Honor X5ds Brings a Second Screen to a $150 Budget Phone
Honor has launched the Honor X5ds in South Africa, a budget smartphone priced at R2,499 (about $150) that carries a feature usually reserved for flagship phones: a second screen on its back. The 2.01-inch rear display handles call alerts, music controls and doubles as a viewfinder for selfies taken with the main camera.
The phone went on sale through retail and carrier partners in South Africa. Honor has not announced plans to sell it in other markets yet.
Honor X5ds rear screen turns the back into a viewfinder
The standout feature of the Honor X5ds is its 2.01-inch LCD on the rear panel, with a resolution of 240 x 296 pixels. It shows incoming call alerts and lets users control media playback without waking the main display.
Its most practical use is photography. The rear screen acts as a live viewfinder, so owners can frame one-tap selfies with the far superior 50MP rear camera instead of the modest 5MP front sensor. Honor tried a similar idea with the Play 20A in August, but the X5ds packages it in a more polished design, and reports suggest the upcoming Honor 700 series may follow the same path.
Honor X5ds full specifications
The rest of the spec sheet is modest, as expected at this price. The front carries a 6.78-inch LCD with a 720 x 1576 resolution, up to 120Hz refresh rate and 600 nits of typical brightness.
| Specification | Honor X5ds |
|---|---|
| Main display | 6.78-inch LCD, 720 x 1576, 120Hz, 600 nits |
| Rear display | 2.01-inch LCD, 240 x 296 |
| Chipset | Unisoc T610 (octa-core, up to 1.8GHz) |
| RAM / storage | 4GB (+4GB virtual) / 64GB, microSD up to 1TB |
| Rear camera | 50MP, f/1.8, 4x digital zoom, 1080p video |
| Front camera | 5MP, 1080p video |
| Battery | 6,000mAh, 15W wired charging |
| Software | Android 16 (Go edition) |
| Other | Side fingerprint sensor, IP52, 3.5mm jack, USB-C |
| Size / weight | 168.3 x 78.5 x 8.72mm, 214g |
| Colours | Forest Green, Midnight Black |
The Unisoc T610 is an older chip, so Honor has paired it with Android 16 Go edition, the lighter build of Android designed for phones with limited memory. A dedicated three-card tray means the microSD slot accepts cards up to 1TB without sacrificing either SIM. The phone supports 4G LTE, dual nano-SIMs, dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, and keeps a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Price and availability of the Honor X5ds
The Honor X5ds is on sale now in South Africa in Forest Green and Midnight Black, with the 4GB + 64GB variant costing R2,499. There is no word yet on a Pakistan launch or pricing. At roughly $150, it undercuts every other phone with a rear display on the market by a wide margin.
What is the price of the Honor X5ds?
The Honor X5ds launched in South Africa at R2,499, which works out to about $150, for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant.
Does the Honor X5ds rear screen work as a camera viewfinder?
Yes. The 2.01-inch rear LCD acts as a live viewfinder, allowing one-tap selfies with the 50MP rear camera, which is far sharper than the 5MP front camera.
When will the Honor X5ds launch in Pakistan?
Honor has not announced a Pakistan launch date or price for the X5ds. The phone is currently only confirmed for South Africa.
