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Huawei P8 Lite Review - Camera, Battery and Conclusion Review

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Huawei P8 Lite – Camera

The P8 Lite’s 12-megapixel rear-facing camera is adequate, but offers nothing beyond what you’d expect from a budget phone. Shots taken in daylight look good, but anything taken indoors or in non-ideal lighting conditions loses clarity and detail.

The camera app itself is another story. I found it hung and stopped working almost every time I used it. Even opening it took at least five seconds, by which point the moment you’re trying to capture might have gone.

You can see a selection of photos taken on the P8 Lite below.

Huawei P8 LiteVibrant assorted tulips at a flower market.Photograph demonstrating camera's color capture capability.Low-light photo sample from camera reviewCloudy cityscape with construction cranes and buildings.Huawei P8 LiteVibrant assorted tulips at a flower market.Low-light photo sample from camera reviewCloudy cityscape with construction cranes and buildings.Huawei P8 LiteLow-light photo sample from camera reviewCloudy cityscape with construction cranes and buildings.Huawei P8 LiteLow-light photo sample from camera review

Huawei P8 Lite – Battery Life

Battery life is probably the biggest strength of the P8 Lite. Its 3000mAh non-removable battery isn’t the biggest you’ll find on a phone – the Lenovo P2’s 5100mAh monster takes that accolade – but the low-power processor gives the P8 Lite a fighting chance of making it through two full days of very light usage, or a working day of moderate to heavy usage. I used it to read news on my morning commute, stream Spotify over 4G for several hours during the day, and even as a Wi-Fi hotspot for my laptop on the train home – and still had 35% remaining by 11pm.

This is decent, and certainly equates to all-day battery life for most desk-based workers. Plus, you can even switch on Power Saving and Extreme Power Saving modes for more life if you’re planning on having a late night.

Charging isn’t particularly fast; I was able to add just 12% to the battery in half an hour of charging.

Related: Best cheap smartphones

Huawei P8 LiteHand holding a smartphone displaying colorful app icons on screen.

Should I buy the Huawei P8 Lite?

The P8 Lite is a decent mid-range phone. If picking one up on Vodafone for £150, it actually offers superb value. Its attractive built quality and decent battery life make it an excellent choice. However, if you’ve found a handset online from another retailer that’s priced closer to £200, consider the Motorola Moto G4 or Lenovo P2 instead; the Moto G4 has a better camera and the Lenovo P2 superior battery life.

Verdict

The P8 Lite is a solid mid-range effort from Huawei that offers excellent value through Vodafone.

We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.

Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Used as our main phone for the review period

Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world testing

Always has a SIM card installed

Tested with phone calls, games and popular apps

Trusted Score

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Score in detail

  • Performance 6
  • Camera 6
  • Design 8
  • Battery Life 8
  • Value 8
  • Software 7
  • Screen Quality 8

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