Summary

This year, Huawei has decided to decline its flagships.Instead of leaving only a Huawei P8, the firm launched a P8 Max and a P8 Lite.Precisely, the latter is a lightened version that targets the mid -range with a much more affordable price.Suddenly, he sacrifices some technical characteristics but tries to attract an audience with a less well endowed wallet, but still looking for a quality smartphone.Winning bet?

NB: The Huawei P8 successor is now available.So we tested the Huawei P9 Lite at this address!

Huawei P8 Lite

Technical sheet

You know, the Huawei P8 Lite is an economical version of the P8, recently tested.There is a 5-inch IPS LCD screen with the definition of 720 × 1280 pixels, a 64-bit processor Histilicon Kirin 620 clocked at 1.2 GHz, 2 GB of RAM memory, an internal 16 GB storage capacity, a13 -megapixel dorsal photo sensor, another at the front of 5 megapixels, and a 2200 mAh battery.Its dimensions are 143 × 70.6 × 7.7 mm and the mobile is installed under Android 5.0 lollipop with the EMUI 3 overlay.1.

Read DETERSET DU HUAWEI P9 Lite a new reference in the mid -range

Design: well -known features

When we made a small comparison between the Huawei P8 Lite and its competitors, we explained that this mobile takes up the main lines of the P8 - the manufacturer's flagship - with thin screen borders and an almost successful design.The manufacturer seems to have saved on the materials used, with a rear plastic facade, but keeps a slice with a metallic aspect which can make a nice aesthetic difference on the targeted market segment.Besides, from the front, it is very difficult to distinguish the two phones when we put them side by side, except that the P8 Lite has a Huawei logo on its lower screen border.

If in appearance, the form-factor remains similar, the grip varies a little bit.It is due to slightly smaller dimensions (143 × 70.6 mm against 144.9 × 72.1 mm) but to a larger thickness (7.7 mm against 6.4 mm).The product being a bit broader, so it is easier to use it with one hand, but the difference is not outrageous.Especially since with its metal shell, the P8 is really pleasant to hold in hand.

Very well designed, the P8 has slices and a rear shell made of a single piece of metal.On the contrary, the P8 Lite is an assembly of different pieces, with a bright-metallic slicit sandwich by two layers of plastic, and has a plastic shell embedded in it.The slices are still very similar, with an identical SIM buttons and ports, loudspeakers placed in the same place and having the same shape.Only small screws, Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 way, have disappeared.And it is on the upper edge that we see the difference in design level, with a strangely integrated 3.5 mm jack port.

On the back of the mobile, and in addition to the shell which is not the same, there is a similar porthole at the top, allowing to link the photo sensor as well as the LED flash (double on the P8, simple on the P8 Lite).A Huawei logo is housed on the first third of the terminal, while the product avoids plastic bars - necessary - for the quality of network on metal mobiles.Concretely, this is a good product and our only disappointment comes mainly from the fact that we particularly appreciate the metal design of the P8.So it feels like losing something here.

Learn more test of the Huawei P8: the Chinese brand aims at Premium

Screen: a classic HD

We said of the P8 that it is not the brightest mobile of the moment with its 479 CD/m2 measured by the probe.Well, the assessment is the same for this P8 Lite which caps at 416 CD/m2, and we are ultimately quite surprised that Huawei provided average lighting to its P8 Lite, but especially to its P8, spearhead of the series.We then put into perspective the figure obtained on this product since the more expensive version does not do better.On paper, it does not seem to be sufficient but in fact, it is largely acceptable since we can use our mobile in the sun without too much difficulty.

On the other hand, the viewing angles are quite average, and we perceive the gap between the tactile slab and the window.Wanting to save money, Huawei should not ampute too many good technologies to its mobiles, otherwise you are put in danger, while cheaper mobiles today make the effort to stick slab and screen for a qualitative effectundeniable.The latest to have proposed it is none other than the LG Spirit, yet proposed at a rate of less than 200 euros.

Software: tastes and colors

It is by twisting the software part that we realize that the sensitivities are really not the same.If Laure seems to have appreciated Emotion UI and Lollipop in her Huawei P8 Lite test, we will be much more skeptical.On the responsiveness side, there is not much to complain about, but on the aesthetic side, that's another handle.We assume that we must learn to tame these icons straight out of an alternative launcher, or even these acid colors which give the impression of holding a phone for teenagers in hand.And even if there is a theme shop, we find them all of a dubious taste.We become nostalgic for Android Stock.

Besides, the codes of Material Design are not specially respected -if not at all -, and the notification and shortcut bar is similar to the one we knew before.It is frankly muddled and not very intuitive.Even the multitasking menu does not bother to look like what other manufacturers are done with Lollipop.It’s frankly a shame, and we only notice the last Android version by going to the menu about the phone.A height.

Performances: a well -optimized Kirin 620

Blocked in terms of the installation of benchmarks - it is definitely fashionable in manufacturers - we were still able to perform some indicative measurements on the Kirin 620.It must be said that we already knew this soy already encountered on the Honor 4x a little.On Antutu, the latter reached 30,700 points but only 1,892 points on PC Mark, and 5,347 points on 3D Mark.

Here, we reach 5,70 points on 3D Mark precisely, barely less well, and GFX Bench (T-Rex onscreen/Offscreen) gives us respectively 13 and 9.2 fps, substantially the same as the 4x with its 15 and 9,2 fps.However, it is in play that we ask ourselves some questions about the general performance of the processor.And we already know that the Kirin 620 is roughly the equivalent of the Snapdragon 410 side graphic performance.

So we tested the mobile on several games, including a long session on Real Racing 3 with Gamebench, and we see several things.It seems that the chip has trouble launching, like a diesel car, but that it is rather stable over time with an average noted at 71 % of FPS stability and 24 frames per second.It's really not bad.And we also notice that you have to take care to cut the applications that turn in the background if you want to avoid certain slowdowns.

The graphic chip also behaves rather well and sets its frequency to 1 GHz in the game phase, without ever lowering or having relaxation.But suddenly, it leads to a certain heating of the phone, and a fairly rapid drainage of the battery, which will be dissected later.

Communications

Calls

The Huawei P8 Lite is obviously a 4G smartphone compatible with all French 4G frequency bands.Otherwise, the quality of call is good, and the network grip completely suitable.

GPS

No problem getting on the GPS side since the mobile hardly takes only a few seconds to find and set satellites.We feel that we arrive at a time when all flea designers are pretty good in this area, and we have a little feeling of repeating each other.On the other hand, we are less convinced by the altitude data, rather strange.

Multimedia: a beautiful challenger

From what Huawei says, the photograph part of the P8 and P8 Lite is substantially the same.Besides, they are both equipped with a 13 -megapixel back sensor, supposed.It is at the front that the situation changes since the P8 Lite has a 5 megapixel sensor when the classic version displays 8 megapixels.

By observing the software aspect of photo sensors, we realize that we lose optical stabilization as well as the blacks black and light painting modes (the director mode is also absent), and you will have to be careful not to tremble too much before beforeto take a cliché.Normally, there should not be too much problem, the trigger being fast enough for the image to be completely clear.

Besides, the general quality of the photos is frankly excellent, especially at this price there.If we did not get carried away more than that on the clichés of the P8, it is also because we put it in relation to its price.Here, there is no longer even debate and the P8 Lite is certainly the mobile at less than 300 euros the most efficient in this area.The shots are clear, the contrast is very good, the colors bright (sometimes a little too much, we must admit), and the HDR mode works very well.The bitter could have been more striking, but it is still very good.

Strangely, on the other hand, the software processing made on the P8 and P8 Lite is not exactly the same.We realize that the colors are not entirely similar, and that the contrast is not identical.As for which is closest to reality, it will be said that it depends on the situations.

Autonomy: this is where the bat hurts

By comparing the technical sheet of the P8 lite with those of its mid -range competitors, we already issued some doubts about its autonomy due to its accumulator of only 2200 mAh.And reality seems to meet fiction since the smartphone is not a cador in this area.We want as proof of the classic autonomy test carried out at 200 cd/m2 on an hour's video on YouTube and keeping only the Wi-Fi of Activated.

Mobile loses almost 27 % during this test and we predict an autonomy of 4 hours on these multimedia uses.It’s really too little while a lot of less sides mobiles do not have this problem.Besides, we do the same assessment in daily use, where the mobile is discharged at high speed.We even bet that you will sometimes go home with the battery flat if you have a big day.It's pretty disappointing.

Conclusion

His price