Honor 8S smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

The line of Honor smartphones has been replenished with another model - the Honor 8S was presented on April 23. Despite the addition of "S", which usually means "speed" (speed), the novelty is not the most powerful, on the contrary, it is weaker than its predecessors - Honor 8A with average performance and Honor 8C with high performance.

In the article you will learn about what the recently appeared model of the budget segment is, its main technical characteristics, functionality, and performance. And also the review will guide you on the price and tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of the model.

Honor at a glance

Huawei, after the release of another smartphone called Honor in 2011, thought about creating a sub-brand of the same name, the customer focus of which would be aimed at young consumers. In 2013, Honor began its work under the leadership of Ren Zhengfei.

Targeting young consumers was a great solution: smartphones did not need high advertising costs, since the main way to promote the brand was social networks and other communication methods via the Internet, and the sale was carried out through online stores. Thanks to substantial savings in advertising, Honor has been able to offer buyers a decent phone at a reasonable price.

The popularity of Honor models began to grow after the first smartphone released, which had very impressive characteristics at a low cost. The function of blurring the background is now no surprise, and it was Honor that became one of the first to use this innovation in 2014, releasing their second model.

Now smartphones are actively advertised by ambassadors and celebrities, and the company continues to create a very decent product at a low cost.

Honor 8S smartphone review

How much does the Honor 8S cost?

The smartphone in a single modification, with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of built-in memory, can be purchased for 8 490 rubles. Please note that the storage capacity can be expanded up to 512 GB using a microSD card.

Main parameters and their characteristics

Equipment

The buyer will receive a turquoise box containing:

• Smartphone with a glued protective film, but without a protective case;
• Charging at 1A;
• Metal clip to open the memory card slot and SIM cards;
• Warranty card. Smartphone warranty 1 year;
• USB to micro USB cable, cord length is 100cm.

Design and ergonomics

The Honor 8S can be purchased in three colors: blue, black and gold. The back panel is made of polycarbonate and has a multi-layer surface with a double texture. The lid looks very nice and interesting: the right part is made of rough matte plastic, and the left has a glossy smooth finish, on which the rear camera is located in the upper area. There is an LED flash under the camera and the company logo below.

On the front surface in the middle there is a teardrop-shaped notch where the front camera is installed. Above the camera there is an earpiece microphone grill, a light and proximity sensor, below there is a small chin with the Honor logo, virtual navigation buttons. On the top there is a headphone jack, a microphone, a microUSB port and a speaker at the bottom. The volume rocker and the power button are located on the right side, on the left is a slot for a memory card and SIM cards.

The device is very convenient to use: the velvety back panel prevents slipping, and its compact size does not create discomfort.

Despite the declared compactness, the phone looks bulky. The manufacturers got rid of the bangs by making a keyhole for the camera, but left rather wide frames and a chin with a logo.

Display

Honor 8S is equipped with a capacitive LCD display with HD + 720 x 1520 pixels and a diagonal of 5.71 inches. The elongated display has a 19: 9 aspect ratio with an area of ​​81.4 cm2 and a screen-to-body ratio of 78.1%. The pixel density is 295 per inch.

The screen is protected from cracks, chips and scratches with a special 2.5D glass. There is also TÜV Rheinland certified eye protection that reduces eye strain by reducing UV radiation.

The budget screen has a good margin of brightness, does not fade at the corners and does not show any particular "looseness". But the color reproduction is very weak: this screen will not work for viewing high-quality content or for enjoying high-quality graphics of games.

Camera and its features

The smartphone has two cameras: one front and one rear:

1. The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels and aperture of f / 1.8, there is an LED flash and phase detection autofocus. The video resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, recording is possible in Full HD format. The image resolution is 4160x3120 pixels. The camera can create a bokeh effect when portrait mode is on.
2. The front camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels has an aperture of f / 2.2. The image resolution is 2560x1920 pixels, video - 1920x1080 pixels. The camera, thanks to artificial intelligence, can improve the quality of the photos taken using the decoration function.

How does the device take pictures?

Despite the rear camera's f / 1.8 aperture, the cheap sensor and plastic lens prevent the device from showing good results:

• Poor detail, in order to get sharpness, the smartphone needs help in focusing.
• Color rendition is also poor. If the image is satisfactory when shooting outdoors, the quality of the photo indoors is very low.
• This camera is not suitable for photography at night. The image is blurry and unclear.
• Full HD support also does not give good results: the video has low details, there is no stabilization.
• The beautification mode in the front camera helps smooth out facial imperfections, but it still comes out blurry and slightly washed out.

An example of a photo taken on Honor 8S

Here you can see how the device takes pictures at night and in the sun.

Unlocking

The screen can be unlocked using the power button, which is located on the right side. You can also turn on the face recognition mode, which recognizes 1,024 points in one and a half seconds, even in low light.

CPU

Honor 8S is powered by Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22 budget quad-core single-chip processor, with 12 nanometer process technology. Four Cortex-A53 cores operate at 2000 MHz.

The processor supports NeuroPilot technology and has special sensors that consume a minimum amount of power. In Geekbench, Mediatek MT6761 scores 830 points in single-threaded mode and 2400 in multi-threaded.

For everyday work tasks, productivity will be sufficient: applications open quickly enough. But when switching between applications, the smartphone starts to slow down. Also, the device is not smart enough for active games with high demands. However, they can still be run at the lowest settings thanks to an optimization algorithm that has increased the level of performance.

There is no overheating protection. Therefore, after prolonged use, the phone heats up.

Responsible for the graphics graphics video chipset PowerVR GE8320, operating at a frequency of 650 MHz.

Operating system and memory

The smartphone has an operating system Android 9.0 Pie with a proprietary shell EMUI 9.0 lite. Among the many advantages of this firmware are the following:

• Simple control and minimalistic design;
• High speed of application launch and system response;
• Increased overall performance;
• GPU Turbo 2.0 technology optimizes application resource allocation for better gaming, temperature control, and lower touch latency;
• The ability to recognize faces and create a hotel video with the right people in the frame;
• Smart shopping mode and personal assistant;
• Ability to print without additional devices;
• In the system navigation, you can choose to control three virtual navigation buttons or gestures.

Sound

The Honor 8S has a single multimedia speaker that produces loud but not high quality audio. This is not a disadvantage, since the quality is quite expected for a model in this price segment. And the built-in earpiece, which provides active noise cancellation, perfectly conveys the interlocutor's voice. There is a special 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones.

Autonomy

The 8S has a built-in 3020mAh non-removable Li-ion battery. Despite the low capacity, the device is able to maintain an autonomous mode for quite a long time. Thanks to good optimization for standard use of the phone, the charge will last for a day and a half. You can also extend the battery life by using the ultra-saving mode, which turns the phone into a regular "ringer", but at the same time saves battery power. There is no fast charging function in this model, the charging time will be 2 hours.

Communication and connections

Honor 8S supports 3G, 2G and 4G bands and technologies:

• HSPAN;
• LTE;
• GSM;
• HSDPA;
• GPRS;
• EDGE.

There is also support:

• Bluetooth 5.0 with LE and A2DP codecs;
• GPS navigation with GLONASS and A-GPS;
• Single-band Wi-Fi 802.11 with b, g and n operation standards;
• Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot;
• FM radio and microUSB 2.0 connector.

Advantages and disadvantages of a smartphone

• glued protective film;
• beautiful appearance;
• cover material eliminates hand sliding;
• protective glass 2.5D;
• protection of vision;
• good viewing angles and sufficient brightness margin;
• a budget processor that ensures optimal everyday smartphone performance;
• good firmware for inexpensive devices with additional functions;
• the ability to unlock the screen using the face recognition function;
• gesture control.

• no protective cover included;
• wide frames and the presence of a "chin";
• poor color rendering;
• poor quality of photos and videos;
• lack of NFC.

Conclusion

Honor 8S will be a good friend for those who are not chasing high-quality pictures, high performance, various additional features and high-quality sound reproduction.In general, it would be strange to expect such high performance from the budget model. And for its value, the Honor 8S is a great option.

If the presence of NFC, a more efficient processor, a larger screen diagonal and the presence of a fingerprint scanner are important for you, then you should pay attention to the Honor 8A, which costs 9,990 rubles.