MobileManDan
Intro
HONOR have once again released their newest flagship devices called the HONOR Magic 8 Pro and the HONOR Magic 8 Lite. This is a review on the Lite version which was sent to me by HONOR a few weeks before it was announced so I was able to do my full review.
This is a review on the HONOR Magic 8 Lite device which has just been announced and offers near flagship specifications at a much more affordable price, at time of writing the review you can pick up an HONOR Magic 8 Lite for £399 here in the UK.
My review was based on the HONOR Magic 8 Lite which I had hands-on for 3 weeks before posting the review. It was also based on a device that was loaned go me before the official announcement but was running up to date software.
All opinions are solely based on my experience with the device and no one has seen any of the content before it’s gone live. Everyone gets to see at the same time as it is purely my opinion and my thoughts on my time with the phone without any influence.
Design
The screen boasts a large 6.79-inch size and utilizes OLED technology for deep blacks and vibrant colors. It also features a 120Hz refresh rate, ideal for those interested in high-frame-rate gaming or who appreciate smooth, silky animations.
HONOR also have some clever technology when it comes to preventing eye strain with 3840Hz dimming including for blue light, this technology helps with the way the screen refreshes and how your eyes cope with it, by having such a large number means less strain especially at night time.
The large screen takes up all the front with no physical buttons to be seen, just the large screen which looks great for watching content back on.
You also get the front facing selfie camera which is a reasonable sized one at 16 megapixels and allows 1080p video recording, this will be covered in more detail later on in the review.
On the left side, there are no buttons or switches;, the whole side is smooth with nothing sticking out or getting in the way of the design as some other phones have a few little marks which are to help the antenna with signal, this is not the case here which keeps the clean overall design.
On the right-hand side, there is a volume rocker for adjusting the volume up and down, as well as a power button in the center that offers quick access to Google Gemini assistant, this is the new and up to date AI assistant which has replaced the older Google Assistant found on older phones and is really handy from simple tasks such as setting an alarm to using for creating cartoon photos from a photo you pick.
At the top, there is one of the dual microphones designed for noise cancellation and stereo recording. Additionally, the inclusion of an IR blaster is appreciated, allowing the phone to act as a remote control for a wide range of devices from your TV to air conditioner units.
At the bottom, there is an additional microphone that complements the dual setup. Additionally, there is a USB-C port available for data transfer or fast charging at 66W.
One feature lacking is Wireless Charging which unfortunatly you do not get with this device, however with 66W fast charging this should be more than enough to get you back running again with a few minutes plugged in.
The HONOR Magic 8 Lite features a Nano SIM slot for your preferred network SIM, along with Dual SIM support, allowing you to use two different networks simultaneously and also has eSIM support, should your network provide this option but is becoming more popular, especially for people who like to travel or have one phone for personal use and one for work.
The device features a dual camera setup that includes a main 108-megapixel lens withan LED flash to boost low-light photography. Additionally, it includes a 5-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens for capturing landscape shots.
Sample photos and videos taken from each camera can be found later on in the review so you can see what the quality is like.
There are a few different colours available and as you can see I was sent the very flashy and stylish Reddish Brown which has a gold accent in parts of the design that really stands out.
Software
The HONOR Magic 8 Lite launches with Magic OS 9 which is the older version of the software as the company have now launched MagicOS 10 which is built on top of Android 16.
MagicOS 9.0 adds some handy AI features into the software, some of which you see in their older HONOR Magic 7 Pro and and Lite which now costs around £600 and £200, this gives you tools such as Writing Tools, AI Recorder, AI Translation and even their new AI Deepfake Detection which is really key these days with so much AI generated content out there.
The camera area up top has been improved with software over time and lets you tap to open up content fully or hold on to it to open up top, this has been seen on other devices in the past but works really well on Magic OS and really adds a new quick way of dealing with quick settings such as skipping a track or keeping an eye on that timer you set.
It acts like the Magic Capsule found on the older Magic 7 Pro, although smaller as it is just the camera where as the Pro model has the capsule-like design.
HONOR has done a good job on the software front with little bloatware and quick software updates such as to the latest Android 15 and the promise to upgrade to Android 16 in the following months so you can expect to see that any time now although with 7 years of updates it’s a shame the first update comes so soon and they could not launch with Android 16 out of the box.
Performance
The performance on this device is really good with it featuring a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 processor, whilst not top of the range, it was more than capable for running normal every day tasks as well as the new AI features and some heavy gaming from Call of Duty mainly.
Storage comes in at 512GB which is non expandable, if you do need more than this then you will have to look at online options, however 512GB is a huge amount of storage when many phones that are on sale today normally start at 128GB or if you are lucky 256GB.
The included battery uses the new silicon carbon technology which allows much larger capacity without making the size of the physical battery huge, the HONOR Magic 8 Lite has a capacity of 7500mAh, ranking it among the top models currently on sale.
This is particularly impressive given the phone’s OLED screen, which operates at 120hz you will easily get two full days of heavy use, including using the camera and playing games, and if you don’t use too excessively you will get three days of use from a single charge which is incredible.
The HONOR Magic 8 Lite comes with support for 2G/3G/4G/5G so you have a wide range of connectivity options depending on your network and sometimes price plan of choice (not all plans include 5G access)
Naturally, this device is packed with essential features like GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, and built-in WiFi for seamless navigation and communication. Furthermore, the WiFi supports the latest standards, delivering superior and faster data speeds when paired with the right router.
When it comes to the display and build quality, again as HONOR did with the older Magic 7 Lite they made it as indestructible as possible with IP69K now added to the ratings which allows resistance to hot jets of water, they have also tested for 2.5 meter drop protection should you not have a case on or are prone to just dropping your phones all the time.
I did give this a test a few times. I admit I was concerned at doing so in case it broke, however, the phone did hold up as strong as they said it would with not a single mark on it, either the screen or the frame so it passed that test.
Camera
The HONOR Magic 8 Lite comes with a main 108 megapixel camera which was the same as the HONOUR Magic 7 Lite from last year, this is not a bad thing because there are still a lot of phones out there that offer 50 megapixel cameras as their primary so at least you get over twice the amount of pixels from this phone than some of the competition.
Of course megapixels aren’t everything, for example, whilst you do get 108 megapixel main camera, you do lack a telephoto for optical zoom.
Instead of a dedicated telephoto camera, you get up to 10 times digital zoom which you do lose quality the more you zoom in,
HONOR have reserved the telephoto for their flagship Pro model as with last year.
The selfie camera has a 16MP lens which delivered decent performance. In good lighting the photos it took were bright, clear and full of detail which was great, there are some AI settings you can play around with too which was fun to try but for point and shoot selfies it does a decent enough job in comparison with the competition at this price.
Selfie videos are decent offering a maximum resolution for recording of 1080p at 30fps which is is decent enough for the price, it would have been nice to have 4K as an option, however, to save money you get 1080p instead which should be more than enough for most people from a selfie standpoint.
HONOR have opted for a two-lens setup, featuring a main 108-megapixel camera and a 5-megapixel wide-angle camera with a LED flash in the camera area to help boost lighting or be used as a flashlight when you need.
In good lighting the captured photos from the main 108 megapixel camera are decent quality and are more than good enough to be printed or shared on social media which will be the most common use for them, you do get the option to zoom in with digital zoom although this will lower the quality mainly due to lacking a dedicated telephoto lens you get on some of the competition.
There is also a lower resolution 5 megapixel ultra wide camera mainly for landscape style shots or when you have a group of people to get in the frame, it’s nice to have but isn’t the best quality even with good lighting but it does the job at least and nice to have one even if not amazing.
Here are the photos taken using each of the three cameras so you can see what quality you can expect to see.
Nighttime or low light photos can struggle to stop noise ruining being what would have been a nice photo, and whilst the main camera can get some decent night shots, I would suggest only using the main camera for these, switching to the ultra wide angle really lowers the quality and does not impress at all which is a shame, but maybe not a deal-breaker for you.
Videos max out at 4K which is good considering the overall price you will be paying for the phone, quality in good lighting as with the photos is decent enough for social media or normal point and shoot shots, and again as with the photos the ultra wide mode lacks in overall quality due to the lower resolution 5 megapixel sensor.
Final Thoughts
So my final thoughts on the HONOR Magic 8 Lite, they are positive, especially when you consider all the specifications and features you get for the price of £399 at time of launch here in the UK.
What HONOR have managed to do is cram a incredible amount of specifications into a phone at a very reasonable price point that just under £400
Whilst this phone won’t be for everybody especially in the camera department, if you use the ultra wide, what it does do is have an incredible battery life lasting pretty much 3 days thanks to the 7500 mah. battery included and apart from a few flagship phones, this is pretty much unheard of.
The phone also features a large display and a decent performing processor which will easily get through all the tasks you need, including some gaming. Although you won’t be able to crank it up to high resolution on some flagship games such as Call of Duty or Genchin Impact, you will still get decent performance if you keep the settings to a more realistic level and this is more than playable plus with that large battery as mentioned, you’ll be able to play for ages without worrying about running out of battery life.
Looking at the phone overall, the only real drawback I can give would be the ultra wide camera at just 5 megapixel resolution, it struggles heavily at night time so best avoid using this camera at night time.
However, the main camera, the 108 megapixel main sensor is decent enough for normal point-and-shoot photos, plus you have AI mode to help touch up should you want to improve your photo a little here or there, yes, you won’t get flagship performance but at £399 You’re going to get great value for money and a phone that will last you for years to come in most other areas.
The usual question I get is would I recommend this phone and that all depends on what you’re looking to get out of your purchase. If you want a smartphone that has outstanding battery performance very sturdy that can take a knock here or there and has a decent size display then this is definitely a great choice to consider.
Again a big thanks to HONOR for sending out the HONOR Magic 8 Lite for review.
