Honor 8X is the latest addition to the long list of devices that Huawei’s sub-brand has launched in India this year. The phone brings a large screen, integrated AI and a ton of camera chops. This phone has everything that top end flagships have and yet comes at a very aggressive price. I spent considerable time with this device and here is my review of the Honor 8X.
The Honor 8X has an all-glass and almost all screen design. The phone looks absolutely gorgeous and Honor has now mastered the fine art of making phones that look like a dream. The blue color where the light dances on the back to create the psychedelic effect is my favourite. The phone has all the right curves and accents and makes heads turn when you pull it out. The phone looks a feels premium. It can give any top-end flagship a run for its money in the looks and design department. The dual tonality in the back is also a great standout feature that makes heads turn in a room.
Honor 8X is powered by the latest Octa-core Kirin 710 chipset with a 12nm Cortex-A73 generation-based SoC which supports the AI functionality. Compared to the previous generation, the CPU single-core performance has increased by 75%, providing an enhanced user experience. The all new 8X comes in 3 variants – 6GB + 128GB, 6GB + 64GB and 4GB + 64GB with an option of expanding the internal storage up to 400GB using a dedicated MicroSD card Slot. It comes packed with the GPU turbo – a ground-breaking hardware-software integration and graphic processing acceleration technology which gives the best mobile gaming experience. It is equipped with Dual VoLTE and packs a high capacity 3750mAh large battery. What this means to the end user is that you get reliable and stable performance for whatever you throw at the phone and there is absolutely no stutter or lag anywhere. The battery stands good for more than a day in a single charge and that is a great thing to have.
Honor 8X features both face unlock and fingerprint sensor which allows users to unlock the phone as per their convenience. The AI-enabled Face Unlock function can adapt to difficult light conditions and small facial changes, which makes unlocking easier and more secure. I found that the unlock was quick and nippy. Very smooth.
Equipped with a 16.51cm FullView Notch Display 2.0, the 8X enhances the overall viewing experience. The smartphone features chip-on-film (COF) technology and a double L antenna design, narrowing the width of the bottom border to 4.25mm, offering 91% screen-to-body ratio and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. Honor 8X adopts a design philosophy of minimalism, putting attention on aesthetics and details. It also adopts a new generation of Eye Comfort mode certified by TüV Rheinland that protects your vision and prevents the eye fatigue by reducing the blue light radiation emitted by the screen. Very good immersive screen that helps when you are into long hours or streaming or extended gaming. The screen is a delight and never bothers your eyes.
One of the biggest strengths of Honor devices has been the camera. And the Honor 8X comes with a dual AI 20MP + 2MP rear with F/1.8 aperture and 16MP front facing camera. The smartphone uses AI to produce beautiful night shots by using multi-frame stabilization technology based on machine learning. It has a portrait mode which provides natural bokeh effect and true skin tone. The smartphone is equipped with 16MP Front camera which supports the new 4 in 1 fusion technology and multi-frame image processing technology for bright and clear shots. Honor 8X’s super slow-motion feature can record videos at 16x slow motion (480fps) and with augmented reality (AR) effect, the camera can produce interesting group photos, creating an AR mask and background changes.
Feature highlights of Honor 8X camera include:
- AI camera: The Honor 8X AI Dual Rear Camera technology automatically detects different objects in the photos and optimizes setting accordingly
- Night More: The Honor 8X equipped with Night mode helps shoot photos at perfection. The AI camera takes multiple frames during that period and creates the best photo.
- HDR Mode: The semantic image segmentation technology and high dynamic range (HDR) feature dramatically improve photo quality. By combing multiple frames into one and brightening up faces, both the environment and faces are clear and vivid even in a dim environment or with a strong backlight.
- Slow-motion video: Honor 8X offers slow-motion (120fps, 4X) and super slow-motion (480fps, 16X) modes which allow you to capture details of fast moving objects or moments.
The Honor 8X smartphone uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce excellent night shots without a tripod by using multi-frame stabilization technology based on machine learning. Even if a user lacking steady control the technology analyzes camera movement and intelligently selects and combines several different frames to help assure the most blur-free photo possible.
With an enhanced ISO, 4-in-1 light fusion support and multi-frame image processing, the front-facing camera can dramatically improve the photo quality. By combing multiple frames into one and brightening up faces, both the environment and faces are clear and vivid even in a dim environment or with a strong backlight. Here are some pictures I took with the Honor 8X
Coming to the other aspects of the phone, the call quality was good and there were absolutely no drops or issues. It supports VoLTE and I was able to use the Jio SIM on this without any issues. The speakers on the phone give very decent output and there isn’t any distortion or jarring.
Overall the phone is more than equal to most flagships today. Honor seems to have pulled a very nice rabbit out of their hat and impressed everyone.
Verdict
The Honor 8x at INR 18999 (6GB+128GB variant), the all new Honor 8X is available in blue, black and red color exclusively on Amazon.in. Given the price and the package that the phone packs, this is actually more phone than most phones in the market today. I would recommend this phone if you are a big streaming or gaming enthusiast and are looking for a solid bargain.
