HONOR’s recently announced 8C is another smartphone that’s entering the sub-RM1000 market. I took a quick look at it during the launch event, and these are my initial impressions of it.
To start, the HONOR 8C features a notched display. While more and more phones are going with the smaller teardrop-styled notch, HONOR decided to stick with a wider one. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, and if you don’t like it, there’s the option to hide it via the UI.
On the other hand, the thick chin with the HONOR branding cannot be hidden. It’s an odd design choice, considering the branding is still plenty visible on the back on the phone. Despite this, HONOR claims that the 8C still maintains a 19:9 display ratio.
Round the back, you’ll find the fingerprint sensor situated in the typical spot, along with the two camera bumps comprising the 13MP + 2MP camera combo. The bumps aren’t as pronounced, but it’s still something to keep in mind if you’re placing the device on top of an abrasive surface.
The back of the blue-coloured 8C also features what the company calls the “cat’s eye effect.” This effect can be emulated by specifically angling the phone in a light source, the end result being light refraction that’s usually gleaned off from the eponymous gemstone.
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The sides are rounded as well, making for a comfortable grip of the phone. The power button and volume rocker are both on the right, while the three-slot tray for two Nano-SIM cards and microSD card can be found on its left side.
At the bottom, you’ll find the mono speaker grill and the Micro-USB port – something that many still find contentious, even at this price point. On the flip side, there’s still a 3.5mm audio jack built into the top of the phone.
While I didn’t manage to spend as much time with the camera as I usually do, I found that it performs as you would expect of the HONOR 8C. With Colours were bright and vivid by default, while details captured were relatively impressive, if not expected.
Considering what the phone packs, it’s hard to argue with its asking price of RM599. That said, similar phones are getting more and more commonplace, and it ultimately comes down to if you can live with it as a daily driver or not. On that note, you can expect a full review on the phone in the future.
