HONOR X8d Review

The HONOR X8d is here, and on paper, it already feels like a promising upgrade in the budget to low-midrange segment.

It brings a refreshed design, a brighter AMOLED display, and a massive 7000mAh battery.

But beyond the looks and big battery, does it actually deliver where it matters most? Let’s find out in this full review.

Design and Construction

Starting with the looks, the HONOR X8d reminds me a lot of the iPhone 13 Pro model, especially with that color. Our unit is in the Light Blue colorway, and as you can see, the camera island has almost the same layout as with an iPhone.
Actually, my dad got the previous model, the HONOR X8c, and design-wise, I like the changes HONOR made with the X8d. They finally removed the unnecessary fourth camera ring making the design look a little less cluttered in my opinion.

I also like the little glossy play button here adding a unique touch to the phone.

The phone is a bit hefty though, measuring at 7.5 mm thick and weighing 188 grams. That’s a bit heavier than the HONOR X8c’s 174 grams, but I really can’t tell. Plus, it’s impressive how they managed to keep the phone relatively thin while having a larger battery.

Talking about the build quality, the back panel and the side frame are actually made out of plastic materials. But, they don’t come off as cheap and flimsy as you may think. The phone has a sturdy look and feel, and FYI, it sports an SGS 5-star certification providing some level of drop resistance.

But if you’re worried about the possible dents that this phone might get from the occasional drops, I’m glad to report that it comes with a transparent jelly case in the box.

Also, the HONOR X8d is IP65-rated for dust and water resistance. So, it won’t mind the accidental spills or a quick dip in the pool.

For buttons and ports, found at the top is a mic; both the power button and the volume rocker sit on the right; while the USB-C port and the SIM tray are on the bottom.

And here’s something new with the X8d, a dedicated AI button on the left which we’ll talk more about later.

Honestly, the HONOR X8d may look nothing out of the ordinary, but I see the intention, veering away from the previous look while refining some details here and there. It didn’t feel cheap at all, and kudos to HONOR for doing a good job on the overall build quality of this phone.

Display, Multimedia, and Biometrics

Flip the phone over, the HONOR X8d features a slightly bigger 6.77-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an Aluminosilicate glass on top.
The bezels look uniform all around, although the chin is a tad bit thicker than the rest. The screen peak brightness also gets a bump, now with up to 3000 nits of peak luminance. It can go up to 1300 nits in high brightness mode, so the screen is still visible under direct sunlight.

In my experience, watching content is great. Colors are vibrant, details are decently sharp, and the blacks are deep. Color accuracy is a bit off though because it leans to cooler tone by default. That said, you still have the option to adjust the display color in the settings.

The listening experience on the other hand, the X8d falls a bit short. It’s loud with a maximum of 300% volume, but frankly speaking, it sounds distorted and blown out at max levels.

The highs and mids are clear enough, but there’s very little bass, as expected of a lower-midrange device. I’d suggest setting the volume at 100% to get a more decent sound output.

Now, for biometrics security, it supports both face and fingerprint unlock, in which the power button doubles as the fingerprint sensor. Both methods work fine, but the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is faster at unlocking the device. That’s alright since it’s much more secure to use anyway.

Cameras

Moving on, let’s talk about the cameras. While the camera island design gets an update, the actual cameras themselves did not get any. Except the front camera which actually had a downgrade.

The X8d retains the exact dual rear setup with a 108-megapixel main shooter and a 5-megapixel ultrawide lens. Meanwhile, the front camera is now a 16-megapixel sensor coming from 50-megapixel on the X8c.

While that is the case, the image quality remains respectable across the board. The main camera captures nice outputs with near-accurate colors, decently sharp details, and good dynamic range.

With a 108-megapixel sensor, zoom levels can range from 1x to 3x. It can even go up to 8x zoom, but as you can see, the quality drops already at that point.

Ultrawide shots are also respectable, especially in well-lit environments. But I wouldn’t recommend using it for low-light conditions since the shots get grainy and details get soft. As for selfies, despite the lower megapixel count, it still managed to take decent outputs.

This being an HONOR phone, there are a few AI tools available inside the Gallery app. These include AI Eraser, AI Upscale, AI Cutout, and AI Outpainting which are some helpful tools in enhancing your photos.

In terms of video capture, both the rear and front camera of the HONOR X8d can shoot up to a maximum of 1080p at 30 frames per second (fps). The video quality is decent for the most part, although you will notice minimal shake.

Check out our sample shots here:

HONOR X8d

Mar 17 – 19

Performance and Benchmarks

From having the Snapdragon 685 chip on the X8c, the HONOR X8d is now powered by the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2.

That sounds like a nice upgrade, which it is, achieving small bumps in performance. For config, our unit came with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

I mostly have no complaints about the X8d. It handles all my tasks with ease, and there is no obvious lag, even when multiple windows are running in the background.

During testing, AnTuTu V11 showed a decent score of 500K+. For a phone in the low-midrange category, this is already a good score.

As for gaming, I started out with Mobile Legends and Pokémon Unite. With everything set to the highest graphics, everything went well, even during extended sessions, I didn’t run into any lag or frame drops.

But when jumping to more demanding titles like Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, that’s where things get a bit challenging. It’s definitely playable at Low to Medium graphics, but if you try to crank it up to the Highest settings, the phone struggles and lags become pretty obvious.

One more thing worth mentioning: when playing those heavier titles, the phone starts to feel warm within 15 to 20 minutes. It’s not alarmingly hot, but just a heads-up!

OS, UI, and Apps

On the software side, the HONOR X8d ships with Android 16 with MagicOS 10 on top. Daily use feels nice thanks to how clean and smooth the interface is. I find it easy to navigate.

One thing I really appreciate is the level of customization this version offers. You can tweak your home screen, widgets, and app icons to better fit your personal style and productivity needs.

And remember the dedicated AI button? Well, it’s mainly used for storing screenshots to AI Memory by double tapping the button, while a long press triggers AI Recognition.

As for software support, HONOR hasn’t officially stated how many major updates the phone will get. However, it’s likely to receive at least one major OS update along with a few years of security patches.

Battery and Connectivity

Now for the battery, the HONOR X8d packs a massive 7000mAh unit, which is quite an upgrade from the 5000mAh capacity on the X8c.

In real-world use, I actually got almost two full days out of a single charge. I was using it for everything: scrolling through socials, watching movies, taking photos, and a little bit of gaming. Our PCMark battery life test backed that up, too, clocking in at 17 hours and 28 minutes.

When it’s time to charge it back up, the 45W wired charging fills the battery in just a short amount of time. One other thing to note, there’s no bypass charging support here.

Connectivity-wise, the HONOR X8d has all the essentials, like dual nano-SIM with 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and even NFC. Still no eSIM support, unfortunately, so there’s that.

Pricing

And now, for the part you’ve all been waiting for: the price.

The HONOR X8d retails for 15,999 pesos. That’s actually a 2,000 peso price increase from last year’s HONOR X8c. Although, we’re still expecting some discounts during its first sale, so keep an eye out for some deals online or offline.

Conclusion

Alright, so at the end of the day, the HONOR X8d is actually a pretty solid phone for what it’s trying to be. It’s not perfect, sure, but it does a lot of things right.

You’re getting a slim and stylish design, a bright and smooth AMOLED display, decent cameras, and performance that’s reliable enough for everyday use. But honestly, the real highlight here is that massive 7000mAh battery. This thing can really last, so you won’t be stressing about charging all the time.

Because of that, it’s a great pick for students, casual users, and even light gamers.

Now, it’s not without its flaws. The speakers could be better, and if you’re into heavy gaming, you’ll probably need to tone down the settings a bit.

With it now having a price of 15,999 pesos, it may be facing some tough competition in its class. In particular, other options out there may already include a more powerful chipset that supports 5G network in which the X8d lacks.

In its own right, the HONOR X8d sticks to the basics and does it well. Plus, the focus on bringing a solid battery life is really something that its target market will highly appreciate.

What we liked:
* Large, immersive display
* Nice colorway

What we didn’t like:
* Mediocre audio quality
* Lack of 5G connectivity

HONOR X8d specs:
6.77-inch AMOLED display
120HZ Refresh Rate, 3000nits
8GB RAM with another 8GB Virtual RAM
256GB Internal storage
Aluminosilicate glass
Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2
Rear Camera:
108MP Main (f/1.8) w/ OIS
5MP Ultrawide (f/2.2)
Front Camera:
16MP Selfie Lens
IP65 Dust tight and Water resistant
Dual nano-SIM with 4G LTE
Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC
Side-mounted Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C Port
MagicOS 10 (Android 16)
7,000mAh battery, 45W Wired Charging
162.9 x 76.3 x 7.5 mm
188 grams
Light Blue, Velvet Black, Velvet Gray