Appearance and design
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Huawei Honor 8 Lite is an attractive phone with small dimensions. The dimensions of the device are 147.2×72.9×7.6 mm. The weight of the phone is 147 g. Despite the fact that the Lite version turned out to be slightly larger than the older model, this did not affect the weight of the device. On the contrary, Honor 8 is 6 g heavier than its “younger brother”.
Please note
Due to the increased size, the usable surface has decreased, since the display diagonal has not changed — 69% for Huawei Honor 8 Lite versus 72% for Honor 8.
The slim body feels good in the hand. The body is absolutely smooth
The smartphone body consists of two glass panels and a metal side frame. This solution makes the phone look impressive. Honor 8 Lite shines beautifully in the sun due to the “brushed steel” effect. The glass has a shiny backing which makes it resemble a mirror. But a little dark.
Both the front and back panels have an oleophobic coating. This is not news, since fingerprints are much more noticeable on glass than on plastic or metal. Due to its dimensions and rounded side edges, the smartphone is comfortable to hold in your hand. The device does not cause discomfort when carried in your pants pocket.
Oleophobic coating on the back panel
The phone itself is very slippery, but its side frames have a matte finish that prevents the device from slipping out of your hand.
Important to know
All Huawei devices are of high quality factory assembly. Honor 8 Lite is no exception. The body is monolithic, there are no creaks or crunches when squeezed.
On the front panel, you can note the relatively large frames below and above the screen. Their dimensions are approximately 15 mm. Above the screen are the usual elements: sensors, camera and speaker. At the bottom there was only a place for the inscription “Honor”. There are no touch or mechanical control keys on the front panel. They are shown on the screen, and their location can be changed in the phone settings.
On-screen control keys
The flash and camera module are located in the upper left corner of the rear panel. The fingerprint scanner is located in the usual place. When you take the phone out of your pocket, your finger rests clearly on the sensor. The scanner recognizes the fingerprint quickly and, traditionally for Huawei, performs a number of additional functions:
Fingerprint scanner
- Scrolling through photos.
- Manage calls and alarms.
- Scroll through the menu.
- Shooting
The corners of the smartphone are rounded. Mechanical buttons are located on the right, and a hybrid slot for Nano-SIM format SIM cards is on the left. The phone supports hot swapping of SIM cards. The side keys protrude noticeably, which reduces the likelihood of an erroneous press.
Will be useful
Honor 8 Lite presented in 4 colors. In addition to the classic black and white colors, there is gold and blue. The latter is actively promoted by the company. It is in this color scheme that the phone is depicted on official posters and in promotional videos. Compared to Honor 8, the Lite version is not available in Champagne and Rose-gold colors.
Smartphone colors
Camera
Almost all Huawei smartphones use matrices manufactured by Sony. Only two exceptions come to mind — this is the Huawei Honor Holly, equipped with a Samsung matrix, as well as the original Huawei P8 Lite 2020, which has an OmniVision OV13850 matrix. But our test subject has a Sony matrix installed.
Unfortunately, the sensor model is not stated in the specifications. But I will still assume that the Sony Exmor RS IMX286 matrix is used. This is a 1/2.9-inch sensor with a physical pixel size of 1.25 microns. Sony doesn’t have many modern 12 MP sensors. The IMX260 model is exclusive to Samsung, IMX386 is exclusive to Meizu, there is also IMX378 without a touch of exclusivity, but it is used in expensive products Xiaomi Mi5s, HTC U Ultra and Google Pixel (XL), so its use in a relatively inexpensive smartphone is unlikely. As a result, only IMX286 remains. In addition, the IMX286 sensor is used in almost all modern Huawei smartphones with a 12 MP camera.
In the specifications, only the f/2.2 aperture is disappointing, while most competitors use an f/2.0 lens. But don’t forget that the same Huawei P9 with Leica optics has the same aperture number. The flash was also disappointing, because it is not two-color, and consists of only one LED, which at a distance of a meter provides rather poor illumination at 18.1 lux. For comparison, the similarly priced Moto M showed a result of 35.0 lux under the same conditions.
The settings provide for operation in both automatic and manual mode. The mode menu is called up by swiping from left to right, and the camera system settings menu is called up by swiping in the opposite direction. It’s worth noting right away that the HDR mode cannot be activated in the main shooting window, and it is only available in the mode menu.
In addition, it cannot be activated automatically, which is not always convenient for everyday use. Another disadvantage is the self-timer, which is hidden in the camera’s system settings and is not displayed in the main window. There are 4 shutter release methods available — a virtual shutter key, a fingerprint sensor, a volume key, and a smile detection mode, which is convenient when taking selfies. Phase autofocus, there is no newfangled laser focusing, but nevertheless the camera focuses very quickly and accurately even in low light conditions.
When the “professional photo” mode is activated, control of the following parameters becomes available: selection of metering mode, selection of sensitivity level (in the ISO range 100…1600 in steps of 1/3 EV), setting shutter speed (1/4000… 8 seconds), introducing exposure compensation, selecting a focus mode, and selecting a white balance setting.
The smartphone supports full transfer of camera control to third-party software, in addition, the RAW format is supported. When using third-party software, the sensitivity range is wider — from 50 to 3200 units in ISO equivalent.
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To evaluate image quality, the test pattern was captured with all available sensitivity values. Below are cropped fragments.
The method for assessing camera noise in numerical terms can be found in the review of Huawei GR5 2020. This review shows only a graph with measurement results. As you can see, the results are very worthy. The slightly more expensive Huawei GR5 2020 lags behind in terms of signal-to-noise ratio across the entire sensitivity range from 2.1 dB to 4.1 dB. This may indicate the use of a Sony Exmor RS IMX286 matrix, which is also equipped with the 2020 flagship Huawei P9.
Examples of pictures
Macro photography
Shooting in low light
 |  |  |
| Illumination 50 lux | Illumination 50 lux flash | Lighting 3 lux flash |
Front camera
Video shooting is not the strongest point of a smartphone. The maximum it is capable of is videos in FullHD/30p format. Modest, but tolerable. Slow-motion video recording in VGA/120p format is also possible. In video mode, as in photo mode, manual adjustment of parameters is provided. You can select the exposure metering mode, introduce exposure compensation, select the focus operating mode, and also select the white balance setting. There is no choice of sensitivity level.
Cameras
In this section, it’s worth taking you to the article about Huawei P9, since it is there that the essence of the two built-in cameras is discussed. Honor 8 also has two cameras, two flashes and laser autofocus. The only difference, it seemed to me, is that the P9 and Honor 8 use different camera modules.
Review of the Huawei P9 smartphone. Cameras
When shooting during the day (12-12 MP, f2.2 aperture) on the Honor 8, the dynamic range is extremely wide, you don’t even need to turn on the HDR mode: there are practically no dark, undetailed areas in the photo, or light areas without information. The colors and white balance are excellent. Focusing accuracy and speed are high.
If the lighting level is insufficient, it is noticeable that the matrices are weak, noise appears, and the picture may become somewhat soapy. However, even at night the colors remain rich and accurate, and the DD remains wide.
The Honor 8 smartphone shoots FullHD video at a maximum frame rate of 60. The quality is average, focusing is fast, the sound is clear (stereo).
The device makes selfies (8 MP, f2.4 aperture) relatively wide-angle (for example, in Samsung S6/S7 — wider). The frames come out normal and cannot be compared with the Huawei P9 Plus. The video is recorded in 720p.
There is a background blur function. But I practically didn’t use it, since it doesn’t work very reliably and often “washes” the wrong areas.
In the camera settings you will find manual parameters: shutter speed, ISO, focus, white balance. From the locked screen, double-press the volume down button and get a shot (with autofocus) in just 1.2 seconds!
Examples of photographs during the day
Example photo with flash
Examples of photos under insufficient lighting conditions
Front camera
