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HONOR’s new X8a has a whole lot going for it. Compared with its predecessor, the new X8a comes packed with new features that include a bigger battery, an upgraded camera system, and a better user experience. The X8a offers a very iconic design and is packaged in a body that exhibits a very classic design and good build quality for the price range it is available for.
The HONOR X8a measures 162.9-by-74.5-by-7.48mm in dimensions and weighs just 179 gms. There are three colour choices available – Cyan Lake, Titanium Silver, and Midnight Black. The variant reviewed here is the Cyan Lake model, which is the new colour introduced for the X8a. The materials used to construct the phone’s body make sure it does not turn into a fingerprint magnet.
On the front, you get a 6.7-inch HONOR FullView Display that offers a 93.6% screen-to-body ratio, support for 16.7 million colours, and is TÜV Rheinland certified for Low Blue Light. You also get a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, a display resolution of 2388-bu-1080 pixels, and a pixel density of 391-PPI.
On the right edge of the device, you get the volume rockers and the power button, which also doubles up as the fingerprint scanner. On the left edge, you get the dual SIM slot. On the top edge, you get an IR blaster and a noise-cancelling microphone, while the bottom edge houses the USB-C port, a second noise-cancelling microphone, and the speaker grille.
Under the hood, the HONOR X8a is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 processor, along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage space. The phone also comes with RAM Turbo, which kicks in when using resource-hungry apps. Last year’s HONOR X8 came packed with a 4000mAh battery. This time around, the X8a comes packed with a 4500mAh battery and it supports 22.5W Wired HONOR SuperCharge.
Turn the phone around and you will find the triple camera setup. This includes a 100MP main camera that offers an aperture of f/1.9 – the predecessor came with a 64MP main camera. You also get a 5MP wide and depth camera with an aperture of f/2.2, and a 2MP macro camera with an aperture of f/2.4. On the front, above the display, you will find a 16MP camera with an aperture of f/2.45.
The HONOR X8a runs on Magic UI 6.1, which is based on the Android 12 operating system. The camera app on the X8a offers a wide range of modes that include Aperture, Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, and More. Inside the More option, you get modes such as Pro, Panorama, HDR, Time-Lapse, Stickers, Super-Macro, Dual-View, High-Res, and Story.
The HONOR X8a performed really well during our review period. The cameras on this one performed consistently. It did not matter whether it was day or night, the cameras consistently shot really good images as seen below:
The X8a also offers continuous autofocus when recording movies. This means the end result will be focused and sharp videos. You also get phase-detection autofocus on the X8a, which is much faster than a contrast detection autofocus, allowing you to shoot sharper images.
In addition, it comes with a huge battery of 4500mAh. On a single charge, we were able to clock a battery life of more than a day. And if you find yourself running out of juice, you can quickly get the phone recharged, since it supports 22.5W Wired HONOR SuperCharge.
The HONOR X8a is also a smartphone with the classiest design today. It has straight edges with rounded corners and is very lightweight to carry around. If you are in the market for a pocket-friendly mid-ranger that offers good design, build quality, and performance, you should definitely consider the HONOR X8a.
Price: AED 899
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