We put the Honor 90 through our rigorous DXOMARK Display test suite to measure its performance across six
criteria. In this test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key display specifications:
- 6.7 inches OLED, ~91.7% screen-to-body ratio
- Resolution: 1200 x 2664 pixels
- Refresh rate: 120 Hz
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Honor 90
140
display
142
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Best: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (164)
134
Google Pixel 8
Best: Google Pixel 8 (165)
138
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Best: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (165)
154
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Best: Google Pixel 7 Pro (164)
Position in Global Ranking
49
th
5. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
155
6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
154
12. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
152
13. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
151
18. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
150
18. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
150
23. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
148
28. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
147
31. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
33. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
145
37. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
144
39. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
143
39. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
143
43. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
142
43. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
142
49. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
140
54. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
65. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
65. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
70. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
134
73. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
133
73. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
73. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
133
73. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
133
78. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
132
83. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
131
83. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
131
87. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
130
87. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
87. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
130
98. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
102. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
106. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
126
123. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
123
127. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
127. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
122
131. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
137. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
139. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
113
142. Crosscall Stellar-X5
109
143. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
149. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
82
Position in High-End Ranking
5
th
9. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
13. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
19. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
22. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
26. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
Pros
- Brightness is comfortable in indoor and low-light conditions
- Well-rendered details in HDR10 videos
- Stable screen readability when viewed at an angle, down to a low 20°
- Best-in-class flicker management
Cons
- Low brightness in outdoor conditions
- Frame drops when playing videos games and watching videos
- Does not read UHD 60 fps videos
The Honor 90 brings a pleasant display, delivering an overall balanced performance in most use cases, with strong showings in color and readability.
Brightness levels offer a comfortable experience in most lighting conditions, except in outdoor situations where the screen’s peak brightness remains slightly limited, resulting in contents with low contrast.
The video-watching experience on the Honor 90 was good, thanks to the display’s adapted brightness and well-rendered details, particularly on mid- and dark-tones for HDR10 content. However, the screen had a tendency to drop frames when watching videos as well as playing video games.
In addition, the Honor 90 has a very high flicker frequency, resulting in a pleasant, nearly flicker-free experience.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, DXOMARK
engineers perform a variety of objective and perceptual tests under controlled lab and real-life conditions.
Note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and its still image
(gallery) and video apps at their default settings. (For in-depth information about how we evaluate
smartphone and other displays, check out our articles, “How DXOMARK tests display quality” and “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”
The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories.
Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
Readability
142
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
How Display Readability score is composed
Readability evaluates how easily and comfortably
users can read still content (photos & web) on the display under different real-life conditions. DXOMARK uses its
Display Bench to recreate ambient light conditions ranging from total darkness to bright sunlight. In addition to
laboratory tests, perceptual analysis is also made in real-life environments.
Luminance under various lighting conditions
Readability in a low-light (0 lux) environment
From left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
Readability in an indoor (1000 lux) environment
From left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
Readability in a sunlight (>90 000 lux) environment
From left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
This graph shows the uniformity of the display with a 20% gray pattern. The more visible the green
color, the more uniform the display.
Color
134
Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8
How Display Color score is composed
White point under D65 illuminant at 1000 lux
Color rendering indoors (1000 lux)
Clockwise from top left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
Color rendering in sunlight (>90 000 lux)
Clockwise from top left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
Color fidelity measurements
Honor 90, color fidelity at 1000 lux in the sRGB color
space
Honor 90, color fidelity at 1000 lux in the Display-P3
color space
Each arrow represents the color difference between a target color pattern (base of the arrow) and
its actual measurement (tip of the arrow). The longer the arrow, the more visible the color difference is. If the arrow
stays within the circle, the color difference will be visible only to trained eyes.
Color behavior on angle
This graph shows the color shift when the screen is at an angle. Each dot represents a
measurement at a particular angle. Dots inside the inner circle exhibit no color shift in angle; those between the
inner and outer circle have shifts that only trained experts will see; but those falling outside the outer circle
are noticeable.
Video
138
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
How Display Video score is composed
Video brightness at 10% APL in the dark ( < 5 lux)
Video rendering in a low-light (0 lux) environment
Clockwise from top left: Honor 90, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), Xiaomi 12T
(Photos for illustration only)
Gamut coverage for video content
The primary colors are measured both in HDR10 and SDR. The extracted color gamut shows the extent
of the color area that the device can render. To respect the artistic intent, the measured gamut should match the master
color space of each video.
How Display Motion score is composed
The motion attribute evaluates the handling of dynamic
contents. Frame drops, motion blur, and playback artifacts are scrutinized using games and videos.
Video frame drops at 30 fps
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
These long exposure photos present the number of frame irregularities in a 30-second
video. A good performance shows a regular pattern (either a flat gray image or a pull-down pattern).
Touch
154
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Google Pixel 7 Pro
How Display Touch score is composed
To evaluate touch, DXOMARK uses a touch robot
and a high-speed camera to play and record a set of scenarios for smoothness, accuracy and response-time
evaluation.
Average Touch Response Time Honor 90
This response time test precisely evaluates the time elapsed between a single touch of the robot on the screen and the displayed action. This test is applied to activities that require high reactivity, such as gaming.
How Display Artifacts score is composed
Evaluating artifacts means checking for
the performance, image rendering and motion flaws that can affect the end-user experience. DXOMARK measures
precisely the device’s reflectance and the presence of flicker, and assesses the impact of residual aliasing
when playing video games, among other characteristics.
Average Reflectance (SCI) Honor 90
SCI stands for Specular Component Included, which measures both the diffuse reflection and the specular reflection. Reflection from a simple glass sheet is around 4%, while it reaches about 6% for a plastic sheet. Although smartphones’ first surface is made of glass, their total reflection (without coating) is usually around 5% due to multiple reflections created by the complex optical stack.
Reflectance (SCI)
Measurements above show the reflection of the device within the visible spectrum range (400 nm to 700 nm). It includes both diffuse and specular reflection.
PWM Frequency Honor 90
2170 Hz
Bad
Good
Bad
Great
Displays flicker for 2 main reasons: refresh rate and Pulse Width Modulation. Pulse width modulation is a modulation technique that generates variable-width pulses to represent the amplitude of an analog input signal. This measurement is important for comfort because flickering at low frequencies can be perceived by some individuals, and in the most extreme cases, can induce seizures. Some experiments show that discomfort can appear at a higher frequency. A high PWM frequency (>1500 Hz) tends to be less disturbing for users.
Temporal Light Modulation
This graph represents the frequencies of lighting variation; the highest peak gives the main flicker frequency. The combination of a low frequency and a high peak is susceptible to inducing eye fatigue. Displays flicker for 2 main reasons: refresh rate and Pulse Width Modulation. This measurement is important for comfort because flickering at low frequencies can be perceived by some individuals, and in the most extreme cases, can induce seizures. Some experiments show that discomfort can appear at a higher frequency. A high PWM frequency (>1500 Hz) tends to be safer for users.
Aliasing (closeup)
Honor 90
(Photos for illustration only)
English
中文
Camera
Battery
DXOMARK encourages its readers to share comments on the articles. To read or post comments, Disqus cookies are required. Change your Cookies Preferences and read more about our Comment Policy.