Honor has spent the past few months proving it isn’t afraid of strange hardware experiments.
Two months ago, the company turned heads in China with the launch of its enthusiast-focused Robot Phone, a $1,500 flagship that crammed a motorized, three-axis gimbal and a 200-megapixel tracking camera directly into the rear casing.
While that dancing mechanical marvel was built to showcase how far Honor could push high-end engineering for mobile videographers, the company is now channeling that same appetite for unconventional form factors into the entry-level smartphone segment.
Instead of chasing another four-figure showcase, Honor is turning budget smartphone conventions upside down by grafting an active secondary touchscreen onto an entry-level chassis. The newly unveiled Honor X5d s is scheduled to go on sale in South Africa on Oct. 7 at a recommended price of 2,499 South African rand (roughly US$150), taking dual-screen functionality typically reserved for premium-tier devices and repurposing it for value-minded buyers. Here is a full look at what the spec sheet and early reports say about it.
Design and displays
The HONOR X5d s is a fairly large phone, measuring 168.3 x 78.5 x 8.72mm and weighing about 214 grams. It comes in Forest Green and Midnight Black, with an IP52 rating for basic protection against dust and water splashes.
Its main attraction is the 2.01-inch rear LCD. With a 240 x 296 resolution, the panel is not designed to replace the main screen. Instead, it provides quick access to call alerts, media controls and the camera preview.
That last function is arguably the most interesting. The rear display can act as a viewfinder for the 50MP main camera, allowing users to frame selfies taken with the rear camera.
The main display measures 6.78 inches. Honor advertises a 90Hz refresh rate, although a footnote on the same product page says it supports up to 120Hz. Buyers should confirm the specification for the South African model. The display is therefore large and potentially smooth, but this is still an HD-class LCD rather than a high-resolution premium panel.
Camera experience
The rear camera is where the second screen makes the most sense. HONOR equips the X5d s with a 50MP f/1.8 camera, 4x digital zoom and a single LED flash. It can record video at up to 1080p. The 5MP f/2 front camera also supports 1080p recording.
Rather than treating the rear display as decoration, HONOR has built it around photography. A tap on the secondary screen can autofocus and capture an image, while manual zoom and beauty modes are available. For selfies, this setup lets users frame shots with the rear camera. That adds flexibility, although a higher megapixel count alone does not establish better image quality.
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Performance and software
The X5d s uses the Unisoc T610, an octa-core chip with two Cortex-A75 cores and six Cortex-A55 cores, all running at up to 1.8GHz. Graphics are handled by an ARM Mali-G52 GPU.
HONOR pairs the processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Up to another 4GB can be allocated as virtual memory, while a dedicated three-card slot supports storage expansion of up to 1TB. The phone runs Android 16 Go edition, which is designed for devices with more limited hardware.
This is clearly not a performance-focused handset. The T610 is an older entry-level platform, so the X5d s’ appeal is more about its feature set than raw processing power. Buyers looking for demanding gaming or heavier multitasking should keep that distinction in mind.
Battery and everyday features
Battery capacity is one of the phone’s notable specifications, although actual endurance has not been independently tested. HONOR rates the battery at 6,000mAh typical capacity, with a rated capacity of 5,850mAh. The catch is charging. Wired charging is limited to 15W, so replenishing such a large battery is unlikely to be particularly quick.
The X5d s otherwise covers the basics well. It supports 4G LTE, dual nano-SIMs, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and USB-C. It also retains a 3.5mm headphone jack and uses a side-mounted fingerprint sensor integrated into the phone’s grip area.
Where the X5d s makes sense
At ZAR 2,499 (about $150) in South Africa, the X5d s is an unusual combination of strengths and compromises. Its rear screen is not simply a gimmick: it provides quick information and gives the main camera a useful second life as a selfie camera.
The 6,000mAh battery and expandable storage may appeal to buyers who prioritize battery capacity and storage flexibility over processing power. But the compromises are equally clear. The T610 is modest hardware; the 720 x 1576 main display is not especially sharp for its size, charging is only 15W, and the phone weighs about 214 grams.
What buyers should check before purchasing
The X5d s offers an unusual rear-screen feature at a budget price, but buyers should weigh that convenience against its entry-level hardware and charging limitations.
For anyone considering it for work email, authentication or business apps, confirm security-update support, app compatibility and local warranty coverage before purchasing. Independent testing is still needed to establish camera quality, battery endurance and everyday performance.
Read more: Before choosing a budget phone, consider how long it will receive security patches — and what the end of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 update support means for owners.