Honor X8b review: Exceptional display, subpar performance

This is a review of Honor X8b phone, which is priced around 30,000 in Nepal. Honor consistently launches excellent phones in Nepal, and the recently launched X9B was one of the highest-selling phones in its price range. Its unique selling proposition (USP) was its innovative anti-drop display. Now, we have this phone, which offers 512GB storage at its price point. It's quite impressive, isn't it? Apart from the high storage capacity, you also get a great design and display, among other features, which I'll explain in this review. Before diving in, let's do a quick rundown of its specifications.

Honor X8b Specifications

• Display: 6.7″ FHD+ AMOLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate
• Resolution: 1080 x 2412 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~394 ppi density)
• Dimensions: 161.1 x 74.6 x 6.8 mm
• Weight: 166 g
• Chipset: Snapdragon 680 (6nm Mobile platform)
• CPU: Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 512GB internal storage
• Software & UI: Magic UI 7.2 based on Android 13
• Rear Camera: Triple (108MP primary + 5MP ultrawide + 2MP Macro)
• Front Camera: 50MP f/2.1 (pill-shaped cutout)
• Security: Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
• Battery: 4,500mAh, 35W wired charging
• Colors: Glamorous Green, Titanium Silver, Midnight Black
• Price: 29,999
• Check out the full specs of the Honor X8b here.
• Buy Honor X8b here

Honor X8b Review

Design

• Back: Plastic or Leather
• Front: Deeply Glass
• Frame: Plastic
• Dimensions: 161.1 x 74.6 x 6.8 mm, 166 g

The Honor X8b stands out as an aesthetically pleasing option under NPR 30,000, boasting a stylish leather back finish that not only adds sophistication but also repels fingerprints and smudges. Available in multiple color options, although opting for a different hue means sacrificing the leather finish for a plastic back. Its lightweight and sleek design makes it comfortable to hold, while on the back you get a triple-camera setup, accompanied by an additional LED flash. For biometrics, Honor has provided a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is fast and accurate. So overall, this is a well-built phone Likewise, in terms of the display, Honor seems to have taken some "inspiration" from the iPhone with this notch! Even though it resembles Dynamic Island, not all apps are compatible with it. At best, you can use it to display notifications and real-time information. The Dynamic Island being smaller means it's less intrusive, which is a good thing. Setting that aside, the core display quality of the Honor X8b is indeed impressive.

Display

• Size: 6.7 inches AMOLED
• Resolution: 1080 x 2412 pixels, 20 : 9 aspect ratio

Here, we get a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2000 nits! Previously, in the Honor X8A, it was only 800 nits, so this is a significant upgrade. Even under direct sunlight, visibility shouldn't be an issue at all. In addition to that, this display also comes with many certifications. It is TUV Rheinland flicker-free certified with 3240Hz PWM dimming, so it eliminates flicker at low brightness levels, unlike other AMOLED displays. Moreover, it features a hardware-level blue light filter to protect your eyes, which adds to its usefulness. Plus, Honor has minimized the bezels, and the color reproduction on this display is exceptional, with vibrant and punchy colors. Considering the price, its display easily earns an A+ rating. But there are one or two downsides. Firstly, it only has Widevine L3 certification, and secondly, it features only a single down-firing speaker. While this speaker is loud, it lacks the depth and surround sound experience of stereo speakers, which could be missed.

Performance

• Chipset: Snapdragon 680 (6nm Mobile platform)
• CPU: Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 512GB internal storage
• Software & UI: Magic UI 7.2 based on Android 13

Now, let's talk about its performance. Initially, I'll mention that the performance here is average. It features the Snapdragon 680 4G chip, which handles basic tasks smoothly but may struggle with intensive tasks. Gaming performance is also decent, handling most games adequately. It can run PUBG and COD at around 35-40 fps on low settings, but Genshin Impact might be a bit more demanding for this device. Also, there might be occasional lags or hiccups during normal usage, but if your usage isn't too demanding, then you shouldn't encounter significant issues!

OS and UI

On the software side, I would say you get a slightly cleaner experience compared to Redmi and Realme. There is some bloatware, but you can uninstall it. Additionally, Honor's Magic OS is simple with plenty of customization options. So, in terms of usability, I don't see many issues. In terms of updates, it's a bit unclear to me. Initially, this phone boots on Android 13, and if we consider Honor's trends, you might get updates for a maximum of two years, which is nowhere near the four years of updates that Samsung provides!

Battery and Charging

• Battery: 4,500mAh, 35W wired charging

The battery life of this phone is really good. With a low-power processor and a 4500 mAh battery unit, it easily lasts a day with normal usage. Even when playing games, it holds up quite well for a decent amount of time. So, overall, battery life is not a problem!// Plus, this phone comes with a 35-watt charger in the box, which can charge the phone from 0 to 50% in just around 25 minutes and fully charge it in about 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is quite fast.

Camera

• Primary : 108MP, f/1.75, PDAF
• Ultrawide : 5MP, f/2.2
• Macro : 2MP, f/2.4
• Selfie: 50MP, f/2.1
• Video: FHD video recording

Now, let's talk about one of the main highlights of the Honor X8b, which is its 108MP main camera. In addition to that, Honor has also provided a 5MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens, along with a 50MP selfie shooter. With the 108MP camera, the sharpness in images is quite impressive. The colors are also boosted, which might appeal to some but could feel a bit overbearing to others. However, in certain cases, it looks really good. The dynamic range might not feel particularly outstanding, especially when compared to devices like the A15 within this price range. There seems to be a bit of extra contrast or saturation in Honor's images. If we're being nitpicky, the A15 performs better in many cases. However, one could say that the Honor X8b is a close second, which is not bad at all! The ultra-wide images on both phones might not be as impressive as expected, so I won't comment on which one is better. I've noticed that portraits taken from this phone can be inconsistent. Sometimes, they turn out well with good details, while at other times, they tend to be overly warm. Although they perform well in well-lit conditions, most of the time, the background and foreground exposure processing isn't quite balanced. As you mentioned, the Galaxy A15 seems to do a better job of maintaining a balance between the background and foreground I'm glad to find the selfies from this phone to be pleasing. Although there's a slight beautification effect, it seems to be just right for your taste. The skin tones also appear to be good. It appears that in night samples, the processing from the Honor phone is slightly better, possibly due to its larger sensor. Along with capturing more light, Honor's photos also seem to have less noise compared to others, even when taken in low-light conditions. I found nothing particularly exceptional about its video capabilities. You can shoot videos up to 1080p at 30fps. Similar to its photo processing, the videos tend to lean towards the warmer side. Unfortunately, there's no Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) or Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) available here, so stabilization might be a bit shaky, akin to recording a video while riding a bus in Kathmandu.

Conclusion

So guys, overall, I would say that for the price of around 30,000, the Honor X8b is a solid phone. Its main selling point is the 512GB storage, which is something that you don't typically find in other phones at this price range. Additionally, it boasts a nice design and an excellent display. It would have been great if Honor had focused more on optimizing the camera performance and had included Android 14 out of the box. Nonetheless, it's still a decent phone overall and not a bad option to consider!

Honor X8b Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Best in-class display
• Leatherback finish
• Ample Storage
• Good looking selfies
• Great battery life

Cons:

• Subpar performance
• Average rear cameras
• Runs on Android 13