Honor started its journey as a sub-brand of Huawei. But after its split as an independent brand, the company has slowly produced smartphones from budgets to flagships. Recently, Honor launched the X6b on 13th June 2024 as a successor to last year’s X7a and the X6 before that. As an ultra-budget smartphone, the X6b has much to offer. Let’s take a detailed look.  Key Specifications of Honor X6b Design and Build Quality  The X6b is a plastic device all around with a glass front. The frosted and refracting back redirects light to the camera housing which gives the X6b a unique look. The dimensions of the smartphone come in at 163.6 mm by 75.3 mm by 8.4 mm. The weight is around 192 g which puts it on the heavier side for a plastic build device.  There’s a glass-like layer on the back of the panel which isn’t rated by Honor. However, the device holds SGS 5 stars rating against drops so you can be assured of its rugged capabilities.  The front features a usual water drop notch style display which is a common sight in budget smartphones. The sizeable bottom chin and the thick bezel all around are unfortunately what you’ll be getting for the ultra-budget price. Read more: realme 13 Pro 5G Review: Monet Inspired Competitive Mid-Range Phone On the bright side, the X6b comes with a headphone jack and a shared micro SDXC storage. There’s also a secondary noise cancellation mic which is a pleasant surprise. The left side features the volume rockers and the power button which also doubles as the fingerprint scanner.  The Display  The display on the Honor X6b is a 6.56-inch TFT LCD panel with a 90 Hz refresh rate. To be honest, LCDs are becoming less and less common even in budget smartphones. On top of that, Honor went with the TFT technology instead of the more common IPS one.  The resolution of the panel comes in at 720 by 1612 pixels with around 269 ppi density. The screen-to-body ratio comes in at 83.9% at 20:9 aspect ratio.  One of the highlights of the display is its 780 nits of peak brightness. We didn’t notice any issues while using it outdoors or even under direct sunlight. The viewing angles were okay and the panel lived up to its high refresh rate claims.  Read more: How to Detect an AI-generated Image Overall, it’s a decent panel for its price. It could’ve been better but what you’re getting isn’t bad either.  The Camera  The camera housing on the X6b might be a bit misleading at first glance. There’s a total of 4 cutouts on the back. However, there are only two sensors and the others are an LED flash and a ring-like design that doesn’t do anything.  The main camera is a 50 MP, f/1.8 sensor with PDAF. The secondary camera is a 2 MP, f/2.4 depth sensor. The front camera is a 5 MP, f/2.2 wide-angle shooter.  In terms of performance, the X6b was able to take decent shots in well-lit environments. The portrait shots also stood out as it was able to clearly separate the background and the subject each time. The color reproduction was neutral with realistic contrast and dynamic range.  Read more: Nothing CMF Phone 1 Review: Budget-friendly Phone with Innovative Modular Design However, the camera struggled in darker environments and at night. The included night mode helps to bring out the details but the softness and grains are ever apparent in each shot.  The front camera can take decent selfies, but it's nothing to boast about.  The X6b can video record at up to 1080P at 30 fps. However, the lack of stabilization features results in choppy footage.  Processor and Performance  The processor on the X6b is Mediatek Helio G85 based on a 12 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor has a chip design of 2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 with Mali-G52 MC2 GPU.  In terms of day-to-day use, the G85 is a more than capable processor. It can easily handle tasks like browsing the web, social media, or watching YouTube. However, gaming is where it struggles quite a bit. We played PUBG at a max setting of HD/High settings. Even then, the gyro delay and the frame drops were pretty apparent. Highly optimized games like COD and Asphalt 9 also stuttered at times.  Read more: Price Ranges of Wi-Fi Internet Routers for Home Use in Bangladesh The X6b features 6 GB of RAM which is also becoming obsolete even in budget Androids. Thankfully, the device can utilize an additional 6 GB of virtual RAM from the internal storage.  The X6b isn’t really made for gaming so you’re better off playing 2D offline games in it.  Benchmark  Antutu 10: 267195 GeekBench 6: 418 (single core); 1310 (multi-core)  Software  Honor X6b is running on Magic OS 8 based on Android 14. Magic OS 8 has its fair share of bloatware and MIUI-like layout. The OS might feel a bit too heavy for Android purists but if you’re coming from a Xiaomi or Honor, the OS 8 won’t really feel out of place.  Read more: 10 Best eBook Reader Apps for Android, iOS in 2024 Battery and Charge Time The battery on the Honor X6b is around 5200 mAh. The device supports 35W wired fast charging which can take the device from 0 to 31% in 20 minutes. In moderate use, the device can easily last one and a half days. But even with heavy use, you’re looking at at least a day's worth from a single charge.  Pros and Cons of Honor X6b  Pros - Attractive design - Headphone jack and micro SDXC support - Great battery life - Secondary noise cancellation mic - Bright display  Cons  - Mediocre camera performance - Average processor. Read more: Apple iPhone 16 Series: Everything We Know So Far  Official Price of Honor X6b in Bangladesh  The Honor X6b is available in a 6/128 GB configuration. The current price is 14,999 BDT.  Verdict  The Honor X6b doesn’t really bring anything mentionable over the X6 or even the X7a. On the contrary, the performance falters quite a bit in gaming or multitasking. The TFT display is also becoming out of date and out of place even in the budget segment. The camera performance also won’t blow you away. The only two things where the X6b excels are the design and the battery life. In essence, the Honor X6b is best suited for those looking for a daily driver that’ll be sufficient for day-to-day tasks, nothing more.  Read more: Top Smartphones Launching in September 2024: iPhone 16 and More

realme has an impressive track record when it comes to mid-range smartphones. At the start of the year, realme launched the 12 Pro which generated quite a buzz with its stylish design and value-for-money proposition. Just six months later, realme announced the release of 13 Pro on 30th July 2024. The 13 Pro brings even more features with the same aggressive pricing strategy. And it all begs the question, is the realme 13 Pro the best value-for-money mid-range phone of 2024? Let’s find out.  Key Specifications of realme 13 Pro 5G   Design and Build Quality  realme has always prioritized the design and build quality of their smartphones. And if you have any doubt about it, the 13 pro is Swiss SGS 5 stars rated in the drop protection category. Just like last year, the 13 Pro also boasts a design that can easily rival any flagship out there. The brand has collaborated with the MFA Boston to create Monet-inspired elements in the 13 Pro. The engraved camera ring and the frosted textured back are a clear testament to that.  The dimension of the device comes in at 161.3 mm by 73.9 mm by 8.2 or 8.4 mm depending on whether you go for the vegan leather or standard option. The weight is also pretty manageable at either 183.5 g or 188 g.  Read more: Motorola Moto G85 5G Review: A Flagship Grade Display on a Lower Mid-Range Smartphone Ports and buttons are all in their usual space. However, just like the 12 Pro, the headphone jack and the card slot are missing on the 13 Pro as well.  The device will be available in three colorways, Monet Gold, Monet Purple, and Emerald Green. The 13 Pro is also IP65 water and dust-resistant. The Display  The display on the 13 Pro is an AMOLED panel with 1B colors and 120Hz refresh rate. The resolution of the panel comes in at 1080 by 2412 pixels with 394 ppi density. The display also gets considerably bright at 600 nits typical, 1200 nits HBM, and 2000 nits of peak brightness.  Realme also claims to have achieved 20,000 levels of auto brightness and 2160 Hz PWM dimming to ensure optimum output at every lighting scenario.  Read more: Price Ranges of Wi-Fi Internet Routers for Home Use in Bangladesh The near edge-to-edge screen is good enough for a 93% screen-to-body ratio. Additional features include a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut Pro-XDR tech to ensure accurate color reproduction.  The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i so you can rest assured about its durability.  The Camera  There’s a dual camera setup on the realme 13 Pro. The main camera is a 50 MP, f/1.9, 26mm wide-angle shooter with a 1/1.95" sensor size. The secondary camera is an 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112˚ ultrawide shooter with a 1/4.0" sensor size. The front camera is a 32 MP, f/2.5, 22mm wide-angle shooter.  realme has gone hard with AI this year. In addition to standard AI features like video and photo enhancements, there’s native object removal support, a directional audio enhancement feature on videos, and a Hyperimage+ feature for perfect backlit portrait shots. realme has also collaborated with Oscar-winning visual effects master Adam Valdez to fine-tune and perfect each of the features. Read more: Apple iPhone 16 Series: Everything We Know So Far The performance is near about what realme claims it to be. Pictures taken in daylight came out great with good details and dynamic range. The portrait mode was consistent with edge detection and bokeh effect, keeping things natural looking. The wide-angle shooter also performed similarly with slight softness at times. The front camera also produced decent social media selfies every time.  The dedicated night mode works pretty well with balanced exposure and details. It doesn’t blow up the subjects too much which is a great thing. realme seems to have perfected the balance where it doesn’t look artificial yet detailed enough for a crisp image.  The videography on the 13 Pro is rated at 1080p@30fps.  Read more: Oppo Reno 12 Pro 5G Review: Midrange Phone with AI Features