HONOR X8a Hands-on

A thin masterpiece?

A thin masterpiece?

HONOR is introducing yet another mid-range phone, the HONOR X8a with what is touted as DSLR-like photography in its 100-megapixel triple rear camera setup. Here’s what we think when we got the phone for the first time.

HONOR X8a specs:

  • 6.7-inch LTPS LCD display
    2388 x 1080 pixels
  • MediaTek Helio G88 chipset
  • 8GB RAM
  • 128GB internal storage
  • 16MP F2.45 selfie camera
  • Triple Rear Cameras with LED Flash:
    100MP F1.9 main
    5MP F2.2 ultrawide
    2MP macro
  • Dual nano-SIM card, 4G/LTE
  • WiFi 802.11 ac, BT5.1, NFC, GPS/aGPS
  • Fingerprint Sensor (side-mounted), Fingerprint Scanner
  • USB Type-C 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
  • HONOR MagiCUI 6.0 (Android 12)
  • 4500mAh Li-Ion battery
    22.5W HONOR Supercharge
  • Color: Cyan Lake, Titanium Silver, Midnight Black

Inside the box features all of the usual things you’ll find in an HONOR phone: the device itself, a transparent TPU case, the 22.5W Supercharge adapter, a USB-C charging and data cable, and the SIM tray ejector tool.

The HONOR X8a features a flat, boxy design with flat sides reminiscent of its predecessor, the HONOR X8. Our unit, in a Midnight color, looks elegant with a mineral shine at the rear part. The HONOR logo and the camera details are all laser-etched into the surface.

The protruding glass area houses the three rear cameras and the dual LED flash. It stands out as being shiny without being too flashy when seen.

Let’s look at the sides. The right side has the power/lock button, doubling as the phone’s fingerprint scanner for additional security, and the volume keys.

The left part, on the other hand, has the Dual SIM card tray slot. Sadly, there’s no option for expandable storage in the tray.

At the bottom are the microphone, the USB-C port, and the loudspeaker.

Flip the phone to its front side, and you’ll see the device’s 6.7-inch IPS display. Its colors are vivid and the brightness is good in most situations. HONOR calls this the Edgeless display, seen first with the HONOR X9 last year, where most bezels are razor-thin, making the visual experience more immersive.

The top part has the call speaker and the 16-megapixel selfie camera in a cut-out hole.

HONOR’s newest mid-range phone features Android 12 with MagicUI 6.0, with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. We’re seeing more of this device’s performance with MediaTek Helio G88 chipset in our upcoming review, which we will publish in the coming days.

The 100-megapixel triple rear camera setup promises to have DSLR-quality photos at an affordable price point. True enough, the cameras for this phone are better than some of the devices you can purchase at this price point. Here are some sample shots:

The HONOR X8a will be available in the Philippines for PHP 10,990, which makes it one of the most affordable 108MP camera phones in the country to date. Pre-orders are now underway and will last until March 24, with customers getting HONOR Earbuds worth PHP 1,590 as a freebie.

Carl writes for WalasTech when he's not working full-time. Give him tips and/or leads at [email protected].