We put the Honor 90 through our rigorous DXOMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in autonomy, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key specifications:
- Battery capacity: 5000 mAh
- 66W charger (not included)
- 6.7-inch, 1200 x 2664, 120 Hz, OLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition (4 nm)
- Tested ROM / RAM combination: 512 GB + 12 GB
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.

Honor 90
Key performances
These key points are derived from the lab measurements during testing and do not figure into the overall score. The lab measurements, however, are used for the overall score.
Pros
- Good charging experience, taking 1 hour and 12 minutes to reach a full charge
- Good autonomy when streaming videos
- Decent gain in autonomy gain after a quick 5-minute charge
Cons
- Battery level collapses after 5%
- High discharge currents overall
- Below-average charge efficiency
- High residual power drain by the charger
- Poor autonomy when testing individual usages, except when streaming videos
The Honor 90 struggled in some of our battery tests, resulting in an overall score that was just below our database average. Compared with its predecessor the Honor 70, the Honor 90 with its larger battery obtained a lower global score mainly because it was less efficient in both charge and discharge.
The autonomy performances were average, with the 5000mAh battery lasting 56 hours and 37 minutes when used moderately. When testing individual usages indoors and outdoors, the autonomy was below average. However, the autonomy when watching videos was good. Moreover, we noticed that the battery gauge was not accurate, displaying 20% and 100% when the true battery capacity was 15.7% and 92.7%, respectively. The battery level also collapsed after 5%, and the device automatically shut down 1 minute after displaying 2%.
The Honor 90’s charging experience was its main advantage. The 66W charger resulted in a good gain in autonomy of 5 hours and 29 minutes when plugging the phone in for a 5-minute charging boost. In addition, the time to fully replenish the battery was faster than average at 1 hour and 12 minutes.
However, the charge efficiency was below average, with a high residual power drain by the charger whether the fully charged phone was still plugged in or not. Discharge currents were significantly high for almost all usages such as gaming, music streaming and on the go, but low when streaming videos, indicating that the device is not well optimized.
Compared with other devices from the High-End price range ($400-$599), the Honor 90 performance was slightly below average. Its charging experience for the segment was average, but its autonomy was just below average. Its efficiency score was among the lowest we have tested for this segment.
Test Summary
About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)
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.
Battery | Charger | Wireless | Display | Processor | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Honor 90 | 5000mAh | 66W (not included) |
- | OLED 1200 x 2664 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 |
Honor 70 | 4800mAh | 66W (not included) |
- | AMOLED 1080 x 2400 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G |
Sony Xperia 10 V | 5000mAh | 21W (not included) |
30W | OLED Triluminos 1080 x 2520 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G |
Google Pixel 7 | 4355mAh | 30W (not included) |
23W | OLED 1080 x 2400 |
Google Tensor G2 |
Autonomy
Honor 90
188
Autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Home / Office, On the go, and Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.
Battery Life (moderate)
Battery Life (moderate)
Home/Office
Honor 90
213
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power.
On the go
Honor 90
195
Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Calibrated
Honor 90
198
For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.
Charging
Honor 90
218
Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where autonomy is at a minimum, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Quick boost.
Full charge
Honor 90
224
Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long and how much power the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the UI, and until an actual full charge.
Charging Time 0-80%
Charging Time 0-80%
Quick boost
Honor 90
212
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The chart here compares the average autonomy gain from a quick 5-minute charge.
Efficiency
Honor 90
154
The DXOMARK power efficiency score consists of two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, both of which combine data obtained during robot-based typical usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into consideration the device’s battery capacity. DXOMARK calculate the annual power consumption of the product, shown on below graph, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge up
Honor 90
205
The charge up sub-score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to how much energy you need to fill up the battery compared to the energy that the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual consumption when your phone is fully charged and still plugged into the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The chart here below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
Honor 90
194
The discharge subscore rates the speed of a battery’s discharge during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity. It is the ratio of a battery’s capacity divided by its autonomy. A small-capacity battery could have the same autonomy as a large-capacity battery, indicating that the device is well-optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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