Review Verdict: The HONOR X8b stands out of the crowd with its unique capsule-shaped punch-hole placed in the center, and is the most refined version among the X8 series. The phone maintained its slim and stylish looks, though we wished HONOR gave the X8b an upgrade with the processing package.
Pros
-Great display
-Better front and main rear cameras
-Big storage for its price
Cons
-Processor not an upgrade
-Still on Android 13
After bringing over the X9b to the Philippines last month, it was expected that HONOR would follow it up with the more affordable and compact X8b for February. The X8b follows the same formula as the rest of the X8 series of being a slim and compact budget phone while adding a few tweaks to make it unique.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Design
The X8b retains the same design language as its predecessors: it’s a slim and compact phone, and its module on the back has four circles to house three cameras and an LED flash.
What’s new on the X8b is a vegan leather option with the Glamorous Green colorway that adds spice to the phone with a textured monogram pattern that reminds you of designer bags. With the X8b’s compact footprint, HONOR nailed the vegan leather option well to give it a luxurious look.
Save for that change, the button and port layout remain the same. That includes a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a USB-C port, and a bottom-firing speaker. What we found strange is the lack of an IP rating–HONOR did add one on the X9b, so we’re wondering why the X8b didn’t get the same treatment.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Display
We liked the X8 series for their slim bezels, and the X8b continues with the trend by making the bottom bezel slimmer to give the phone a symmetrical look –which is rare to see on a budget mid-range device even in 2024. You are getting an AMOLED panel on the X8b, which is an upgrade over the IPS panels used by its predecessors. Aside from having more vibrant colors, the X8b’s display is also brighter, making it more usable outdoors.
The X8b’s main scene stealer is its display cutout, which has a capsule shape instead of a punch hole. While people may have mixed opinions on a capsule-shaped cut-out, placing it in the middle does help give the X8b a symmetrical look to complement its skinny bezels.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Cameras
While the X8 series doesn’t prioritize cameras, HONOR gave the X8b upgrades to both the main rear and selfie cameras. The main camera now uses a 108-megapixel ISOCELL HM6 sensor, which performs better than the 100-megapixel one found on the X8a especially if want to pixel-peep details.
READ MORE:
Compared to its predecessor, the X8b has better performance when it comes to low-light conditions–details are well-preserved on the X8b, and the colors are more natural.
While it does use the same sensor found on the X9b, the X8b’s digital zoom is not as refined–perhaps this is due to the limitations of its processor’s ISP.
The same can be said about the X8b’s ultra-wide camera, which is the same 5-megapixel sensor that’s already aging in terms of image quality for 2024 standards.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is a high-resolution 50-megapixel sensor that has an accompanying LED flash to give you additional lighting when taking selfies in low light.
HONOR does not generally prioritize selfie cameras in its mid-range line, but we’re impressed at the quality of the selfies we took with the X8b.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life
The X8b returns to using a Snapdragon 680 processor but makes up for it by having a large 512GB internal storage that’s rare to find on a budget mid-range phone.
While we like that the X8b has a large internal storage, we wished HONOR opted for a different processor other than the Snapdragon 680: granted that it’s great for being power-efficient, it’s an aging mid-range chip that trails behind, especially for GPU-related tasks.
Despite its modern looks, the X8b only comes with Android 13-based MagicOS 7.2 out of the box. There’s no advisory as of writing this review when it will get Android 14, as HONOR has yet to unveil MagicOS 8.0.
You still get the same 4500mAh battery on the X8b, though you get 35w charging this time. We found it strange that we got a lower battery life on the X8b at 11 hours 20 minutes (vs 12 hours 35 minutes on the X8a) despite having an AMOLED panel that should help with power efficiency.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions
The X8b gets the job done in positioning itself as a stylish budget mid-range phone: aside from the vegan leather option, the display’s symmetric bezels and capsule-shaped display cutout elevate its looks. We appreciate the upgrades on the cameras and display, though the X8b falls short with HONOR’s decision to use an aging processor.
HONOR X8b Review Philippines: Price
The HONOR X8b is priced at Php 12,990 and is available in Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
