Honor X8a review - Smartphone with 100 MP camera and Full HD screen
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78.5 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2023 | Honor X8a Helio G88, Mali-G52 MP2 | 179 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.70" | 2388x1080 | |
| 78.5 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Honor X8 SD 680, Adreno 610 | 177 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.70" | 2388x1080 | |
| 80.1 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2023 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G SD 685, Adreno 610 | 188 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 79.1 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Motorola Moto G53 SD 480+, Adreno 619 | 183 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 81.4 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2023 | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 195 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.72" | 2400x1080 |
Case and equipment - Sturdy plastic
The comeback of the Honor brand as a replacement for Huawei in the Western world is of course mainly carried by the strong high-end phones, but Honor is also represented in the field of cheaper models with the X series.
The X8a is a mid-range phone with a recommended price of 269 Euros that comes with a 100-megapixel camera and Full HD screen but has to do without 5G capability.
In terms of the casing, Honor offers a plastic chassis that looks very nice with its matte back in black, silver or light blue and the large camera module. The case can be pressed in a bit in the center and image errors will appear on the screen, but the phone is otherwise very stable and can hardly be twisted.
The screen has a very slim bezel and the phone is light for its size at 179 grams. Despite its angular design, the Honor X8a feels good in the hand.
Configuration with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of mass storage is common in this price range, but the Honor smartphone only comes with quite a slow eMMC flash. A 3.5 mm port is also missing, as is the option to expand the storage via microSD. At least NFC for mobile payment services is on board.
The manufacturer is also a bit stingy with the included accessories: Although there is a charger and a suitable cable in the box, there is no silicone bumper.
Communication, software and operation - WiFi 5, but no 5G
WiFi 5 is the usual WLAN standard in this price range. The Honor X8a can keep up here and also deliver quite fast and stable transfer rates that surpass all comparison devices.
Users who want a 5G phone will have to look elsewhere or buy the internationally available Honor X8a 5G version. At least the review sample offers many 4G frequencies, so you can also use it for mobile Internet when travelling.
It is annoying that the phone still ships with MagicUI 6.1, which is based on Android 12. An update to Android 13 is expected, but there is no information on when and if there will be further operating system versions for the cheap phone. According to Honor's website, there will be quarterly security updates for the phone, but we cannot confirm that based on our test device: We found completely outdated security patches from December 2022.
It is also annoying that Honor has not certified the Widevine-L1, so streaming content can only be viewed in SD.
The 90 Hz screen can be operated smoothly. A fingerprint sensor is found in the standby button on the right side of the case. It unlocks the Honor X8a very reliably, but there is a short delay. Face recognition is also possible, and it also worked reliably in our test. However, it is not quite as secure since it is based only on software recognition.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | |
| Honor X8 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | |
| Honor X8 | |
Camera - The highlight
The 100-megapixel camera is certainly the main selling point of the Honor X8a, and the manufacturer also advertises the phone intensively with it. Indeed, pictures look very detailed at first glance. However, there are clear differences to higher-quality lenses when you zoom in, especially in terms of dynamics. Overall, the Honor X8a can take very nice pictures considering the price.
The inexpensive phone also has a wide-angle lens that takes decent snapshots. However, you should not look closer, otherwise, you will notice that details are hardly present. The macro camera with 2 megapixels has a very low resolution. You should not expect too much, it is rather a nice gimmick.
The selfie camera takes decent pictures, but they reveal a somewhat low dynamic range when zoomed in, especially in dark areas.
Videos can be recorded in 1080p at a maximum of 30 fps.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraMain cameraLow LightWide-angle
Display - PMW-free and color accurate
The IPS display with extended FullHD resolution can display 60 or 90 frames per second, you can either set the value fixed or let the phone decide depending on the situation. The brightness is clearly below that of comparable phones but is still sufficient for somewhat brighter environments with 481 cd/m² on average.
The color reproduction is convincing in "Normal" mode, where no difference to the reference color space is visible to the naked eye.
We did not notice PWM flickering in our tests even at very low brightness.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 492 cd/m²
Contrast: 1295:1 (Black: 0.38 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.32 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 1.9 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
99.5% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.194
| Honor X8a IPS, 2388x1080, 6.7" | Honor X8 TFT-LCD, 2388x1080, 6.7" | Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Motorola Moto G53 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G IPS, 2400x1080, 6.7" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -2% | 89% | -92% | 5% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 29 ? | 28.94 ? -0% | 2.8 ? 90% | 56 ? -93% | 26 ? 10% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 14 ? | 14.62 ? -4% | 1.7 ? 88% | 26.6 ? -90% | 14 ? -0% |
| PWM Frequency | 484 | ||||
| Screen | -58% | 14% | -25% | -50% | |
| Brightness middle | 492 | 510 4% | 650 32% | 587 19% | 672 37% |
| Brightness | 481 | 469 -2% | 658 37% | 559 16% | 656 36% |
| Brightness Distribution | 94 | 78 -17% | 97 3% | 91 -3% | 90 -4% |
| Black Level * | 0.38 | 0.82 -116% | 0.4 -5% | 0.39 -3% | |
| Contrast | 1295 | 622 -52% | 1468 13% | 1723 33% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.32 | 2.5 -89% | 1.55 -17% | 2.6 -97% | 3.88 -194% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.37 | 5.8 -72% | 2.59 23% | 5.62 -67% | 7.89 -134% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.9 | 4.1 -116% | 1.8 5% | 3.3 -74% | 5.2 -174% |
| Gamma | 2.194 100% | 2.45 90% | 2.194 100% | 2.463 89% | 2.218 99% |
| CCT | 6288 103% | 6307 103% | 6316 103% | 6288 103% | 7734 84% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -30% /
-46% | 52% /
33% | -59% /
-38% | -23% /
-39% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 14 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 9 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 31 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 29 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 13 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 35 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life - Little power
The Honor X8a cannot really convince in terms of performance: The SoC MediaTek Helio G88 already has a hard time competing with the Snapdragon 680 which is used in the predecessor Honor X8. Other phones in the price range, like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G, offer even more power.
Thus, you have to live with jerks and waiting times in the system in everyday use, and the lame eMMC flash that Honor has installed in its inexpensive mid-range phone also rather contributes to worsening the situation.
With 43.6 °C as the maximum value, we measure a clearly noticeable warming on the smartphone. This also has an impact on the phone's long-term performance: The processor throttles significantly after a longer load, as we ascertain in the 3DMark stress tests.
The mono speaker on the bottom edge delivers a mediocre volume and a very average sound without deep mids. External audio devices can be connected via USB-C port or Bluetooth 5.1.
The maximum charging power of the included charger is 22.5 watts. Thus, it takes a good 2 hours until the battery is full again. The 4,500 mAh battery takes 15:27 hours to discharge in our Wi-Fi test, which is a decent rate in the comparison field and sufficient for two workdays if you are a bit frugal.
| Honor X8a | Honor X8 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | Motorola Moto G53 | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 379% | 480% | 225% | 244% | 55% | 764% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 278.1 | 926.58 233% | 954.87 243% | 474.6 71% | 506.1 82% | 284 ? 2% | 1887 ? 579% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 224.2 | 510.25 128% | 709.51 216% | 243.87 9% | 466.6 108% | 194.6 ? -13% | 1474 ? 557% |
| Random Read 4KB | 61.6 | 189.38 207% | 261.09 324% | 166.24 170% | 162.5 164% | 82.7 ? 34% | 279 ? 353% |
| Random Write 4KB | 18.7 | 195.75 947% | 231.57 1138% | 139.83 648% | 134.9 621% | 55.4 ? 196% | 312 ? 1568% |
Temperature
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.6 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.3 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Honor X8 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | |
| Honor X8 | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Honor X8a | |
Speaker
Honor X8a audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 29.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.6% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (9.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.5% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (10.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (26.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 63% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 30% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 79% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 28% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 65% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 48% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 45% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=207, last 2 years) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Honor X8a | |
| Honor X8 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Photo fans have to make compromises
The Honor X8a relies heavily on the appeal of its main camera, which really takes quite good pictures even for the price range. The wide-angle and macro cameras are more of a gimmick due to their relatively low image quality. Furthermore, the pretty, matte and stable casing, the practical runtimes, the fast Wi-Fi and the screen's accurate color reproduction with the right settings are convincing.
We are less pleased with the phone's performance, which even lags behind that of the predecessor Honor X8. Honor also has to become faster and more reliable in terms of software updates. With a microSD slot and a 3.5 mm port, Honor also lacks two features that are actually standard in this price range.
Thus, users who mainly want a good camera can include the Honor X8a in their purchase decision. However, those who want the fastest SoC for the money and cannot live without a microSD reader and a jack will probably have to look elsewhere.
The Honor X8a is a pretty, inexpensive mid-range phone with a good camera. However, it only partially meets the class standards in terms of performance and features.
If you are looking for a 5G phone in this price range anyway, you can take a look at the Motorola Moto G53 5G. You also get much more performance there.
Price and availability
The Honor X8a is available for 269 Euros directly from the manufacturer. There is a promotion with a 20 euro discount at the time of testing.
However, the phone is also available for less than 200 Euros at amazon.de and other online stores at the time of testing.
Honor X8a
- 06/23/2023 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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