Honor has recently launched the new smartphone Honor X8, which you can pre-order at hihonor.com, and which we have tested for it review. A product from definitely competitive price but with a attractive design, light and thin. It also offers a great autonomy, which, however, also gets at the expense of performance. It could be the right smartphone for many users, as long as you accept some compromise. In this review we therefore try to help you understand if this Honor X8 can be for you.
Our Honor X8 review
When we opened the Honor X8 box (we tested the Ocean Blue version, but it's also in Midnight Black) for this review, we immediately grasped the company's goal in the design department. This smartphone wants be discreet and elegant, two adjectives difficult to use in this one price range.
To achieve this, Honor has decided to borrow some stylistic ideas from Apple. With more than decent results given the price. The square bump on the back, top right and le flat frames with rounded corners they are well made. So much so that you can keep your smartphone standing on one of the four sides, with a balance that is felt even when holding the smartphone.
Honor X8 weighs only 177 grams and has a thick from 7,5 millimeters. Which is great for a smartphone with the 6,7-inch screen, expressed mainly vertically. It appears to be smaller than it is, although it has the same diagonal as the iPhone Pro Max, to give you an idea.
The difference, however, is in the materials, which also help to keep the weight down. The plastic back it has a glossy finish that is reminiscent of glass, but the weight and feel in the hand leave no doubts. But according to Honor the aluminum alloy frame it can withstand the most daring bend and drop tests.
On the frames you will find on the left the buttons for the volume and the one for unlock / power, which also acts as a fingerprint reader (pretty accurate). Below in addition to the entrance USB-C also find the one for the cable jack from 3,5 millimeters, a choice that is always appreciated.
A large and bright display
The new Honor X8 also made a good impression on us in terms of the display, at least in the price range. In fact, the screen uses liquid crystal technology (LCD), which does not have the magnificent contrast of OLEDs or AMOLEDs.
But the resolution FHD + from 2388 × 1080 pixels and the refresh rate of 90Hz they are a good compromise, also because the smartphone has an excellent brightness that makes it comfortable to use even on a sunny day.
Honor has also achieved certification TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light for this smartphone, making sure the blue light doesn't bother us. And on your smartphone you will also find the Dark Mode and even the e-Book black and white mode to rest your sight.
Don't expect a stunning screen. But a solid, big and bright display does.
Honor X8 review: performance
Honor has decided to mount a processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 680, with 6 nanometer process, accompanied by 6GB of RAM, which you can extend with technology Honor Turbo RAM of another 2GB of virtual RAM.
This technology works quite well, we have managed to keep multiple applications running at the same time. But the experience isn't exactly smooth. On more than one occasion during testing for this review we have had a few slowdown and uncertainty with Honor X8. We also tried some benchmarks to get some objective data, which confirmed our impression.
If even the look of this smartphone makes it seem to be of a higher category than its own, the performance places it in the range of cheaper smartphone. Using the Google Maps picture-in-picture slows down the smartphone a lot. Games take longer than expected to load and if they are graphically dense (for example the new FIFA Mobile or Genshin Impact) you need a little more patience.
Magic UI 4.2
Lo smartphone arriva con Android 11 in Magic UI 4.2 version, which takes a different approach than many other Android smartphones. For example, all the apps will be shown in the various homes, instead in a scrolling menu.
Honor has done a great job as far as it comes to Customization e functionality. From well-implemented gestures to widgets to manage the home, it seems to us that they have taken care of the details. There are too many pre-installed apps for our liking, but you can get rid of them quickly if you don't want them.
Where the flaw is fluidity of the system. For example, we appreciate the gestures to quickly share screenshots (indeed, we used them for the tests on the Honor X8 you see in this review). But on five or six shared screens, we experienced a slowdown that forced us to repeat the gesture. It is nothing unbearable, but we hope that in the next updates (perhaps with Android 12) Honor will solve these performance problems.
A really good autonomy
The battery from 4.000mAh it might seem less than it should, especially in this market segment where some competitors nominally offer superior batteries. But we must admit that during this review Honor X8 surprised us positively.
A busy day of testing, with several hours of on-screen access and opening power-hungry apps, still lowered the battery percentage. just under 40%. Even those who use smartphones a lot should get there without too many problems two working days of use. Those who use it less can take a weekend away without carrying a charger (although we're too eager to try it!).
Charging from 22,5W it brought autonomy 0 to 93% in one hour, using the charger included in the package. Ten minutes of charging gives you enough energy to face the evening, in case you arrive home from work with the smartphone dead. We're not talking about record-breaking percentages, but in this price range they really are excellent.
Camera performance
Honor has equipped its X8 with four cameras, although they are not all of the same quality. The sensor 64MP main collects a great deal of detail, especially in good light conditions. Shooting in more awkward conditions (from shade to a subject in direct sunlight), on the other hand, doesn't handle the balance well. However, we appreciated how consistent it is in photographing people's skin tones and how it collects enough details for good digital zoom shots. fino x2 o x3 (even if it goes up to x8, true to its name).
La Night mode has good color rendering, which seem perhaps not very vivid but rather natural. The details are also high. However, a very steady hand is required, as it takes up to six seconds to collect enough light.
The camera from 5MP ultragrandangolare does its duty well, even if zooming in on the photograph or opening it on your PC you will notice the difference in the amount of detail. It serves as a support to the main when you want a more ample angle and it does it quite well, but the difference is visible.
The sensors Macro and 2MP Depth they can come in handy with the Super Macro mode for the occasional shot, but already on the 6,7 inches of the screen you feel the lack of pixels. In perfect lighting conditions, they might be enough for social media, but don't print them.
La 16MP camera makes good quality selfies and video calls, while not shining. We also enjoyed the software, intuitive and well optimized (better than other system apps).
Main camera, external
Zoom x8, external
Main camera, external
Portrait mode, indoor
Main camera, internal
The Honor X8 review: is it worth buying?
Honor has equipped its smartphone with excellent features, which will make many appreciate it. The slim design and the materials used make it light and easy to use, despite the 6,7 inches of a good quality screen. The battery and charging are great, Magic UI it allows a lot of customization and has a good main camera.
However, the other three cameras are not on the same level. 5G is missing. And above all the performances are less fluid than we would like.
By pre-ordering it on hihonor you can pay for this smartphone 259,90 €, a price that implies some limits. If you are looking for a smartphone to play games or with a complete photographic department, you may have to look elsewhere. But if you want autonomy and a slim, attractive design, it's a great buy.
PRO
=”checklist”]- Thin and light
- Big screen
- Excellent autonomy
AGAINST
- Subdued performance
- Some slowdown
- You will only use one in four cameras
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