For a long while, Ive avoided budget phones as though they were a marathon and I was me.
I think this… distaste can be traced back to the early days of smartphones.
And my fucking god it was awful.
The problem was thus: it was fucking awful.
40% off TNW Conference!
This meant actually using the thing was straight-up impossible.
Sending a text become a complex set of actions.
All the apps (what few they were) crashed constantly.
Browsing the web was impossible.
It had the user experience of being punched in the face.
In other words, That Piece Of Shit was a total piece of shit.
Since then, Ive done my very best to avoid spending time with budget phones.
Until I started playing with the Honor 9X.
Honor, if youre unaware, is Huaweis budget-focused sub-brand.
The Honor 9X is the companys latest handset and retails for around $250.
That, friends, is probably half the price I paid for That Piece Of Shit phone.
Now, would I swap the Honor 9X forany of our favorite phones of 2019?
It also features a pop-up selfie camera, meaning you have an uninterrupted screen for all your browsing.
The phone does have to cut corners at points though.
The Honor 9X isnt super fast, and the screen isnt as sharp or slick as flagships.
The OS has a very Huawei feel to it and, in my eyes, is a bit clumsy.
Its totally usable, but its not something I would describe as slick.
While the build quality is solid it definitely doesntfeellike a budget phone its not gonna last you forever.
But why would you expect it to?
Overly harsh criticism feels unfair though.
Do I want the best phone on the market for the least amount of money?
Of course I do.
Some compromises will have to be made in the name of affordability.
Instead, the Honor 9X has taught me a valuable lesson: budget phones are actually good now.
I shouldnt let the trauma of an awful experience dissuade me from giving cheaper handsets a go.
No, of course fucking not.
But anything that gets me to reconsider my relationship with budget phones cant be that bad.
My mind has been opened.
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