On the same day that Xiaomi announced its Mi Max phablet, Huawei’s sub-brand honor was also busy, unleashing its latest flagship smartphone, the honor V8.
Despite sporting dual 12MP rear cameras, the honor V8 actually has a similar setup to the Huawei P9, but without the Leica-certified cameras. There’s one 12MP RGB sensor paired with a 12MP monochrome sensor. The honor V8’s camera setup is, however, one of several standout features of the new device.
In terms of hardware, there’s a mix of the Huawei Mate 8 and the honor 6 Plus in the honor V8. It’s powered by a Kirin 950 octa-core chipset with 4GB of RAM as standard. The dual 12MP camera sensors at the back is complemented with laser autofocus and dual-tone LED flash, and has an f/2.2 aperture. On the front, the honor V8 sports an 8MP f/2.4 camera.
The smartphone also sports a new 3D fingerprint sensor, while the unique honor SmartKey button returns with new features and better controls. The honor V8 is also a dual-SIM device, supporting two nano SIM cards or one nano SIM and one microSD card – the honor V8 supports up to 128GB cards.
This 170g smartphone has a full metal construction, runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 on top, and finally, it packs a generous 3,500mAh battery with fast charging.
One area that hasn’t been mentioned is of course, the display. The honor V8 has three variants differentiated only by storage and – interestingly – display resolution as well as NFC.
The honor V8 has a 5.7-inch IPS display with a choice of either Full HD or 2K (2,560 x 1,440) resolutions. The lowest-end variant, priced at 2,299 Yuan (about RM1,430), packs a Full HD display and 32GB of storage.
The middle variant, also sporting a Full HD display and 32GB of storage but with NFC included, will retail for 2,499 Yuan (about RM1,555). NDTV reports that this variant also supports additional networks, though it did not elaborate beyond that. The honor V8 (with NFC, that is) also supports Huawei Pay, the company’s own mobile payments platform.
The high-end version also seems to offer the most value for money. With a 2K display, 64GB of storage and NFC, the retail price of 2,799 Yuan (about RM1,740) very competitive indeed.
What’s interesting isn’t just the fact that the honor V8 is the first honor smartphone with a 2K display, honor is also offering its own VR headset that will accompany the V8 (likely to be a separate accessory) with a dedicated HiFi chip inside.
Just like the Mi Max launch, this being a China launch event, there’s zero information on international availability – though it isn’t too far fetched to say that the honor V8 will likely make its way overseas. The honor V8 will go on sale in China from 17 May, and will be available in six colours, including Platinum Gold, Rose Gold, Champagne Gold, and Glacier Silver.
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