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Yesterday, Honor unveiled the Honor 9N in India. Priced around the Rs 12,000 range, the Honor 9N launches in an extremely competitive and crowded smartphone category in the country. Despite Honor’s marketing claims, the Honor 9N is just a tweaked Honor 9 Lite with just a few differences here and there.
The Honor 9 Lite is over six months old at this point, and while it sold pretty well for Honor, its age means that customers have lost interest in it. Thus, to keep sales of its budget Honor handsets going, Honor has tweaked the Honor 9 Lite and launched it as the Honor 9N.
Honor 9N vs Honor 9 Lite Comparison
| Basis of Difference | Honor 9N | Honor 9 Lite |
| Dimensions | 149.2 x 71.8 x 7.7 mm | 151 x 71.9 x 7.6 mm |
| Weight | 152g | 149g |
| Display | 5.84-inch, 2280X1080 FHD+, 19:9 ratio / 18:9 ratio without Notch / 2.5D curved glass | 5.65 inch, FHD+ Display, 18:9 ratio |
| Chipset | Kirin 659 Octa Core Octa Core 2.36 GHz + Dedicated i5 Co-processor | Kirin 659 Octa Core 2.36 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-T830 MP2 | Mali-T830 MP2 |
| RAM | 3/4GB RAM | 3/4GB RAM |
| Storage | 32/64/128GB | 32/64/GB |
| Rear Camera | 13MP (F/2.2) + 2MP (F/0.95), PDAF, Depth sensor | 13MP + 2MP, PDAF, Depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 16MP (F/2.0), Hardware Level Bokeh Effect |
13MP + 2MP depth sensor, Software Level Bokeh Effect |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass, Gravity Sensor, Phone Status Indicator | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass, Gravity Sensor, Phone Status Indicator |
| Connectivity | 4G, 4G VOLTE, 2G, 3G, Dual SIM, GPS,Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, microUSB, Dedicated microSD card slot | 4G VOLTE, 3G, 2G, Dual SIM, GPS,Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, microUSB, Dedicated microSD card slot |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery, No fast charging |
| Price | Rs 11,999 | Rs 10,990 |
| Software | Android 8.0 (Oreo) / EMUI 8.0 / Face Unlock /Ride Mode/ Paytm Pay Feature/Party Mode | Android 8.0 (Oreo) / EMUI 8.0 / Face Unlock/ Ride Mode |
Honor 9N vs Honor 9 Lite: What’s Different?
If you go through the specs above, you will find more things in common between the two than their difference. The Honor 9N does have a few changes though to ensure it competes with handsets that have launched in Q2/Q3 this year.
Display
The first and perhaps the major one is the display. The Honor 9N features a 5.84-inch 19:9 notched display, while the Honor 9 Lite makes use of a 5.65-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display. The inclusion of a notch allows Honor to include a bigger display a slightly smaller frame thereby maximizing the viewing area as well. And if you are not a fan of the notch, there’s an option in the software to disable it as well.
In terms of design, both phones look the same from the rear, with the notched display at the front being the only distinguishing factor between the two.
Front Camera
The Honor 9N features a 16MP selfie shooter at the front, while the Honor 9 Lite featured a 13MP primary sensor accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor. The latter setup allowed the Honor 9 Lite to capture selfies with a fake bokeh effect which could be tweaked later in the software as well. The Honor 9N despite coming with a single 16MP shooter is also able to offer capture portrait selfie photos.
Software Features
The Honor 9N comes with Ride Mode, Paytm Pay integration which are minor software enhancements in Emotion UI. These features are not found on the Honor 9 Lite, though given that they are not that useful, they are not a major difference as well.
What do you think about the Honor 9N? Do you also think its just a retweaked Honor 9 Lite?
