Huawei is seen as the underdog in the smartphone market in India. Although it enjoys massive popularity in China and Europe, the brand is yet to make a dent in the crowded Indian smartphone market. Surprisingly, its phones have been incredibly powerful, but fall short when compared to other flagships. When I reviewed the Huawei P9 last year, it was a phone to beat in the camera department, but it couldn’t match the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s Plus overall.
Similarly, Honor 8 was a good device in my opinion, an eye-catching phone that went unnoticed.
Honor 8 Pro, however, is an exception. Like many smartphones, it features a dual camera, which is quickly becoming a standard. However, the Honor 8 Pro is much more than a pair of dual rear cameras; it also packs a vibrant 5.7-inch Quad HD screen, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, microSD card support, and a massive 4,000mAh battery that results in the longest battery life I have ever seen on a flagship.
That puts the Honor 8 Pro in the same zone as the OnePlus 5, which is already hailed by many as the smartphone to beat in the premium mid-end segment. While the OnePlus 5 is a great phone, the Honor 8 Pro surprisingly beats it on several key features. At Rs 29,999, Honor 8 Pro is priced lower than the OnePlus 5 which starts at `32,999. I have extensively tested the Honor 8 Pro on various parameters in the past week or so, and here’s my verdict.
All smartphones these days look and feel the same, and the Honor 8 Pro is no different. But you won’t find the 2.5D glass coating both on the front and back of the phone, as seen on the Honor 8. Instead, it has a metal back, with an attractive brushed effect.
From a practical point of view, the metal design attracts less fingerprints, which means you don’t necessarily need a case to protect the phone. Nevertheless, Honor 8 Pro reminds me a lot about the Honor 8. The phone still has smooth rounded curved corners that are easy to grip. At 7.0 mm thick, the Honor 8 Pro is a slim device stacking up well compared to the competition, including the 7.3 mm thick OnePlus 5.
Honor 8 Pro sports a large 5.7-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixel with 515 pixels per inch (ppi). This is the first time I have seen an eye-popping display on a Huawei-made device. The display is big. It’s bright and colours look good.
The Honor 8 Pro is powered by its Kirin 960 processor coupled with 6 GB RAM, making it a highly capable smartphone. What is surprising is this processor was able to stand up to the OnePlus 5, and other flagships running the Snapdragon 835. The Honor 8 Pro is able to handle pretty much anything, from streaming movies to gaming to even photo-editing.
Honor 8 Pro comes with a 4000mAh battery, more than the 3300mAh on the OnePlus 5. Overall, battery life on the Honor 8 Pro was very good. I could easily stretch out the battery up to one and half days with very little effort.
Call and data connectivity were excellent throughout. I used a Reliance Jio 4G SIM for the purpose of testing. The audio quality from the speakers was satisfactory when watching videos or playing games, though I’d expect audio to be a bit louder.
Honor 8 Pro has two lenses—one for colour and other for monochrome. These dual 12-megapixel cameras are accompanied by a dual-LED flash, phase detection, laser focus and f/2.2 aperture. During my tests, the Honor 8 Pro captured photos that were sharp, and colourful. The focusing is quick (something the OnePlus 5 lacks), and it takes micro-seconds to
capture the shot perfectly.
In summary, Honor 8 Pro is attractive, well-built Android phone that offers great battery life and excellent cameras on board.
-By Anuj Bhatia
