Huawei’s Y series smartphones are designed to provide users with access to a powerful smartphone experience even at a friendlier price point. The newest addition to the series, the HUAWEI Y8s continues in the same tradition and brings to the table excellent handheld night photography with a 48MP AI Dual Camera system and powerful all-round performance, all in a stylish design. We got our hands on this new smartphone and here is what we think.
48MP AI Dual Camera
Smartphone cameras are the rage these days, with certain smartphone brands focusing more on the camera more than other features. Huawei is known for putting some seriously powerful camera setups in its smartphones and it continues this trend with the HUAWEI Y8s. Packing a 48MP AI Dual camera setup, which consists of a 48MP main camera and a 2MP Depth Camera, users can take stunning photos and videos complete with rich aperture effects.
However, the highlight of this camera setup is in fact its low-light capabilities. The HUAWEI Y8s’ Handheld Night Mode is a class of its own, mainly attributed to the increased light intake from the large sensor and AI algorithms that remove noise and stabilize the image, all resulting in a perfect shot in dimly lit environments as well. All it takes is scrolling to the Night Mode on the camera app and you can take images with up to six-second exposure. We tried this on city skylines and even in outdoor conditions at night and were stunned by the results.
The 48MP AI Dual Camera setup also delivers solid results when it comes to shooting in slow motion at 480 fps to capture minor details in perfect slow-mo, while its Portrait Mode ensures beautiful portrait shots with rich bokeh effects that blur the background lights in designs and patterns. However, a key player here is the Master AI which not only assists in these shots but also recognizes over 500 scenes in 21 categories, including blue sky, snow, plants and more, which then optimizes each shot to come out perfectly.
Meanwhile, upfront the HUAWEI Y8s comes with a dual camera setup as well. The AI Dual Selfie Camera comes with an 8MP main camera and a 2MP Depth Camera, which contributes towards real-time bokeh effects for selfies, while the AI noise reduction algorithms optimize brightness and reduce noise for low-light selfies.
Bigger View, Trendy Design
At a first glance you will notice that the HUAWEI Y8s has quite a large display. This massive 6.5-inch HUAWEI Notch FullView Display boasts an FHD+ resolution of 2340 x 1080 and is optimized for a more immersive viewing experience. Try watching movies, series or even play games on the smartphone and it is this display that makes the experience much better. Additionally, the screen brightness can also be adjusted under the sunlight for clearer viewing of text and images at any time of the day. The display also has a TÜV Rheinland-certified Eye Comfort mode that can help you relieve eye fatigue by lowering the intensity of blue light emitted from the screen.
Meanwhile, on the back, the design ethos of the HUAWEI Y8s truly stands out. This gorgeous back panel comes in two simple and chic color options while boasting a 3D arc design for a comfortable grip. The color variants of Midnight Black and Emerald Green depict a dark night and elegance respectively, while its distinguished manufacturing process is evident in the final finish. This design is also quite dynamic, and gives a different look depending on the angle from which light strikes. The back of the phone is topped off with the fingerprint sensor as well. Alternatively, users can also use the Face Unlock 2.0 feature to secure their HUAWEI Y8s.
Powerful Performance
The true quality of a smartphone comes down to its everyday performance and this is where the HUAWEI Y8s shines. Packing in 64GB of expandable storage up to 512GB and 4GB of RAM, users not only have enough space for photos, videos, files and games but also enough RAM to have everything run smoothly.
A key focus of course is its battery life. Budget smartphones usually tend to have smaller batteries, however, the HUAWEI Y8s comes with a large 4000 mAh battery that is good to last for watching movies, attending video conferences or even through everyday tasks. This is topped off by the AI Power Saving Technology that brings to the table intelligent app management to further enhance battery life.
At the heart of it all, lies the Kirin 710, an octa-core CPU that includes four large Cortex-A73 cores and four small Cortex-A53 cores for faster all-round performance, while still maintaining efficiency. Paired with EMUI 9.1, performance is boosted while gaming with GPU Turbo while system performance is enhanced with the intelligent Extendable Read-Only File System which improves random read speed by up to 20% and saves 14% storage.
EMUI 9.1 also brings to the table fun features that enhance user experience, including a Video Ringtone feature that allows you to record a short video in place of a ringtone for each contact.
Each HUAWEI Y series smartphone, is unique in its own right. It is safe to say that the newly launched HUAWEI Y8s continues in the same pattern and brings to the table a new smartphone that aces in low-light photography, boasts a stunning display and features powerful performance all in a stylish body, making it easily one of the best choices for someone who is looking for a brand new smartphone.