Verdict – Honor Magic8 Lite
The Honor Magic8 Lite is a robust mid-range smartphone that succeeds the Magic7 Lite and serves as the global counterpart to the Honor X70. It combines rugged features such as IP68/IP69K protection, drop resistance from heights of up to 2.5 metres and temperature resistance from −30 to +55 °C with a slim design. The 6.79-inch OLED display impresses with a 120-Hz refresh rate, HDR brightness of up to 6,000 cd/m², 3,840-Hz PWM dimming and good outdoor readability.
The 108-MP main camera delivers solid photos, but the ultra-wide-angle camera and low-light performance fall short. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 paired with 8 GB of RAM ensures decent performance. Wi-Fi is stable but slow, and the speakers tend to distort at maximum volume. The 7,500-mAh battery offers excellent runtimes. Six years of software updates in Europe help round off an otherwise compromise-laden but well-balanced package.
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
- $8.07GUYAHANYER (4-Pack Designed for Honor Magic8 Lite Screen Protector, Anti Scratch 9H+ Tempered Glass Film, HD Easy Installation Bubble Free Screen Protector for Honor Magic8 Lite (6.79")
- $5.67GUYAHANYER (2-Pack Designed for Honor Magic8 Lite Screen Protector, Anti Scratch 9H+ Tempered Glass Film, HD Easy Installation Bubble Free Screen Protector for Honor Magic8 Lite (6.79")
Table of Contents
- Verdict – Honor Magic8 Lite
- Specifications – Honor Magic8 Lite
- Case and features – withstands drops from heights of up to 2.5 metres
- Communication and operation – Magic8 Lite with optical fingerprint sensor
- Software and sustainability – six years of updates for the Magic8 Lite
- Cameras – Honor smartphone with a solid main camera
- Display – Magic8 Lite with extremely bright HDR reproduction
- Performance, emissions and battery life – Honor relies on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
- Notebookcheck overall rating
- Possible alternatives at a glance
The Honor Magic8 Lite succeeds the Magic7 Lite and serves as the global counterpart to the Honor X70, which was unveiled in China in July 2025. As with other Honor smartphones, it comes with a smaller battery outside China (8,300 mAh in the Chinese model) and slower charging speeds, while wireless charging is also absent.
Specifications – Honor Magic8 Lite
Case and features – withstands drops from heights of up to 2.5 metres
The Honor Magic8 Lite offers specifications typically associated with a rugged smartphone. It is certified to IP68 and IP69K standards, making it dust- and water-resistant, capable of withstanding high-pressure water jets and hot water vapour. It also survives drops from heights of up to 2.5 metres and operates without restrictions in temperatures ranging from −30 °C to +55 °C. Visually, however, it does not resemble a brick-like rugged phone, instead looking like a conventional smartphone.
Build quality is generally convincing, although the handset creaks noticeably when subjected to torsion. In drop tests, however, it emerges unscathed.
The Magic8 Lite is available with either 256 GB or 512 GB of internal storage.
Communication and operation – Magic8 Lite with optical fingerprint sensor
On paper, the Honor Magic8 Lite supports Wi-Fi 6, but in practice this proves to be comparatively slow in our review and closer to Wi-Fi ac performance levels. Transmission rates are at least stable. All key mobile network frequencies are supported, although overall band coverage is not particularly extensive.
Call quality on the Magic8 Lite is good when the device is held to the ear, but background noise suppression is only moderate.
The capacitive touchscreen responds reliably and integrates an optical fingerprint sensor, which delivers high recognition rates and unlocks the smartphone quickly. In addition, a less secure face unlock feature via the front-facing camera is available. One-handed operation, comprehensive gesture controls and an always-on display are also on board. The vibration motor is subtle and feels like an ERM unit, although Honor does not provide detailed specifications.
| Networking | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Average 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Average of class Smartphone | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Software and sustainability – six years of updates for the Magic8 Lite
The Honor Magic8 Lite still ships with Android 15 and MagicOS 9.0, but is expected to receive the update to Android 16 along with MagicOS 10 in the near future. Compared to the flagship models, the available AI features are slightly limited.
The outer packaging is free of plastics, but Honor does not provide any specific information on the overall sustainability of the product. In Europe, the Magic8 Lite receives six years of security and version updates, while buyers in the rest of the world are only offered two years.
Cameras – Honor smartphone with a solid main camera
The front-facing camera of the Honor Magic8 Lite takes decent photos, but image quality drops fairly quickly in low-light conditions and the results tend to look somewhat over-sharpened. Details are also lost towards the edges of the frame.
The 108-MP main camera on the rear produces pleasing images and offers a usable 2x zoom via cropping. Beyond that, image quality quickly becomes softer, although a maximum zoom factor of 10x is available. The ultra-wide-angle camera delivers only low resolution and poor results overall.
Video recording with the main camera is possible at 4K at 30 fps or 1,080p at 60 fps. On the front, recording is limited to Full HD at 30 fps at best.
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 cameraUltra-wide-angle lens5x zoomLow light
Display – Magic8 Lite with extremely bright HDR reproduction
The 6.79-inch (17.25 cm) OLED display of the Magic8 Lite delivers a sharp image and supports refresh rates of up to 120 Hz, which can be reduced to 60 Hz either automatically by the system or manually.
Considering its price class, display brightness is very high and reaches up to 6,000 cd/m² in HDR mode. Colour reproduction is well calibrated, and outdoors the panel remains easy to read in most situations.
Honor uses high-frequency PWM dimming at up to 3,840 Hz to make the display easier on the eyes. However, the low base frequency may still pose an issue for sensitive users.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 1754 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 1.5 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.77}
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 2.4 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5}
99.3% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.27
CCT: 6358 K
| Honor Magic8 Lite OLED, 2640x1200, 6.8" | Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro PLS, 2408x1080, 6.6" | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro AMOLED, 2392x1080, 6.8" | Google Pixel 9a pOLED, 2424x1080, 6.3" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -136% | -5% | 7% | |
| Brightness middle (cd/m²) | 1754 | 495 -72% | 1318 -25% | 1978 13% |
| Brightness (cd/m²) | 1748 | 466 -73% | 1306 -25% | 1775 2% |
| Brightness Distribution (%) | 98 | 86 -12% | 98 0% | 76 -22% |
| Black Level * (cd/m²) | 0.58 | |||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.5 | 5.85 -290% | 1.5 -0% | 1.1 27% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.5 | 9.78 -179% | 2.9 17% | 3 14% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.4 | 7 -192% | 2.3 4% | 2.2 8% |
| Gamma | 2.27 97% | 2.231 99% | 2.26 97% | 2.22 99% |
| CCT | 6358 102% | 8691 75% | 6819 95% | 6622 98% |
| Contrast (:1) | 853 |
* ... smaller is better
| Display / APL18 Peak Brightness | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Display / HDR Peak Brightness | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 60 Hz Amplitude: 14.56 % Secondary Frequency: 3846 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 60 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8083 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings (The amplitude curve at minimum brightness looks flat, but this is due to the scaling. The info box shows the enlarged version of the amplitude at minimum brightness)
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.07 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.5315 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.5395 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 4 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.2 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 0.68 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.281 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.3985 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (31.6 ms). | ||
Performance, emissions and battery life – Honor relies on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
The Honor Magic8 Lite is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 paired with 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. This entry-level SoC delivers solid overall system performance, but no more than that.
Surface temperatures remain largely below 40 °C even under load, rising to a peak of 44.8 °C only in a small area. The SoC itself is unaffected and does not throttle.
The dual speakers provide solid sound output at medium volume, but distort heavily at maximum volume. Bass response is generally weak.
Although the battery is smaller than in the Chinese version, its 7,500 mAh capacity is still very substantial and delivers very good runtimes in our testing. With better efficiency, however, significantly longer runtimes would likely have been possible.
The battery charges at up to 66 watts. In our test, a full charge takes 57 minutes (50% in 19 minutes, 80% in 37 minutes).
| Geekbench AI | |
| Single Precision NPU 1.5 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (80 - 5210, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 (n=1) | |
| Half Precision NPU 1.5 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (80 - 36297, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 (n=1) | |
| Quantized NPU 1.5 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (133 - 49889, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 (n=1) | |
| Jetstream 2 - 2.0 Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (23.8 - 387, n=149, last 2 years) | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 (n=1) | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | Google Pixel 9a | Average 512 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -66% | -37% | -33% | -15% | -3% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (MB/s) | 1948.54 | 1043.4 -46% | 996.23 -49% | 1688.82 -13% | 1874 ? -4% | 2248 ? 15% |
| Sequential Write 256KB (MB/s) | 1828.13 | 232.6 -87% | 970.63 -47% | 853.5 -53% | 1338 ? -27% | 1887 ? 3% |
| Random Read 4KB (MB/s) | 344.19 | 194.4 -44% | 255.89 -26% | 241.03 -30% | 290 ? -16% | 299 ? -13% |
| Random Write 4KB (MB/s) | 412.87 | 63.5 -85% | 304.95 -26% | 261.8 -37% | 357 ? -14% | 346 ? -16% |
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 44.8 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 35.2 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 247 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 40.2 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 34 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.1 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32.9 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Stress Tests
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
| Steel Nomad Light Stress Test Stability | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
Honor Magic8 Lite audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (91.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.9% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.4% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.7% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 9% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 83% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 35%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 30% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 62% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (89.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.4% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (0.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 7% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 87% worse
» The best had a delta of 11%, average was 35%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 27% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 67% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
| Battery runtime - WiFi v1.3 | |
| Honor Magic8 Lite | |
| Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro | |
| Nothing Phone (3a) Pro | |
| Google Pixel 9a | |
Notebookcheck overall rating
The Honor Magic8 Lite is a robust mid-range smartphone featuring an extremely durable chassis, a bright 120-Hz OLED display, a large 7,500-mAh battery and a solid main camera. However, it makes compromises compared to the China model in areas such as Wi-Fi performance, speaker quality, the ultra-wide-angle camera and certain convenience features.
Honor Magic8 Lite
- 01/14/2026 v8
Daniel Schmidt
Total Sustainability Score: Possible alternatives at a glance
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Drive | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. 78%  | Honor Magic8 Lite Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 810 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 512 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.87 GUYAHANYER (3-Pack Designed ... 2. $8.07 GUYAHANYER (4-Pack Designed ... 3. $5.67 GUYAHANYER (2-Pack Designed ... List Price: 400€ | 189 g | 512 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.79" 2640x1200 427 PPI OLED |
2. 75.8%  | Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 810 ⎘ 6 GB Memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: $599.89 List Price: 609€ | 240 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.60" 2408x1080 400 PPI PLS |
3. 79.6%  | Nothing Phone (3a) Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 810 ⎘ 12 GB Memory | Amazon: 1. $6.99 JETech Screen Protector for ... 2. $11.99 Ibywind For Nothing Phone (3... 3. $4.99 Fhyeugfy for Nothing Phone (... | 211 g | 6.77" 2392x1080 388 PPI AMOLED | |
4. 81%  | Google Pixel 9a Google Tensor G4 ⎘ ARM Mali-G715 MP7 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | Amazon: 1. $454.00 Google Pixel 9a with Gemini ... 2. $6.74 Supershieldz (3 Pack) Design... 3. $5.99 Ferilinso 3 Pack Screen Prot... List Price: 549€ | 185.9 g | 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.30" 2424x1080 421 PPI pOLED |
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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