Head to head: Honor 9 vs OnePlus 5

Why spend £800 on Apple's latest flagship iPhone, when you can get a 'flagship killer' for considerably less?

Who needs to splash out £800 on a Samsung Galaxy S8 or the latest Apple iPhone when there's similar devices, such as the Honor 9 and the freshly launched OnePlus 5, offering high-end features for close to half the price?

There's more and more of these so-called 'flagship killers' hitting the UK, but do they really offer pretty-much the same for much less?

We've pitted two of the most high profile flagship killers, head-to-head, to see which one is best - and whether they can really take on the most popular high-end smartphones available today.

Design
Honor 9: 147x71x7.45mm, 155g, USB-C
OnePlus 5: 154x74x7.3mm, 153g, USB-C

With its iPhone-esque aluminium unibody chassis, the OnePlus 5 is undoubtedly the more 'premium' of the two handsets. Honor has by no means skimped when it comes to design, though, with its latest flagship boasting a glossy glass-coated and steel-trimmed design.

The Honor 9 is more compact that the OnePlus 5, largely due to its smaller 5.15in display. However, OnePlus still comes out on top when it comes to skinniness, measuring in at 7.3mm compared to 7.45mm thick.

Display
Honor 9: 5.15in 1920x1080 pixels, 428ppi
OnePlus 5: 5.5in 1920x1080 pixels, 401ppi

Beyond their differing sizes, there's not much difference between the displays on the Honor 9 and OnePlus 5, with both offering Full HD resolutions. Honor, given its smaller size, slighly edges it when it comes to pixel density, although it's unlikely many will be able to notice.

Operating system
Honor 9: Android 7.0, EMUI 5.1
OnePlus 5: Android 7.1.1 Marshmallow, Oxygen OS

Both the Honor 9 and OnePlus run Google's latest Nougat Android operating system, and both come skinned in the Chinese firms' respective custom UIs. Honor's EMUI skin, for example, adds features such as gesture controls and camera effects, While OnePlus' OxygenOS offers its own Reading and Gaming modes.

Hardware
Honor 9: Kirin 960 octa-core CPU, 4GB RAM
OnePlus 5: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU, 6GB RAM

When it comes to performance, both phones will be fairly evenly matched. The Honor 9 packs Huawei's homegrown Kirin 9 octa-core CPU, which has fared well during our tests thus far, while the OnePlus 5 features Qualcomm's 10nm Snapdragon 835 CPU. We'll reserve full judgement on the power of the OnePlus 5 for now, though, as reports claim that the phone has been cheating benchmark tests.

Regardless, OnePlus wins comfortably in terms of RAM, packing 6GB compared to the Honor 9's 4GB.

Cameras
Honor 9: 12MP RGB and 20MP monochrome rear sensors, 8MP front camera
OnePlus 5: 16MP and 20MP rear sensors, 16MP front camera

Both the Honor 9 and OnePlus 5 offer dual camera setups. OnePlus claims its offering is the best on the market, with the OnePlus 5 packing the ‘highest resolution' 16MP and 20MP cameras. The Honor 9 has the same camera tech as its higher-spec Huawei P10 sibling, which sees a 12MP RGB sensor paired with a 20MP monochrome lens.

Battery
Honor 9: 3,200mAh, Fast Charging support
OnePlus 5: 3,300mAh, Dash Charge support

The Honor and OnePlus handsets are pretty evenly matched when it comes to battery life, too. While OnePlus edges it with a slightly larger 3,300mAh cell, it's likely that both phones will offer similar longevity. Both handsets also ship with fast charging support included.

Storage
Honor 9: 64GB, microSD up to 256GB
OnePlus 5: 64GB/128GB, no microSD

The Honor 9 will ship with one storage variant only, 64GB, but the onboard microSD slot means this can be expanded up to 256GB. OnePlus, unsurprising given its smartphone's iPhone-like design, hasn't included a microSD slot on the OnePlus 5, but will offer the smartphone with a choice of 64GB or 128GB built-in storage.

Price
Honor 9: £379
OnePlus 5: From £449

Conclusion
Of course, we'll reserve full judgement on which is the better smartphone until we've pitted them head-to-head in real life. However, in first impressions, the more-expensive OnePlus 5 edges it with its premium aluminium design, larger display and impressive camera set up - but the Honor 9 remains a good choice if you'd prefer to spend the £70 or you save in 'spoons.