Picture owning a smartphone that fulfils all your needs without breaking the bank. A smartphone boasting a sophisticated design, formidable performance, and a breathtaking camera. A smartphone that can keep pace with your hectic lifestyle and never falter. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, say hello to the Honor X8A, the newest entry-level device from Honor that will astound you with its impressive features and value. The market today, only has a place for the absolute best, no matter the range, and Honor knows a thing or two about giving their devices a top-notch makeover. They have historically made smartphones that have challenged the norm, and also given their fans, a lot of reasons to be excited and stay loyal to the brand, no matter the outcome.
We managed to get an Honor X8A in the office, and in this review, we are going to dive deep into the latest offering from Honor and tell you the good and not so good aspects, so that you can ultimately decide, whether it is the smartphone for you.
Let’s get started –
The Design
One of the Honor X8A’s primary selling points is its design, which exudes elegance and premium quality. Its metal frame and glass back with a gradient effect give it a sophisticated appearance while feeling sturdy and comfortable to hold, owing to its compact size and weight. In addition, it’s a rarity for a budget smartphone to have an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
The back camera setup is impressive, boasting three lenses with diverse shooting modes. The camera module’s circular design matches the logo on the back, creating a seamless look. Furthermore, the front camera is discreetly located in a small punch-hole cutout on the display, making it unobtrusive and not affecting the viewing experience.
The facial recognition system on the Honor X8A is speedy and reliable, even in low-light conditions, utilizing infrared sensors to scan your face and unlock the device securely. Additionally, the under-display fingerprint scanner is convenient and trustworthy.
The Honor X8A comes in three stunning colors, each with a unique gradient effect that changes with light. Among them, the Cyan Lake stands out as the most distinctive and stylish, in our opinion.
The Display
One of the most impressive features of the Honor X8A is undoubtedly its display. The device features a 6.7-inch IPS LCD screen that boasts a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, translating to a pixel density of around 393 ppi. Additionally, the screen occupies 90.5% of the front panel, thanks to the minimal bezel and punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera, giving the display a sleek and modern appearance that perfectly complements the overall design of the device.
The display is further complemented by its support for HDR10+ technology, which enhances the contrast and color range of the content. With a refresh rate of 120Hz, the animations and transitions are smoother and more responsive, delivering stunning visuals that are sharp, vibrant, and fluid. This feature allows the display to compete with some of the flagship devices in terms of display quality.
In addition, the display also offers excellent visibility in different lighting scenarios. The adaptive brightness feature adjusts the screen brightness according to the ambient light, while wide viewing angles ensure consistent colors from different perspectives. Whether you are watching videos, playing games, or browsing the web, the display provides an immersive experience.
The display also comes with some handy features that enhance its functionality and usability. For instance, the multi-window mode enables you to run two apps simultaneously on split-screen or floating windows, while you can resize and reposition each window as per your convenience. This feature is perfect for multitasking and productivity.
Moreover, the display also has an eye comfort mode that reduces blue light emission from the screen. This mode helps to protect your eyes from strain and fatigue when using the device for long periods or in dark environments, and you can activate it manually or set it to turn on automatically at night.
All in all, the Honor X8A’s display is undoubtedly one of its strongest points, setting it apart from other budget smartphones in its category.
The Performance
The Honor X8A is a highly capable smartphone that excels in performance. Its octa-core Helio G88 chipset, with a maximum clock speed of 2.0 GHz, can handle any task with ease. Additionally, the chipset supports dual 5G connectivity and Wi-Fi 6 for fast and stable internet access, ensuring that you stay connected no matter where you are.
With 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the Honor X8A offers more than enough space for multitasking, gaming, and storing your files. You can also expand the storage capacity up to 512GB with a microSD card. Moreover, the device has passed various durability tests such as the power button test, touch screen test, fingerprint button test, and temperature cycle test, ensuring its quality and reliability.
The Honor X8A also performs impressively in benchmark tests, outscoring some of its competitors in the same price range. In Geekbench 5 (single-core), it scored 2243 points, while in Geekbench 5 (multi-core), it scored 6427 points. For comparison, the Honor X8 scored 2019 points and 5907 points respectively. Additionally, the device scored 1130 points in Wild Life Extreme (3DMark), which evaluates the graphical performance of a device using Vulkan API on Android.
The Honor X8A is suitable for both average and power users, offering smooth performance and power efficiency for everyday use, as well as impressive gaming and multitasking capabilities for demanding scenarios. Overall, the Honor X8A is a reliable and high-performing smartphone that exceeds expectations.
The Camera
The Honor X8A smartphone is equipped with an impressive 100MP ultra camera system that can capture breathtaking photos with incredible detail and color. The device comes with a triple rear camera setup and a single front camera, each with various modes and features for different scenarios.
The rear camera setup comprises a 100MP primary sensor with f/1.9 aperture and PDAF, a 5MP ultra-wide and depth sensor with f/2.2 aperture, and a 2MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The primary sensor can take high-resolution photos in high-res mode with AI algorithm, enhancing the clarity and quality of the images. The ultra-wide sensor can capture more scenery in a single shot, while the depth sensor can create bokeh effects for portraits. The macro sensor can focus on close-up objects as near as 4cm.
The rear camera also supports video recording up to 4K resolution at 30fps, or 1080p resolution at 60fps4. It has electronic image stabilization (EIS) to reduce shakes and blurs and a slow-motion mode to capture fast-moving scenes. You can also use the AI beauty mode to smooth your skin and adjust your facial features in videos.
The front camera is a 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture housed inside a punch-hole cutout on the edgeless display15. It can take selfies with AI beautification, portrait mode, HDR mode, and night mode. The camera also supports face unlock feature for convenient security.
The Honor X8A smartphone provides a versatile and powerful camera system that can meet any photography or videography needs. It is an ideal device for users who want to capture every moment with clarity and creativity.
Battery Life
The Honor X8A is equipped with a 4500mAh battery that can last for an entire day of moderate usage. In addition, it supports 22.5W Honor SuperCharge fast charging, which can recharge 50% of the battery in only 30 minutes. This ensures that you won’t have to worry about running out of power when you need it the most.
However, battery life may vary depending on how you use your phone. If you’re a casual user who mainly uses your phone for calls, texts, social media, and browsing, you can expect to get more than a day of battery life. However, if you’re a heavy user who frequently plays games, watches videos, takes photos and videos with the 100MP camera, or uses other power-hungry apps, you may need to charge your phone more frequently.
The Honor X8A also comes with an Android 12-based Magic UI 6.1 operating system that has some features to optimize battery performance. For instance, you can use power saving mode or ultra power saving mode to extend battery life by reducing certain functions and background activities. You can also customize your own power plan to suit your needs and preferences.
The Honor X8A is a smartphone that provides a decent battery life with fast charging support. It can handle most tasks without consuming too much power, but it may not be sufficient for heavy users who demand more from their devices.
Conclusion
The Honor X8A smartphone strives to impress users with its outstanding features such as the 100MP ultra camera system, 6.7-inch edgeless display, 8GB+128GB large storage capacity, and fast charging support. It is designed to handle various tasks effortlessly, providing a seamless and delightful user experience.
However, the device is not without its flaws, which may dissuade some prospective buyers. For instance, it lacks a headphone jack, wireless charging, and water resistance. Additionally, the phone uses a MediaTek Helio G88 chipset, which may not be as powerful or efficient as its competitors’ processors. Furthermore, it runs on Magic UI 6.1, which may not suit everyone’s preferences.
In conclusion, if you are searching for a camera-centric phone with a large screen and fast charging, the Honor X8A is an excellent option. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a phone with a more premium design, better performance, or more features, you may want to look elsewhere.
