Skip to main content

Huawei brings the G8 to the U.S. and renames it the GX8

You can now grab Huawei's fingerprint sensor-enabled GX8 for $350

Huawei is ramping up its presence in the United States, and that doesn’t just mean porting over its devices spec-for-spec. Well, in the case of the GX8, it actually does.

The new Huawei GX8 is the exact same device as the Huawei G8, which the company launched globally in September of 2015. It wasn’t available in the United States, but that’s now the GX8’s purpose.

Recommended Videos

Updated on 02/08/2016 by Julian Chokkattu: Added news of the GX8 becoming available for purchase in the U.S.

The Huawei GX8 is now available to purchase in the U.S. at select retailers such as Huawei, Best Buy, Amazon, and Newegg. It’s available in gold, gray, and a “mystic champagne” color for $350.

It features the same aluminum build as the Nexus 6P, and like the G8 it has a fingerprint sensor — a feature usually seen on higher-end flagships.

Again, the specs are nothing new — the 5.5-inch display has a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution, and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor. It has 3GB of RAM, a MicroSD card slot, and a big 3,000mAh battery, but it’s not removable. The device has a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front-facing one. The only new addition is presumably support for U.S. bands.

Unfortunately, though Android 6.0.1 has been out for about a month now, the device will ship with Android 5.1 Lollipop, and of course will be layered with Huawei’s Emotion UI 3.1.

The GX8 was only one of a number of major announcements that the company made at CES. In addition to the budget-friendly smartphone, the company also announced two new Huawei Watch models — the Jewel and the Elegant — which the company is marketing as the first smart watches designed specifically for women, as well as a new tablet, the MediaPad M2 10.

Julian Chokkattu
Former Mobile and Wearables Editor
Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…
Ookla’s Speedtest determines the fastest 5G provider in the U.S.
T-Mobile smartphone.

Ookla's third-quarter market report and Speedtest Intelligence tests have determined that T-Mobile is the fastest 5G provider among U.S. networks across both cellular and broadband providers. Opensignal and Umlaut have also confirmed T-Mobile to be the best 5G provider in many categories.

T-Mobile managed to dominate the competition on Speedtest with little to no contest at 135.17 Mbps median 5G download speeds. In contrast, Verizon only barely scraped past AT&T with 78.94 Mbps and 72.46 Mbps, respectively. That's not all Ookla tested; it also tracked mobile and broadband speeds, dependability, and latency among the providers. You can see the breakdown below.
Mobile statistics
T-Mobile's median download speeds came out the fastest at 62.35 Mbps, while AT&T sat at 47.42 Mbps and Verizon at 39.91 Mbps. For latency, T-Mobile and Verizon tied for first with a speed of 33ms. AT&T was barely behind at 34ms.
Broadband statistics
Verizon Wireless was the winning provider with a 178.38 Speed Score -- Ookla's unique test is meant to fully encompass a provider's range of speeds. Cox came in second and Xfinity in third. Verizon also took the best latency, with only 8ms with Cox at just 11ms. While Xfinity took the highest Consistency Score at 89.8%, Spectrum and Verizon were so close behind there wasn't much difference to note.

Read more
Why are so few people actually using 5G in the U.S.? Here’s what the experts say
5G on the all new iPad mini.

Despite many devices boasting 5G capabilities these days, a recent study showed people in the U.S. spend less than 25% of their online time connected to a 5G network. This may be because 5G-enabled devices are outpacing 5G access. Last year, 14 million users subscribed to mobile 5G services, and the number was forecasted to grow to 554 million by the end of this year. Today, more than halfway into 2021, T-Mobile has already connected 305 million people with 5G networks. Along with T-Mobile, other major mobile operators like Verizon and AT&T were quick to roll out 5G in the last few months, collectively covering 75% of the U.S. 
On paper, the numbers look great, making it seem like 5G covers most of the country. In practice, there's a discrepancy, with many people still not operating on 5G networks. What accounts for this discrepancy? We asked the experts. 

The pandemic hurdle
Rollout of 5G capacity was speeding along until it slammed into a big wall in the form of the pandemic. “We’ve had to rely on telecommunications to connect with our friends, family, and colleagues. That’s caused a sudden emphasis on wireless connectivity -- especially with remote work -- which puts pressure on companies to accommodate increased demand,” says Shawn Carpenter, program director at Ansys, a company that helps in the engineering of 5G hardware.
While 4G was enough during the pre-pandemic period, when most things happened in person, 4G was not designed to support our current demand level or to support non-smartphone applications such as the Internet of Things, says David Witkowski, IEEE senior member, and founder and CEO of Oku Solutions. 
To help solve the sudden connectivity crisis that came with the coronavirus spread, 5G operators and 5G-focused startups also started to come up with unique solutions to provide efficient health care and educational services. For instance, Unmanned Life developed a 5G autonomy-as-a-service platform that can provide autonomous drones to disinfect COVID-prone regions, deliver essentials like medical supplies and food, and monitor crowded spaces from a distance. These innovations are great, but they also put more strain on the network. 
Mobile 5G subscriptions for general consumer use are still lagging.

Read more
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G gets a U.S launch. Can it compete with the iPad?
samsung galaxy tab fe 5g us release price availability s7

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G is finally getting a U.S. launch and price details after previously having been announced for other markets in May. The S7 FE is a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. Like other “Fan Edition” devices like the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, it acts as a more affordable, mid-range option next to Samsung’s premium lineup, but stands a step above the budget Galaxy Tab A series.

The Tab S7 FE 5G will be available starting August 5 for $669 directly from Samsung.com, AT&T, and Verizon. T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and other retailers will also get it in the following days. The 5G model will only come in Mystic Black, while the Wi-Fi version comes with various color options including black, silver, light green, and light pink.

Read more