Honor 9X Pro: No Google, no problem?

While you cannot beat the price, it comes without Google Services: The Honor 9X Pro

The Honor 9X Pro is once again equipped with hardware that is more than competitive. In combination with the rest of the equipment, the smartphone would be an absolute hit for 250 Euros (~$271), if it wasn't for the lack of Google Services.

Mike Wobker (translated by Mark Riege), 05/11/2020 🇩🇪

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More and more, the Huawei as well as the Honor devices, which belong to the same corporation, have to be delivered without Google Services. In terms of their specifications, the smartphones from both manufacturers are very well equipped and also available on the market at an affordable price.

In the case of the Honor 9X Pro, not only is the buyer greeted by a high-performance HiSilicon-Kirin-810 SoC, but there is also generous storage equipment with 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. In addition, there is a 48-MP main camera which is accompanied by a 8-MP wide-angle lens and a 2-MP depth sensor. An additional feature is the popup selfie camera.

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Without Google, what is missing?

The workmanship has a high quality, and the fingerprint sensor positioned on the side is also reliable in doing its work. As the operating system, Honor uses Android Pie with the in-house EMUI 9.1. As already mentioned, this smartphone has to make do without Google Services, but what does this mean for everyday operation?

At first glance, it lacks the usual Google apps for photos and email, as well as the Chrome browser. Users also have to live without the comfortable navigation with Google Maps and likewise without all the services that Google offers for other apps. For example, "Arena of Valor" insisted on finding the Google Play Store on the smartphone and could not simply be installed via apk.

Other games such as "Asphalt 9: Legends" are available in the Huawei App Gallery, but for "PUBG Mobile," for example, we had to install the App Store from Amazon. So users have to try out a lot of things and also look for their favorite apps again and again. And there always remains the risk, that those might not run at all in the end.