Huawei announced the G8 in September, a mid-range, all-metal device with impressive audio and photo quality. The mobile comes in behind the Huawei Mate S on performance, but looks like one of the better choices in the $200 – $400 price bracket.
Updated on 11-06-2015 by David Curry: Added in news of the G7 Plus launch in Thailand, which appears to be a renamed G8.
G8 launches under a different name in Thailand
A few months after the G8’s announcement, Huawei decided to confuse us by launching the G8 in Thailand, under the name the G7 Plus. The mobile has exactly the same specs as the G8, but for some reason Huawei changed the name to something a little Apple-esque instead.
For now, the Huawei G7 Plus looks like it’ll only be sold in Thailand, but should it come to other countries, it is the exact same smartphone as the G8.
Huawei G8 specs
Made of 90 percent metal, the Huawei G8 has the premium quality design on lockdown. On the back of the smartphone, there are rubberized parts offering more grip to the user. The 5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display is another high-end feature of the Huawei G8. Internally, the smartphone runs on a Qualcomm 615 octa-core processor, which is a step down from the Snapdragon 810 processor on the Mate S.
Other internals include 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage (22GB available), a 3,000mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE. There is a Micro SD card slot for additional storage, but the battery is non-removable. Huawei claims that there will be no network connection issues due to the double antennas on the top and bottom of the smartphone.
Huawei says the G8 camera has exceptional low-light performance, using dynamic lighting. The 13-megapixel sensor isn’t that impressive, though, considering Sony announced the Xperia Z5 with a 23-megapixel sensor and optical image stabilization at IFA 2015, as well.
The Huawei G8 will also feature a fingerprint sensor on the back of the smartphone. The indent is below the camera sensor, and it should be able to recognize a fingerprint in half a second. Most smartphones have fingerprint sensors on the front, although Sony added its own fingerprint sensor on the side of the Xperia Z5.
The Huawei G8 is unavailable in the United States, but on Amazon.co.uk it retails for £333 for 32GB of internal storage. It’s unlikely that Huawei to launch the device in the U.S., unless the launch of the Nexus 6P changes the Chinese company’s view on the U.S. market.
