Honor 8S

The Honor 8S is Honor’s turn to make a mark in the budget setting. Priced at Rs. 9,999, the phone may not have the oomph factor, but for a budget phone, it fares well.

The Honor 8S has the power to manage budget tasks smoothly. But as a budget phone, it is still quite expensive. The phone is not value for money and hence lacks the competitive edge.

Honor 8S comes with a unique design. Nowadays, the mobile phone has lost that historic dual-texture design that was once popular in the market. Honor 8S might look a bit like most Honor phones, but this time, it comes with a dual-texture design. The rear panel is easy to hold and is quite grippy due to the presence of the two layers. As usual, the phone holds the volume rocker and the power button. They are placed in a comfortable position within reach. One of the problems with the phone is that it is quite thick at 8.45mm. Since it is a budget phone, that is acceptable. The phone does not come with a fingerprint scanner, but it does retain the 3.5mm headphone jack. However, the phone still carries the old micro USB port and does not go for the newer USB Type-C port.

The Honor 8S comes with a 5.71-inch screen with a dewdrop notch and quite minimal bezels, reaching for an excellent 84.6% screen-to-body ratio. It is not expected from a budget phone. The thickness of the chin reduces the screen size, but all in all, it remains a beautiful model to go by. The phone has a resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels, which is quite good, paired with punchy colours. Plus, the phone has also passed the TÜV Rheinland certification and reduces blue light emission so that our eyes are not strained. Plus, the Face Unlock works well and can identify about 1024 facial features. However, the display does appear washed out at times, and the brightness is not the best. You cannot use it properly outdoors in sunlight.

The Honor 8S arrives with a MediaTek Helio A22 chipset. It is a powerful chipset, especially for a budget phone. You can run multiple apps on this phone, but they should be basic ones. Intensive apps will make this phone freeze. Casual games can run well on the phone, but it cannot run high-end games properly. One of the reasons why this chipset works well with this phone is the presence of the optimized EMUI 9.0. The OS has a background app management enhanced by AI, resulting in delivering smooth performances.

The Honor 8S comes with a single rear 13MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, along with an LED flashlight. According to the company, the opening can let in more light so that you can get great nighttime shots. In daylight, the photos come out detailed and fine. There is a bit of grain, but that can be ignored considering it is a budget set. But in the nighttime, the shots turn out to be grainy and full of visual noise. It is not recommended for nighttime photography, even with the flash involved. Plus, it does not have a depth-sensing camera, so the bokeh effect is abysmal.

In the front, there is a 5MP camera. The AI beautification effect works well, but it tends to make faces seem artificial. Otherwise, the phone can click beautiful selfies.

The Honor 8S arrives with a non-removable 3,020mAh battery. For the resolution of the display and the screen size, the battery is quite inadequate. However, with light to moderate use, you can keep the phone active for about a whole day. The micro USB charging makes it a slow charging battery. It might take just around 2 hours to get the battery from 0 to 100%.

The Honor 8S is a budget phone, and it does not seem to go out of its ‘budget’ status, despite coming out as the famous Honor brand. It does make a marked tribute to the dual-texture phones with its design. The display is all right, but the lack of fingerprint scanner can stick out like a sore thumb. The processor and battery are decent for a budget phone though you should not push it too much. The Honor 8S fails in the camera department, unlike what its advertising praises about its low-light photography capabilities. If you are looking for a functional budget phone, then the Honor 8S packs enough punch to keep it going.