I was invited to the launch of the Honor 8X in Dubai earlier this month along with a handful of fellow Lebanese who work in traditional and online publications and platforms. Right after the event, we were each given a brand new Honor 8X. Today, after a couple of weeks using this beautiful device, here’s my first impression and review.

It’s Gorgeous

Even though I’m not a fan of mostly-glass bodies, I like what Honor did with the 8X. I chose the all-black variant, but most of my colleagues chose either the blue or the red versions. I especially liked the darker strip that houses the two rear-facing AI cameras and the Honor logo.

The display is definitely the most interesting feature of the phone. With barely any bezels, the screen covers a whopping 91% of the front of the device. Even though I’m not a big fan of the “notch” on the top of the screen, the notification tab squeezed into that extra bit of screen did grow on me after a couple of days.

The screen is a 6.5-inch LTPS LCD display with a 2340 x 1080 resolution (397 pixels per inch). The Full HD+ resolution is pretty sharp, and I was surprised a phone this size, and in that price range, had such a great display.

Under the Hood

The model I’m carrying boasts a whopping 128GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM with a Kirin 710 SoC processor. The phone has been quite smooth and didn’t so much as hiccup when mutli-tasking, but when put side by side with my Huawei Mate 10 Pro, you kind of begin to understand why the latter is more than twice the price.

One thing I was upset with is that it’s a microUSB port, when my other Androids and most other portable devices I use have been USB-C for a few years now. Seemed like a blast from the past, given that even other Honor devices from a year or two ago also featured Type C ports, and not micro USB data and charging ports.

However, it made up for this weird choice by sticking with the trusty, beloved 3.5mm audio jack. That’s the thing I hate most about my Huawei Mate Pro: no audio jack…

If you’re like me, and can’t stand how much Alfa and Touch rip us off, you probably have a foreign SIM card as well, that you use to roam here sometimes for cheaper than local rates, or when you are traveling around. The Honor 8X comes with a dual sim card, so that’s something to be happy about.

If you feel that the 128GB of storage isn’t enough, you can add a microSD card and the device can handle up to 400GB of storage. NFC is also available and so is Bluetooth 4.2.

The fingerprint scanner works like a charm and is extremely fast, and the face recognition option is quite quick and reliable, even with a bearded face like mine, although it’s definitely faster on my Mate 10 or the P20.

The Camera

Given most of us use our smartphones as Instagram machines, the camera is an extremely important factor when choosing which phone is right for you. The Honor 8X camera definitely felt better than what a 300USD pricetag phone should be like, but still fell short compared to flagship offerings.

The 20MP AI camera shone best in calm, static, low-light conditions, which for an avid clubber like me, is absolutely necessary but was a bit tricky with all the lighting’s moving heads, fog machines and lasers at a club.

Photos were crisp, non-grainy and quite beautiful. Nocturnal cityscapes were quite impressive, but a club with a lot of commotion wasn’t as crisp as I would have liked. It also didn’t perform great with very loud music, making the stories I posted a bit distorted. I’ve embedded a few examples below (AI camera at night, AI camera portrait mode in the day).

One thing I did notice, is it’s somewhat slower which means capturing that spontaneous moment might not always land 100%, but, for what it lacks in speed, it definitely made up for in quality, especially when you activated the AI option that boosted the colors wonderfully.

I’ll be honest though, I don’t think I’ll be letting go of my fantastic Mate 10 Pro camera anytime soon, but if landscapes and selfies are your main concern, not heavy-duty concert and club coverage, then the camera should do just fine.

Verdict

The 8X’s pros outweigh the cons many times over. For device in that price range, it’s safe to say it’s the absolute best right now. Many of the features reserved for devices twice and three times its price, appear in this phone, especially when it comes to the superb build and design.

I dropped it twice already, and the gradient glass and metal finish has so far remained unscathed. Honor were kind enough to include a clear rubber cover with the device as well, for clumsy users such as myself.

If you want a reliable device, with a massive screen and beautiful build and decent camera, then you should definitely consider getting the Honor 8X. The 8X goes to show that owning a flagship level device doesn’t have to cost you a month or two’s salary. I noticed after a week that even though I was still doing my heavy lifting like video editing and gaming on the Mate 10, watching videos, flipping through my Instagram feed and playing Pokemon Go have become a lot more enjoyable on the crisp, 6.5″ Fullview display of my new Honor 8X.