HONOR 8X: Blistering Performance, Unmatched Value

The old saying "you get what you pay for" is an almost universal rule of thumb, and indeed, it's rare to find a budget smartphone that replicates a flagship device in several important areas. However, the HONOR 8X proves itself to be an exception. Featuring a high-performing SoC, powerful battery and unique technology, it delivers a combination of transcendent gaming, smooth operations and all day availability that is unprecedented in its price range.

The HONOR 8X packs the Kirin 710 chipset, an octa-core processor that implements a 12nm process. The interaction between the 2.2 GHz big cores and 1.7 GHz small cores leads to lower latency, enhanced power efficiency and effortless multitasking.

A comparative analysis of the Kirin 710's performance on the 8X in actual gaming conditions, with that of its counterpart, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 710 chipset, was carried out by the Chinese website mydrivers.com. Test results indicate that the Kirin 710 consistently maintained a higher frame rate when running the popular and graphically-demanding game, Arena of Valor, under the same environment.

Because the two processors have largely similar CPU performance, the difference in GPU can likely be attributed to GPU Turbo, a proprietary HONOR graphics acceleration technology that brings mobile gaming to new heights. GPU Turbo allows for seamless hardware-software collaboration, boosting performance and reducing power consumption in the process.

The HONOR 8X's status as a premier gaming phone is further affirmed by its resistance to overheating. Tests performed by ZOL, a Chinese website covering technology products, indicate that the phone simply refuses to overheat, even after an extended session of Arena of Valor at an elite, steady 60 fps. As demonstrated in the infrared images below, which show the front and back of the phone after 20 minutes of gaming, most of the heating was concentrated around the fingerprint module, meaning that the area of the phone body that is held by the user was largely unaffected.

The premium gaming and mobile processing are accompanied with first-rate battery life and charging performance. Notably, the HONOR 8X charges to 30% in half an hour, and fully charges in two hours, according to data from ZOL, providing the kind of on-the-go convenience required by users in 2019. On the flip side, the 8X packs a durable 3,750 mAh battery, making charging a less frequent occurrence. After five hours of varied use (including picture/video taking, video streaming, social media, web browsing, gaming, music playback and e-reading), the battery still retains a shocking 50% charge, ensuring anytime leisure and functionality.

All in all, the HONOR 8X integrates the most useful features of a flagship phone — AI-boosted performance, durable battery life and immersive entertainment — and packages them in such a way to maximize user value and convenience.

The HONOR 9X is coming soon, and what do you think? What chipset and battery will the 9X equip? Share your thoughts with us!