While the likes of Apple and Samsung continue to hike the price of their flagship smartphones, there are plenty of other more-affordable options out there. The gap between budget and high-end devices seems to be closing, both in terms of specs and looks. One such impressive example is the Honor 10 Lite.
Let's rip one plaster right off, shall we. Honor, maker of budget smartphones, is a sub-brand of Huawei. Now, Huawei has been in the news a lot recently, both in Europe and the USA. As the company is state-owned by the Chinese government some people are a little concerned that these internet-connected listening devices are now all over the West. Mind you, we bet these stories have been happily spread by the aforementioned Apple and Samsung, worried about the the sudden popularity of Chinese brands like Huawei.
So anyway, there's that. We're not going to let that bother us during the course of this review, but it should be a factor when considering a purchase of a Huawei device. But...
The Honor 10 Lite is, as you'd imagined, a cheaper, lower-spec'd version of the Honor 10. Although adding 'Lite' to a phone's name often means a severe reduction in usability and features, the Honor 10 Lite holds its own against other, more expensive models.
The headlines are... a 6.2 inch display with a OnePlus 6T-like little notch, 3GB of RAM, either 32 or 64GB or storage, a 3400mAh battery, dual-SIM, Micro SD card slot, and... a headphone jack! Yay!
There is of course the now-standard finger print sensor on the rear, but despite being a fairly new device the Honor 10 Lite uses the out-dated Micro USB port for charging and syncing. However, all this comes in a very pleasing package which is less than 8 mm thick.
Checkout Honor's page dedicated to the 10 Lite and one thing is clear: they're really pushing the phone's cameras. And so they bloody should. The selfie cam is an impressive 24 MP, with AI software bundled to get the very best possible shot. It seems that Honor are focusing on this cam as the device's main selling point, and we can see why. Selfies are clear, crisp, and filled with light, with many seeming to be just as good quality as those taken by more expensive devices' main shooters.
The rear cameras (there's two) on the Honor 10 Lite are a combo of 13 and 2 MP, working together to suck every detail from the image. Night shots are worthy of note, but the video capture only goes up to Full HD 1080p, albeit at 60 fps. So all-round, this little thing has a lot going for it in terms of mobile photography.
And the price? Well, at time of writing the current offer on the Honor 10 Lite was only £179.99 here in the UK. That's pretty good considering what you're getting here. It looks great, feels nice in the hand, and performs not at all noticeably poorer than other, more expensive smartphones. If you're on a budget, but need a decent camera in your pocket, this should be a real consideration.
Available from www.amazon.co.uk