Huawei Honor 8 Pro

Due to its budget branding, many people ignore the Honor sub-brand of Huawei. Those looking for a flagship experience normally wouldn’t give the Honor a second glance. The Honor 8 Pro hopes to change that.

Reviewers are in a tizzy about the smartphone because it offers premium specs while undercutting other flagship competitors.

What are they saying? Read on to find out!

If you’re looking for screen real estate, then look no further. The Honor 8 Pro offers a 5.7-inch, QHD (2560-by-1440) display for a pixel density of 515ppi. Reviewers found the screen sharp and detailed. Some called it “stunning.”

Of course, a screen isn’t just about sharpness. The Honor 8 Pro delivers on brightness levels too. Reviewer had no trouble with screen visibility, even on the brightest days.

With that said, they found colors to be muted and contrast lacking. This is because the phone uses an LCD screen instead of the AMOLED screens typically found on flagships. With that said, Stuff.tv notes, “… this is still a top-notch panel. You’ll struggle to get better for less cash.”

A large screen also means larger dimensions. While thin, many found the phone feels wider than even the Samsung Galaxy S8 or LG G6. It’s also a bit heavy, weighing in at 184g. However, they add that weight is distributed evenly across the body.

The metal phone chassis provides a premium appearance. Reviewers also note it makes for sturdier build quality. Still, they add the metal makes it difficult to grip so they recommend getting a protective case in case you drop the phone. This is made even more important by a lack of water resistance.

For performance, the Honor 8 Pro is no slouch. Armed with an octa-core processor with four 2.4 GHz cores and four 1.8GHz cores, it breezed through any challenges reviewers threw at it. They noticed no lag upon app startup or even during gaming. With 6GB of RAM, reviews show no issues with multitasking either. Techradar adds, “There’s a beautiful fluidity to the phone made possible by its overloaded power reserves.”

Backing up all that power is a 4,000mAh battery. Despite its size, many could only get a full day of life with mixed usage. During their benchmark tests, it lost 25 percent of its battery within 90 minutes. Recharges are also slow since there is no quick charging capabilities. Reviewers found a full charge requires a few hours. To make matters worse, the battery is not removable. So, you can’t carry around any spares.

With dual 12MP cameras on the back, the camera is very similar to the Honor 8. One camera captures full color, while the other sensor is monochrome, which allegedly provides better contrast and detail in more challenging lighting conditions.

So does it work? Experts say yes. They note that the camera on the Pro is much better than its predecessor thanks to a better processor and image signal processor. Most of the images taken had great range of depth and natural colors.

Despite the amount of light the camera let in through the lens, low-light images got noisy. Since the phone lacks optical image stabilization, reviewers warn you’ll need steady hands to avoid reshooting—even with the camera’s fast focus and image capture speed.

Despite some shortcomings, experts overwhelmingly recommend the Honor 8 Pro. Android Central states, “The Honor 8 Pro is a fantastic option for anyone looking for a premium phone without dropping a ridiculous amount of cash.” Trusted Reviews adds, “Between an attractive design, a solid performing camera… there’s a great deal to like about Honor’s flagship phone.”