Huawei initially launched the Honor 8 smartphone in China and now the company has confirmed the device for the U.S. market. Preorders for Huawei's latest mobile phone will begin Aug. 17.
The Honor 8 packs in impressive specs at a pocket-friendly price, which is expected to attract many customers in the United States.
"Honor 8 perfectly represents the evolution of our overall product view," said George Zhao, president of Honor Global. "It goes against established industry norms and market conventions with a higher aesthetic standard. At the same time, it balances looks with the smarts, speed, and connectivity that today's young millennial consumers demand. Honor 8 reflects our understanding of and commitment to their needs and goals."
The Honor 8 sports a 5.2-inch screen with a display resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels. A Kirin 950 processor powers the smartphone. The Honor 8 is available in three different models: one with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, the second with with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of on-board storage and the third with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB internal memory. Customers also have the option to expand the storage capacity to up to 256 GB with a microSD card.
The Honor 8 includes a 12-megapixel (f/2.2 lens) rear-facing camera and an 8-megapixel (f/2.4 lens) selfie camera. The Huawei offering is also equipped with a fingerprint sensor, which improves the security of the phone.
A 3,000 mAh battery powers the latest Honor 8. The device supports fast charging and Huawei claims that customers can get 2 hours of talk time or 6 hours of offline music listening with just 10 minutes of charge.
The Huawei handset has a slim form factor and it measures 145.5 x 71 x 7.5 millimeters, or 5.73 x 2.80 x 0.30 inches. The smartphone weighs 153 grams, or 5.40 ounces. The Honor 8 runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.
In the United States, customers will be able to buy the Honor 8 in three color options: Pearl White, Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue. It is worth noting that the Sapphire Blue option will be exclusive to BestBuy for the first 60 days.
Huawei has confirmed that retailers including Amazon, Newegg, B&H Photo and BestBuy will start accepting preorders for the Honor 8 starting Aug. 17. The device will also be available at the company's own website, HiHonor.com.
The unlocked base model of the Honor 8 will have a price tag of $399.99. A slew of smartphones are available in the market and Huawei may find it difficult to attract many customers to the new Honor 8. However, customers preordering the Honor 8 between Aug. 17 and Aug. 31 will get a $50 gift card from participating retailers, bringing the price down to $349.99, a promotion that may entice many mobile phone enthusiasts.
