Get your safety goggles on as we pit two mid-range contenders that are coming into the phone-off with an almost all glass construction sans the metal frame.
This is the ultimate comparison of the Huawei Honor 8 vs ASUS ZenFone 3 5.2.
Table of Contents
Design
Both Honor 8 and Zenfone 3 5.2 are constructed with a metal frame – being sandwiched by 2.5D curved glass panels.
Aside from the reflective glass backing of the Zenfone 3 5.2, the attention-grabbing 16MP camera hump is flanked by the dual-LED flash and some sensors, with the rectangular fingerprint scanner right below.
Further below will be the ASUS logo.
The sides and corners round and curve to meet the frame that continues to another glass panel.
Starting from the forehead will be the earpiece, ambient light and proximity sensors, the 8MP selfie camera, and the LED notification light.
The chin locates three non-backlit capacitive keys.
Occupying most of the front will be the 1080p 5.2 inches Super IPS display.
The power button and volume rocker will be located at the right side and the hybrid dual sim tray on the other.
Joining thenoise canceling mic at the top is the 3.55mm headphone jack.
While the USB Type-C port can be found at the bottom together with the main microphone and a speaker grille.
Moving to the Honor 8, the compact body reveals a smaller real estate comparing.
Starting from the most attention-grabbing will be the dual camera setup beside sensors and the dual LED flash right after.
The circular dimple serves as the capacitive fingerprint sensor.
The metal frame chamfers and bulges a bit to meet another glass panel.
The top portion houses the 8MP selfie camera, some sensors, and the LED notification right at the right edge of the earpiece.
The chin contains only the Honor logo, meaning, onscreen navigation.
A 5.2 inch 1080p LTPS display will take up most of the front panel.
Situated at the top is a noise canceling mic together with an IR blaster.
The bottom portion is being shared by the 3.55mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port and an array of holes for the loudspeaker.
Thanks to the glass panels, the overall feel is smooth and cool to the touch while feeling solid, slippery and sleek.
The Huawei Honor 8 gains points in grippy-ness and hold-ability making it the winner this round.
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Display
Both our devices will greet you with a 5.2 inch 1080p display.
The LTPS panel for the Honor 8 has a cooler tone compared to the Super IPS display which came out yellowish white, for the Zenfone 3 5.2.
When being used under sunlight, Zenfone 3 5.2 will be much easier to use thanks to its brighter panel.
Overall, both devices are mighty capable in doing what it’s supposed to and will come down to user preference.
We are giving this one a tie.
Camera
The Zenfone 3 5.2 is sporting a 16MP camera at f/2.0 while the Honor 8 brought a dual 12MP camera setup into the fray.
Daylight shooting for both is on par with one another with Honor 8 having the closest rendition compared to the tinted version of Zenfone 3 5.2.
Indoor shooting was not much of a difference, seen here.
Low-light scenarios will give Zenfone 3 5.2 a brighter background but overall quality is pretty much the same comparing.
The aid of the flash allowed Zenfone 3 5.2 to produce a naturally colored image compared to the green-ish version of the Honor 8.
Night time shots were handled fairly well by Honor 8 capturing more details compared to the blurry photo of Zenfone 3 5.2.
Only the Zenfone 3 5.2 will be capable of recording up to 4K resolution but for the sake of our testing, video is set at 1080p @ 60fps.
Due to Optical Image Stabilization, the Zenfone 3 5.2 played back a smoother video comparing.
The 8MP f/2,0 selfie snapper of the Zenfone 3 5.2 will have a better color reproduction compared to the same but smaller f/2.4 aperture of the Honor 8.
Zenfone 3 5.2 takes this one by a hair.
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- Asus Zenfone 3 vs Zenfone 2 Review
- Asus ZenFone 3 Full Review (ZE552KL model)
Performance
The Zenfone 3 5.2 will be packing a Snapdragon 625 SoC with 2.0Ghz octa-core CPU and 3GB of RAM.
While Honor 8 is bringing its proprietary HiSilicon Kirin 950 with 2.3GHz octa-core CPU and 4GB of RAM.
In terms of overall performance, the Honor 8 proved to be more capable of handling everything that we throw at it.
Rendering graphic intensive games such as Real Racing 3 was smoother and more stable for the Honor 8.
Don’t get us wrong as Zenfone 3 5.2 is also capable in delivering your daily needs but the mid-ranged processor will pale in comparison.
For the fingerprint sensor, both are accurate but not quick enough or as quick as others we have tested.
Comparing the two, Honor 8 unlocks faster by a hair.
The Huawei Honor 8 wins this one.
Battery
The Zenfone 3 5.2’s 2600mAh lasted longer with 4hours of screen-on time compared to the larger 3000mAh of the Honor 8, which lasted 3.5hours of screen-on time.
Charging the Honor 8, though, will only take an hour and 30 mins while the Zenfone 3 5.2 requires 2 hours.
Zenfone 3 5.2 wins this one by a hair.
Audio
Sound produced will be coming from the bottom for both devices.
The Zenfone 3 5.2 was louder but feels tinny while the Honor 8 had better control over the sound.
Pseudo audiophiles rejoice as both smartphones will have hi-res audio playback support.
Sure, it’s not that of Hi-Fi DAC found in the V20 but it suffices.
We are giving this one a tie.
Pricing and Verdict
Honor 8 currently retails for Php14,990 via Lazada while Asus Zenfone 3 5.2 starts at Php12,995 for the base model.
For a 2000 peso difference, Honor 8 proved to be more capable with some future-proofing in tow.
What do you think of this phone-off between the Huawei Honor 8 vs Asus Zenfone 3 5.2? Did your phone came out on top? Let us know at the comments section below.
see also:
- Vivo V5 Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 5.5 + Camera Comparison
- Mid-range Phone-Off: Nokia 6 vs Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus vs Asus Zenfone 3 5.5 vs Sony Xperia X Compact
- 4-Way Mid-range Phone-Off: Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, Huawei P9 Lite, OPPO F1s, Asus Zenfone 3 5.2
Full Specifications
| SPECS, PH Price | Honor 8 | ASUS ZenFone 3 5.2 |
| Display | 5.2-inch IPS LCD Full HD or 1080p, 424ppi | 5.2-inch Super IPS+ 1080p FHD, 424ppi |
| Size | 7.5mm thick, 153g weight | 7.7mm thick, 144g weight |
| Design | metal frame, glass back | metal frame, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, back/front glass panel |
| Colors | Sapphire Blue, Pearl White, Sunrise Gold, Midnight Black, Sakura Pink | Sapphire Black, Moonlight White, Shimmer Gold |
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 950 octa-core chipset | Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset |
| Processor | 8 x 2.3 GHz | 8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| Graphics | Mali T880 | Adreno 506 |
| Memory | 3GB or 4GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB internal storage | 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB internal, microSD card up to 256GB |
| Main Camera | Dual 12MP f2.2 setup, laser autofocus, Full HD video, OIS, HDR | 16 MP f/2.0, laser/phase detection autofocus, OIS (4-axis), dual-LED(dual-tone) flash |
| Multimedia | 1080p @ 60fps | 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30fps |
| Front camera | 8MP front-facing f2.4 lens, Full HD video | 8MP f2.0, 1080p |
| Connectivity | GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | WCDMA: 850/900/2100MHz | 4G LTE, WiFi , Bt, GPS, hybrid dual-nano sim |
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz 4G LTE (Cat. 6), WiFi ac, Bt 4.2, GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, hybrid dual-nano sim tray |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (upgradable to 7.0 Nougat) |
| Software | EMUI 4.1 | ZenUI 3.0 |
| Battery | 3000mah | 2600mah |
| Ports | USB Type-C, 3.55mm headphone jack | USB Type-C, 3.55mm headphone jack |
| Official Price | Php14,990 or $301 USD | starts at Php12,995 or $260 USD |
| Availability date | February-2017 | May-2016 |
| Where to buy | Lazada Online Shopping | ASUS Stores |
