Priced at Rs 19,999, the Honor 8 Smart is a low-end variant of the Honor 8 flagship device and features a single unit 13 megapixel rear camera module.
Alongside the anticipated Honor 8, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor also introduced an affordable variant called Honor 8 Smart. The phone is priced at Rs 19,999. The device features a 5.2-inch display and is powered by the Kirin 650 octa-core chipset coupled with 2GB of RAM. The variant is priced Rs 10,000 lesser than its premium version, but boasts similar features as the Honor 8. The only differences include lower amount of RAM and single camera module.
The Honor 8 was first introduced in China way back in July and today makes its debut in India. Like LG, Xiaomi and Apple, Honor too has opted for a dual-camera setup at the back of its flagship smartphone. The Honor 8 Smart being an affordable variant, there is only a single-camera module at the back. At this price point, the Honor 8 Smart will face competition from sub-Rs 20,000 smartphones such as the Lenovo Z2 Plus, LeEco Le2, and the Moto G4 Plus to name a few.
Honor 8 Smart specifications
At 5.2-inches, the Honor 8 Smart features a display similar to the higher priced Honor 8, offering FHD resolution at 1920×1080 pixels. The phone has been crafted out of aircraft grand aluminum alloy and comes with a single 13-megapixel camera module. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie camera with aperture f/2.4. The rear camera on the Honor 8 Smart uses a Sony IMX214 sensor which is said to offer good results in high light sensitivity, dim light, and scene light. It further offers accurate color reproduction and less noise in low light captures.
The Honor 8 Smart also features a 3,000mAh battery that is claimed to offer better performance owing to the new Kirin 650 chipset and coupled with Honor’s in-house custom Android skin EMUI4.1. At Rs 19,999, the phone doesn’t feature the USB Type-C port as the Honor 8 but offers the standard micro-USB port for charging and data exchange. ALSO READ: Honor 8 with dual rear camera setup launched in India: Price, specifications and features
The differentiating factor between the two Honor 8 phones is the onboard storage, chipset, RAM, charging port, and the dual camera setup which has been made available in Honor 8. If one puts the Honor 8 Smart against competing Lenovo Z2 Plus, then the latter offers more RAM and internal storage at a price of Rs 17,999. Like a lot of other Lenovo smartphones, the Z2 Plus (a re-branded version of the ZUK Z2), the phone comes with a 3,500mAh battery with support for fast charging. With USB Type-C port for charging, the Z2 Plus also comes with a fingerprint scanner.
In terms of features, the LeEco Le2 offers a different audio experience with its USB Type-C port for charging and audio. One of the first phones to do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack, the Le2 is priced at Rs 11,999 and comes with a larger 5.5-inch FHD display, fingerprint sensor, 3GB of RAM, and a 16-megapixel rear camera. A specification sheet like the one of LeEco Le2 makes the Honor 8 Smart a disappointing deal to consider.
If leveled against the Moto G4 Plus, which is priced at Rs 14,499 for the 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage variant, the Honor 8 Smart still appears to be an expensive deal given the larger display that Motorola is offering. Where the Honor 8 Smart takes the cake is the front camera sensor at 8-megapixels and the Kirin 650 chipset which is said to offer better efficiency and performance. ALSO READ: Motorola Moto G4 Plus: Hands-on and first impressions
Other than the Honor 8 and Honor 8 Smart, the company also took the wraps off its Holly 3 smartphone which is Honor’s first ‘Make in India’ smartphone. The phone is also from the affordable category priced at Rs 9,999 but sports a display size larger than the Honor 8 phones at 5.5 inches and is backed by a 3,100mAh battery. The Honor 8 Smart is available in color choices of black, white, and gold and will start selling on Honor store as well as Flipkart and Amazon India soon.