfer rates. It has access speeds of up to 83.0 MB/s, which is faster than all of the comparison devices. Only the Lenovo Motorola Moto G5, the Nokia 3 and the Sony Xperia XA could almost keep up.

Honor 6ALenovo Moto G5Huawei Y6 2017Nokia 3Samsung Galaxy J3 2017Sony Xperia XA
AndroBench 3-5
78%
19%
-18%
-2%
11%
Sequential Read 256KB
123.6
230.6
87%
202.6
64%
181
46%
177.7
44%
240.4
94%
Sequential Write 256KB
64.1
45.6
-29%
66.9
4%
34
-47%
51
-20%
68.6
7%
Random Read 4KB
50.2
37.6
-25%
25.93
-48%
17.7
-65%
24
-52%
22.05
-56%
Random Write 4KB
6.94
37.9
446%
20.54
196%
5.5
-21%
9.5
37%
10.6
53%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
83.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
78.5 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-6%
48.4
-42%
64.3
-23%
70.3
-16%
72.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-13%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
63.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
58 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-8%
26.4
-58%
62.9
0%
59.6
-6%
50.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M401)
-20%

Games

If you are hoping to play games on the smartphone, the Honor 6A is a suitable companion. It even displays graphically demanding games smoothly, for example "Asphalt 8: Airborne", that can be played with high details at 30 FPS. The Zombie Shooter game "Dead Trigger 2" is also no problem for the entry-level device, which displays it with 52 FPS. The accelerometer and touchscreen work very well as controls.

Asphalt 8: Airborne
Asphalt 8: Airborne
Dead Trigger 2
Dead Trigger 2
Dead Trigger 2
 SettingsValue
 high52 fps
Asphalt 8: Airborne
 SettingsValue
 high30 fps
 very low30 fps

Emissions

Temperature

GFXBench battery test performance
GFXBench battery test performance

The Honor 6A heats up to 43.1 °C (~109.6 °F) during use, which is really fine. The back even only heats up to 38.6 °C (~101.48 °F) under full load, which means that the device is never uncomfortable to hold. 

There is no throttling under load: Even after running the GFXBench battery test 30 times in a row, the frame rates remained constant.

Max. Load
 42.6 °C
109 F
42.5 °C
109 F
42.6 °C
109 F
 
 42.4 °C
108 F
42.4 °C
108 F
43.1 °C
110 F
 
 41.5 °C
107 F
41.8 °C
107 F
41.5 °C
107 F
 
Maximum: 43.1 °C = 110 F
Average: 42.3 °C = 108 F
37 °C
99 F
38 °C
100 F
38.5 °C
101 F
37.1 °C
99 F
38.2 °C
101 F
38.6 °C
101 F
37.5 °C
100 F
38.3 °C
101 F
38.4 °C
101 F
Maximum: 38.6 °C = 101 F
Average: 38 °C = 100 F
Power Supply (max.)  39.3 °C = 103 F | Room Temperature 21.5 °C = 71 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 42.3 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.1 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 38.6 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 34.5 °C / 94 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speakers

speaker characteristics
speaker characteristics

The Honor 6A can turn up to 83.8 dB(A) via its mono speaker. The sound does not distort even at maximum volume and is good enough for the occasional listening to music, watching videos or talking on speakerphone. Bass frequencies are almost non-existent, however, and highs are over represented.

As expected, the sound improved significantly when connecting the included headset.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2031.637.12525.436.73125.336.94032.929.75033.632.36331.633.78028.427.5100272712520.825.61602226.320021.331.525020.839.831521.24640019.45350019.559.263017.762.280017.964.4100017.869125017.370.7160017.469.3200016.771.5250017.274315018.274.4400017.976.7500017.676.8630017.772800017.870.41000017.968.71250018.1681600018.263.8SPL3083.8N1.355.6median 17.9median 68Delta1.411.527.330.527.327.730.827.726.929.226.934.233.534.226.229.226.223.527.823.525.730.525.725.429.525.432.523.732.522.723.822.726.322.726.332.122.232.140.922.540.949.722.149.758.521.358.565.119.365.17019.77070.71970.769.518.369.569.416.269.470.715.970.772.215.572.274.515.774.580.715.480.780.515.280.571.915.271.970.515.270.569.915.169.958.615.158.646.11546.186.529.686.560.21.360.2median 69.4median 18.3median 69.412.93.612.928.231.128.230.330.130.329.329.929.333.634.433.62834.62827.229.327.229.232.229.231.934.131.939.836.939.836.423.836.448.421.548.451.720.951.757.121.357.159.819.759.865.820.165.867.618.567.667.719.367.769.517.869.567.817.467.867.516.467.567.616.467.667.916.667.97116.17174.716.174.77116.17161166158.716.158.758.916.158.951.31651.339.81639.880.930.180.947.91.447.9median 61median 17.4median 618.82.98.8hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHonor 6ANokia 3Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
Honor 6A audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 35.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.2% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 59% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 75% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Nokia 3 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 39.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (29% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 72% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 25% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 84% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 13% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 16.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.4% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 47% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 45% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 66% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 27% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram in comparison (check boxes can be turned on/off!)

Battery Runtime

Power Consumption

Our test unit requires up to 6.2 watts, which is quite a lot of power and similar to the consumption of the Lenovo Motorola Moto G5. Power consumption is still comparatively high while idling with a maximum of 2.5 watts. This can only be topped by the Honor 6 (2.8 watts). The Nokia 3 and the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) are both significantly more energy-efficient.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.01 / 0.16 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 1.33 / 2.53 / 2.54 Watt
Load midlight 3.84 / 6.12 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Honor 6A
3020 mAh
Lenovo Moto G5
2800 mAh
Nokia 3
2630 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2400 mAh
Sony Xperia XA
2300 mAh
Power Consumption
25%
39%
26%
27%
Idle Minimum *
1.33
0.73
45%
0.67
50%
0.82
38%
0.72
46%
Idle Average *
2.53
1.64
35%
1.35
47%
1.94
23%
1.5
41%
Idle Maximum *
2.54
1.68
34%
1.39
45%
2.06
19%
1.57
38%
Load Average *
3.84
3.46
10%
3.1
19%
3.31
14%
3.48
9%
Load Maximum *
6.12
6.13
-0%
4.02
34%
3.89
36%
6.04
1%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtime

Despite the comparatively high power consumption, the Honor 6A has convincing battery runtimes. At 13:10 hours during the realistic Wi-Fi test, our test unit can last quite a bit longer than its rivals. While playing the H.264 test video, the smartphone was beaten by the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017). Overall, the Honor 6A can offer sufficient power reserves for one or two days away from the socket. 

Honor did not give its smartphone a quick-charge function and it took about three hours for the 6A to fully recharge in our test.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
33h 30min
WiFi Websurfing
13h 10min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
12h 12min
Load (maximum brightness)
4h 55min
Honor 6A
3020 mAh
Lenovo Moto G5
2800 mAh
Huawei Y6 2017
3000 mAh
Nokia 3
2630 mAh
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017
2400 mAh
Sony Xperia XA
2300 mAh
Battery Runtime
-28%
-11%
-21%
-6%
-49%
Reader / Idle
2010
1243
-38%
1522
-24%
1258
-37%
1425
-29%
775
-61%
H.264
732
616
-16%
693
-5%
628
-14%
819
12%
460
-37%
WiFi v1.3
790
561
-29%
654
-17%
552
-30%
722
-9%
353
-55%
Load
295
207
-30%
302
2%
283
-4%
305
3%
170
-42%

Pros

+ affordable
+ plastic/metal case
+ hybrid Dual-SIM
+ bright HD display
+ good system performance
+ no throttling under load
+ long battery runtimes

Cons

- not much free storage
- App2SD not possible
- Android security patches not up-to-date
- no 5-GHz Wi-Fi
- mediocre camera

Verdict

Review: Honor 6A. Test unit provided by Honor Germany.
Review: Honor 6A. Test unit provided by Honor Germany.

With the 6A, Honor has managed to keep to its ideal of producing smartphones that are good value for their money. The 5-inch Android, available for $200 and below, has quite a lot to offer: a well-manufactured case made from plastic and metal, a bright and well-adjusted HD display, long battery runtimes and fast system performance.

Although the Honor 6A is "only" an affordable entry-level device, it offers comparatively high performance and a lot of features.

Honor has saved on the available storage however, and only half of the original 16 GB of storage is effectively available for the user. The 13-MP camera is also not particularly exciting and you have to accept mediocre image quality. Honor could also work on its Android security patches, as they were more than 3 months old at the time of testing.

Honor 6A - 09/11/2017 v6(old)
Manuel Masiero

Chassis
82%
Keyboard
68 / 75 → 90%
Pointing Device
82%
Connectivity
35 / 60 → 58%
Weight
93%
Battery
95%
Display
85%
Games Performance
20 / 63 → 31%
Application Performance
40 / 70 → 57%
Temperature
85%
Noise
100%
Audio
63 / 91 → 69%
Camera
59%
Average
70%
80%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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Manuel Masiero, 2017-09-14 (Update: 2020-05-19)