Fast charging for honor phones. How to enable fast charging on Honor and Huawei Screen

I won’t write about technical specifications; they can be viewed on the Internet. I will write about the features that I liked in the phone. And about the phone itself.

The phone is very fast, I have something to compare it to. I used to have a Samsung Galaxy S3. This was my first touch phone. Since it was my first, I really liked it at first. But then I realized that he was slowing down very much. It slows down when pages on the Internet load, it slows down when loading an application, it slows down when you turn on the phone book to find a number. In general, after it, Honor seemed to me very fast, lightning fast. Also, when compared with Galaxy Grand Prime and Galaxy A5, Honor 8 is faster. I also compared Honor 8 with Honor 9, Honor 8 was also faster. That's why I chose Honor 8, although I wanted to take 9. I don't regret it at all.

What did I like about it? Apart from being fast, I liked the fingerprint sensor. This is very convenient, I liked that this sensor is also a button. With a long press I take a screenshot, with a short press I turn on the camera, with two short presses I turn on the flashlight. Even with a locked phone, this is very convenient.

When you hold down the volume key while the phone is locked, the microphone turns on and you say the name of the person you want to call. And the number is dialed automatically.

I also liked the video recording from the screen, it’s very convenient. There is also a long screenshot. You can see in the photo what it looks like.

When you take a selfie, you can turn on the beautiful face feature. There is also a function where when you take a selfie, the screen lights up white for a few seconds before taking the picture, thereby illuminating your face. I still haven’t figured out how to enable this function, but in my opinion it only works in poor lighting conditions.

It also has its own photo editor. See the photographs for more details.

I liked the “do not disturb” mode - this is when at a certain time you will not hear any sound on the phone, calls, SMS, nothing except the alarm clock. That is, the call will go on, the SMS will arrive, but the screen will not light up and no sound will be heard. I do this at night.

There is also voice control and motion control, but I don’t use them, the same functions were in Galaxy. There is a scheduled switching off and turning on of the phone. That is, you can make sure that the phone turns off at night, for example, so that the battery does not run out. By the way, the battery lasts for 2 and a half days of non-active use.

There are also disadvantages to this phone. In my opinion, it's the sound. The sound of the speakers is loud, when the call volume is at full, I even get scared, so I keep the volume set to less than half. But I don't like the sound quality itself. My husband says it's a normal sound. Apparently I got used to Galaxy, it had a completely different sound, beat, bass. In general, I don’t know how to explain.

I also don’t like that the back and minimize buttons are on the screen itself, and not like in other phones under the screen, on the right and left. At first it was very inconvenient for me; my fingers could not fit into these narrow buttons. This was my first disappointment with the phone. I still don’t understand why they did this, because there is a lot of space under the screen, they could have put buttons there.

Another bad thing for me personally was that the keyboard did not have a microphone. I'm used to Galaxy that you press the microphone, say a message and the sound is translated into words. You don’t need to write anything; if you need to write a large text, this is very convenient.

I had to download another keyboard, but I really liked it, I just fell in love with it. I've been using the phone for 2 months now and haven't fully explored it yet. If I find any other interesting functions, I will add to my review.

Rating of this article according to readers:

(43)

Only the lazy have not heard about the problems Huawei is creating with the US government led by Donald Trump. They are threatening to take away the company's license to use all Google services and future versions of the Android OS.

In the wake of this information noise, some users of Huawei and Honor smartphones are starting to sell their devices, mistakenly believing that something might happen to them soon. Others have stopped considering smartphones of this brand for purchase.

Despite all these political games, the Honor brand continues to produce some of the best devices on the market in terms of price/quality ratio. And today we will talk in detail about the new Honor 8A, which has something to surprise you with. But first we must answer the main question:

What will happen “tomorrow” with my new Honor 8A?

All released Huawei smartphones (including Honor) will continue to operate regardless of US sanctions. All Google services will work without any restrictions for many years.

Moreover, Honor and Huawei smartphones will receive security updates as normal. If Huawei does not reach an agreement with the US government, the worst-case scenario for current users is not updating to Android 10.

But even in this case, users of flagship devices, who were supposed to be among the first to receive this update, will suffer more. As far as budget phones go, upgrading to Android 10 doesn't make a big difference.

Thus, there is no reason to bypass Huawei and Honor smartphones that have already hit store shelves. They are in no danger.

156.28 x 73.5 x 8.2 mm

IPS 6.09″
720 x 1560

Processor and memory

Mediatek Helio P35
2/32 GB

13 MP, f/1.8
Selfie 8 MP, f/2.0

Battery

3020 mAh
No fast charging

Additionally

NFC, FM radio, fingerprint sensor

Honor 8A review. Comfort, design and materials

The smartphone comes with a 5W charger, a USB cable and a clip for removing the SIM card, and a factory film without an oleophobic coating is stuck on the screen:

Honor 8A is made entirely of plastic. The build quality is very good - no play or creaking, the device feels solid. The buttons have a clear movement.

Separately, I would like to note the design of the smartphone. It differs from most devices by its interesting backrest. The idea itself is somewhat reminiscent of the Google Pixel design - it also uses two types of plastic - pearlescent gloss and a matte part on which the camera and the company logo are located:

Looks interesting. The smartphone stands out from the crowd of similar devices. As for fingerprints and marks, they are more noticeable on the glossy part than on the matte part.

The front side is occupied by a large display, with a selfie camera embedded on top. Above it there is a speaker and proximity/light sensors, as well as an LED indicator for missed notifications:

It is important to note that the proximity sensor here is not built into the screen, as on some modern smartphones, and therefore works very stably. The screen does not turn on spontaneously during a phone call.

The bottom frame is quite large and in order to visually “shorten” it, the company placed its logo here. Because of this, the “chin” of the smartphone is not perceived as too large and looks organic:

Honor 8A does not have moisture protection, and there are no rubber seals inside the connectors and buttons, so it is better not to use the smartphone during heavy rain.

There are no control elements on the left side, which allows you to place the smartphone on a stand to watch videos, and it is also convenient to hold it in your hands while playing games, without the risk of accidentally pressing a button.

At the bottom there is a microphone, the grille of which is stylized as a speaker, a microUSB connector (with USB-OTG support for connecting a flash drive and other peripherals), as well as the main speaker. On the right is the volume rocker and power button. On the top edge there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and an additional microphone.

The smartphone can simultaneously use 2 SIM cards and a memory card thanks to the triple tray:

At the back there is a camera, LED flash and a fingerprint scanner. The latter is located very conveniently - the index finger naturally rests directly on it.

The smartphone looks modern due to its narrow frames, drop-shaped notch and interesting back cover design.

Honor 8A screen

The smartphone has an IPS matrix measuring 6.09″ and a resolution of 720×1560 pixels (HD+). This gives a pixel density of 282 ppi. If you wish, you can see individual pixels. However, the display clarity of the Honor 8A is higher than that of competitors Samsung Galaxy A10, Xiaomi Redmi 7 or Huawei Y7.

Honor 8A has an IPS matrix. Firstly, it is a perfect white color, which is not yet achievable on AMOLED.

Secondly, this. When we lower the brightness of an AMOLED display, there is a strong flicker that is not noticeable to the naked eye. It often causes eye fatigue and headaches. The IPS matrix does not have this drawback.

In the smartphone settings you can select the color temperature:

As for brightness, the Honor 8A display has good visibility in the sun. And with minimum brightness, you can comfortably use your smartphone in complete darkness.

Color rendition is very accurate. For a budget smartphone, the Honor 8A's screen is very good. Here's what the same photos look like on the maximum brightness screens of the Honor 8A and the Galaxy Note 9 mentioned above (note, this is one of the most expensive displays on the market):

Viewing angles are not bad, but with a strong deviation you can notice a slight change in color rendering and a drop in brightness.

The Honor 8A screen has received the Eye Comfort certificate from the renowned certification institute TÜV Rheinland. Interestingly, Samsung boasted the same certificate at the presentation of its flagship Samsung Galaxy S10. In practice, this certification means that the smartphone screen reduces the harmful effects of blue light on human eyes.

Waterdrop camera cutout

If you don’t like the modern fashion for notches in screens, then on the Honor 8A you can easily hide it in the settings. At the same time, the notification line does not go down and does not take up useful area on the screen, as on Samsung smartphones:

The only note is the asymmetrical corners at the top and bottom with a hidden cutout.

Any application, game or video can be launched in full screen mode or without a cutout. To do this, in the smartphone settings ( Screen— Other screen settings — Dark area at top — Tune) you need to specify the operating mode of any application:

Since the screen here is rather large, it is very convenient to run two applications at the same time. For example, read something on the Internet and at the same time watch a video on YouTube:

There is one important note about YouTube and watching videos in general. Due to the screen resolution of the Honor 8A (HD+), many applications, including YouTube, do not allow you to select video quality above 720p. This resolution is not enough and the difference from FullHD on such a large screen is very noticeable.

You need to either choose applications that support FullHD video (1080p), or be content with mediocre image quality.

Unfortunately, there is no function to wake up the smartphone by double tap. Instead, Honor suggests using the " Take to activate"—the screen automatically turns on as soon as you pick up the smartphone:

Autonomy and performance

The capacity of the built-in battery is 3020 mAh, which is not much for a 6-inch screen. However, given the screen resolution, the relatively weak processor and the strict limitation of background processes, this capacity is quite enough for long-term operation of the smartphone.

During the test measurement, the smartphone worked on one charge 16 hours 20 minutes, while the screen operating time was 7 o'clock:

On average, the battery always lasts for a day with 6 hours of screen operation. It takes no more than one night 2% charge.

When it comes to charging your smartphone, this is one of its main drawbacks. Honor 8A does not support fast charging, and the included charger has a power of only 5W (5V and 1A).

Included charging at 5W

You can speed up the charge a little by using a third-party power supply of 5V and 1.5A.

The new 8-core processor is responsible for performance Helio P35(Mediatek MT6765), announced at the end of 2018. The same chip is also used in the competing model - Xiaomi Mi Play.

This is a budget processor from which you should not expect high performance. However, its power is enough for comfortable operation of the interface, quick launch of applications and even heavy games at minimum settings. For example, you can play PUBG very comfortably on the following settings:

The game with realistic graphics World War Heroes also works without any complaints.

Honor 8A scored in our AnTuTu test 77 thousand points, which approximately corresponds to the power of Xiaomi Mi Max 2 on a Qualcomm 625 processor:

It should be noted that for other users the same smartphone dials up to 86 thousand points. This may be due to the firmware version, the overall heating of the device, or the number of applications installed (and running in the background).

In general, there are no special complaints about performance. But as for RAM, I would like to see at least 3 GB of RAM. When working with a specific application, you do not feel a lack of memory, however, when switching between running programs, content is reloaded very often.

Perhaps this is due to the strict limitation of background tasks (a well-known software feature of Huawei and Xiaomi smartphones), in which the smartphone closes a minimized application so that it does not consume resources and does not waste battery power.

Honor 8A camera review

The 13 MP main camera has a fast f/1.8 lens for better low-light photography, and the selfie camera has an 8 MP resolution.

Despite the budget segment, the camera shoots quite well. During the day, photos are well detailed, and thanks to the large aperture, you can see the bokeh effect. The color rendition is good, there is no excessive sharpness in the image, the image is very soft and at the same time clear:

At 100% magnification the detail is very good:

In standard mode, the camera lacks dynamic range. For example, in the photo below you can see very bright “burnt-out” areas; Honor 8A was unable to convey the entire brightness range:

This problem can be partially solved thanks to a special HDR shooting mode, when the smartphone takes several pictures of different exposures and then combines them.

Notice how clearly the flower is visible in the following photo, taken in backlight (against the window). This is a very difficult shot that the Honor 8A handled very well:

Present here and Pro mode, which allows you to change camera parameters such as:

• Light sensitivity (ISO) from 100 to 3200
• Shutter speed (shutter speed) 1/4000 second to 8 seconds
• Exposure compensation
• Focus (auto or manual). Minimum distance to object ~8 cm
• White balance

Video is recorded in FullHD resolution (1080p) with a frame rate of 30 fps. Unfortunately, there is no image stabilization, neither optical nor digital.

Smartphone hardware features

Honor 8A has a number of hardware features that are not typical for budget smartphones.

Main speaker

First of all, this is the main speaker, which is not inferior in quality to, for example, the 2018 flagship models from Samsung. Despite the lack of stereo speakers, the sound is very spacious, with low frequencies present. The maximum volume is higher than on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, iPhone X and other top smartphones.

Comparing the Honor 8A speaker with mid-budget smartphones like or does not make any sense. It surpasses them in everything in terms of sound quality and volume. This is one of the best speakers on the market in general, regardless of the cost of the smartphone.

As for the sound in the headphones, it is quite loud and not bad. But when compared with more expensive models, the difference in detail in the high and mid frequencies is clearly audible. Overall, this is a typical sound for a budget smartphone.

There is also proprietary technology Huawei Histen, which makes the sound in headphones more spacious. The difference between the various 3D effects is clearly audible:

FM radio wirelessly

Many smartphones in this price range have a built-in FM radio. But the main inconvenience of this solution is the need to connect wired headphones, which are used as an antenna. Because of this, the whole essence of mobile radio is lost, since you always need to carry wired headphones with you.

However, the FM radio on the Honor 8A works great without connecting wired headphones, since the antenna is built into the body itself! The smartphone automatically scans frequencies and finds radio stations. The reception quality is excellent, the signal is not lost.

The built-in application is as simple as possible; there are no additional functions, such as recording from the air:

Also, the radio does not support RDS technology, that is, the names of stations are not displayed, only their frequency.

Fingerprint sensor

The fingerprint sensor is located on the back cover of the smartphone and, for convenience, is slightly recessed into the body, making it very easy to find by touch. The speed and stability of recognition is very high. Total can be registered 5 prints. You cannot add the same finger twice - the system will recognize already added fingerprints.

In addition, the sensor supports gesture control. Swiping your finger across the sensor from top to bottom opens the notification shade. And in the Gallery application, you can scroll through photos using gestures on the sensor.

The smartphone also supports face unlock. However, this method is not as secure as fingerprint or face unlock on iPhone. They use a completely different technology for this. Here the selfie camera is simply used.

Contactless payment

Unexpectedly, a smartphone in the budget category received NFC chip. This is one of the main competitive advantages of this device. Contactless payments have become commonplace and are accepted almost everywhere in the post-Soviet space. If you have never tried to pay with a smartphone, be sure to read the article “

New flagship of the series, with dual camera, fingerprint sensor and USB Type C connector

The European presentation of the new Huawei product, produced under the Honor brand, will take place today, but in China the Honor 8 model was presented earlier this summer. The new smartphone has already reached our test laboratory, and today we have the opportunity to be one of the first to introduce our readers to the new product in all its details. We present to your attention a full review of the new device, which now stands at the head of the legendary family of Huawei Honor smartphones.

Main characteristics of Honor 8 (model FRD-L09)

• SoC HiSilicon Kirin 950, 8 cores: 4x2.3 GHz (ARM Cortex-A72) + 4x1.8 GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
• GPU Mali-T880 MP4
• Operating system Android 6.0
• Touch display IPS 5.2″, 1920×1080, 423 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 3/4 GB, internal memory 32/64 GB
• SIM cards: Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
• Supports microSD memory cards up to 128 GB
• GSM networks 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• WCDMA 900/1900/2100 MHz networks
• LTE Cat.6 networks FDD Band 1/3/7/8/20, TDD Band 38/40
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.2
• USB 2.0 Type C, OTG
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Direction, proximity, lighting sensors, gyroscope, magnetic compass, step counter, infrared transmitter, fingerprint scanner
• Cameras 12 + 12 MP (Sony IMX286), f/2.2, autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 8 MP, front, f/2.4
• Battery 3000 mAh
• Dimensions 146×71×7.5 mm
• Weight 153 g

Appearance and ease of use

Honor 8 unexpectedly does not look like its predecessor Honor 7. The devices turned out to be designed in completely different styles: if the “seven” with its matte, rough and rather rough angular metal body was positioned almost as “indestructible”, then the successor with glass panels, strongly rounded edges, streamlined shape and rounded sides can rightfully claim a place among the “image” models. Honor 8 really turned out to be surprisingly good-looking; the “pampered” design of the smartphone is reminiscent of both the iPhone 6 and the Huawei P series smartphones at the same time.

The smartphone received two transparent glass 2.5D Gorilla Glass panels with smoothed edges on both sides of the body, and a strongly rounded metal bezel was placed along the side perimeter. Thus, there are no right angles or sharp edges to be found here; the Honor 8 body is absolutely streamlined and very pleasant to hold in the hand.

The surfaces of the case are completely non-slippery, the device is securely held in your fingers. Not too large dimensions and low weight also contribute to this. There are no complaints about the assembly, there are no cracks, bends or creaks, all the parts fit neatly, the non-separable body of Honor 8 is monolithic.

As for the elements placed on the body, Honor 8 has a couple of “aces up its sleeve”. Firstly, the smartphone received an infrared transmitter on the top end, which allows the device to act as a universal remote control. The built-in program easily recognized the old Philips TV, for which honor and praise it.

But even more interesting is the fact of the implicit presence of a hardware button, hidden under the usual round platform of the fingerprint sensor located on the back panel of the smartphone. Most of these scanner pads, including those on Huawei smartphones, do not have any mechanical buttons underneath them, so without special warning, you may not even notice that the pad is pressable.

In smartphones from different companies, from time to time there are additional programmable keys, here it is called the “Smart Key function button”. The user is free to independently determine the actions performed using this button. In total, you can set three options: for single and double clicks, as well as for pressing with a long hold. By default, the button “hung” has functions for opening Russian services (Yandex search, etc.), but all this, as already said, the user can reconfigure for himself, preferring, for example, turning on a flashlight, launching a camera, voice recorder, or the same virtual remote control.

The audio jack for headphones is located at the bottom end, it is adjacent to the USB Type C connector and the speaker grille. At the top end there are only the mentioned infrared transmitter and a second microphone, which serves for the operation of the noise reduction system.

There are no hardware touch buttons on the front panel; the buttons are only on the screen. Hidden above the screen among the sensors is a useful LED event indicator, built right under the speaker grille.

There are more elements on the back side than usual. In addition to the mentioned fingerprint sensor with a button, there are also two round camera eyes, since Honor 8, like its siblings from the Huawei P9 family, received a dual camera. Next to the cameras you can find a dual LED flash and a laser pointer window for automatic focusing.

The manufacturer claims that a new 3D scanning technology was used for the fingerprint scanner itself - thanks to it, unlocking the phone takes only 0.4 seconds. In practice, the scanner works really very quickly and almost error-free, but, in general, all manufacturers have now perfected the functionality of fingerprint sensors to such an extent that they all work flawlessly, it is difficult to single out one as the best. Another thing is that many would like to see such a sensor not on the back of the smartphone, but on the front, like the iPhone and Samsung, but Huawei is one of those companies that stubbornly adheres to the rear placement of this element.

None of the elements protrude beyond the surface, so using the smartphone lying on a hard surface is quite convenient. However, it is worth considering that the smooth glass of the back panel can slide on some surfaces, so you need to be careful and make sure that the smartphone does not unexpectedly slide off the table or fall on the floor.

To install cards, there is one hybrid slot on the side, into which you can insert either two Nano-SIM format SIM cards, or one SIM card and one microSD memory card, but not three cards at the same time. Hot swap supported.

The side buttons on the opposite side of this slot are made of metal, like the card slide, and their movement is quite distinct, not too soft, but not hard either. The keys are easy to feel blindly, and their surfaces also have a different texture. In general, there are no complaints about these elements.

As for the color options for the smartphone, the manufacturer has provided a wide variety, and the set of colors may differ depending on the modification. For the model we tested with index FRD-L09, colors such as Sunrise Gold (golden), Pearl White (white), Midnight Black (black) and Sapphire Blue (blue) will be available.

Screen

The smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch screen and is protected by glass with sloping edges (2.5D) Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The physical dimensions of the display are 64x114 mm, diagonal - 5.2 inches. The screen resolution is 1920×1080, the pixel density is 423 ppi. The frame around the screen is standard: approximately 3 mm on the sides and 15 mm on the top and bottom.

The display brightness is automatically adjusted based on the light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. You can't activate the screen by double-tapping the glass, but you can activate the screen by pressing the rear fingerprint reader. Glove operation is supported.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Honor 8, then they can be distinguished by size):

The Honor 8's screen is darker (photo brightness 102 versus 114 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Honor 8 screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (even better in efficiency than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

With manual brightness control and when the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 460 cd/m², the minimum was 4.4 cd/m². The maximum brightness is high, which means, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment, with which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If in an office environment the brightness slider is set to maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 4.4 cd/m² (dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 450 cd/m² (excessively bright) , in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 460 cd/m² (to the maximum, which is what is needed). If everything is also in the office, the brightness slider is at half the scale, then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 4.4, 140 and 460 cd/m² (the first value is rather low). If the brightness control is set to minimum - 4.4, 4.4, 460 cd/m² (now the first two values ​​are too low). We were not satisfied with the result, so we moved the slider a little to the right in complete darkness. We got - 11, 150-160, 460 cd/m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Honor 8 and Nexus 7, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² over a white field across the entire screen, and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. Perpendicular to screens have a white field:

Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

The colors on the Honor 8 screen are oversaturated (noticeably, for example, on tomatoes) and the color balance is slightly different. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens, but on Honor 8 the contrast has decreased to a greater extent due to the strong highlighting of blacks. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased (by at least 4 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but the Honor 8’s screen is still lighter (brightness according to photographs is 236 versus 222 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly and acquires a reddish tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good, although at the edges of the screen the backlight shines through the white body, which slightly worsens the overall impression:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1200:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 33 ms (19 ms on + 14 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 50 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.30, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve almost does not deviate from the power-law dependence:

This device has some kind of dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - (however, as always) when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. It should be noted that in this case, the brightness correction is weakly expressed and has a not entirely obvious dependence on the image, but it would be better not to have it at all.

The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:

Let's look at the spectra:

They are atypical, but we have already seen them in the case, for example, of the Sony Xperia Z2 and other mobile devices. Sony indicates that these screens use LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphors (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows for a wide color gamut. Yes, and the red phosphor apparently uses so-called quantum dots. For a consumer device, a wide color gamut is not an advantage, but a significant disadvantage, since as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and the vast majority of them) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is average, since the color temperature is significantly higher than the standard 6500 K, the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is formally below 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. However, in this case, the color temperature and ΔE in the not yet very dark area vary greatly from hue to hue - this negatively affects the visual assessment of color balance. In general, jumps in values ​​in the two graphs above indirectly indicate that some kind of digital correction is being performed, and it is being done poorly. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

This device has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the hue on the color wheel.

The curves in the graphs above Without corr. correspond to the results without any color balance correction, and the curves Corr.— data obtained after shifting the point to the position indicated in the image above. It can be seen that the change in balance corresponds to the expected result, since the color temperature approached the standard value and ΔE remained small. However, it doesn’t make much sense to make the correction. Note that this function is implemented more for show, since there is no numerical reflection of the correction, there is no field for measuring color balance and the adjustment range is insufficient, since even at the edge of the circle one has to find a compromise between a color temperature close to 6500 K and the minimum value of ΔE .

To summarize: the screen has a high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. It is also possible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. Also, the advantages of the screen include the presence of an effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, high contrast, and good uniformity of the black field. The disadvantages are low black stability to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane, an excessively wide color gamut and average color balance. Nevertheless, given the importance of characteristics specifically for this class of devices, the screen quality can be considered high, although you should prepare for strange and not entirely natural shades in films and photographs.

Sound

Honor 8 sounds less interesting than, for example, its relative Huawei P9. The sound can be described as simple and not very expressive. There is no bass, but that's not the worst thing. Here the sound itself is rather impersonal, dim, dull, and lacks volume reserve. In headphones with low frequencies, the situation is, of course, better, but the other comments remain valid: the sound is a bit muffled, a little blurred by noise, not very loud and not so crystal clear. In general, everything is not so bad, but the latest smartphones from the Huawei P line have a much more interesting sound.

To play tunes, you use your own player, and, as usual, there are no additional manual settings in it - you can only turn on or off the entire virtual DTS system.

There are no complaints about the conversational speaker and microphone: the intonation and timbre of a familiar voice remain recognizable. There is no FM radio in the smartphone. The recorder shows miracles of sensitivity, records sound very clearly and efficiently, and the noise reduction system copes with its responsibilities adequately.

Camera

Here, as in the Huawei P9 line, a dual main camera is used - however, nothing is said about Leica’s participation in its creation. And this is what they say: “Honor 8 features a camera with two sensors - RGB and black and white shooting with a pixel size of 1.25 nm. Two lenses of the main camera with a resolution of 12 megapixels increase the quality and detail of images.” Most likely, the cameras installed here are the same as in the more expensive devices of the Huawei P fashion series.

The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor and a fixed-focus lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.4. The image quality is quite acceptable for selfie level: sharpness and color rendition are normal, and there are no special complaints about detailing either.

The main camera is equipped with two modules. Two Sony IMX286 sensors are installed, one of which is responsible for a color image, and the second for a monochrome image; it records information only about brightness. Then the information they read is processed and summarized programmatically. The pixel size of the matrix is ​​1.25 microns, the maximum aperture is f/2.2. There is a laser rangefinder for hybrid autofocus and a moderately bright LED flash. Autofocusing is fast and confident. Hybrid autofocus uses laser technology to focus close to the subject and contrast focus in low-light conditions. But, apparently, there is no stabilization here.

We have studied the camera control menu in some detail for Huawei P series models; here it is almost the same, but with some artificial restrictions, since Honor smartphones have lower positioning. This applies, for example, to the capabilities of the special “Wide Aperture” mode and some additional creative modes.

The menu itself is arranged logically, and if you get used to it, it will be comfortable to use: a gesture on the left brings up a menu with various modes, on the right - the camera settings menu (image resolution, button control, etc.), and at the bottom brings up the manual settings menu in "Pro" mode. In it, as usual, you can independently control the type of focus, shutter speed, sensitivity (ISO), exposure compensation and white balance. Using the Camera2 API, it is possible to transfer camera control to third-party applications without restrictions, including saving images in RAW.

The video camera can shoot with a maximum resolution of up to 1920×1080 at 30 or 60 fps; there is no 4K (UHD) shooting mode. The camera copes quite well with video shooting: the image is quite detailed, sharp and clear, without noticeable artifacts and with good sound recording quality. The noise reduction system handles wind noise confidently.

• Video No. 1 (67 MB, 1920×1080 @60 fps)

The camera can be called good, but nothing more. She does a good job with standard plots, but does not show anything outstanding. Moreover, for a flagship camera it has too many flaws, such as small but frequent areas of blur, strange artifacts from software processing, soapiness and low detail in macro photography. However, the camera can handle many scenarios well.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth-generation LTE Cat.6 networks with a maximum possible reception speed of up to 300 Mbit/s. Five FDD LTE bands are supported (Band 1, 3, 7, 8, 20), including the three most common among domestic operators (B3, B7 and B20). FDD TDD frequencies (Band 38, 41) are also supported. In practice, with a SIM card from the MTS operator in the Moscow region, the smartphone confidently registered and worked in 4G networks, quickly reconnected after a break, and did not lose connection in areas of poor reception.

Honor 8 is one of the still not too many smartphones that support the Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard, so the quality and speed of wireless data transfer are excellent. There is support for Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. The smartphone supports Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. Smart Wi-Fi+ lets you automatically switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data networks. The USB Type C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode.

The navigation module works with GPS (A-GPS), Glonass and Chinese Beidou. There are no complaints about the operating speed of the navigation module; the first satellites are detected during a cold start within the first tens of seconds. The smartphone is equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the compass of navigation programs operates.

The smartphone supports two SIM cards using the Dual SIM Dual Active standard. That is, here both cards can work in parallel and at the same time, because the smartphone uses two separate radio modules. It is very simple to use: during parallel conversations, you can instantly switch from one interlocutor to another by pressing just one button.

Any of the SIM cards can be designated as the main one for organizing voice calls, transferring data and sending SMS messages; When dialing a number, you can also select the desired card using the corresponding buttons.

OS and software

The smartphone goes on sale with a 64-bit version of Google Android 6.0 with EMUI 4.1 shell. There are no noticeable changes or limitations compared to the previously reviewed Huawei models of the current season in the Honor 8 user interface. The shell is exactly the same: the familiar timeline in the notification shade is in place, an additional functional menu with a flashlight, voice recorder, etc. is called up from below, it is possible to change design themes, arrange virtual control buttons on the screen in your own way, there is wide support for gestures. There are few pre-installed applications, most of them are useful, and if it were not for the forced pre-installed free services of Russian Yandex and Mail.ru, then in general the choice of programs could be called successful.

Performance

The Honor 8 hardware platform is based on the 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 950 SoC. The SoC includes four powerful 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 cores with a frequency of up to 2.3 GHz, which are complemented by four simpler 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores with frequency up to 1.8 GHz. The quad-core Mali-T880 MP4 video accelerator is responsible for graphics processing.

The smartphone's RAM capacity is 4 GB, the built-in flash memory is 32 or 64 GB (the user has no more than 23 GB of free space out of 32 GB). This volume can be increased using microSD cards, but then you will have to remove one of the SIM cards. It is also possible to connect external flash drives to the USB port in OTG mode. microSD cards are officially supported with capacities up to 128 GB; in practice, our 128 GB Transcend Premium microSDXC UHS-1 test card was reliably recognized by the device.

Kirin 950 is a top-level platform, it’s practically the same flagship Kirin 955, only here the maximum operating frequency of the older Cortex-A72 cores is reduced from 2.5 to 2.3 GHz. Everything else is the same, including the Mali-T880 video core and the i5 coprocessor, responsible for the operation of the Honor 8 sensors. The platform is much more powerful than the Kirin 650, which was installed in the Huawei P9 Lite, a very large gap is visible in all tests without exception. In comprehensive tests, the Kirin 950 SoC shows good results, although they are not maximum. The flagships of the mobile platform market remain the top SoCs from Qualcomm and Samsung; their superiority over the Kirin 950/955 is especially evident in graphics tests. However, the performance of the review hero should be enough to complete any task, including fairly demanding games.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Honor 8 (HiSilicon Kirin 950)	Huawei P9 lite (HiSilicon Kirin 650)	Sony Xperia X (Qualcomm Snapdragon 650)	Sony Xperia XA Ultra (MediaTek Helio P10)	Meizu Pro 6 (Helio X25)
3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot (more is better)	867	367	871	425	1054
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen)	11 fps	5 fps	10 fps	5 fps	11 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen)	10 fps	5 fps	10 fps	5 fps	11 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen)	36 fps	19 fps	33 fps	18 fps	36 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen)	27 fps	19 fps	31 fps	17 fps	40 fps

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:

Heating is more localized in the upper right part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 43 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is slightly higher than the average value in this test for modern smartphones.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

According to the testing results, the test subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network, in this case, audio files. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720, 24fps, AAC	plays normally	plays normally
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720, 24fps, AC3		The video plays fine, there is no sound
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080, 24fps, AAC	plays normally	plays normally
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080, 24fps, AC3	The video plays fine, there is no sound	The video plays fine, there is no sound

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We were unable to test the theoretically possible support for adapters for outputting images to an external device due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type C port, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files to the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) 720/24p

Fine No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: in the shadows, only 4 shades merge with black, and in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery life

The capacity of the non-removable battery installed in Honor 8 is 3000 mAh, which allows the device to demonstrate a quite decent level of autonomy. In real life, the smartphone calmly goes through an eventful day, but the developers claim that the presence of proprietary energy-saving technology Smart Power 4.0 “provides up to 1.77 days of operation with normal use and up to 1.22 with intensive use,” which, in general, looks like the truth. The device behaves confidently in any scenario, no failures, no sudden “drawdown” of the battery was noticed, everything is in order with the autonomy of Honor 8.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Honor 8	3000 mAh	16:00	10:30 a.m.	4:00 am
Sony Xperia XA Ultra	2700 mAh	12:00 pm	9:00 a.m.	3:00 am
Sony Xperia XA	2300 mAh	09:40	7 hours 50 minutes	2 hours 30 minutes
Sony Xperia X	2620 mAh	15:50	9:00 a.m.	5 h. 30 m.
Meizu Pro 6	2560 mAh	14:40	9:50 a.m.	3 hours 10 minutes
Huawei P9 lite	3000 mAh	14:30	10:00 am	4:00 am
Huawei P9	3000 mAh	19:00	9:00 a.m.	4 hours 50 minutes

Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasts up to 16 hours. When continuously watching videos from Youtube in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates for at least 10.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone works reliably for more than 4 hours.

Unfortunately, the Honor 8 arrived to us for testing without the included charger. It is known that the device supports fast charging. From the included charger of the Huawei P9 Plus smartphone (2 A, 9 V), our copy of Honor 8 was fully charged in approximately 1 hour 40 minutes with a current of 1.5 A at a voltage of 9 V. The device does not support wireless charging.

Bottom line

Until the official price for Russian retail has been announced, it is difficult to judge the advisability of purchasing Honor 8. And this is quite important, since initially the Honor line, nicknamed “people’s”, included devices that attracted buyers with the optimal combination of excellent technical characteristics and a very affordable price.

But if we ignore the cost, then we can objectively characterize the new smartphone as a device in a very attractive case, with a decent screen, hardware platform, set of communication modules and autonomy. The smartphone's sound and cameras are also quite good, although it has many competitors in this area. In general, the new smartphone of the legendary Honor line turned out to be very interesting, and as for its cost, the wait is very short.

The stylish new product will be presented in Paris on August 24, and now the manufacturer’s first steps to attract the attention of domestic buyers are already known. For the first buyers of the new smartphone, the company has prepared a special offer: if from August 17 to 24 you subscribe to the company’s news on the online store website shop.huawei.ru, then when purchasing Honor 8, users will receive a monopod for selfies. And the lucky ones who are the first to score 500 points in the Honor 8 Go game will receive a coupon for a 1000 rubles discount when purchasing Honor 8.

Another Huawei copy appeared in my “test laboratory”. The budget model was released in 2018, but still raises many questions. I will answer the most popular ones, and at the end I will tell you about the interesting features and secrets of Honor 8C (BKK-L21). I will also leave a link to the manufacturer's official instructions. It is usually not included in the box - saving on paper to protect nature. All screenshots were taken on a test unit with Android 8.1 and EMUI 8.2.

There are 3 ways to reset Honor 8C. Make sure to fully charge your phone just in case.

Option 1

1. Open “Settings”.
2. Go to the “System” section.
3. Click on “Restore factory settings”.
4. We agree to the destruction of all data.
5. The reset will complete after rebooting.

Option 2

1. Dial on the phone *#*#2846579#*#*
2. Select “Restore Factory defaults”. I got a warning that I have a working Google account.
3. We agree to the destruction of information and reboot.
4. Reset complete.

Option 3

1. In the off state, press and hold the volume up and power buttons for a couple of seconds.
2. We release “power” after the logo appears on the screen, and continue to hold “plus” until the recovery menu appears.
3. There we select the second line - “wipe data/factory reset” using the volume buttons and confirm by pressing the power button. You can perform these actions directly by pointing your finger at the screen.
4. Next, the phone will ask you to write the word “Yes” on the keyboard. Do this and press the “wipe data/factory reset” button.
5. Click “reboot system now”, the phone should reboot.
6. Reset is complete.

If all else fails, the only remaining option is to reflash the device.

How to unlock Honor 8C if you forgot your password?

After resetting the settings on phones with Android 8, a menu appears asking you to enter the password for your Google account. Resetting settings does not solve the problem. This technology is called Factory Reset Protection (FRP) and is designed to protect your phone if it is stolen or lost. But what to do if you didn’t lose your phone, but just forgot your password?

I will not describe the entire password reset process in this article. Follow the link and watch the video where an unlock specialist explains how to unlock Honor 8C.

How to insert a SIM card?

Honor 8C uses 2 active Nano-SIMs (4FF is the fourth form factor produced since 2012). During a conversation, the second SIM card is deactivated. Additionally, you can add a Micro SD card.

1. To open the SIM slot, take a paperclip from the box.
2. Find a small hole on the left side of the phone, insert the injector into it and press lightly.
3. The SIM card holder will appear from the case and can be pulled out by hand.
4. Place the SIM card in the tray and push it back into the smartphone.
5. After a few seconds the network should appear.

It is not necessary to turn off the device for this procedure.

How to connect to a computer?

The procedure is practically no different from any other modern devices.

The smartphone’s memory also contains installation files for the “HiSuite” application, which allows you to set up synchronization if you decide to click on “Photo Transfer” instead of “File Transfer”. They are located in the virtual CD drive, which appears when connected to the computer. You need to activate HDB mode on your phone, which is located in the settings in the “Security and Privacy” section.

It is not necessary to install the program if you need, for example, just to look at and copy photos.

At this time on TV:

• Go to settings.
• Open “Network” – “Wi-Fi Direct”.
• After finding Honor, select it from the list, make a request and confirm.
• The phone is now paired with the TV.

True, I don’t know why you might need such a connection. And to transfer the image from the phone screen to the TV, there is a MirrorShare function. The TV must support Miracast technology. Connecting the phone to the TV is done through the “Settings” → “Advanced settings” → “MirrorShare” menu.

The same thing needs to be enabled on the TV. With this method, the image and sound from the phone are duplicated on the TV screen. Supported by TVs with Android version 4 and higher.

Expert opinion

Egor Razumny

I can assemble and disassemble computers, laptops, tablets, phones. Sometimes successfully. I have mastered the skills of diagnosing breakdowns using Google and Yandex.

I tried to display a photo from my smartphone gallery. Strangely, the image seemed to be trying to adjust itself every couple of seconds. That is, there was a characteristic ripple. I haven't tested the videos. I would be glad to receive feedback from users, I would like to know if it’s just me or everyone who has this problem.

How to use the second camera?

The main role of the dual camera on Honor 8C is to create a bokeh effect or blur the background.

Launch the Camera app and select Aperture from the list of possible shooting options. The background will blur a little and it will feel like you are shooting with a professional camera.

To change the depth of field after shooting, click on the icon with the aperture blades and adjust the position of the slider to your liking.

You can also reconfigure the focus. To do this, click on some other object that is out of focus in the photo. After finishing editing, do not forget to save the result.

Depth of field is also used in portrait mode.

How to remove the back cover?

On the left side of the case there is a tray for cards. He needs to be pulled out. Then pry the lid off with your fingernail or use a plastic spatula. If these steps do not help, heat the back of the case with a hairdryer. Watch the video for details:

Replacing the screen yourself or in the service

Briefly, the process of disassembling and replacing the Honor 8C display looks like this:

Using a mediator, cut the glue between the frame and the glass, peel off the cover and find the fingerprint scanner cable, unclench the clamp and pull it out. After this, you can remove the cover completely. Next, release the clamps of all the cables that are in front of your eyes (antennas, display matrix, battery, buttons, touchscreen, front camera, two main ones and the bottom board cable). Afterwards, unclip the motherboard from the case and peel off the battery with the bottom board. Use a separator to heat the screen matrix, disconnect the spare parts from the matrix, and glue the new display (already with glass) onto the case and fix it for a day, then assemble it.

If this all sounds confusing, watch the video:

The approximate price of such a procedure at a service center is 700-3000 rubles, depending on the origin of the screen and what exactly needs to be changed - the entire display module, touchscreen or glass. Not every master will undertake to replace them individually - the equipment for gluing a touchscreen to a display is expensive and requires experience.

The screen is flickering - what to do?

Such symptoms are usually observed when water gets inside the housing. The problem is solved by replacing the display module, which was discussed in the previous section.

Take the phone to a service center for diagnostics or return it under warranty if it is still valid.

Proximity sensor

The proximity sensor is responsible for the sensitivity of the screen. Its breakdown or poor calibration can cause the following problems:

• The screen does not go dark when you touch your face.
• The phone may spontaneously unlock in your pocket.
• Accidental clicks occur.

Ready! Now you can connect from the created network from other devices.

How to take a screenshot?

The easiest way to take a screenshot on Honor 8C is to simultaneously hold down the “Power” and “Volume -” buttons.

The second option is to move the curtain from top to bottom and click the “Screenshot” icon.

And there is a third, cool option for this model:

Go to “Settings” - “Controls” - “Moves” - “Three-finger screenshot”.

To take a screenshot, swipe down with three fingers. The picture will be taken and three buttons will appear at the bottom: “Send”, “Edit”, “Long screenshot”. If you click on the last option, you can scroll through, for example, the article in the browser to the end and the phone will take a long photo footcloth.

How to change the font?

In the pre-installed Themes application, all fonts are paid.

The phone cannot accept regular TTF fonts, so a converter is needed.

To change the standard font in the Play Market there is the application “Themes for Huawei and Honor” from gmanrainy by Team MT.

After installation, launch the application and go to the "Fonts" section. Find the one that suits you and click on it.

For example, I'll choose the Oswald font. I click on it, and then on the “Download this font” button.

Once the font is downloaded, your phone will send a notification. Close the program and find the standard Themes application. Open it and click the "Me" button at the bottom right. Go to the "My Text Styles" section. Find the downloaded font and click the "Apply" button.

Now all your text (menu, tray, messages, etc.) will be displayed in a new font.

Why is Instagram not supported?

Sometimes resetting Honor 8C to factory settings results in some applications such as AnTuTu, Instagram and many others being “not supported on this device”. This happens, including due to the mistakes of Google and program authors. Wait for the update, contact the application developers via contacts in the Play Market, or do the following:

Go to “Settings” - “Applications and notifications” - “Applications” - “More” - “Show system” - “Google Play Services” - “Storage” - “Manage space” and select “Delete all data”.

Alternative option through the Recovery menu:

With the phone turned off, press the Power button and Volume up (down or up).

Hold them for 10 seconds.

After launching the Recovery menu, select the line “Wipe cache partition”.

You can also delete the cache of one program:

• Open “Settings” - “Applications”.
• Select the program, click on the “Memory” line, then “Clear cache”.
• After this, the application cache will be deleted.

Honor 8 specifications

• Case materials: metal, glass
• Operating system: Android 6.0, EMUI 4.1
• Networks: GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE (nanoSIM)
• Screen: IPS LCD, 5.2” diagonal, resolution 1920x1080 pixels (FullHD), ppi 423, Gorilla Glass 3
• Platform: HiSilicon Kirin 950
• Processor: Octa-core, 64-bit, 4 cores 2.3 GHz (Cortex-A72) and 4 cores 1.8 GHz (Cortex-A53)
• Graphics: Mali T880 MP4
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage memory: 32/64 GB
• Memory card slot: yes, microSD (instead of a second SIM card)
• Main camera: two modules of 12 megapixels, f/2.2, laser autofocus, dual LED flash
• Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.4
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, LE), NFC, IR port, USB Type-C connector (USB-Host) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm jack for headset/headphones
• Navigation: GPS (A-GPS support), Glonass
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: 3000 mAh, fast charging
• Dimensions: 145.5 x 71 x 7.5 mm
• Weight: 153 grams

Positioning

In July this year, a smartphone called Honor 8 (a sub-brand of Huawei) was announced. It seems to me that the device is, first of all, interesting from the point of view of appearance: glass with a mirror effect and 2.5D rounding is used on the front and back sides, the side edges are made of metal, and there are also several bright colors. Naturally, it’s better to see it once than to read about Honor 8 in a text or look at it on the Internet.

From the point of view of technical characteristics, everything is excellent here: a powerful processor, a “sea” of RAM, and a capacious battery. Separately, it is worth mentioning that Honor 8 inherited a dual camera from Huawei P9. Of course, it is simpler, but it performs the main functions well: blurs the background and expands the dynamic range.

The positioning of this model is simple - the flagship among the Honor line for those who are interested not only in parameters, but also in the design of the device.

The Honor 8 smartphone with 32 GB of internal memory costs 28,000 rubles, with 64 GB – 30,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

I can confidently say that the new product is the most beautiful among all smartphones in the Honor line, if not among all Huawei gadgets. Yes, it displays some features of the Samsung Galaxy S6/S7, in particular, the mirrored “back”, but it is made even more original if we are talking about drawing and mirror reflection. I tested the blue version - an amazing color that does not lose brightness in either light or shadow. For example, my emerald-colored Samsung Galaxy S6 appeared black in low lighting conditions, but in the light it appeared pale green.

Honor 8 has only four colors: white, black, gold and blue.

It is also worth noting that fingerprints are almost invisible, there are no greasy stains left on the surface, the oleophobic coating is of excellent quality on both the front and back sides. The finger glides smoothly and quickly over the surface. A logical question: if the surface is slippery, then the phone as a whole should slip out of your hands? To my surprise, over several weeks of active use, I did not have a single case when the device could fly out of my palm. However, the smartphone slides down an inclined plane, especially if vibration is turned on for notifications and calls. Due to the sloping glass front panel, Honor 8 also does not hold up in some stands. In any case, if something does not satisfy you, there is always the opportunity to purchase a case. For example, for the Galaxy S6 I specifically bought a case because the device was so grimy that it was a shame to use it.

If we are talking about scratches and other damage to the glass, then this is inevitable: in my case, the lower part on the back side was slightly rubbed (I put the phone in a wooden holder), small scratches and one deep scratch appeared there. There are no scratches or chips on the front panel.

The sides are made of metal, they are matte and painted in the color of the phone. During the “use” they did not fray, and no external defects appeared. The sides have thin polished edges, also painted in the color of the device.

The smartphone is made from environmentally friendly materials and complies with the requirements of the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) directives of the European Union, regulating the production and circulation of all chemicals.

Dimensions Honor 8 – 145.5 x 71 x 7.5 mm, weighs 153 grams.

It fits like a glove in your hand due to its rounded corners, sloping edges, and thin and light body. From the point of view of design ergonomics, everything is excellent in Honor.

On top of the front of the gadget there is a camera, sensors, an indicator of missed messages and a speech speaker. The speaker is loud, but, alas, there is no reserve. The timbre is pleasant, the interlocutor can be heard clearly and intelligibly.

At the bottom there is 3.5 mm, USB Type-C (unfortunately, 2.0, not 3.0), a microphone and a speakerphone. On top is a second microphone and an IR transmitter.

On the left there are metal slides for two nano-SIM or nano-SIM+microSD. On the right is a power button with a textured surface and a volume rocker key. Made of metal.

On the back side there are two camera “eyes”, laser autofocus illumination, dual LED backlighting with warm and cold glow and a round fingerprint scanner slightly recessed into the body. It is also a mechanical button.

In the settings you can set it with one press, double or long press. The fingerprint sensor works quickly, there were no problems.

Honor 8 and Apple iPhone 5

Display

This device uses a screen with a diagonal of 5.2 inches. Physical size – 64x114 mm, frame on top – 15 mm, bottom – 16 mm, on the right and left – approximately 3.5 mm. There is an effective anti-reflective coating.

The display resolution of Honor 8 is FullHD, that is, 1920x1080 pixels, aspect ratio is 16:9, density is 423 pixels per inch. IPS matrix (LTPS LCD TFT) without an air gap.

The maximum brightness of white color is 400 cd/m2, the maximum brightness of black color is 0.47 cd/m2, contrast is 850:1.

The brightness graph is within normal limits, the gamma is excellent (around 2.13), judging by the color levels, there is a clear dip in red, the temperature is within 9100 – 9900 K. The data obtained exceeds the values ​​of the sRGB triangle. This means that the colors will be rich and very bright.

The matrix of Honor 8 has excellent performance, the only negative is that the black values ​​are somewhat too high, that is, the black color is not pure.

The device has an eye protection mode that reduces the level of UV radiation from the screen and prevents eye fatigue when using the smartphone for a long time.

Viewing Angles

Light exposure

Battery

This model uses a non-removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh.

In my operating mode, the gadget functioned for 16-18 hours: about 30 minutes of calls, constant synchronization with Wi-Fi (9.00 to 02.00, Twitter, mail, Skype, WhatsApp), 4-6 hours of LTE. The screen glow in this mode is 3.5 hours.

The situation with games is a little worse: the battery runs out after 3-4 hours of continuous “battle”. The video device plays for about 7 hours (HD).

“The 3000 mAh battery and Smart Power 4.0 energy-saving technology provide up to 1.77 days of battery life under normal use and up to 1.22 days under heavy use. For example, on Honor 8 you can watch online videos for 11 hours straight! 9V/2A fast charging technology delivers 47% charge within 30 minutes. And if you charge Honor 8 for just 10 minutes, the battery charge will last for 2 hours of talking or 6 hours of audio listening.”

It seems to me that for many users a short screen glow time will be critical. In my case, the maximum value was 3.5 hours. In addition, we must take into account that the brightness of the matrix backlight was set to “Auto”.

Communication capabilities

The device works not only in 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)/3G networks (HSPA+ up to 42 Mbit/s), but also 4G CAT 6:

• 4G TDD LTE:Band 38/40
• 4G FDD LTE:Band 1/3/7/8/20

Now attention! The device was equipped with two radio modules! Frankly speaking, I can’t name a single modern smartphone with such a thing.

The gadget has implemented the “Signal+” function - it improves the quality of signal reception. Another feature is “Wi-Fi+”. The gadget automatically connects to the most stable and powerful network (either mobile data or Wi-Fi).

I noticed this unpleasant feature (again, I don’t know if this is related to the phone or the firmware): the device switches to receiving the EDGE signal and does not want to see 4G. Rebooting the phone helps. Fortunately, this rarely happens.

There is also NFC (paying for purchases at the checkout works), the rest is standard for any expensive Android smartphone: GPS and GLONASS, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 BLE, USB 2.0 with OTG support.

Memory and memory card

The RAM is 4 GB LPDDR4, and the internal memory can be 32 GB or 64 GB. We have a 64 GB version, its read speed is 163 MB/s, write speed is 126 MB/s. Memory cards up to 128 GB are supported.

Despite the presence of four gigabytes of RAM, it seems that the phone “eats” a lot of RAM. A trivial example: a tab is open in the browser, you launch a couple of applications and return to the browser - the page is reloaded.

Cameras

In this section, it’s worth taking you to the article about Huawei P9, since it is there that the essence of the two built-in cameras is discussed. Honor 8 also has two cameras, two flashes and laser autofocus. The only difference, it seemed to me, is that the P9 and Honor 8 use different camera modules.

When shooting during the day (12+12 MP, f2.2 aperture) on the Honor 8, the dynamic range is extremely wide, you don’t even need to turn on the HDR mode: there are practically no dark, undetailed areas in the photo, or light areas without information. The colors and white balance are excellent. Focusing accuracy and speed are high.

When the lighting level is insufficient, it is noticeable that the matrices are weak, noise appears, and the picture may become somewhat soapy. However, even at night the colors remain rich and accurate, and the DD remains wide.

The Honor 8 smartphone shoots FullHD video at a maximum frame rate of 60. The quality is average, focusing is fast, the sound is clear (stereo).

The device takes selfies (8 MP, f2.4 aperture) at a relatively wide angle (for example, in the Samsung S6/S7 - wider). The frames come out normal and cannot be compared with the Huawei P9 Plus. The video is recorded in 720p.

There is a background blur function. But I practically didn’t use it, since it doesn’t work very reliably and often “washes” the wrong areas.

In the camera settings you will find manual parameters: shutter speed, ISO, focus, white balance. From the locked screen, double-press the volume down button and get a shot (with autofocus) in just 1.2 seconds!

Examples of photos during the day

Example photo with flash

Examples of photos in low lighting conditions

Front-camera

Performance

The “heart” of the device is a proprietary chipset – HiSilicon Kirin 950: 16 nm, 64-bit, 8 cores (4x2.3 GHz A72+ 4x1.8 GHz A53), Mali-T880 graphics. I don’t think it’s worth saying that Honor 8 is very fast and bug-free. The phone has no problems with games or other applications. When under load, the smartphone body practically does not heat up.