Honor 8 Report 8-19-2016: Special Edition (AMA)

[lumivalo]

So, to make up for the relative brevity of yesterday's Honor 8 Report, I have decided to make a two-part Special Edition of the Honor 8 Report. The first part is an Honor 8 Gallery Showcase, where pictures of the Honor 8 can be shown off and you will have the chance to share your own. The second part is a standard Report, and will focus on the pricing of the Honor 8 in comparison to other phones in similar price ranges.

UPDATE: Yesterday's Report, focused on ROMs and customization, may have been confirmed by this article Huawei Honor 8 to get two years of software updates, maybe custom ROM support - Liliputing . Also, @wimbet has confirmed that the Honor 8 will recieve updates for at least 2 years https://plus.google.com/+TaylorWimberly/posts/FwiB7hZsGj9

Part One:
Here are a collection of pictures, both promotional and consumer-taken, of the Honor 8. Feel free to comment and add your own pictures to the mix!










Part Two
In comparison to other phones in the $399 range, the Honor 8 will really have to prove its worth. Going up against the likes of the OnePlus 3 and the ZTE Axon 7, the Honor 8 introduces a unique way to approach what is quickly becoming a saturated mid-range sector.

Design
I believe that the Honor 8 wins in design when compared to the OnePlus 3 and the Axon 7, as they both seem rather plain and dull in comparison to the futuristic design of the Honor 8. The Honor 8 has also been guaranteed support for updates for at least two years, so it has a very stable update plan, unlike the Axon 7.

Developer Support
However, the OnePlus 3 wins in developer support, being one of the most popular phones for customization and modification. All there are futureproofed with USB-C, so they will last quite a while if you intend on using it as a daily driver for a few years to come.

Stock Android
Lastly, the OnePlus 3 and Axon 7 both win over the Honor 8 for those who prefer stock Android, however, custom ROMs will be coming soon, and I personally enjoy the little customizations that Huawei has added to Android, although many of my fellow Honor 5X beta testers may disagree. EMUI has come a long way, and with the guaranteee of updates for two years, I am really excited for EMUI 5, which is supposed to be a lot closer to stock Android than any EMUI before.

So, the verdict? The Honor 8 is a great phone capable of holding its own, even when put up against the likes of the OnePlus 3 and the Axon 7. The $50 coupon only adds to its value, so buying sooner rather than later might be a good idea. Then again, fall discounts are very steep in the US, so waiting for the fall might be a good idea.

Happy Androiding!

-Lumi Valo

 

[samix]

Great post!
This video does a great job of showing off the EMUI features, I was surprised by some of the clever stuff they baked in. I think making the fingerprint reader also a button makes it that much more useful.
Honor 8 Unboxing and Review

 

[libra89]

I agree about your post being a great post, Lumi!

One thing I believe that the Honor 8 has going for it is that it is smaller in size over its competition. One handed usage of phones is NOT dead. For people like me, that is a huge pro. Sure the OnePlus 3 and Axon 7 are great but so big. Additionally, for those of us that care about color selections, the Honor 8 wins hands down over the other two. The other 2 phones have only 2 colors, the Honor 8 has 5 colors (3 available stateside), which is awesome!

 

[lumivalo]

Agreed. I've gotten so used to the gesture for pulling down the notification panel that it feel odd when it doesn't work on other phones.

 

[lumivalo]

I do agree, and even if 5.2 inches is too small for some, EMUI has a great feature with which you can swipe left or right on the navigation bar (that's the bar at the bottom of the screen with the back, home, and recents/multitasking buttons) and the screen will shrink to about 75% of its original size and shift in the direction that you swiped.

 

[libra89]

I do agree, and even if 5.2 inches is too small for some, EMUI has a great feature with which you can swipe left or right on the navigation bar (that's the bar at the bottom of the screen with the back, home, and recents/multitasking buttons) and the screen will shrink to about 75% of its original size and shift in the direction that you swiped.

The more you know...never knew that.

Also, it would be nice if they can hold themselves to that two year support timeframe. I would be very impressed if this turns out to be the case.

 

[lumivalo]

The more you know...never knew that.

Also, it would be nice if they can hold themselves to that two year support timeframe. I would be very impressed if this turns out to be the case.

Yeah, a lot of OEMs don't keep their promises on stuff like that. Huawei is the third largest OEM in the world, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

 

[dpham00]

I do agree, and even if 5.2 inches is too small for some, EMUI has a great feature with which you can swipe left or right on the navigation bar (that's the bar at the bottom of the screen with the back, home, and recents/multitasking buttons) and the screen will shrink to about 75% of its original size and shift in the direction that you swiped.

That's pretty nice. Not sure if it is needed at 5.2",but more options doesn't hurt

 

[juststart]

Detroitborgs video shows a feature I can't seem to replicate. He slides his finger down the fingerprint sensor and the notification screen comes down. Mine doesn't seem to do that.

 

[dpham00]

Detroitborgs video shows a feature I can't seem to replicate. He slides his finger down the fingerprint sensor and the notification screen comes down. Mine doesn't seem to do that.

This is on the 5x,but I believe that it is similar

http://honornewshub.com/honor-5x-fingerprint-sensor/

 

[juststart]

I found the setting. It's under "Fingerprint ID".

 

[libra89]

I found the setting. It's under "Fingerprint ID".

Not related, but when you get a chance, can you please share your first impressions in the first impressions thread? I don't want that thread to remain as just my first impressions only lol.

 

[dpham00]

I found the setting. It's under "Fingerprint ID".

Good to know. That is similar to where it is on the 5x

 

[dpham00]

Not related, but when you get a chance, can you please share your first impressions in the first impressions thread? I don't want that thread to remain as just my first impressions only lol.

Maybe you can rename it my first impressions.

 

[libra89]

Maybe you can rename it my first impressions.

Nah. Because then everyone will make first impressions threads. I would rather have just one thread.

 

[dpham00]

Nah. Because then everyone will make first impressions threads. I would rather have just one thread.

Most definitely. Was just make in a joke, guess it wasn't funny.

 

[juststart]

I ended up returning the phone to best buy. While it is a beautiful phone that is feature packed, the UI is very confusing. The battery management system is very aggressive and you can spend all day trying to figure things out. The finger print sensor is very fast and there were a few things I enjoyed since some features are similar to iOS. For example, after you enter your pin after a restart, you don't need to hit the little check mark. It just unlocks. I also enjoyed the badge notification system.

 

[dpham00]

I ended up returning the phone to best buy. While it is a beautiful phone that is feature packed, the UI is very confusing. The battery management system is very aggressive and you can spend all day trying to figure things out. The finger print sensor is very fast and there were a few things I enjoyed since some features are similar to iOS. For example, after you enter your pin after a restart, you don't need to hit the little check mark. It just unlocks. I also enjoyed the badge notification system.

There are definitely a lot of settings to go through. Sometimes having more options is nice... But sometimes it is too much.

 

[juststart]

There are definitely a lot of settings to go through. Sometimes having more options is nice... But sometimes it is too much.

Yes. I may revisit the phone. It's really great. Perhaps the new EMUI that's coming out will help make things a bit more cohesive and squash a few bugs.