They really saw the opportunity here, didn’t they?
Left and right, new phones are coming and Honor is not the type to just not to join the crowd. At the same day as when the brand’s most sophisticated device to ever hit the country will arrive, the Magic Fold V2, the midrange offering X8b will also hit the scene. While it does not boast the same “toughened glass” as the X9a, it does have a lot of merits coming from its predecessor and it’s like a parallel world out there as the phone is a huge upgrade from it. Starting with the design and the pill-shaped front camera array.
The phone’s main highlights include its transition from IPS LCD to AMOLED (with 3240Hz PWM Dimming, almost similar to the Honor 90), a 108MP primary camera, and its dual front camera system with flash. While toughness certainly isn’t its biggest highlight, it’s stil SGS certified with a five-star drop resistance rating. Also, it appears that the display has no high refresh rate but in turn, you get a comfortable no-flicker screen.
There are three colours with Glamorous Green as the main choice of color for the phone. This color unlike the classic Titanium Silver and Midnight Black, two of the brand’s staples, has a leather feel to it, and leather is pretty trendy today. The overall design is familiar with the X8a, especially to how the camera island is arranged.
Inside the phone, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset with 8GB RAM and 512GB storage. Also in the internals, you can find a 4500mAh battery with 35W Honor Supercharge support. The chipset is a noticeable improvement from the X8a’s MediaTek Helio G88.
While the X8a used a 100MP camera, the X8b up the stakes with a newer, more modern 108MP sensor. Although 8MP may not seem a lot from a megapixel standpoint, the processing and sensor size do. Aside from that, this camera is pretty much complemented with the usual stuff such as the 5MP ultrawide and 2MP macro.
Let’s discuss that front camera pill again. To reiterate it, the X8b uses a 50MP selfie sensor with a softlight. The reason why the camera punch-hole is designed this way is to make way for the magic capsule. Which, by the way, was released first, in 2020, before Apple came along. Just like Dynamic Island, Magic Capsule is a type of software designed to send notifications including charging times, to the user.
The phone will be released on February 21 in the Philippines. It will come with 8GB RAM (+8GB Virtual) and a massive 512GB storage. While Honor is yet to mention the price, it should be close to how much the X8a sells for, and if that’s true, then the X8b is very competitive in the landscape. Not only you get a low-flicker AMOLED at the front but also a 50MP selfie and 108MP primary, alongside a massive storage count! It will be launching 6PM Philippine Standard Time via Honor’s official social media channels.
SPECS:
- 6.7″ FullHD+ (2412x1080px) AMOLED, 3840Hz anti-flicker rate
- Magic Capsule
- SGS Five-Star Resistance ratiing
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 (6nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 108MP (Primary), f/1.75
- 5MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
- 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
- FRONT: 50MP + Soft light flash
- MagicOS 7.2 based on Android 13
- 4500mAh, 35W fast charging
- USB-C, 3.5mm jack, MicroSD Card Slot
- 4G LTE, Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC
- Glamorous Green, Midnight Black, Titanium Silver
- PRICE:
- 8/512: TBA