After the success of the X9b in the Philippines, HONOR is back just about a month after with the HONOR X8b.

A cheaper alternative to the popular X9b, the X8b gets to have an interesting identity of its own. It may not have the ultra-tough screen that its bigger brother has, but this one promises an extra thin and light build, big storage, a trendy design, and a few more.

We’ll test all those out in our HONOR X8b review and ultimately see if it’s a device worth your attention.

HONOR X8b Specs

  • Android 13, MagicOS 7.2
  • Dual SIM, Dual standby
  • 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution, 394ppi
  • 90Hz refresh rate, 2000-nits peak brightness
  • 2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor
  • 8GB RAM
  • Adreno 610 GPU
  • 512GB internal storage, non-expandable
  • 50-megapixel front camera
  • 108-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) + 5-megapixel (ultra-wide) + 2-megapixel (macro) rear cameras, LED flash
  • Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
  • HSPA+, 4G LTE
  • WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
  • USB-C
  • Dimensions: 161.1 x 74.6 x 6.8mm
  • Weight: 166g
  • Colors: Glamorous Green, Midnight Black, Titanium Silver
  • 4,500mAh non-removable battery, 35W wired charging

Design and Build Quality

HONOR has been bragging about the lightness and thinness of the HONOR X8b, and upon holding the device, we can confirm that they’re really up to something here. The device feels incredibly light — the lightest phone we’ve tested in months — and incredibly thin.

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To give you an idea, the specs list indicates that it’s only 6.8mm thin and weighs 166g. In comparison, most phones average around 8.5mm and 190g, respectively. Also, the flat metallic frame makes it even more comfortable as it adds a lot of grip to this incredibly thin phone.

Despite its thinness, the X8b still feels rigid and sturdy. It also has a fairly durable display that’s been certified by SGS Switzerland with a “Five Star Overall Drop Resistance.” HONOR has also pre-applied a screen protector and included a free clear case for extra protection. Sadly, it doesn’t have an official IP rating for dust and water resistance.

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As if the build isn’t impressive enough, the design is also a looker — at least on this Glamorous Green variant that we have. It looks and feels like leather with a retro texture that makes it look unique.

Since it has a leatherish finish, it doesn’t attract any fingerprint marks but does retain smudges. The camera island and the frame manages to stay free from annoying marks thanks to its matte texture.

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The cameras have a 2×2 layout, just like a lot of budget HONOR phones we’ve seen in the past. This is the reason why you need to get the Green color, as the Titanium Silver and Midnight Black options look pretty boring and generic.

HONOR-X8b-Display

On the front, we have a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display with ultra-thin bezels for an impressive 93.7% screen-to-body ratio. We also have a sleek pill-size punch-hole for the selfie camera and the front-facing LED flash.

The punch-hole also blends seamlessly with the Magic Capsule, which is HONOR’s take on Apple’s Dynamic Island notification animations.

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On the top left side, we have a SIM tray for two nano SIM cards. It lacks a space for a microSD card, which is disappointing for a budget device. Thankfully, it does have a large storage so you don’t really need extra external space.

The right side has the volume controls and the lock/power switch that doubles as the fingerprint scanner. The physical buttons are thin, clicky, and feel well-made.

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On the top, we only have the noise-isolating microphone. At the bottom, we have the primary microphone, USB-C port, and loudspeaker. The lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack is forgivable due to how thin the device is.

Display and Sound Quality

The HONOR X8b has a packed display. It has a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with a 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution at 394ppi, 90Hz refresh rate, 1200-nits under High Brightness Mode, 2000-nits peak brightness, HONOR’s 3240Hz PWM dimming that’s been TUV Rheinland flicker-free certified to keep your eyes safe, and hardware-level low blue light emission.

We also have HONOR’s Eye Comfort & Sleep settings with Circadian Night settings that can intelligently adjust color temperature so you can sleep better at night.

You can also enable the eBook mode that turns the screen black and white so it’s easier in the eyes when reading. Plus, Smart Resolution feature, Screen Refresh Rate (Dynamic, High, Standard), and Color Mode & Temperature adjustment.

HONOR-X8b-Netflix-HD

It has Widevine L3 support, but the maximum playback resolution on Netflix is capped at SD instead of Full HD. That said, watching content on select apps is not the best but acceptable on other platforms like YouTube.

The colors are appealing and the contrast is deep, which you’d really appreciate when looking at photos on Instagram and other social media sites. The high resolution also makes reading comfortable, even on long articles with small texts.

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Unfortunately, the HONOR X8b lacks stereo speakers, which is disappointing in 2024. The good thing is it has a powerful single bottom-firing driver. The treble is crisp and the bass is present. It also has an Extra Volume Mode that works well and is handy if, say, you’re watching content in very loud environments like on your daily commute, at a fast-food restaurant, or if you’re in a living room with a TV playing next to you.

Hardware and Performance

The HONOR X8b is powered by a 2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor — which sadly lacks 5G. It has Adreno 610 GPU, 8GB of physical RAM with 8GB HONOR RAM Turbo (virtual RAM expansion), and spacious 512GB of non-expandable storage.

HONOR X9b Benchmark Scores

Performance was decent during our test. It’s not the snappiest, but smooth enough to not cause any headaches. Facebook and TikTok ran fine, web browsing was breezy, and shooting photos was responsive with just a tiny, negligible delay.

Gaming performance was also acceptable. You can get the best experience under Medium settings in games like Call of Duty Mobile and Farlight84, but dipping into High settings in titles like PUBG Mobile introduces a few frame drops. Mobile Legends posed no issues under High settings but may experience problems under Ultra.

Genshin Impact’s settings, a demanding game that it is, was playable with more noticeable lags, even on the Low settings that was set by default. We got a more acceptable experience under the Lowest setting.

GameGraphics Settings
Call of Duty: Mobile• Graphics Quality: Medium
• Frame Rate: Medium
Farlight84• Graphics Quality: Smooth
• Frame Rate: High
• Resolution: Medium
PUBG Mobile• Graphics Quality: HD
• Frame Rate: High
Genshin Impact• Graphics Quality: Lowest
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang• Graphics Quality: High
• Frame Rate: High
• HD Mode: On
Asphalt 9: Legends• Visual Quality: Default
• Frame Rate: Default

Software and User Interface

The HONOR X8b runs on Android 13-based MagicOS 7.2. It’s not clear yet if it will receive the Android 14-based MagicOS 8.0 which is, sadly, still under beta.

HONOR is highlighting the device’s Magic Capsule feature, which is its take on Apple’s Dynamic Island. It shows special animations on the area of the pill-shaped notch. It looks cool, but app support is currently very limited. In our tests, we were only able to get it working on the timer and voice recording. Hopefully, it will be improved more soon.

Bloatware was kept at a minimum. There are pre-installed apps like Booking.com, which cannot be uninstalled. But others like Trip.com can be removed.

You also get two gallery apps: one from HONOR and one from Google, the Photos app. They barely add weight to the storage, so we’ll give it a pass.

Speaking of storage, there’s 9.03GB allocated for the System and 13.52GB for “Other”. They may seem large, but barely make a dent in the large 512GB of storage. With six triple-A games installed and a few social media apps and photos, we still have 392GB of space left. That’s more than enough room to store all your memories and other files for years to come.

We also like the Clean-up button within the storage settings that opens the System Manager. It analyzes your storage so you can wipe junk files, unused apps, and duplicate files with a press of a button.

The fingerprint scanner was speedy during our test and you can use it to secure the Safe and use the App Lock.

We also have a reliable Face Unlock. It can detect when it’s completely dark and will max out the screen display, acting as a flash, to help the selfie camera recognize your face.

Other than the Magic Capsule, the interface on the HONOR X8b is as satisfactory as other HONOR phones that run on MagicOS 7.2. Here’s to hoping it will receive the MagicOS 8 update instantly once it’s out of beta phase.

Camera

The HONOR X8b has a sharp 108-megapixel main camera — one of its highlight features. It is joined by a 5-megapixel ultra-wide, 2-megapixel macro, and a sharp 50-megapixel on the front for selfies.

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Image quality from the main camera is good for the price. The colors look realistic and the contrast is clean. Dynamic range is not bad, but not the best either.

Zooming in we’re noticing weird blurriness in some of the details, which may be due to the slow shutter brought by the underwhelming hardware — a problem we usually only see in low-light shots. That said, you might want to make sure the camera app is fully up and ready, and your hands are steady, before snapping the photo.

Low-light shots look impressive, but then again, make sure you have steady hands to get a really detailed image. And if you can, use the Night mode shot for a dramatically better image that looks brighter and has better dynamic range. The 3-5 second exposure is worth it.

The 5-megapixel ultra-wide camera, as expected, has a disappointing quality. While the wide field of view is appreciated, the colors look washout and suffer the same detail issues as the main camera.

We wish HONOR omitted the macro camera for a sharper ultra-wide sensor, at least 8-megapixels would have been better.

Speaking of the macro camera, it’s there if you really need to get really close to a subject, but don’t expect much from the quality.

Finally, we have a 50-megapixel selfie camera that unsurprisingly takes good photos. It captures a lot of details the face beauty modes have a lot of room to work with so you get a retouched, detailed image.

The main and front cameras of the HONOR X9b take good photos, which is enough for most people. We just wish it had a sharper ultra-wide camera, even if we lose the macro lens with it.

Battery Life and Charging

The HONOR X8b has a 4,500mAh battery that’s relatively smaller than the 5,000mAh capacity we see in most phones today. That’s forgivable, though, as we got an ultra-thin device from it.

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In PCMark’s battery loop test, it was able to last for 13 hours and 36 minutes of screen-on time before dropping to 20% from 100%. That’s a loop of synthetic workload.

It’s slightly below the average score we had on other phone reviews, which is at 14 hours. That said, expect that you’d be charging this every night, especially if you do a lot of web browsing over LTE, video calls, and watching videos.

HONOR-X8b-Charging

Possibly the only upside of having a relatively small battery is charging speed. With its 35W charger, the HONOR X8b managed to be fully charged, all the way from completely dead, in only about an hour and nine minutes. See the full test below:

  • 15-minute charge: 0-28%
  • 30-minute charge: 54%
  • 45-minute charge: 79%
  • 1-hour charge: 95%
  • 1-hour 9-minute charge: FULL

Verdict

Does the HONOR X8b have the best hardware for the price? Definitely not. There are competing phones that offer a more modern chip that has 5G connectivity and better gaming performance, has updated software, and even stereo speakers.

HONOR-X8b-Unboxing

But, what HONOR is trying to sell you is an ultra-thin and light device, which is perfect for those who just want a comfortable smartphone to use and carry everyday. That, and the good cameras for social media and very generous storage space for file hoarders, are what awaits you if you ever consider the HONOR X8b.

HONOR X8b price and availability in the Philippines

The HONOR X8b has a price of Php12,999 for the sole 8GB/512GB model in the Philippines. Pre-order it until February 23 and get a free HONOR Choice X5 earbuds valued at Php1,590. You can get the device in all HONOR physical stores, kiosks, authorized resellers, and online through Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.

Pros

  • Incredibly thin and light
  • Unique design and pattern on the back
  • Large 512GB storage
  • Good primary and selfie cameras

Cons

  • Competition offers better performance
  • No 5G
  • No stereo speakers

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