Huawei's sub-brand Honor has been gaining popularity with consumers and its latest flagship the Honor 8 already accounts for 1.5 million units sold worldwide.
The Honor 8 was launched in July this year, but only began making its way to the U.S. market earlier in September after preorders opened up on Aug. 17.
The 5.2-inch smartphone is an amalgamation of robust features and specs with affordable pricing. The attractive looking Honor 8 strikes a balance between aesthetics and functionality.
With the smartphone now up for grabs, we check out what the experts have to say about the Honor 8. Does the smartphone live up to the hype? Let's find out!
"The phone is just 7.45mm thick, but it's the Honor 8's all-glass design that makes it stand out from the crowd. Fifteen layers of glass are used to refract glass in different directions from the back. The Honor 8 has one of the most unique and elegant designs we've seen in a phone, making it attractive for the young Millennials Honor is pitching it at. But we think it's a good-looking phone for users of all ages," notes PCAdvisor's Christoper Minasians.
The folks at TechRadar are happy with the pricing and features of the handset but do not feel that it has that X-factor that would make the device make it to everyone's wishlist.
"You get a lot of good phone for the price, but the problem for the Honor 8 is that it doesn't offer anything must-have against similarly priced competitors. There's nothing about it that makes you feel like you have to have this phone," opines Michelle Fitzsimmons.
Mike Lowe of Pocket-lint feels that as a handset for frequent use, the Honor 8 has a reasonable design and decent abilities, especially in light of the fact that it is a midrange device. However, the publication feels that a lot of the aspects of the handset are overhyped.
"As mid-level phones go the Honor 8 lays down some solid specification benchmarks for its £370 price. In reality, however, some of them don't quite live up to the paperwork: the battery life ought to be a little longer lasting, while the odd 'hang' here and there doesn't provide perfect graphics for gaming," notes Lowe.
Meanwhile, Digital Trends' Kyle Wiggers is all praises for the Honor 8's rear-facing dual-camera setup — a feature on the Huawei P9 and the iPhone 7 Plus as well.
It's capable of many cool tricks, because the Honor 8 can combine sensor data from its twin snappers to improve overall pic quality. One camera, a traditional RGB sensor, captures color data, while the second, a monochrome sensor, measures brightness. The Honor 8's software combines the two streams into a single image — a feat Huawei said gives the Honor 8 and P9 a dramatic leg up in low-light environments," lauds Wiggers.
However, the lack of 4K video capabilities is a negative as GSMArena points out.
"There is no 4K video capture, and the 1080p videos are uninspiring — there is not enough detail. The color rendition and the audio recording are very good, though," notes the site.
Android Authority waxes eloquent of the device's features, including the dual-camera setup. However, it warns that while the $400 Honor 8 may be value for money, one has other options too.
"Huawei has brought what many have wanted from an affordable flagship for a while now: a gorgeous design, a smaller size, and a great camera. In addition, the Honor 8's excellent performance and IR blaster are not always common on an affordable smartphone," says Bailey Stein.
