[REVIEW] Honor 10 Lite after a week as daily driver

#HonorMyWorld  #Honor10Lite  #24HrInStyle  #HonorMalaysia

I was able to get an early access in using Honor 10 Lite about 5 days prior to its launching date in Malaysia. After the launch event, I went into more in-depth daily usages of the phone for few more days before bringing you my review of this mid-range beast. Why I’m calling it a beast? Well, let’s dive into it shall we. Here’s a rundown overview specifications :

·             SIM : Hybrid Dual Nano SIM

·             OS: Android 9.0 (Pie)

·             CPU: Octa-core (4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)

·             Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 710 (12 nm)

·             GPU: Mali-G51 MP4

·            IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

·            6.21 inches, 94.7 cm2 (~83.1% screen-to-body ratio)

·            1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~415 ppi density

·            EMUI 9.0.1

·             Internal: 32GB, 3GB RAM or 64GB, 3GB RAM

·             External Memory: microSD, up to 512 GB

·             Primary: Dual: 13 MP, f/1.8, PDAF + 2 MP, depth sensor

·             Secondary: 24 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm

·             Video: Up to 1080p@30fps

·             Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 3400 mAh battery

·             Colors: Black, Blue

·             Pricing: RM749 (32gb) / RM799 (64gb)

Unboxing and physical form

The review unit that I got is sky blue in colour and there’s also midnight black available for now. It’s a nice touch that the phone comes with preinstalled clear screen protector. There’s also clear silicone gel case given so you don’t have to worry about the first day purchase scratch fear. Other standard retail stuffs include manual guide, sim ejector tool, 2-pin plug and data USB to micro USB cable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibn0wFdejhQ

The physical body of the phone spotted rather curvy edges on all four sides. The front glass is made from hardened glass material but not up to gorilla glass level. Dropping the phone may result in cracks or scratches to the screen quite easily. So, I’d suggest to put a tempered glass over it. There’s a single speaker grill on the buttom along with micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack. Yes! Kudos to Honor for maintaining the headphone slot even when most other manufacturers starting to make it obsolete. On top is where you’ll the unusually placed simcard and memory card slot. On the right side is where the power on/off button and volume rocker reside. From the back is where you’ll find one of the selling points of 10 Lite, the dual gradient tone of silver and light blue meshed around the middle horizontal spot. It’s a really glossy reflective finish which is nice to see but at the same time it’s also a fingerprint magnet. The back cover is made from plastic which made the phone really light and comfortable to hold with one hand. Fingerprint scanner placement is right around middle of the back cover in a position that’s easily reachable with index finger. Overall the physical body is right on track with current trend and looks stylish.

Viewing display and UI interface experience

10 Lite has a tall display 19:5 by 9 aspect ratio at 6.21 inch LCD screen. It’s also designed with dewdrop for front camera placement on top display and minimal chin at bottom. The thing with dewdrop is its much smaller compare with notch, just a tiny spot but it might put some people off. I personally don’t mind it at all for viewing experience. In fact, EMUI interface has an option to disable the dewdrop by creating a black notification bar that cover up the spot entirely. If with the black bar, the display becomes a fullview 18:9 ratio at about 6 inch.  

The full HD+ display does produce quite crisp and vibrant image. In indoor or dimly lit environment the screen is bright enough on 50% or so. However due to LCD panel, it does suffer from bright or direct sunlight scenarios. Even on maximum brightness the screen is just barely visible.

Now let’s move on to the software interface. Right out of the box 10 Lite comes with latest EMUI 9.0.1. There are few preinstalled apps that can’t be uninstall but most of them can be easily remove. Some integrated software I found to be quite useful are the likes of HiBoard, SmartCare, Honor themes and AppGallery. HiBoard is essentially a notification page of your daily feeds while using the phone and SmartCare monitor and managing the style of your daily usages. These implementations can greatly help in making the phone more user friendly and smooth. During my test I didn’t come across any latency issue or lags while switching between apps. Browsing with its default Chrome is buttery smooth too despite it only comes with 3GB. Which is surprisingly fast enough for normal usage. However, I do have to point out that the display start to get a little bit warm if display is on for a long time, after 30 minutes or so. It doesn’t affect the performance though and the warm is in no way alarming.

The security in this phone comes with fingerprint scanner, face recognition and the pin lock. These 3 are interchangeable with each other. For example, if the phone fail to recognize your face, it will direct to fingerprint scanner and then pin lock if that fail too.

Network & Connectivity

I’ve tested both simcard tray with its signal and network strength. Both appear to be identically strong with no sudden drop issue. 4G is constantly on dependable speed. GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi, phone calls are all reliable enough. Overall connectivity wise, this phone performs very well and better than expected from a mid-ranger.

Gaming & media consumption

Since this phone is rocking Kirin 710 chipset and Mali G51 GPU, you can expect a rather decent performance both in its videoing and gaming department. On high graphic performance games such as PUBG, Mobile Legends, Asphalt 9 and other triple A titles, it’s playable well on low to medium settings. As for other casual 2D & 3D platform games there’s no problem running on max settings such as Clash Royale, Clash of Clans and the new Ragnarok Eternal Love (I just have to say it cause Ragnarok is my favourite all time classic xD). The GPU turbo does help enhancing the performance. There’s no overheating issue but it does tend to get warm after more than 40 minutes of gaming. Hence, I would suggest you to take a rest in between few minutes after 20-30 minutes of gaming. It’s good for your eyes too.

Video production quality is good as expected from its full HD+ display. However, you can’t watch or stream video on HD such as Netflix as this phone has L3 security level. Other services such as youtube can view in HD just fine.

Battery life

Alright when it comes to battery consumption, it’s always different from each personnel style of usage. I personally tend to use messengers and social medias such as Facebook and Instagram more than any other apps. Occasionally play games too but that’s about 10 minutes in every session. Sometimes watch youtube videos and browse the web too. With all these coupled with calls and constant 4G (with minimal wifi), I was able to get 6-7 hours screen-on time and easily pass through the day with about 30% battery left to spare. In fact, that’s quite an impressive result coming from 3,400 mAh. The usual ways I tend to save battery life is as followed :

-          Use EMUI provided battery time management system

-          Disable pick phone to wake screen

-          Manual adjust screen brightness

-          Enable smart display resolution

Camera quality

Ah yes finally comes to the part where most people have longed for, the AI 24mp front facing boosted with 13mp rear cameras. Before going straight to the main selling point of this phone, I want to emphasize more on it’s superb performing dual 13mp+2mp depth censors. It is so great that Honor has implemented its AI features that can detect 22 different scenes for the best quality output images in 10 Lite. After testing different shots, I’ve got to say it definitely works wonder. I’ve noticed most of the AI shots it makes the picture more sharp, vibrant, warmer tone and brighter. Much like hdr would produce but with more enhanced capabilities. Do bear in mind that by enabling master AI the image quality can only go up to 8mp instead of the standard 13mp. If you wish to have higher megapixels, the usual mode is what you should go for. The dynamic range and exposure from this sensor are pretty good as well. Aperture and portrait modes does a good job in separating the foreground and background with blur/bokeh effect. The other mode that impressed me a lot is its new AIS night mode. By holding steady the phone for 4-5 seconds you’re able to capture impressive night shots. The best thing about this is you don’t need to hold still even if you shake a little the image will come out as crisp as day.

AI mode detecting scene just fine

Night mode off

Night mode on

As for the selfie sensor, I’d say it does produce some pretty detailed and sharp looking portrait. You can manually adjust the beauty level and I’m glad that at level 0(off), the image appears to be as sharp as 24mp can get without any beautification. There’s also soft flash on the screen which brighten up the face if you’re in very low light condition. Overall, props to both front and rear cameras as the image quality never disappoint.

Beauty off

Beauty on (level 4)

Front soft flash off

Front soft flash on

Final Verdict

Honor 10 Lite is definitely a mid-ranger to reckon while start kicking off in early 2019. There’s much love to give especially with its tall 6.21’ inch full HD+ display, excellent battery life, keeping 3.5mm headphone jack alive, superb AI camera quality, fast and smooth EMUI interface, up-to-date 9.0 Android Pie.

However, there are still some inevitable shortcomings such as mediocre speaker output, outdated micro USB port instead of USB-C, no EIS or AIS video recording, and a bit lacking on GPU performance.

If you can get pass these minor hiccups and excel over its advantages, then this phone is perfect for you.

I’m giving this phone a gradient beautifully crafted 24hrs in style an  8/10

P/S : This article is a work in progress. I'll be updating more details soon once I did much more in-depth uses of the phone