Honor 8X: Premium looks, average camera (Tech Review)

Huawei's sub-brand Honor has been following an aggressive strategy for the price-conscious Indian market, offering good specifications and internals at a relatively affordable price.

Its latest offering, the Honor 8X, comes in three variants -- 4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB -- priced Rs 14,999, Rs 16,999 and Rs 18,999, respectively.

We used the 4GB RAM variant for a couple of days and here's how the phone fared.

The device scores most points in the design department. There's a highly glossy dual-tone design at the rear that makes it look and feel premium. The company says it has used multiple layers of glass to create the highly glossy dual-tone back.

The front has tiny bezels, a small bottom chin and around 91 per cent screen-to-body-ratio.

The rear-mounted fingerprint sensor has been aptly placed. It was quick to unlock the device and was consistent enough.

The device comes with a 6.5-inch LTPS LCD display which was quite sharp and had decent sunlight legibility.

Talking about the specifications, the Honor 8X comes with the company's own mid-range Kirin 710 chip which ensured lag-free performance most of the times.

With an adequate 3,750mAh battery, the Honor 8X lasted almost a day with usage ranging from running social media apps, browsing videos and listening to music.

Honor 8X's imaging capabilities were, however, a mixed bag. The 20MP+2MP dual Artificial Intelligent (AI) rear camera with autofocus (AF) had an inconsistent performance. Photos taken in certain lighting conditions were good while several others were a bummer.

The 16MP selfie snapper fared better in terms of details and sharpness during the review.

Another good thing about the device is the inclusion of a standard 3.5-mm headphone jack which most smartphone players (for premium phones) are giving a miss these days.

What doesn't work?

We found the placement of the volume rockers a little awkward -- it was placed a little higher than usual.

Inclusion of a dated micro-USB instead of a future-proof USB Type-C port was also a disappointment.

The highly glossy rear means the device is prone to scratches and makes it impossible to use without a protective case.

Conclusion: The Honor 8X is a good-looking device that exudes a premium feel -- not to forget the big screen real estate and good battery life.

However, those looking for consistent camera performance might try other options. At this price point, Xiaomi's newly-launched Redmi Note 6 Pro can also be considered.

(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in <mailto:krishna.s@ians.in>)

--IANS

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