HONOR X5ds Goes Official: Dual Screens and a 6,000mAh Battery for Around ₱9,400

A phone with a second screen on its back, for roughly the price of an entry-level single-screen device: that is the pitch of the HONOR X5ds, which went official on October 4 in South Africa at R2,499 — around $150, or roughly ₱9,400. The dual-display design has mostly lived in pricier foldables and the occasional gaming phone, so seeing it on a budget handset with a 6,000mAh battery is the X5ds's whole story.

What the 2.01-inch rear screen actually does

The rear display is a small 2.01-inch LCD with a 240 x 296 resolution, sitting next to the camera module. Its most practical trick: one-tap selfies using the 50MP main camera instead of the much weaker 5MP front sensor, with the rear panel acting as your viewfinder, Notebookcheck reports. The panel also lets you review shots immediately after taking them, so it works as both viewfinder and preview. Beyond the camera, it surfaces call alerts and media playback controls, so you can check who is calling or skip a track without flipping the phone over.

HONOR X5ds specifications

• Main display: 6.78-inch LCD, HD+ (1576 x 720), up to 120Hz, 600 nits typical brightness
• Rear display: 2.01-inch LCD, 240 x 296
• Chipset: Unisoc T610 — an entry-level 12nm processor with two Cortex-A75 and six Cortex-A55 cores at up to 1.8GHz
• Memory: 4GB RAM plus 4GB virtual RAM, 64GB storage, microSD expansion up to 1TB
• Cameras: 50MP f/1.8 main with 4x digital zoom; 5MP front; 1080p video on both
• Battery: 6,000mAh with 15W wired charging over USB-C
• Software: Android 16 (Go Edition) — the lightweight version of Android built for phones with limited RAM
• Extras: side-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm headphone jack, IP52 rating against dust and light splashes
• Build: 168.3 x 78.5 x 8.72mm, about 214g, in Forest Green and Midnight Black

The trade-offs at this price

GizGuide's launch coverage makes the compromises clear. The big 6.78-inch panel is only HD+, charging tops out at a slow 15W for a 6,000mAh cell, storage is a tight 64GB before the microSD card, and the Unisoc T610 is a dated entry-level chip. Android 16 Go also means some full-fat Android features are trimmed to keep performance usable on 4GB of RAM. None of this is unusual at the price — it is the rear screen that is unusual.

The target buyer is clear enough: someone who cares most about selfies and video calls on a tight budget. Because the 50MP main camera does selfie duty through the rear screen, the X5ds produces a far sharper self-portrait than its basic 5MP front camera ever could — a genuine capability gap, not a software trick.

Will it reach the Philippines?

No Philippine pricing or availability has been announced, and HONOR has not said whether the X5ds will leave South Africa at all. That said, HONOR has been one of the most aggressive brands in the Philippine market this year, from the HONOR 600S launch with its ₱1-million pre-order raffle to the Pad X9b Max tablet at ₱19,999. If the X5ds does make the trip, its converted price of around ₱9,400 would drop it straight into the most crowded, hardest-fought segment of the local market — where a gimmick-free second screen could be exactly the differentiator a budget buyer remembers at the shelf. That segment is already anchored by 6,000mAh batteries and big HD+ displays — specs the X5ds matches rather than beats — so the rear screen would be carrying the entire sales pitch.