Huawei P8 Lite (2017)

Huawei doesn’t believe in traditional numbering for their Lite line. The P8 Lite is actually much newer and more expensive than the P9 Lite. That aside, what makes the P8 Lite stand out is its budget price for decent specs. However, with so many other manufacturers fighting over the budget smartphone market, is the P8 Lite worth a second look?

Let’s see what reviewers have to say!

It’s difficult to call any smartphone design unique with so many options available today. Still, the P8 Lite does offers some “cool” points with its rounded edges, 2.5D “arc” front glass and glass back.

As a budget phone, it ditches the aluminum for a faux-metal treatment to the plastic casing. Despite the plastic, experts were impressed with its overall solid build quality. With that said, after a couple days they noticed the rear glass accumulated smudges and scratches.

The 5.2-inch display offers a resolution of 1920-by-1080 for a pixel density of 424ppi. This sharpness combined with its excellent contrast impressed reviewers. But its brightness really blew them away. Many called it one of the brightest screens on the market. This brightness, combined with IPS display technology, provided them with excellent viewing angles.

The biggest downside, like the 2016 P8 Lite, is its poor color representation. This led to murky and dull images.

The internal specs are a bit more impressive than the screen. Armed with an octa-core processor (4 x 2.1GHz and 4 x 1.7GHz) and 3GB of RAM, the P8 Lite is no slouch in the performance department. Critics experienced no lag or stutters during day-to-day activities or when playing graphic-intensive games.

With that said, Tech Radar noticed apps loaded slowly during their first two days of use, though it sped up after that for unknown reasons.

An octa-core processor and HD display are hard on battery life. It’s one reason Huawei opted for the 3,000mAh battery. Overall, critics were pleased with its performance as they could squeeze a full day with moderate usage. And, since it supports quick-charging, a full recharge only requires an hour.

For its price, the 12MP main camera isn’t bad, but it didn’t wow experts. They found pictures decent in good lighting and even produced noise-free pictures in lower light thanks to the quick autofocus.

While the camera was quick to focus, the lack of optical image stabilization meant pictures sometimes turned out blurry. Even without camera shake, reviewers noticed images often lacked detail when zoomed in. Still, they add it’s decent enough for posting pictures on social media sites.

Reviewers are split for recommending the P8 Lite. On the one hand Expert Reviews states, “… while you certainly won’t be disappointed by the Huawei P8 Lite if you happened to buy one, there are other smartphones I’d recommend above it.” Recombu, on the other hand, states, “… you get a decent media machine, a dependable portable camera, smooth everyday performance and very respectable battery life… For this price, what more could you ask for?”