Honor 8x: A Comprehensive Review

The Honor 8x is a standout device in the mid-range smartphone market. It boasts a 6.5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels.

The Honor 8x is powered by a Kirin 710 processor, which provides a smooth performance for everyday tasks. This processor is also efficient, allowing for long battery life.

One of the standout features of the Honor 8x is its quad-camera setup, consisting of a 20-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro lens.

The Honor 8X has a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with a screen resolution of 1,080 × 2,340 pixels, and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

Its pixel density is 396 PPI, which is more than enough for a sharp and clear display. The phone's display is so good that it's comparable to more expensive phones, with a very high screen-to-body ratio of 91%.

The Honor 8X's design is also impressive, with a metal and glass finish that's on par with premium flagships. However, it's not without its flaws - the phone can be slippery due to its glass back, and its large size can make it awkward to handle.

Here's a quick rundown of the Honor 8X's display specs:

The phone's display is also capable of producing bright and vivid images, with a peak brightness of 470 nits. However, it's worth noting that the display can be a bit oversaturated, especially when using the default "Vivid" setting.

The Honor 8X's design is truly impressive, with a metal and glass build that's comparable to high-end phones. This phone looks and feels like a premium device, despite being a quarter of the price.

One of the standout features of the Honor 8X is its very high screen-to-body ratio, which gives it an all-screen look that's hard to find at this price point. The phone's front-on appearance is similar to an iPhone XR or OnePlus 6.

The Honor 8X's build is made up of plates of glass on the front and back, with a matte-finish aluminum on the sides. However, the finish of the back is quite plain, without any light-reactive layer or funky gradients.

The phone's slim borders are made of plastic, which sits between the metal and glass parts. The two-tone band on the back is a nice touch, but it's not immediately noticeable.

The Honor 8X has a micro USB port, which is a bit of a letdown given the phone's price. In 2018, this price band is USB-C territory.

Here are some of the key design features of the Honor 8X:

The Honor 8X's design is a great combination of metal and gradient glass, but it's a bit slippery and awkward to handle at times. The phone's size is a bit of a trade-off for its impressive screen real estate.

The Honor 8X boasts a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with a screen resolution of 1,080 × 2,340 pixels, and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

The phone's display is made possible by a 6.5-inch LTPS LCD display with a 2340 x 1080 resolution, producing a density of 397 pixels per inch. The Full HD+ resolution appears plenty sharp enough, and the panel's colors pop with the appropriate fervor, resulting in bright and vivid images.

The display's peak brightness clocks in at 470 nits, which is about average for a cost-effective handset. This means the phone will be fine in shady outdoor viewing, but visibility will struggle with reflections in direct bright sunlight.

The Honor 8X has a very tall 6.5-inch 19.5:9 LCD screen with a fairly narrow notch. Notch-haters can block off the top area with a black bar too.

The phone's display is sharp, with 1080 x 2340 pixels, making it sharper than the iPhone XR. The sheer size of the display makes the Honor 8X seem a true enthusiast phone, well-suited to gaming, video streaming and reading long articles or even books.

You can customize the color profile to suit your taste, switching from the default 'vivid' mode to 'normal' mode for a more accurate and well-saturated display.

The Honor 8X has a dual-lens camera setup on the back and a single selfie-shooter around the front. The rear-facing camera suite is comprised of a 20-megapixel main camera lens paired with a secondary 2-megapixel lens that's used for depth-sensing and "bokeh" background blur.

The front-facing camera is a 16-megapixel affair with a f/2.0 aperture. Exposure can be more of a problem here, as backgrounds often appear overblown even without a direct light source.

The Honor 8X's camera also benefits from A.I. boosted capabilities. It can recognize 22 different scenarios in which it can apply custom exposure and color corrections, but most of the results simply involve boosting the color saturation.

You can take slow motion videos of up to 480 frames-per-second, up to a resolution of 720p. However, low light performance is a weak spot for the Honor 8X, with noise creeping in quickly even in well-exposed images.

The camera's Night Mode patches over this issue, providing good results if you can stand still for a few seconds to capture the required exposures. The secondary camera is used entirely for depth calculation, enabling re-adjustable aperture and bokeh after taking the picture.

The Honor 8X is a solid choice for those looking for a budget-friendly device with impressive specs. The base model comes with 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM, but you can upgrade to 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM for a bit more.

The device is powered by Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 710 chipset, which includes two quad-core Cortex A53 processors. This provides a snappy performance that's hard to find in other low-cost handsets. The GPU is a Mali-T830 MP2, which might not be the most powerful, but it gets the job done.

One of the standout features of the Honor 8X is its battery life. The phone comes with a 3,750mAh lithium polymer battery, which should last you a full day with moderate use. However, if you're a heavy gamer, you might need to charge it more frequently.

In terms of performance, the Honor 8X is a mixed bag. It handles multitasking with ease and zips in and out of applications quickly. However, 3D gaming performance is not its strongest suit, with the Mali-G51 MP4 GPU struggling to keep up. To mitigate this, the phone has GPU Turbo technology, but its effectiveness is unclear.

Here are the key specs to keep in mind:

The Honor 8X supports 4G connectivity, and has two nano-sim slots.

You can also connect to Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.2, and GPS for a seamless experience. The phone even has an FM radio receiver for those who still enjoy listening to the radio.

Charging is done via a micro-USB port, and you can also plug in your wired headphones using the bottom 3.5 mm audio jack.

EMUI 8.2 offers options to tweak the appearance of your home screen, including the app drawer, notch toggle, and text sizes.

The Honor 8X launched with Android Oreo and Huawei's EMUI 8.0, and can be upgraded to harmonyOS 3.0 with EMUI 10.0.

EMUI 8.2 includes a few extra tweaks that make the user experience more personalized. You can switch over to the single-key navigation if you don't like the traditional navigation keys.

A quick swipe down on the home screen takes you to recommended apps and allows you to search through your contacts and messages. Google Assistant functionality is also easily accessible.

Google's apps make up the bulk of the pre-installed software on the Honor 8X. You'll also find a selection of HONOR tools like the Game Suite, Mirror, Compass, and Themes apps.

The colorful icons and white UI elements on EMUI 8.2 are reminiscent of Apple's iOS. However, you can adjust the appearance to your liking by tweaking the display settings.

You can use HiTouch to identify products on a page using Amazon Assistant by touching something on your display with two fingers at once. This feature is quite handy, especially when shopping online.

The software's motion controls are also rather useful, enabling features like raising the phone to your ear to automatically answer calls or flipping the phone upside down to mute.

The phone has a 4G connectivity feature, making it perfect for staying online on the go. It also has two nano-sim slots, giving you the flexibility to use two different phone numbers or services.

You can stay connected to the internet using Wi-Fi 802.11, which is a widely supported standard. Bluetooth 4.2 is also supported, allowing you to easily pair your phone with other devices.

The phone has a built-in GPS, making it easy to navigate and get directions. An FM radio receiver is also included, giving you access to live radio stations.

Charging is done via a micro-USB port, which is a standard connector that's easy to find.

The Honor 8X has a 3,750mAh battery, which is more than enough to get you through a full day even with heavy use.

This phone can easily survive a day of demanding use, and a second day of full use is also possible for most users.

However, if you're a heavy gamer or take a lot of photos, you might only get a day and a half out of the battery.

The Honor 8X has two power saving modes to help you squeeze out every last bit of battery life.

The regular power saving mode limits background activity, reduces visual effects, and turns off email syncing to save on power.

The ultra power saving mode takes it to the next level by limiting the phone to just a selection of apps, allowing you to extend battery life for several days.

Under the hood, the Honor 8X is powered by the octa-core Kirin 710 chipset, which is the same chip used in the Huawei Mate 20 Lite.

This processor packs four high-power Cortex A73 cores, which provide a 75 percent boost in single-core performance and a 68 percent boost in multi-core performance.

Broaden your view: Sony Xperia X Performance

The Honor 8X is a great way to get a phone that looks and feels expensive but doesn't cost the earth.

The phone's solid performance, versatile camera, and metal and glass build make it a standout in the mid-range market. Its unique design is premium and sure to stand out in a crowd.

However, the camera performance is not perfect, and photography enthusiasts might want to give this AI camera a miss. The dated hardware choices, such as the microUSB port and single bottom-firing speaker, are also a drawback.

Despite these issues, the Honor 8X is a cut above your typical mid-tier smartphone, with great performance, battery life, and storage options. It's a great option for those who want a high-end feel without the high-end price tag.

The Honor 8X went on sale in China on September 5 for 1,399 Chinese Yuan.

You can expect the Honor 8X to come to a global market on October 2, with prices starting from 999 AED.

The global price is equivalent to around $280 or 235 Euros.

It's likely that the Honor 8X will land in the U.S. later this year or early 2019.

The Honor 8X has a 6.5-inch LCD display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a maximum resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 pixels.

The phone's screen-to-body ratio is an impressive 91%, making it one of the highest on a smartphone.

The Honor 8X is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 710 chipset, which packs four Cortex A73 cores and four lower power A53 cores.

This processor provides 75% better performance on a single-core and 68% better on multi-core performance compared to its predecessor.

The phone features a Mali-G51 MP4 GPU, which is an upgrade from the Mali-T830 MP2 in the base model.

The Honor 8X has 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card.

The phone's battery is a 3,750mAh lithium polymer battery, which should provide a full day of usage.

Here's a summary of the Honor 8X's key specs: