Honor 8 review

The Honor 8 has now officially launched in Europe and will cost £369.99 in the UK. The Honor 8 is also up for pre-order in the US at Amazon,Best Buy, B&H, Newegg and Honor's website. A $50 pre-order discount knocks the Honor 8's price down even further, an attractive offer if you're looking for a new, unlocked phone.

Honor, sister company to the more well-known Huawei, wants to make a name for itself outside of its native China.

It's had forays out west before, but now it's launched the Honor 8 in the US and the UK. At $399.99/£369.99, it's a device Honor hopes attracts users - millennials, in particular - with flagship-style specs without the price that usually goes along with the breed.

The Honor 8 is indeed a phone with some boast-worthy particulars. Its screen is a silky 5.2-inch Full HD, 1080p affair that's bright and crisp. A 3,000mAh battery, slightly smaller than the Honor 7's, is still respectable, at least on paper. It has a proprietary Kirin 950 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, which is expandable to 128GB thanks to a microSD card slot.

A fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C, some nifty if superfluous software tricks and dual 12MP rear cameras - the Honor 8's marquee feature - round out the phone's call sheet. It's a good Android phone, one that goes toe-to-toe with the likes of the Huawei P9 and OnePlus 3, the latter of which we dubbed a "genuine flagship killer."

But what keeps the Honor 8 from climbing higher into true flagship-killer country is that it doesn't offer much that we haven't seen before. Is a flagship wannabe with an affordable price enough to tempt phone buyers? That's an answer we're saving for our full review.

Design and features

What's obvious about the Honor 8 is that it feels good in the hand. It has smooth, rounded edges, so it feels like one solid piece. A pane of glass on the back keeps that cohesiveness going, and there aren't any bumps on the phone, save for buttons on the side.

At 7.5mm, it's thin, but has enough mass that it doesn't feel flimsy or cheap, like you might snap it in half at any minute. Available in white, sapphire blue and black, the Honor 8 is an attractive phone, though it's fairly nondescript unless its display is on.

The back is made up of 15 layers of glass, Honor says, which refracts light and gives the phone a shimmery look. It's a pretty - though fleeting - effect.

One glaring issue with the glass back is that it smudges easily, and while fingerprints aren't so obvious on the white model, the black and sapphire versions were visibly covered in prints after a short time. If you're bothered by a dirty phone, you may have a problem with the Honor 8.

The fingerprint scanner on the back is easy to access and fast, and it doubles as a "smart key" button that provides some useful functions. Giving it different presses - one, two or a long hold - will open various apps and shortcuts, such as pulling up Lyft or turning on your flashlight. It's easier than swiping through your phone to find what you're looking for, though it might take some getting used to.

The speaker and microphone are located on the bottom, which Honor warns not to cover up when you're using it. We've run into the issue of muffled speakers on other Huawei phones, so it doesn't seem like Honor saw fit to address it this time.

A curious feature of the Honor 8 is something the company calls knuckle gestures. You essentially rap your knuckle against the screen, then draw a letter or shape that are actually commands. Drawing an "m" pulls up maps, a "c" the camera, "e" the internet and "w" the weather. You can draw a square around your screen to take a screenshot, too.

It's an odd feature, and one we can't see a reason for. Why not just use your fingers to draw these letters and shapes? You have to hit your knuckle with enough force against the display to kick the gestures into gear, and it wasn't the most pleasant feeling knocking bone against a phone. Maybe it's useful if you have dirty fingers, but it's still strange, to say the least.

Camera

The Honor 8's calling card is that it has dual 12MP cameras on the back, though this is actually a holdover set-up from the Huawei P9. One sensor takes an RGB color photo, the other a monochrome photo, and together they form one cohesive image that apparently holds more detail thanks to this melding approach.

We found the Honor 8's camera as-is to be good, not great. The images were sharp and the color rich, but they weren't the best photos taken on a phone we've ever seen.

We say as-is because there are deeper settings, including a pro mode that lets you manually mess with things like ISO to take even better shots. You can tweak the focus in the standard mode, but if you really want to control how your photo looks, you have the option to do so.

Of course, this takes time and some experience using these type of settings, and it may not be for everyone to fiddle with focus and aperture before they take a snap.

The Honor 8's camera capabilities are above average, and we were impressed with its low-light image capture, though again we weren't blown away by the results.

During the day the Honor 8 camera seems to perform well.

Click here for the full resolution version

The low light camera on the Honor 8 is impressive so far - but it can be hard to get a stable image.

Click here for the full resolution version

Here's a version of the photo above but only using the monochrome sensor, and it's quite detailed.

Click here for the full resolution version

Perhaps if the screen was a higher resolution, the images would have truly popped, but on the Honor 8, they were good, but not something we'd be beaming with pride over.

Early verdict

The Honor 8 is a fine phone, one that does a lot of things right, particularly when it comes to its build quality and camera.

You get a lot of good phone for the price, but the problem for the Honor 8 is that it doesn't offer anything must-have against similarly priced competitors. There's nothing about it that makes you feel like you have to have this phone.

While it does beat the OnePlus 3 when it comes to microSD, that device has already made huge waves, and it's unlikely the Honor 8 will capture people's imaginations the same way. That's especially true in the US, where Honor is still relatively unknown, and the Honor 8 doesn't do much to put it in the map.

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Sony Xperia XZ review

The debate over whether the Sony Xperia X, which launched in February this year, was a flagship phone or not, has finally been settled - it wasn't, but the Xperia XZ is.

This brand new flagship is the highest spec device in the growing Sony Xperia X range and it offers a lot of what we've seen before, but in brilliant new packaging.

Sony has been refining its iconic boxy phone design for seven generations now, ever since the Xperia Z back in 2013, and that process has led to the XZ, which whether you opt for it in deep blue, black or silver is by far one of the best looking phones the Japanese company has ever produced.

• Want to see a video of how good this phone is in action? We've got you covered:

The sharp edges of the Xperia Z range have disappeared, replaced here by more rounded ones in a conscious change to help the Xperia XZ sit better in the hand.

It's a reasonably minor change, but it makes the experience of holding an Xperia phone much more comfortable. This is a problem Sony should have solved long ago and is a big improvement for the company's latest handset.

Not only is the look refined, but also the feel, as the back of the Xperia XZ is made of a new metal material from Sony called ALKALEIDO, which doesn't feel slippery in the hand. It gives the phone a premium finish and is a big step up from the glass-backed Sony Xperia Z5, although the new material does still pick up fingerprints quite easily.

The top and bottom edges of the Xperia XZ are completely flat, which is another design change and allows you to stand the phone up on its end. The flat design is reminiscent of the top edge of the Obi MV1, but executed much better.

There's a fingerprint sensor hidden away in the power key on the side of the phone. This positioning makes the sensor easy to hit when the XZ is in your hand, but the button can be a bit of a pain to reach when the phone is sat on a flat surface.

Perhaps the biggest design change is the inclusion of IP68 waterproofing - that's the same rating given to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Sony Xperia Z5. This means you can dunk your Sony phone once again without having to worry about it breaking – a feature many missed in the original members of the Xperia X series.

Screen and camera

You may be disappointed to learn Sony has stuck with a Full HD display for the Xperia XZ, especially as this is the firm's most premium handset – but it's still a great screen. Some were expecting the Xperia XZ to come with a 4K display like the Xperia Z5 Premium did, but that was mostly a gimmick and your battery will thank you for sticking to 1080p.

The screen is 5.2 inches and 424 pixels per inch, and, while sharp, doesn't touch the likes of the QHD Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or HTC 10, so while 4K would have been unnecessary a 2K resolution would have been nice to see.

On paper the Xperia XZ's main camera looks quite similar to previous iterations, but minor improvements should make the XZ's snapper much more enjoyable to use.

The camera uses the same 23MP Sony sensor as the Xperia X, with all the tech you've seen in the past, but it now includes a laser autofocus.

Working alongside the predictive hybrid autofocus technology this should make it even easier for the phone camera to focus your shots – though how well it works remains to be seen.

The 23MP sensor also comes with new white balance technology to help enhance the color of your photographs and improve fine detail (a common problem with Sony's sensors). In a smartphone first the XZ also uses 5-axis stabilization tech to ensure your video doesn't come out blurry.

Flip around to the front and you'll be greeted by a 13MP sensor, allowing for detailed selfies. It looks to be the same camera as the selfie shooter on the Xperia X, which worked well.

Performance and battery

Under the hood the Xperia XZ sounds suspiciously like the Xperia X Performance. The XZ boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor along with 3GB of RAM, and in our hands on time the phone felt as speedy as you'd expect a flagship to be. If you're looking to run Pokémon Go or any other mobile game, you'll be able to with this phone.

Storage-wise you have 32GB of internal space and 256GB microSD storage to play with. There's no word on microSD support yet, but Sony usually includes a card slot, so we'd expect to see one in the XZ.

On the battery front there's still no sign of wireless charging – but Sony has improved the juice pack in other ways, as the 2900mAh cell will recharge at different speeds depending on your charging habits.

If you often take your phone to bed at midnight and unplug it at 7am, the Xperia XZ will charge to 90% as quickly as possible but then pause the charge until just before you wake up.

The idea here is that leaving your phone on charge can damage the battery over time – so by predicting when you'll need the XZ charged up, Sony should be able to preserve your battery for longer.

Since there's no wireless charging you'll be using the USB-C port on the bottom edge of the phone. This is the first time Sony has embraced USB-C, and although the change may mean updating a few of your accessories USB-C is a lot more convenient, as you can plug your charger in either way around.

This charging tech is sure to become the industry standard soon, so it's great to see Sony preparing for that, rather than getting left behind.

Sadly, the Xperia XZ runs Android 6 Marshmallow, but a Sony representative assured TechRadar that the company would be working hard to bring Android Nougat to the phone as soon as possible.

Early verdict

The Sony Xperia XZ feels a little lost in the mix, with a very similar spec list to the Xperia X Performance and Xperia Z5 series, but the design tweaks have made a major difference to the appearance of the phone, making the Xperia XZ one of the best looking handsets of 2016.

New camera technology shows the company is trying to improve its 23MP sensor too, while extra innovations such as the USB-C tech feel like a step forward, but a small step and not a reason to buy a brand new Sony phone.

If you own a Sony handset from the last year there's no key reason to update to the Xperia XZ, but if you're after a top of the line device and like the look of the XZ's refined design, this is going to be a great choice for you.

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Honor 7 review

 Huawei has now launched the Honor 8 and you may find it a better alternative to the Honor 7. It's just out for the US so far at $399.99, but it comes with an upgraded processor, 4GB of RAM and a USB-C port.

Huawei is one of the few Chinese handset makers to enjoy a rise in popularity outside its home country. Being linked to Google after collaborating on theNexus 6P certainly hasn't hurt, and the launch of the Honor 7 was Huawei going all out to crack the west.

To make its occidental ambitions clear, it's now easier than ever to pick up a Huawei smartphone, with Huawei's Vmall online store finally launching in the UK and Europe, enabling you to buy Huawei's handsets directly from the manufacturer.

Can it make it big in the West?

Huawei could also be looking at making it easier to walk into a high street store and buy one of its devices, or get one with a contract. At the moment Honor handsets are sold exclusively in Three UK network stores, and are tied to that carrier.

Making its phones more readily available and easier to buy will certainly help Huawei's standing in the West, and to get people even more tempted by its latest handset it's offering a limited deal that knocks €50 (around £36, US$56, AU$78) off the asking price if you join the 'Honor Club'.

Even when the offer ends, the Honor 7 will still offer excellent value for money, joining its compatriots the One Plus 2 and the Meizu M2 Note in offering impressive hardware for low prices, with a price tag starting at £249.99 (around US$393, AU$547).

Considering that the Honor 7 comes with an octa-core processor, a choice between 16GB and 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, that's not a bad price, with a fingerprint scanner and 20-megapixel camera sweetening the deal even further.

This isn't a budget phone with all but the most basic features cut out, but a decent handset for a compelling price with a few neat features and innovations thrown in as well.

From a western standpoint, the Honor 7's biggest competition is from the recently released Moto G (2015), which comes in two flavours: the 1GB RAM and 8GB storage version for £179 (US$179, AU$250), or the 2GB RAM/16GB storage version for £209 (US$219).

So does the Honor 7 continue the winning streak of Chinese handsets by offering a great experience for a lot less money? Read on to find out.

Design

At first glance the design of the Huawei Honor 7 is rather straightforward and basic, and more than a little familiar. It reminded me of a cross between theApple iPhone 4 and the Xperia Z3+, which means that while it's far from an ugly handset, it doesn't exactly wow either.

Does the Huawei Honor 7 look familiar to you?

With smartphones becoming increasingly competent on the inside, we're often looking for devices that offer something a bit different on the outside, and while I wasn't expecting any premium, paradigm-shifting innovations like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge's curved screen, it would've been nice to be confronted with a design that didn't make me think "I've seen this before".

However, while the front of the Honor 7 seems derivative of Apple's and Sony's offerings, the back is quite different, with a slightly curved brushed aluminium back which feels nice to hold, as well as giving the handset a sturdy feel. I wouldn't worry about dropping this phone as much as one with a glass front and back.

The back of the Honor 7 is also home to the rear camera and LED flash, and just below that a fingerprint scanner. Its location towards the centre of the back makes it more comfortable to reach when you're holding it in your hand than fingerprint scanners on the front of the body, although this also means it's easier to accidentally touch.

The fingerprint scanner is well placed on the back

Back to the front of the device, where the 5.2-inch 1080p screen is surrounded by two thin bezels on either side that keep the Honor 7 thin enough to hold comfortably, with dimensions of 143.2 x 71.9 x 8.5mm and a weight of 157g.

The bezels above and below the screen are quite a bit thicker, however. While I'm willing to forgive Huawei for the thick top bezel, as it holds the front-facing camera, LED flash and speaker for phone calls, the bottom bezel seems like wasted space.

This is because there are no buttons, speakers or even logos here. Sure, the extra room is probably taken up with hardware underneath the body, but it makes the Honor 7 look a little plain.

It also means that the speakers for ring tones and media are relegated to the bottom of the body, so they can often be covered by an errant palm, making the sounds coming out of them seem muffled; it's a shame that the empty space of the lower bezel wasn't used for front-facing speakers.

The mysterious button brings up Google Now

On the right-hand side of the handset are the volume rocker and power button, which are again in easy reach if you're using the Honor 7 one-handed. There's a single button on the left-hand side of the body, and at first I thought this was a dedicated camera button – but on pushing it, nothing happened.

However, holding it down opened up Google Now, which I'm not too sure I like. On other handsets with stock Android I was happy enough to swipe left to get to Google Now when I needed it, and I never felt that I was missing a physical button to bring it up. I also accidentally pressed it on a couple of occasions, which was pretty annoying.

Some Google Now addicts might love this addition, but I feel that it's a waste of a button. The volume rocker, meanwhile, acts as a physical camera shutter button when the Camera app is open.

No USB Type C here

Finally, the micro USB port resides at the bottom of the chassis – there's no USB Type-C here – with a headphone jack at the top.

Overall, the design of the Huawei Honor 7 is solid if uninspiring. It's certainly not an ugly phone, but it does little to stand out from the crowd either – which could be a problem if Huawei is planning on making a splash with this device and bringing it to the high street.

With more opportunities for potential customers to take a look at the device and hold it in their hands, Huawei could have pushed a bit harder for a design that really leaves an impression, so although the design isn't bad, I still feel it's something of a missed opportunity.

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