The entire Honor 8 line (2018)

How good can a smartphone with a price of up to 20,000 rubles look? Huawei decided that its top-end devices are so powerful and beautiful that the presence of a simply beautiful and at the same time very affordable device in the Honor line will not harm their sales - and they released Honor 8X. Today in Russia sales of this smartphone will start in a new, red color; This is exactly the one we got for testing. In this review of Honor 8X, we’ll figure out why this smartphone is worth buying besides its spectacular appearance, and whether Huawei had to make any unpleasant compromises in order to reduce the price.

Honor 8X review: technical specifications

Model: Honor 8X (JSN-L21)
OS: Android 8.1 with EMUI 8.2 interface
Display: 6.5 inches, IPS LCD, 2340 by 1080 pixels (396 ppi), 19.5:9
Processor: HiSilicon Kirin (12nm process technology, 4 Cortex-A73 cores at 2.2 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.7 GHz), Mail-G51 MP4 graphics
Memory: 4 GB RAM, 64/128 GB internal, dedicated microSD slot up to 400 GB
Battery: 3750 mAh
Cameras: 20 MP (f/1.8, phase detection autofocus) + 2 MP (depth sensor) rear, 16 MP (f/2.0) front
Ports: microUSB, 3.5mm audio jack
Communication: LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, LE, aptX), NFC
Dimensions and weight: 160.4 x 76.6 x 7.8 mm, 175 g.

Price and release date

The release date for Honor 8X and Max is September 6, 2020. The start of sales of the premium configuration with Snapdragon 660 will be postponed until October. The exact release date in Russia has not been announced.

Honor 8X price:

4 + 64 GB—$205;
6 + 64 GB – $234;
6 + 128 GB – $278.

Honor 8X Max:

4 + 64 GB – $219;
4 + 128 GB – $263.

The price is very reasonable, so we expect good phone sales.

Honor 8X review: design, convenience

With its “glass-metal sandwich” design, this smartphone is reminiscent of many current models, but personally, I first of all remembered the Honor 9 Lite presented in the winter of 2018 - perhaps because the plastic “gaskets” between the metal frame and glass are especially good here noticeable. However, the device cannot be called sloppily assembled; compared to the same Honor 9 Lite, the new product looks more premium due to its matte aluminum frame. The ratio of screen area to front surface area is also impressive - 91%.

The only thing that breaks the “flagship” camouflage is its relatively light weight - 175 grams. After all, Honor 8X is a large smartphone, its dimensions (160.4 x 76.6 x 7.8 mm) are approximately equal to the dimensions of the flagship Samsung Galaxy Note9 phablet, only Honor has a slightly smaller battery and no stylus, which made it possible to make it a millimeter thinner. Among the original design solutions, one can note the horizontal arrangement of the inscriptions on the back panel - this seems to hint that the smartphone will often be held horizontally to take photos and videos using its “AI camera”. Another visual delight: part of the iridescent glossy rear panel is a slightly different shade.

The convenience of the Honor 8X is determined by its size: it’s convenient to play or watch videos (it’s a pity there’s only one speaker), but typing text with one hand is not. The set includes a simple case made of transparent silicone, which, frankly speaking, does not decorate the spectacular new product. The glass case, if used without a case, easily slides off horizontal surfaces, but lies more or less securely in the hand. It is also predictably reliable in another way - as a means of instantly recording fingerprints.

Screen

The Honor 8A screen size is 6.09 inches, resolution – 1560x720 pixels (HD), density 283 PPI, IPS LCD matrix. If it is important to someone, then individual pixels on the screen can be examined.

Viewing angles are the maximum possible, multi-touch for 10 touches.

The uniformity of the screen illumination can be assessed in the photograph.

The screen brightness is quite high. In the screen settings you can configure: color temperature, sleep mode, eye protection.

Let's look at the screen settings in more detail using the ColorMunki Display calibrator from X-Rite.

Gamma curves show a small scatter relative to the reference (white line) curve.

The color channels are also not entirely stable. There is a lack of red color saturation.

The color temperature is too high relative to the 6500k standard. The colors on the screen will have a cool tint. In the screen settings you can set the “warm” display mode.

But according to the sRGB standard we see almost ideal performance. We can say that the color rendition will be quite natural.

The points of the gray wedge lie far beyond the border of the circle DeltaE>10. In our case, spurious shades will be present.

In general, the screen leaves positive emotions. Sufficient maximum brightness and correct sRGB performance, which is rare in budget models.

Honor 8X review: screen, sound

The Honor 8X display uses a FullHD+ IPS matrix with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and a diagonal of 6.5 inches. Out of the box, a protective film is glued to it: for many, the safety of the display is more important than appearance. The film was thoroughly glued: I couldn’t peel off the edge with my fingernail, and I didn’t persist in using tools. If it doesn’t irritate you too much, it’s probably not worth removing it: there is most likely no oleophobic coating under the film that allows your finger to slide smoothly across the glass.

They couldn’t do without the bangs in the new smartphone, but they are smaller here than on the new flagships Mate 20 or the latest iPhones. In the settings, you can enable its “masking” mode, when the background of the information line at the top of the screen turns black. Since “black” on an IPS screen is rather dark gray rather than black, this solution looks thinner than on OLED screens.

Next to the OLED screens of flagships of the same size - iPhone XS Max or Samsung Galaxy Note9 - the Honor 8X display, of course, loses in maximum brightness (slightly falling short of 500 nits) and viewing angles. But for an average smartphone, the matrix is very, very good. For my taste, the “Vivid” color rendering mode enabled in the default settings makes the colors harsh; in the “Normal” mode they are softer and more comfortable.

The Honor 8X has only one “musical” speaker and sounds expectedly mediocre, although quite loud. But there are no complaints about the quality of sound reproduction through the analog audio connector.

Appearance

In retail, a smartphone costs less than 10 thousand rubles and this is a very good price for a quite good smartphone. Three colors are available: gold, blue, black. In my review there was a version in gold design.

Honor 8A is a typical representative of the budget line of smartphones. But the smartphone doesn’t look cheap at all, despite the plastic frame around the perimeter of the body. The back of the smartphone is also made of plastic. Moreover, the back side has two textures in design. The left narrow insert is matte, and the right side is already glossy.

Despite the large screen of a smartphone, in some cases you can quite successfully use one hand. The body is slightly elongated diagonally, which compensates for the large size.

The corners of the case are strongly rounded. The edges of the smartphone are sloping, making it pleasant and comfortable to hold in your hand. The main camera protrudes slightly above the body. There is an LED flash underneath the camera. The fingerprint scanner is located at the top.

At the top end there is a 3.5 mm jack (mini-jack) and the hole for the first microphone.

On the right side there is a paired volume button and a power button.

At the bottom end there is a Micro-USB connector, a speaker for calls and a second microphone. Moreover, the microphone is hidden in an imitation of the right speaker.

On the left side there is a full-fledged slot for two nano SIM cards and a memory card.

Touch control buttons are located on the screen itself.

Screen matrix with rounded corners. And the screen itself is “frameless,” although the frames are quite wide, especially at the bottom.

The thickness of the smartphone is small.

The front camera is placed in a drop-shaped cutout. If for some reason you are not satisfied with this cutout, you can hide it with a black stripe. The speaker was placed at the junction of the top end and the screen. There is a status indicator that is hidden in the earpiece. There is also a proximity sensor and an automatic brightness sensor.

The screen matrix is covered with protective 2.5D glass. There is an oleophobic coating, but not the best. The build quality of the smartphone is excellent. There is a slight play in the mechanical buttons, but for the most part these are my personal nitpicks.

Overall, Honor 8A is quite a practical and convenient smartphone. There is no glass on the back side, the camera does not protrude particularly above the body, and the location of the scanner is very convenient. And on the front side there is already a protective film pasted.

Honor 8X review: cameras

Honor 8X has two rear cameras, now it seems there is no other way - competitors will laugh at the “one-eyed” one. The main lens with an f/1.8 aperture is combined with a 20-megapixel photosensitive matrix and is equipped with phase detection autofocus. It is important to understand here that the second rear module does not contribute to improving the image - it is a cheap two-megapixel sensor designed to calculate “depth” - the distance from the lens to different parts of the frame. Depending on the composition, the result of shooting in the Aperture mode can actually resemble a photo taken with a camera with professional optics. But often it rather resembles the result of an inept execution of a lesson from the book “My First Steps in Photoshop,” or video effects in a first-person game when the hero takes some controversial drug or prepares to give his soul to God:

If a couple of years ago all smartphones were divided into “flagships” and “all others” in terms of shooting quality, recently the situation has begun to improve: the cameras of mid-range devices (for example, Xiaomi Mi A2 or Samsung A7 2018) produce quite decent results, in some cases - even at night. Honor 8X is just one of these devices: in good light, including indoors, the smartphone takes excellent pictures, demonstrating good dynamic range and true colors. Last but not least, machine learning algorithms help here by trying to recognize the subject of the image (below, the “Autumn Leaves” subject) and apply the most suitable processing scenario for such a situation (there are 22 of them in total).

Another thing is that in the understanding of the “AI” built into the phone, “suitable” is, as a rule, “let’s turn the colors to the maximum - in China they always like this on Weibo.” But sometimes without AI, photos really look too “flat” and faded. Not everything is going smoothly with night photography: without optical stabilization, software processing alone cannot provide a truly clear picture when shooting handheld.

Everything I shot during the test on the Honor 8X can be seen at this link (Google Photos). By clicking on the “i” icon in the upper right corner when viewing a photo, you can see the shooting parameters (ISO, shutter speed, etc.).

The resolution options available to choose from in the camera settings in the standard “Photo” mode are puzzling: in addition to the clearly excessive pixel-to-pixel resolution (5120 by 3840, 20 MP), there are only its derivatives: square 3840 by 3840 and “ultrawide” "5120 by 2448. To take 12-megapixel photos, you will have to turn on the shooting mode with “artificial intelligence” - if you don’t like the result of its work, you can return the photo to the “non-intelligent” view by pressing the “AI” button in the gallery.

The front camera is 16 megapixel. Pictures can be supplemented with a standard set of cosmetic decorations and augmented reality effects in the spirit of “feel like a cat.” As for video shooting, the limit of what is possible for the Honor 8X is video in 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second; there is no support for shooting in 4K.

Huawei Honor 8 Lite smartphone video review

Honor 8 Lite | Honor 8 Pro | Honor 8X | Honor 8X Max | Honor 8C

Source: www.stevsky.ru

You can close this annoying message by clicking on the cross in the corner PHOTOGRAPHY MASTER Huawei P30 Pro is a new word in mobile photography. Use your smartphone to get a better view of nature: enjoy the beauty of the night sky, watch birds flying high in the clouds, or examine the smallest details of crystals.

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ZOOM UP TO THE UNREACHABLE The new periscope telephoto lens lets you zoom in on details without losing quality. Discover the beauty of unattainable objects with a 10x hybrid zoom and a 40 MP main camera with AI-powered color correction and image stabilization. Now you can photograph the Moon as if it were in front of your eyes.

MORE BRIGHT MOMENTS To ensure unrivaled image brightness, Huawei has decided to change the color gamut from RGB to RYB. Thanks to Huawei's spectral sensor, the powerful Kirin 980 processor and a self-developed algorithm, photos are 40% brighter and more detailed (compared to the Huawei P20 Pro smartphone).

ALL THE SHADES OF THE NIGHT Let the beauty of the night unfold with a camera with ISO 409600 sensitivity. Use the Huawei P30 Pro smartphone to capture a romantic evening with candles or fireflies circling the trees. Even complete darkness will not prevent you from getting a high-quality photo. PROFESSIONAL PORTRAIT SHOTS Huawei's camera and Intelligent Image Stabilization let you accurately measure depth of field to highlight your subject while blurring the background. The bokeh effect in photographs will become your calling card.

ALWAYS IN FOCUS AI-powered HDR+ improves the quality of your photos by analyzing multiple backlit and dimly lit photos and combining the best shots into one. Shooting in this mode balances lighting and color so your face is always in focus.

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AnTuTuHonorHonor 8 LiteHonor 8 ProHonor 8CHonor 8XHonor 8X MaxHuawei

Honor 8X review: hardware, performance, software

The Kirin 710 system-on-chip used in the Honor 8X is strong in simple computing, but has a relatively weak graphics accelerator. Hence the good results in Geekbench 4 and AnTuTu...

... and quite sad in 3DMark (Huawei somehow doesn’t do well with this benchmark):

However, I tried to play PUBG Mobile on my smartphone on “balanced” settings, having first switched the screen to an economical 720p resolution: it turned out to be quite playable. Although split-second freezes occurred quite regularly, during critical moments of firefights everything was smooth. So, for non-hardcore gamers who do not require console-level graphics from smartphone games, the Honor 8X is quite suitable.

The main thing is that the phone is generously equipped with memory: there are 4 GB of RAM and 64/128 GB of internal memory (for versions costing 18 and 20 thousand rubles, respectively). Since there is a dedicated slot for microSD that supports cards up to 400 GB, it is reasonable to buy a cheaper version, and then think about increasing the built-in memory (for a couple of thousand rubles it is quite possible to buy a 128 GB card, for a thousand - 64).

The battery capacity of the Honor 8X corresponds to the positioning of the smartphone: a “workhorse” for those who do not require daily feats of productivity from their gadgets. 3750 mAh is quite enough for a full day, even for active users - if, of course, they use the smartphone mainly for business and communication, and do not play and hang out on YouTube for hours. Usually, when I connected the Honor 8X to the charger before going to bed, the smartphone had at least 25% charge left.

Honor 8X - obviously, in order to save money and “diversify” different models into different market niches - is equipped with a traditional microUSB port. The standard charger produces 5V/2A and fills the empty battery by 29% in the first half hour, and by 53% in the first hour. A full charge takes just over two hours. There is an NFC interface, so the smartphone can be used for contactless payments. The fingerprint sensor on the rear panel works quickly and accurately, but the face unlock system using the front camera is not nearly as convenient.

Honor 8X uses Android 8.1 with EMUI 8.2 skin. The shell is fast and functional, but aesthetes and those who don’t like Apple-like interface design may find it off-putting. Whether we should wait for the release of EMUI firmware based on Android 9 for the smartphone is still unknown.

A number of pre-installed third-party applications, including Sberbank, Yandex, Booking.com and Facebook, cannot be removed using standard tools. Take some comfort in the fact that the money from the developers of these unsolicited bonuses may have helped make the smartphone a little cheaper.

Autonomous operation

Honor 8A has a 3020 mAh battery.
Not the highest figure in its class. Complete charging at 5V=2A. The smartphone is fully charged in 2 hours. It may seem that the operating time of the smartphone is short, but in practice everything is quite good. All measurements were carried out at average screen brightness.

1. Various games – 7 hours.

2.Playing movies - 12 hours.

3.Maximum load: full screen brightness, constant 4G connection, geolocation, social. networks, etc. - 6 hours.

4.Work only in telephone mode – 3 days.

Honor 8X review: competitors, conclusions

If in general you like the Honor 8X, then when making a purchasing decision (RUB 17,990 for the version with 4/64 GB of memory, 19,990 for 4/128 GB), you should first answer two questions: do you need high performance in games and the ability to take the highest quality photos at night. If you answered “no” to both, and the risk of breaking the glass on the back panel doesn’t bother you, you can safely take the smartphone; in all other important points (design, screen, speed in non-gaming tasks, battery life), it offers more than other devices for the same price.

Which “others” exactly? Several interesting smartphones have recently been released in the “almost 20 thousand rubles” price category. Take, for example, the Xiaomi Mi A2, the version of which with 4/64 GB of memory and an official guarantee is already sold in some places for less than 20,000. It takes significantly better photographs than the Honor 8X, especially in the dark, and has a 2x zoom lens. A plus for those who do not like Chinese interface design in the spirit of iOS will be the stock version of Android. At the same time, Mi A2 does not have an audio jack, the screen is smaller than that of Honor 8X, the body is metal and looks much more modest. Another minus is that the battery barely lasts for a day of work.

We should also mention the Nokia 7 Plus - a fairly successful mid-ranger with a good camera with optical zoom, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chip more suitable for games and, as in the case of the Xiaomi Mi A2, a stock Android interface. The disadvantage of the smartphone is its noticeably higher price (by 4-5 thousand rubles) than the Honor 8X.

If, after all, performance in games is important, but the generally impractical glass back of the case is not, it would be wiser to add a couple of thousand rubles and purchase an Honor Play. This smartphone is almost identical in characteristics to the 8X (the screen is 0.2 inches smaller), but is equipped with last year’s top-end HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor (the same as in the flagship Huawei P20 Pro, which handles any games without problems) and a USB-C port.

In progress

Honor 8A runs on Google Android 9.0 Pie operating system with EMUI 9.1 shell.

This is what the smartphone menu looks like when you turn it on for the first time. You can note a large number of pre-installed applications, but they can be completely removed, leaving only applications from Google and a few applications from Huawei.

In the settings you can activate the main menu with applications.

It is worth noting that the smartphone interface does not work very smoothly. Lags are noticeable even when simply surfing the smartphone menu. The problem is the slow RAM, which is only 2GB. For a modern smartphone this is no longer enough. Running resource-intensive games/applications significantly reduces operating and loading speeds.

The smartphone interface can be decorated with various branded themes.

There is a simple mode of operation, this is for those who do not want to bother with the settings.

You can assign specific actions to the fingerprint scanner. The scanner itself works very accurately and quickly.

Touch control buttons can be replaced with gestures.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ability to operate the radio without a connected headset.

The MediaTek processor – MT6765 (Helio P35) is responsible for the performance of the smartphone. The chipset has 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at up to 2.3 GHz and an IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU.

You can see the results of synthetic tests in these screenshots.

The high CPU temperature both at idle and under load is surprising.

The permanent memory in the smartphone is 32GB. In fact, there is only 21GB free, so most likely you won’t be able to do without a memory card. Well, the range of different sensors in a smartphone is not the maximum. You can fully install applications on a memory card.

The call speaker volume is very high. The sound is clear without distortion, the speaker does not produce noise at full volume. Sound in mono format. There is support for LDAC and HWA. The earpiece is also quite loud. The interlocutor can be heard perfectly, and there were no problems with speech reception and transmission. According to this indicator, HUAWEI/HONOR smartphones are among the best on the market.

Excellent work on navigation, all modern geolocation standards are supported.

Honor 8X review: results

Pros:

Stylish design (the device in red and blue colors is especially beautiful)
Large (like the iPhone XS Max) screen
Productive and economical (but rather weak in demanding games) processor
Enough RAM and internal memory
Dedicated microSD slot
Excellent price-functionality ratio

Minuses:

The glass body is not as practical as the option with a metal back
Poor results in low light
microUSB port instead of progressive USB-C

AI-powered telecommunications features improve communication quality

Honor 8X uses the latest advances in AI communications to automatically recognize weak signal and strong interference scenarios and then adjust the quality of voice communication during a call. If the user is in a noisy environment - for example, in the subway or in strong winds - the smartphone recognizes the background noise and activates the smart noise reduction function, ensuring excellent audibility. AI communications technologies can also detect fluctuations in signal strength - for example, when moving in an elevator - and quickly restore the maximum speed of the 4G connection as soon as you leave the elevator cabin. You won't miss a single word.

Mr. George Zhao, President of Honor Brand, Fr.