The HONOR 90 Lite is a budget 5G phone from the HONOR 90 series. HONOR announced it in June 2023, and sales in the UK and Europe began on June 20, 2023. It came in a single version with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. In the UK, the launch price was £249.99. In Europe, it cost €299.90. The phone was not sold in the US.
Design and display
The phone measures 162.9 x 74.5 x 7.48 mm and weighs about 179 grams. The rear has two large circular camera rings that overlap. HONOR sold it in three colors: Cyan Lake, Titanium Silver and Midnight Black. Germany also had a limited edition in Titanium Silver through the HONOR online store. There is no official water or dust rating.
The front has a 6.7-inch LTPS LCD panel with a 2388 x 1080 resolution. The refresh rate goes up to 90Hz. The display has TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification. HONOR also adds eye comfort features such as Dynamic Dimming and Circadian Night Display.
Performance
Inside is the MediaTek Dimensity 6020, a 7 nm chip with 5G support. It has two Cortex-A76 cores at 2.2 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0 GHz. Graphics run on a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. The phone has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. HONOR RAM Turbo can borrow 5 GB of storage as virtual memory. There is no microSD card slot.
Cameras
The rear setup has three cameras. The main sensor has 100 MP and an f/1.9 aperture. A 5 MP ultrawide and depth camera and a 2 MP macro camera join it. The main camera has no optical stabilization. Rear video recording goes up to 1080p. On the front, a 16 MP selfie camera sits in a centered punch hole.
Battery and charging
The battery has a typical capacity of 4,500 mAh. The phone supports 35W HONOR SuperCharge over USB-C. In the UK and Europe, the box does not include a charger. Some other markets ship it with a 22.5W charger. Tech Advisor measured 57% in 30 minutes with a 35W charger. Wireless charging is not supported.
Software and updates
The phone launched with MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13. Google services are included. HONOR has not published an update promise for this model. Other features include NFC on the CRT-NX1 model, a side fingerprint reader, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1. It has a single speaker and no 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Should you buy the HONOR 90 Lite?
The HONOR 90 Lite suits buyers who want a large screen and 256 GB of storage. It also brings 5G at a low price. The 100 MP main camera and 35W charging are also useful at this price. However, it lacks an OLED screen, stereo speakers and water resistance. Its direct successor is the HONOR 200 Lite. Buyers who want newer software support may prefer that model.
