Friends+Design
- Very attractive rear panel design - there’s no doubt that Honor knows how to make some beautiful phones - the unique “cat’s eye effect” will get you attention and second looks
- The company hasn’t used glass to build the Honor 8C but instead there’s a 3D nano-level texture design technique which gives the back panel a shiny and soft-touch finish, with a mixture of glossy and matte surfaces
- The in-hand feel and lightness of the Honor 8C is worth appreciating too – especially since it includes a massive battery but doesn’t feel like it - the curved back and slim body make for a comfortable user experience
- The buttons on the right edge are likable and clicky
- The fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate
- Thankfully there is a notification light - something that’s missing on the recently launched Realme U1
- In the end though, it is an all-plastic body, so the build quality is not up to the standard of more premium glass or metal phones in this price bracket
- It is also a pretty large device, so one handed use is not a strong suit
Display
- Good 6.26-inch HD+ IPS LCD display, with a 19:9 aspect ratio - the almost edge-to-edge screen, with a moderately-sized notch help with an immersive experience - the screen also has good color reproduction, wide viewing angles, and gets pretty bright – not just indoors but under direct sunlight as well
- The corners of the display are a bit too rounded though and can get in the way of the experience - the battery icon on the right and telecom operator names on the left are too close to the curved edges- almost touching it
Software
- EMUI is one of the better Android skins overall along with Xiaomi’s MIUI - it’s feature-packed, and reasonably fluid - it even offers you the Google Now Feed by swiping right from the home screen (a la stock Android phones) - it gives you access to a ton of features such as the option to hide the notch, Eye comfort, App Twin, and optional app tray
- There is also support for gesture based navigation - something that's especially helpful on such a large phone
- It is pretty cluttered though - and the bloatware duplicate apps that Honor pre-installs on the phone don't help the cause (simplicity and minimalism is not the strong point of any Android UIs except for OxygenOS)
Performance
- Solid, decent performance from the new Snapdragon 632 chipset - which comes somewhere between the Snapdragon 630 and 636 in performance - everyday use a breeze and games work pretty well too
- There are however Snapdragon 636 phones available in the same price vicinity that outperform the Honor 8C - so it doesn't have the best 'performance to price ratio'
Camera
- Average cameras of the rear (dual) and front (single) - especially low light performance is mediocre with both rear and front cameras
- The front camera lacks a portrait mode (might come in later though via a software update)
- Video recording quality is also average
Audio
- Average bottom firing speaker - it gets reasonably loud - but sounds a bit tinny and doesn’t output any bass or treble
Battery
- Very good battery life with a 4000 mAh battery, along with some smart battery saving modes (especially “Smart Resolution” that lowers the resolution when the battery is about to be depleted) - with moderate use, you will be able to get 2 days of usage
Verdict
- Overall, the Honor 8C, while it's one of the best looking devices in the budget segment, loses out on account of it's average cameras and so will find it tough to compete with the likes of the Redmi Note 6 Pro, the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the Nokia 5.1 Plus - all of which turn out to be better all-rounders - after knocking it out of the park all year, Honor seems to have missed the mark with the Honor 8C
