Honor 5X announced: the big screen experience on a budget

While CES 2016 has so far had little to offer to smartphone users, Honor was always expected to announce its US expansion plans at the event. Now, we have the first insight into how the company plans to go about cracking the west.

The company announced its new 5X device yesterday, and it is a straight shooter. Aimed squarely at the millennial market, the device brings a sleek all-metal design, 5.5-inch display and fingerprint scanner to the budget price range. It's a significant step up from earlier Honor devices, which sported plastic bodies, bringing it into aesthetic line with Huawei's flagships.

The specs are not going to compete with new Huawei devices, which should come as no surprise, but the US$199 price places the Honor 5X within reach of teens and young adults who want a device that looks the part, but doesn't cost a month's wages.

Honor 5X specifications:

• Display:
  • 5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 IPS LCD
• Chipset:
  • 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 
• Camera:
  • 13 MP rear / 5 MP front-facing
• Memory:
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Internal storage: 16 GB with microSD support
• Battery: 3,000 mAh
• Operating System: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with EMUI 3.1
• Dimensions: 151.3 x 76.3 x 8.15mm
• Network: 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz Only, LTE, 4G
• Colours: Gold / Silver / Dark gray

The Honor 5X is available to preorder from today, and will be released on January 31. You can pick one up through HiHonor.com and Amazon.

Does the Honor 5X have what it takes to make Honor a success in the US? Let us know what you think in the comments.