Turn your phone around. Usually, there is very little to do back there. A camera, a logo, perhaps a cover that has seen better days. The front gets all the attention.
HONOR has decided the back deserves a turn.
The HONOR Dual Screen Phone, officially called the X5d s, puts a small touchscreen beside its rear camera. That would be interesting on an expensive flagship. Finding it on a budget smartphone listed in South Africa makes the idea considerably more intriguing.
We are used to affordable phones arriving with a familiar promise: enough features to get through the day without spending too much. This one adds something you might actually turn over and show a friend.
There is a small comedy involved in taking a photograph with your phone’s rear camera while standing in front of it.
You guess where the lens is pointing. Stretch out an arm. Take three pictures of your forehead and one surprisingly good photograph of the ceiling. Eventually, you surrender and use the front camera.
The X5d s offers another option.
Its 2.01-inch rear touchscreen lets you preview selfies using the main camera. You can see whether everyone fits, whether your face is centred and whether the background includes something you would rather leave out.
That makes the HONOR Dual Screen Phone more than a talking point. The extra display has an understandable job.
The main camera has a 50-megapixel sensor, although megapixels alone never tell the whole photography story. The practical appeal is being able to frame yourself with the camera you would normally point at everything else.
For someone photographing an outfit, recording a quick update or squeezing friends into a picture, that little window could earn its place.
The most surprising thing here may be where HONOR has chosen to introduce the feature.
Unusual hardware normally arrives wrapped in premium language and a price that requires a deep breath. Budget buyers tend to receive the sensible version: fewer extras, familiar designs and very little to get excited about.
The HONOR Dual Screen Phone gives that routine a welcome nudge.
Its rear display also supports call alerts and music controls, allowing quick interactions without turning the handset over. Whether that becomes a daily habit will depend on how conveniently the features work.
There are compromises elsewhere. The main display has HD+ resolution, charging tops out at 15W, and the entry-level hardware is aimed at everyday tasks. A second screen does not magically turn an affordable handset into a flagship.
Still, a budget phone can have personality. Buying carefully should not mean every interesting design idea sits beyond reach.
For South African buyers, a clever feature has to live alongside ordinary needs. Calls must be clear. Apps need to behave. The battery should survive a busy day.
The X5d s pairs its unusual design with a 6,000mAh battery, while the South African listing includes a charger and protective case. Those practical details deserve attention alongside the headline feature.
For Evercomm’s readers, the interesting question is whether an extra screen helps enough to become part of someone’s routine.
Perhaps it saves a few awkward photographs. Perhaps checking an incoming call becomes easier. Perhaps the novelty wears off.
That is what makes the HONOR Dual Screen Phone worth watching. It brings an unexpected idea into a price-conscious conversation and gives buyers something fresh to consider.
After years of staring at the front of our phones, the next interesting little moment might happen when we turn one around.
