Today we come to one of the most economical phones on the market, the Honor Play 10. Honor has sent this phone into the middle of the war. We are going to dissect it together to see if this phone is really a smart deal or a trap for those looking for a cheap phone.
The main question is; Can the Honor Play 10 get us started with this relatively cheap price tag, or should we spend a little more and go for its tough competitors? An interesting point, the Honor Play series has usually been for gamers, but is this Play 10 also a gamer or just living up to its name? We will find the answers to all these questions in the Honor Play10 review.
Honor Play10 Design Review
When you hold the phone in your hand, with a weight of 189 grams and a thickness of 8.55 mm, it doesn’t feel bad. It is neither too heavy nor too light. It is a nice and standard phone made of plastic. Naturally, you shouldn’t expect a flagship-like feel from it, but for a budget phone, the build quality is quite acceptable.
Honor has offered this phone in three colors: black, turquoise, and purple. The black model is simple, but the other two colors have patterns that make it look simple. The camera island is also very simple and minimal, with only one lens. Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro Review
Here are some good news that are golden in this price range. First, the fingerprint sensor is on the side of the phone and integrated with the power button, which is both easy to access and fast (similar to what we saw in the Honor X8 5G). Second, the 3.5mm headphone jack has not been removed! This means you can easily connect your old headphones to it. The charging port is also Type-C version 2. Finally, this phone is IP52 certified. What does this mean in simple terms? It means it is resistant to splashes of water and dust. You can talk to it in the rain, but forget about the pool and the bathroom!
Honor Play10 Screen Review
We are faced with a large 6.74-inch TFT LCD display. Its large size is great for watching movies and browsing the web, but the real story is somewhere else. Friends, this is where Honor has saved a lot of money. The screen resolution is 720 x 1600 pixels (HD +) and the refresh rate is 60 Hz. This means that the images are not as sharp and clear as more expensive phones. The pixel density is about 260 pixels per inch, which means that if you look closely, you can see the pixels. Scrolling on Instagram or websites is not as smooth and fluid as on 90 or 120 Hz phones.
You will have trouble viewing content in direct sunlight. The front panel design also reminds us of phones from a few years ago; The display bezels, especially at the bottom, are excessive, and the teardrop notch for the selfie camera doesn’t look very modern either.
But this poor display is a necessary sacrifice that allows the rest of the phone to do its job properly. How? The weak Helio G81 processor struggled to render images on a 1080p display, causing severe lag. But with a 720p resolution, the pressure is removed from the processor and the operating system runs smoother. On the other hand, fewer pixels and a 60Hz refresh rate greatly reduce battery consumption. This makes the 5,000mAh battery of this phone its main strength. In fact, the poor display is the cornerstone of this phone’s acceptable performance and excellent charging. The Best Processor for Photoshop
Honor Play10 Battery Review
Honor has not skimped here and has installed a gigantic 5,000mAh lithium-polymer battery in this phone. This means that with normal use, you can easily get a day and a half to two days of charging. If you only call and send messages on WhatsApp, it may last longer. This is undoubtedly the biggest strength of the Play 10.
But beware of the charging speed! This phone only supports a 10-watt charger. To fill this gigantic battery at this slow speed, you need to be very patient. It takes over 2.5 hours to fully charge. This means that if you forget to charge it at night, you will be lame in the morning. This combination of a large battery and a slow charger creates a strange contradiction in the user experience. On the one hand, you have freedom of action and do not have to worry about running out of charge, but when the charge runs out, you are chained to a power outlet for nearly 3 hours. There is no talk of a quick charge for a few minutes before leaving the house.
In addition to these, an interesting feature of this phone is support for wired reverse charging. This means you can use it as a small power bank and charge your Bluetooth headset or smartwatch with it. This is a rare and practical feature in this price range.
Honor Play10 Camera Review
There are no triple or quad lenses, macro or ultra-wide lenses here. Honor has put a 13-megapixel main camera on the back of the phone and that’s it. There’s also an LED flash next to it just in case. In sufficient light and during the day, the photos are okay. The colors may be a little dull and the details are only on par with a 13-megapixel sensor. It’s enough for taking photos of brochures and documents or posting photos on social networks, but don’t count on it for professional photography.
Like most phones in this category, the quality of the photos drops sharply in low light. Noise increases and details are lost. Forget the camera at night. We also have a 5-megapixel sensor on the front, which is only useful for video calls and a very ordinary selfie. Don’t expect high details and clear photos.
In the video section, both the main and selfie cameras can shoot videos in 1080p quality and 30 frames per second. There is no optical or digital image stabilization, so you have to keep your hands steady to shoot, otherwise the videos will be very shaky.
Honor Play10 Hardware and Software Review
The beating heart of the Honor Play10 is the MediaTek Helio G81 chip, which is built with a 12-nanometer architecture. This 8-core processor is enough for everyday tasks such as calling, messaging on WhatsApp and Telegram, browsing the web, and browsing Instagram. This phone comes in two versions; 3GB of RAM with 64GB of memory and 4GB of RAM with 128GB of memory. The good news is that it also supports memory cards up to 1TB.
The important point in this section is the phone’s operating system. Honor has used a lightweight version of Android, Android 15 (Go edition), due to the low RAM. Android Go is optimized for weak phones, has a smaller size, and runs smoother. In fact, this operating system is a saving grace for this weak hardware and makes the phone usable. But this is a double-edged sword. Instead, it lacks a number of features of the full version of Android and you have to use the Go or Lite versions of apps, which have fewer features. This limitation may be annoying for a user migrating from an older phone with full Android to this phone.
Given the Helio G81 processor and low RAM, this phone is not made for gaming at all. It runs very light games like Candy Crush, but completely forget about Call of Duty and PUBG. This is where we understand that the name Play is just a name and has nothing to do with gaming.
Honor Play10 Speaker Review
The Honor Play10 has only one speaker at the bottom of the device. This means we don’t have stereo sound. The sound quality is quite average. It’s enough for ringing the phone and watching short videos in a quiet room, but don’t count on it at all for listening to music or watching movies at high volume. The sound is sharp and lacks good separation. Again, the 3.5mm headphone jack is a big plus. Easily plug in your headphones and enjoy high-quality sound.
Is the Honor Play10 worth buying?
So, let’s make a quick summary at the end of the Honor Play10 review.
- Honor Play 10’s strengths: Great battery, very low price, headphone jack and Type-C port, memory card support.
- Honor Play 10’s weaknesses: Poor display (HD and 60Hz), very average processor, weak single-lens camera, terrible charging speed, limited Android Go OS.
This phone is an improvement over the Honor Play 9A with the Helio G36 processor. But it’s a step back from the Honor Play 10C, which had 5G and a larger battery. This shows that Honor is moving this series towards ultra-affordable 4G phones. But where the Honor Play 10 gets tough is when it comes to its price competitors.
The Honor Play 10 has a tough time beating its rivals. Comparing this phone to its competitors clearly shows that by paying just 10-15% more, you can get a much better phone in all key areas such as display, processor, camera and charging speed. - Who is the Honor Play10 for? It is only for those on a tight budget. Someone who wants a second phone just for calls and messages, or wants to buy a simple phone for their parents who don’t use it much. For these people, its good battery life is a big plus.
- Who is the Honor Play10 not for? It is not for everyone else! If you can stretch your budget just a little bit, the Xiaomi Redmi 14C with its 90Hz display, 50MP camera and faster charging is a much better choice. If you can afford to spend a little more, the Samsung A05s is a world away with its Full HD display and Snapdragon processor.
The Honor Play 10 isn’t a bad phone, but in a cutthroat market with these competitors, it’s not a great value. We suggest you wait a little longer, save up your money, and at least go for the Redmi 14C.