Huawei's new Honor 8 Lite conclusively demonstrates that you can buy a very good smartphone for less than Dh1,000. What is less certain is whether this is the one you should buy in this price range.
That does not mean that the 8 Lite isn't a high quality all-round package. But while its design and display are above average, it falls a little short of similarly priced rivals in other areas.
The 8 Lite's glass back design looks and feels as though it should cost twice as much. It feels great in the hand in spite of being a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
Its (slightly small) 5.2-inch LCD display is another selling point, offering higher pixel density and slightly better performance than its rivals, even if, as expected, the trailer for Alien: Covenant is less crisp and smooth than on higher priced models.
Camera-wise, the 8 Lite lacks the dual lens system of the full-blooded Honor 8 and the Honor 6X. Its 12MP rear shooter's performance is roughly on par with rivals like the Samsung J7 and Oppo F1s, although the Oppo's 16MP selfie camera bests the 8 Lite's 8MP front-facing camera.
The same goes for storage, with the 8 Lite's built-in 16GB falling short of the 32GB offered by rivals such as Oppo F1s and the Hisense E76. Of course a microSD card will solve any space issues, but at the price of being able to use a second Sim.
q&a lite but heavy
John Everington expands on Huawei’s new Honor 8 Lite:
You mentioned something about a non-lite Honor 8?
You obviously haven’t been phone-shopping recently. The regular version of the Honor 8, which has been available since August, retails for Dh600 more than the lite version. It has a nippier processor, more Ram (4GB over the 8 Lite’s 3GB) and a dual camera system that is similar to the Huawei P9 and Honor 6X.
What does the dual camera system allow you to do?
Huawei claims that combining images from the two cameras (in the Honor 8’s case one shooting colour and one shooting monochrome) will make for a sharper picture. The Bokeh effects of the Honor 6X are also possible, but only via editing software.
So let me get this straight, the Honor 6X (which you reviewed last month) actually came out after the Honor 8?
Yes. Huawei launched the Honor 8 in August last year, then the 6X in January 2017. And now because the Honor 8 was such a success, and "inspired by the mesmerising scenes of the Antelope Canyon" (so says Huawei anyway), it launched a Lite version earlier this month.
That sounds … confusing.
A little, yes. And that’s before you get to Huawei’s non-Honor brands like the P and Mate range, and the Nova and Nova Plus.
OK, back to the Honor 8 Lite. What I need to know is …
It’s available in “Pearl” white, “Midnight” black, “Sapphire” blue and, and, erm, “gold.” No pink, unfortunately.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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