Honor 8, we have tested it

The Chinese brand Huawei has decided to give the final boost to its Honor brand with the launch of the Honor 8 smartphone : it is a terminal with top-of-the-line features, with characteristics very similar to those of the Huawei P9 and with a much more affordable price: 400 euros for the version with 32 GB of storage and 450 euros for the 64 GB version .

The smartphone Honor 8 has a dual camera 12 + 12 megapixels , a fingerprint reader with more advanced security technology and other interesting details, such as smart unlock feature and quick access to applications directly from the fingerprint sensor .

The phone has 4 GB of RAM , a sleek design with rounded edges and the EMUI customization layer in version 4.1 on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow .

Elegant design reminiscent of the Huawei P9

The Honor 8 is designed almost entirely with glass on the outside, with up to fifteen layers that generate a very striking light and shine effect. The colors available for this case are white, blue, black and gold .

One of the details on which the Honor brand itself has wanted to emphasize the most is the choice of rounded, soft edges that do not leave any protruding element and that give a very elegant effect, even surpassing the design line created for the latest terminals. Huawei P9 or Huawei P9 Lite .

The Honor 8 smartphone has a 5.2-inch screen without side borders , with a Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and a density of about 423 pixels per inch .

On the front we find the Honor logo  just below the screen, while above it is the front camera next to the LED flash .

The back of the phone is definitely reminiscent of the Huawei P9 , as we find the two dual camera sensors (12 + 12 megapixels) on the top, along with the dual dual-tone flash. Slightly below it is the fingerprint reader , which "" as we mentioned later "" brings several interesting novelties for this model.

On the left side is the card tray: the Honor 8 is a DualSIM smartphone with capacity for two NanoSIM cards , although the second SIM tray is the hole also used for the external microSD memory card (up to 256 GB ), so you have to choose between DualSIM functions or expansion of storage capacity.

On the right side are the volume buttons and the on / off button, while at the bottom we find the miniJack output for headphones , the USB Type-C port and the speaker .

The terminal measures 145.5mm long x 71mm wide x 7.5mm thick , and weighs 153 grams .

Big power and performance for the mid-range

Inside the Honor 8 we find an eight-core HiSilicon Kirin 950 processor , a Mali-T8880 MP4 graphics card and a 4 GB RAM memory that guarantee a fluid performance of the terminal even with applications that require many resources.

The standard operating system is Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow along with the EMUI customization layer in version 4.1 .

Regarding the internal storage capacity, the Honor 8 is available in two versions: with 32 GB or with 64 GB , which can be expanded with an external microSD card of up to 256 GB.

Camera and functions

Dual main camera

The main chamber of the Honor 8 has dual Sony sensor 12 + 12 megapixels and features a dual LED flash dual tone . The photographs that are obtained are very sharp thanks to the fact that one of the sensors is monochrome and the other captures the color, so that the information of the two ways is superimposed to obtain the final result.

Among the basic options that can be configured for capturing images are smile capture, object tracking, timer, GPS location tags, or reference grid, among others.

Regarding the available modes, we find:

• Photo (auto mode) : the camera itself sets the values ​​important for capturing the image, such as exposure values ​​or focus.

• Professional photo (manual mode) : from the viewfinder screen itself, all the settings can be customized to suit the needs of our photography.

• Beauty function : automatically detects faces to apply corrections and reduce problems such as skin blemishes.
• Good Food mode : designed for capturing food dishes or objects from close range, with different lighting conditions.

• Panoramic mode : covers large areas in a single image. You just have to press the capture button at the beginning of the scene we want to photograph and move the phone following the arrow and the reference line that appear on the screen.

• HDR mode : perfect for capturing sharper images in situations in scenes where there are areas that are too bright with areas that are too dark.

• Night Shot : This option allows you to take photos at night or in poor lighting conditions. For best results and to avoid blurring of images, it is best to use it with the smartphone resting on a tripod.

• Painting with light : allows you to represent movement of water or luminous objects (such as car lights), or even capture the wake of a light source forming a message. There are four modes: light trail (for car lights), light graffiti (to create messages and figures), soft waters ”“ to capture the movement of water in waterfalls or streams ”“ and star trail (for night sky).
• Watermark : allows you to superimpose a watermark on the image with extra information, such as the location, the date of capture and the current weather conditions.
• Document scanning .
• Audio note .

Regarding the video recording , you can select the option to fast forward , slow motion video (auto), video , or video professional beauty function . In addition, from the camera settings menu, object tracking can be turned on or off to maintain a certain focus while recording.

Secondary camera (front)

The front camera of the Honor 8 is 8 megapixels, has a flash and allows you to get high quality selfies even in low light conditions . It incorporates an advanced beauty function that is based on the capture of three different images of the face (front, profile and from below) to optimize the corrections.

With the secondary camera on, they are available options normal shooting (automatic mode) , beauty mode , selfie panorama mode , video recording "" 720p resolution "" video beauty function , fast motion , watermark and note audio .

Extra security and new functions in the fingerprint reader

The Honor 8 fingerprint reader introduces an extra element of analysis to guarantee security: in addition to the pattern and distribution of the grooves on the finger, the sensor is capable of carrying out a three-dimensional study to save information on the depth of those grooves and thus making any type of identity theft and data theft more difficult.

In addition, the sensor is also a button that can be used as a smart key: from the Settings menu  > Smart assistance> Smart key , different unlocking and quick access options can be configured from the fingerprint button, such as configuring access to camera with one press, or opening a widely used application with double tap, and another specific function by holding down the key.

Serial applications

The Honor 8 brings several types of pre-installed applications:

• Google Suite : Gmail , Google Maps , Chrome , Google Drive , YouTube , Play Store , etc.
• Basic tools and applications for managing the phone: calculator, calendar, a file manager, a download manager, music and video player, camera, recorder, notepad, gallery, clock ...
• Huawei applications : HiCare (customer service, user manual, etc.), HiGame ”“ a portal to download games ”“, backup manager, health application  with step counter, phone manager ”“ with device optimizer, battery saver and traffic manager ”“, Mirror (works with the front camera) and a theme selector to change the design of the wallpaper and the lock screen.
• Preloaded games : Asphalt Nitro , free mini games, DragonManía , Puzzle Pets , Spider-Man: Ultimate Power , Adventures of Scrat , and a catalog of the most downloaded games from Gameloft .
• Other applications: Facebook , Twitter , Shazam , Booking , News Republic , Opera , Instagram , TripAdvisor .

Both the pre-installed games and the last mentioned applications ( Shazam , Opera , Instagram , etc.) can be uninstalled if we do not want to use them.

Finally, the phone incorporates an application to manage NFC (Near Field Communications) functions , such as contactless payments. In addition, the device is equipped with infrared, so it can be set as a universal remote control and use the Smart Controller app   to control other devices remotely.

Battery

The Honor 8's battery is non-removable, with a capacity of 3000 mAh , and offers very good results in the AnTuTu Tester tests (8733 points), partly thanks to a fairly light customization layer and a screen with Full HD resolution " "Instead of 2K, for example" "which does not consume too many phone resources.

It incorporates a Smart Power 4.0 fast charging technology , with which you can obtain close to 50% charge in just 30 minutes of connection to the power supply.

Price and conclusions

The  Honor 8 is already available in Spain and can be purchased for 400 euros (with 32 GB of storage) or for 450 euros (with 64 GB). Taking into account the characteristics that we have mentioned so far, the price of the terminal places it as a perfect competitor for mid-range terminals and also for many high-end terminals.

The  Huwei P9 , for example, went on sale at the time for around 600 euros.

HONOR 8

screen

Design

Camera

Multimedia

software

Power

Memory

Connections

Autonomy

+ info

Price: 400/450 euros