Over the past years, HONOR has consistently delivered quality midrange devices through its X Series lineup. The latest in the series, the HONOR X8b, promises the same: that is, high-end features at a reasonable price.
To see if it delivers on its promise, we took the phone for a spin to get a first-hand experience of what it offers.
Design & construction
The HONOR X8b is available in Midnight Black, Titanium Silver, and Glamorous Green. Our review unit is the latter, which has a diamond-patterned textured design on the faux leather back cover. It’s soft to the touch and gives the phone a different feel and look compared to devices with standard plastic or metal back cover. This adds to the overall aesthetic of the phone; it’s well done and adds a touch of luxury to this midranger. The design also effectively repels fingerprint smudges.
The phone’s button and port layout are simple. On the left, you’ll see the SIM card tray, while the bottom houses the microphone, charging port, and loudspeaker grille. On the right edge of the device are two visible buttons. The upper button is for the volume up and down, while the other is for the power button/fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor speed was decent, but we wish it could be an on-screen fingerprint sensor instead.
Overall, the HONOR X8b is ultra slim but sturdy with its SGS Five-star Certification. You can confidently carry it around and not worry about its build.
Display & performance
The HONOR X8b has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2412 x 1080, 3240Hz PWM, and a risk-free dimming feature. This is a massive plus since it lets you appreciate and enjoy content with its vibrant display and fewer screen lags. The screen also has 2000nits peak brightness, which ensures visibility even in bright sunlight.
Another notable feature is the Magic Capsule, which shows you the notifications and provides real-time app information (phone call, alarm, timer, or voice recording) on the top of the screen where the camera notch is, even when you’re on a different application. Aside from looking cool, it’s helpful as it provides quick access when the call, clock, or recording app is minimized.
The HONOR X8b is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset paired with Adreno 610 GPU, 8GB of RAM plus another 8GB RAM Turbo technology. Its 512GB built-in storage is spacious enough to accommodate your videos, images, files, and apps.
The MagicOS 7.2, based on the Android 13 operating system, delivers an intuitive experience and smooth navigation. It also has different features that can help with productivity, including HONOR Share for fast file transfers and HONOR Docs for easy access to Excel, PPT, and Word files on your phone. There’s also a built-in video editor, network-sharing capabilities, and notification- and call-sharing functions.
The phone provides decent performance suitable for everyday tasks and light to medium gaming, Sure, it could be more powerful, but at this price point, the performance is more than acceptable as this phone targets primarily social media, mobile gamers, and mobile photography users.
Lastly, the HONOR X8b can last a day or so with its 4800mAh battery and light to moderate usage–around two days if the phone is on standby.
It’s nice that HONOR still provides their customers with chargers out of the box; the 35W charging speed 35W charging speed can take the battery from 10% to 50% in only 30 minutes, and our testing indicates a full charge within an hour.
Camera
The HONOR X8b has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 108MP main camera, 5MP wide and depth, and 2MP macro.
The camera system on the X8b offers impressive features, considering its price range. Overall, the photos came out great, especially in bright lighting conditions. While it performs reasonably well in low-light conditions, some noise may be noticeable.
There’s an LED-assisted 50MP AI selfie camera that captures good selfies even at nighttime.
You can use the various modes, such as Aperture, Pro, Portrait, and HDR, with decent to good photo quality. Video recording quality is average; we highly recommend using a gimbal or a tripod while taking videos since you can notice the lack of image stabilization.
The camera setup for this phone is very capable overall. Maximize all the available features, paired with a little bit of your creativity, to capture great photos.
Speed says
The HONOR X8b, while a midrange device, boasts an aesthetically pleasing design enhanced by features like the Magic Capsule, a great AMOLED display, and a decent camera system—proving that sophistication and quality aren’t always tied to a hefty price tag.
The HONOR X8b is priced at P12,999 and is available at HONOR Experience Stores and online via via Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
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