My Thoughts on the Honor 8 (after 5 days)

[Byrese]

I recently bought an Honor 8 to replace my troubled Note 5 and boy have I been impressed!

The hardware I find to be VERY aesthetically pleasing. In many ways it kinda looks like an iPhone 6 or 7. It's light, shiny, and pocketable. What's not to like? And I find the 5.2 inch display to be the perfect size.

At first I didn't really know about the EMUI. It's very IOS like IMO. But I think I like it. It's like having the best of IOS and android in one device. From the former it's VERY smooth and from the latter it's also very customizable. But to me.The best things are the all the tricks this thing has up it's sleeve like the finger print button, it's split screen features, dash buttons, gestures, etc.

Battery life is great, camera I really haven't tested.

In short this it's a SOLID phone. It may be categorized as a mid ranger but nobody told Huawei that, as it really is a flagship like device. This phone is so good it makes me think of buying an Mate 9 in time.

Last thing. One thing this phone had taught me is that with the right "mid ranger" companies like Honor or Oneplus there's no need to buy a super expensive $80" phone unless u just want to. And if u do that's fine too...But ALL the features one really could want could be found with an Honor 8 or a Oneplus 3.

 

[Morty2264]

I could not agree with you more. I love your review! I agree: the hardware design is beautiful and I love the 5.2" size of it. I like it even more than my previous love for the 5.5" range. It's chalk-full of features and yes, though it's technically a mid-range phone, it has flagship-like specs and it does the job just as well as most other flagships out there right now. I've never owned a mid-range phone until this one and man, it's amazing. It truly makes one reconsider spending twice or even triple the amount of money on flagships.

 

[Byrese]

I could not agree with you more. I love your review! I agree: the hardware design is beautiful and I love the 5.2" size of it. I like it even more than my previous love for the 5.5" range. It's chalk-full of features and yes, though it's technically a mid-range phone, it has flagship-like specs and it does the job just as well as most other flagships out there right now. I've never owned a mid-range phone until this one and man, it's amazing. It truly makes one reconsider spending twice or even triple the amount of money on flagships.

Right?! We spend all this money on phones and they all basically do the same thing (mid range and up).

However, one knock in the quality would be the speakers, head jack, and Power input at het bottom of the phone. It's not fully flush with the phone and I found it irritating to my pinky finger as it rubbed against it. But I put a case on it and I'm fine now. It is those small things that make a difference from Midway flagship

 

[Dconn1975]

I recently bought an Honor 8 to replace my troubled Note 5 and boy have I been impressed!

I hardware I find to be VERY aesthetically pleasing. In many ways it kinda looks like an iPhone 6 or 7. It's light, shiny, and pocketable. What's not to like? And I find the 5.2 inch display to be the perfect size.

At first I didn't really know about the EMUI. It's very IOS like IMO. But I think I like it. It's like having the best of IOS and android in one device. From the former it's VERY smooth and from the latter it's also very customizable. But to me.The best things are the all the tricks this thing has up it's sleeve like the finger print button, it's split screen features, dash buttons, gestures, etc.

Battery life is great, camera I really haven't tested.

In short this it's a SOLID phone. It may be categorized as a mid ranger but nobody told Huawei that, as it really is a flagship like device. This phone is so good it makes me think of buying an Mate 9 in time.

Last thing. One thing this phone had taught me is that with the right "mid ranger" company like Honor or Oneplus there's no need to buy a super expensive $80" phone unless u just want to. And if u do that's fine too...But ALL the features one really could want could be found with an Honor 8 or a Oneplus 3.

Man what a well written article! Well done! I knew you would like the interface!! It's very smooth and yes very IOS like and I'm one who came to android a little less than two years ago from exclusively Apple. I think you will find the camera to be every bit just as good as you like the phone good! The camera is one of my most favorite features on the Honor 8. It's quick and it's crisp. That to me or for the lack of better words is all you really want from a camera anyway. Quick and Crisp. The Honor 8 has a strong camera and I think you find that you love it.

I did cave in today since I had been craving a true one hander and I bought a iPhone 5s that was like new so I should be good for a while and I'll give my honor a rest for a little while as I'm sure I'll miss the 5.2 screen size in time.

You mentioned the Mate 9. If you get one please do a write up on it here too compared to the Honor 8 as I'd be curious of your thoughts. The Mate 9 has been on my list but the price of $599 has made me say no so far. I like having one small phone and one large phone and the Mate 9 is the large device I want. You wrote your review so well that if you do get the Mate, definitely write about it please. Your article I say it is was very well informed!! Glad you are enjoying the Honor man!

 

[dpham00]

I recently bought an Honor 8 to replace my troubled Note 5 and boy have I been impressed!

The hardware I find to be VERY aesthetically pleasing. In many ways it kinda looks like an iPhone 6 or 7. It's light, shiny, and pocketable. What's not to like? And I find the 5.2 inch display to be the perfect size.

At first I didn't really know about the EMUI. It's very IOS like IMO. But I think I like it. It's like having the best of IOS and android in one device. From the former it's VERY smooth and from the latter it's also very customizable. But to me.The best things are the all the tricks this thing has up it's sleeve like the finger print button, it's split screen features, dash buttons, gestures, etc.

Battery life is great, camera I really haven't tested.

In short this it's a SOLID phone. It may be categorized as a mid ranger but nobody told Huawei that, as it really is a flagship like device. This phone is so good it makes me think of buying an Mate 9 in time.

Last thing. One thing this phone had taught me is that with the right "mid ranger" companies like Honor or Oneplus there's no need to buy a super expensive $80" phone unless u just want to. And if u do that's fine too...But ALL the features one really could want could be found with an Honor 8 or a Oneplus 3.

That's very true... These days, a $300-400 phone is like 80-90% of a $800 phone. Really diminishing returns.

 

[krazyatom]

That's very true... These days, a $300-400 phone is like 80-90% of a $800 phone. Really diminishing returns.

So true. I do like Samsung and Apple for using high materials like Samsung super amoled, fastest ssd read/write, ios longest OS update support.

 

[dpham00]

So true. I do like Samsung and Apple for using high materials like Samsung super amoled, fastest ssd read/write, ios longest OS update support.

Speaking of updates, the honor 8 has been pretty good with updates but the honor 5x has been severely lacking. I think support and updates are the biggest drawbacks of these bargain priced phones.

 

[Sungjin]

The Honor 8 looks and runs great. I just wish it wasn't as slippery. I wonder if they could use a different material on the sides of the device to make it more grippy. I hate putting a case on such a beautiful device.

 

[dpham00]

You can always put a skin on the sides to add a little more grip

 

[krazyatom]

I would also use skin if you don't like to use case. I always use case because I often sell the phone so I want to keep them in mint condition.

 

[dpham00]

I would also use skin if you don't like to use case. I always use case because I often sell the phone so I want to keep them in mint condition.

Do you use a screen protector? Tempered glass or otherwise?

 

[krazyatom]

Do you use a screen protector? Tempered glass or otherwise?

I prefer tempered glass!

 

[dpham00]

I prefer tempered glass!

Did you find one that works well with the Honor 8? The curved glass makes it a little tricky

 

[krazyatom]

Did you find one that works well with the Honor 8? The curved glass makes it a little tricky

I actually haven't found perfect tempered glass as well

 

[dpham00]

I actually haven't found perfect tempered glass as well

That's the bane of curved glass screens. Tempered glass screen protectors are a pain to find... At least one which fits well.

 

[Byrese]

After using this phone for a little over a month I still LOVE it. But I may try to get the 8 Pro, a Mate, OR something a little bit more powerful. I work my phones hard on a daily basis. And while the 8 can keep up, I believe I may needed something a bit more powerful. We'll see but I still LOVE it.

 

[Morty2264]

After using this phone for a little over a month I still LOVE it. But I may try to get the 8 Pro, a Mate, OR something a little bit more powerful. I work my phones hard on a daily basis. And while the 8 can keep up, I believe I may needed something a bit more powerful. We'll see but I still LOVE it.

Huawei makes great devices! I was even wondering about the P10 for my next phone, but I really want the U11. But I've heard great things about the Honor 9 too, what do you think about that device?

 

[dpham00]

After using this phone for a little over a month I still LOVE it. But I may try to get the 8 Pro, a Mate, OR something a little bit more powerful. I work my phones hard on a daily basis. And while the 8 can keep up, I believe I may needed something a bit more powerful. We'll see but I still LOVE it.

The mate 9 is $346 if you are interested in a refurbished. Check out the mate 9 forum if interested.

 

[dpham00]

Huawei makes great devices! I was even wondering about the P10 for my next phone, but I really want the U11. But I've heard great things about the Honor 9 too, what do you think about that device?

I think it is a great phone... But price and availability in the USA are unknown at this time, so we just have to wait and see.

 

[Morty2264]

I think it is a great phone... But price and availability in the USA are unknown at this time, so we just have to wait and see.

You're right, it's a little hard to know how we feel about it at this point. Hopefully we will know availability and pricing soon!