4 best new tech from Honor for the academic year in the UAE

If you’ve not checked off the electronics box on your shopping list, there’s no better time to do so, than right now. Honor’s Back to School campaign, which runs from August 15 to 25, offers a fantastic range of products to fulfill your child’s educational requirements. There’s something in it for parents as well – hundreds of Dirhams worth of savings, along with free gifts.

So, whether you’re in the market for a new smartphone, or a light and portable tablet, check out your options below. All of the products mentioned come with free delivery and a seven-day return policy.

1. Best Smartphone: Honor 200

Price: Dh1,599

Pros

Cons

Stylish and affordable, the Honor 200 is an excellent option for high school- and university-bound youngsters. For one, it’s lightweight and has a luxe design, with sleek curves and a discrete wave pattern on its metallic back. There are three colours to choose from – emerald green, black, and moonlight white. The large, 6.7-inch OLED (organic LED) screen offers Full HD+ resolution, and with 4,000 nits of peak brightness, it’s visible even in bright sunlight. A 120Hz refresh rate benefits mobile gamers and multitaskers, since it’s fast and responsive. However, the Honor 200’s crown jewel is its triple camera system and artificial intelligence (AI) processing features. The smartphone shoots fantastic AI portraits – a result of a collaboration with Studio Harcourt, the famous Parisian photography studio that has shot everyone, from Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn to Queen Rania of Jordan. A 50MP portrait main camera, 50MP telephoto camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera and a 50MP portrait selfie camera offer bold, bright photos worthy of any Instagram story. Overall, it’s a top performing phone that’s well-suited to tech-savvy teens who love posting pictures on their social feeds. Although, young people will have to make sure to keep it away from spills and splashes, since the Honor 200 is not water resistant.

Bonus: You will also receive free gifts worth Dh1,097, with this smartphone: Honor Choice Moecen Band (Dh299), Honor Talents Backpack (Dh299), and 12-months screen protection (Dh499).

2. Best Pro Smartphone: Honor 200 Pro

Price: Dh2,499

Pros

Cons

Taking things up a notch, the Honor 200 Pro smartphone offers a curved screen and a sharp 6.78-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic LED) display. Like the Honor 200, its refresh rate goes up to 120Hz and it’s bright enough to use outdoors, but this smartphone has the added bonus of an IP65 water resistance rating. The 200 Pro relies on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, so it’s snappy, and doesn’t overheat when you’re multitasking or gaming. The triple-camera system here is also aided by Studio Harcourt’s AI-powered portrait mode, and its MagicOS 8 and Android 14 work together to create a smooth, seamless experience across the board. There’s plenty of AI working under the surface here – Magic Portal allows you to drag and drop text or images in to relevant apps, and Magic Capsule offers easy access to media controls. The phone’s massive 5,200mAh battery offers enough power to last a full day, even with constant use. The fact that it offers speedy 100W wired and 66W wireless charging is a bonus you can’t ignore. Some reviewers note, however, that the curved screen causes more accidental clicks and touches than they care for, and also makes the phone more fragile to handle.

Bonus: You will also receive free gifts worth Dh1,297, with this smartphone: Honor Choice Watch (Dh499), Honor Talents Backpack (Dh299), and 12-months screen protection (Dh499).

3. Best Tablet: Honor Pad 9

Price: Dh1,099

Pros

Cons

The problem with many Android tablets is that they tend to feel bulky. Not so, with the Honor Pad 9. This sleek, lightweight tablet is evenly balanced, with a 12.1-inch 2.5K Ultra Clear Display that is a joy to behold. For students who spend long hours reading documents, taking notes or drawing, this tablet will come as a relief. The Honor Pad 9 incorporates industry-leading eye comfort features, such as Dynamic Dimming and Circadian Night Display technology to reduce eye strain. Students can use the Honor Choice Pen to take notes or draw right on the screen. Its Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset is fast and capable, and its 120Hz refresh rate means students can use it not just for school work, but for entertainment and gaming as well – the Honor Pad 9 will handle all these tasks smoothly. Built on Android 13, MagicOS 7.2 offers a user interface that’s simple and effective. There’s also a massive 8,300mAh battery that lets you stream videos for up to 11 hours without the need to recharge. The tablet supports fast charging up to 35W, getting back to full battery in just over 20 minutes. However, don’t count on this device to take stellar pictures – its 8MP front sensor is adequate for video chats, and its 13MP main camera generates decent images, but both lack finer details and rich colours. Despite this drawback, it’s a fantastic school tablet that’s ready for multitaskers, streamers and gamers alike.

Bonus: You will also receive a free gift worth Dh100, with this tablet: Honor Pad 9 Keyboard.

4. Best Entertainment Tablet: Honor Pad X8a

Price: Dh599

Pros

Cons

Just launched, the Honor Pad X8a is the perfect companion for winding down in your dorm room after a long day. It’s slim, with a minimalistic metal design, and has a large, 11-inch Eye Comfort Display that brings videos and images to life. If you’d like to read your notes or textbooks on it instead, there’s an eBook Mode that you can use to reduce eye fatigue. A 90Hz refresh rate and ultra-wide colour gamut combine to create smooth graphics on the Full HD screen. It operates with a Snapdragon 680 chipset and MagicOS 8.0, which is based on Android 14, so performance is smooth, efficient and reliable. Like the Honor Pad 9, this tablet is equipped with a high-capacity 8,300mAh battery, and offers up to 14 hours of video playback before it needs to be recharged. If you’re listening to recorded lectures or a study playlist, you can count on the device’s quad-speaker layout, powered by the Honor Histen algorithm, which ensures excellent sound quality at all times. It automatically enhances the human voice and filters out surrounding noises. With 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage space, there’s plenty of space for learning apps, schoolwork, videos, and more. Do note that the device’s peak brightness of 400 nits won’t entirely offset the glare of the sun, so it’s best used indoors.

Our recommendations are independently chosen by Gulf News editors. If you decide to shop through links on our website, we may earn an affiliate commission from Honor.