Rugged does not have to mean a brick

The Honor Magic8 Lite is a robust mid-range smartphone that succeeds the Magic7 Lite and serves as the global counterpart to the Honor X70. It combines rugged features such as IP68/IP69K protection, drop resistance from heights of up to 2.5 metres and temperature resistance from −30 to +55 °C with a slim design. The 6.79-inch OLED display impresses with a 120-Hz refresh rate, HDR brightness of up to 6,000 cd/m², 3,840-Hz PWM dimming and good outdoor readability.

The 108-MP main camera delivers solid photos, but the ultra-wide-angle camera and low-light performance fall short. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 paired with 8 GB of RAM ensures decent performance. Wi-Fi is stable but slow, and the speakers tend to distort at maximum volume. The 7,500-mAh battery offers excellent runtimes. Six years of software updates in Europe help round off an otherwise compromise-laden but well-balanced package.

The Magic8 Lite can be purchased directly from Honor, but is also available from retailers such as Amazon.

The Honor Magic8 Lite succeeds the Magic7 Lite and serves as the global counterpart to the Honor X70, which was unveiled in China in July 2025. As with other Honor smartphones, it comes with a smaller battery outside China (8,300 mAh in the Chinese model) and slower charging speeds, while wireless charging is also absent.

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

The Honor Magic8 Lite offers specifications typically associated with a rugged smartphone. It is certified to IP68 and IP69K standards, making it dust- and water-resistant, capable of withstanding high-pressure water jets and hot water vapour. It also survives drops from heights of up to 2.5 metres and operates without restrictions in temperatures ranging from −30 °C to +55 °C. Visually, however, it does not resemble a brick-like rugged phone, instead looking like a conventional smartphone.

Build quality is generally convincing, although the handset creaks noticeably when subjected to torsion. In drop tests, however, it emerges unscathed.

The Magic8 Lite is available with either 256 GB or 512 GB of internal storage.

      Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 Pro       Nothing Phone (3a) Pro       Honor Magic8 Lite       Google Pixel 9a       DIN A6 168.6 mm / 6.64 in 79.9 mm / 3.15 in 10.2 mm / 0.4016 in 240 g0.529 lbs163.52 mm / 6.44 in 77.5 mm / 3.05 in 8.39 mm / 0.3303 in 211 g0.4652 lbs161.9 mm / 6.37 in 76.1 mm / 3 in 7.76 mm / 0.3055 in 189 g0.4167 lbs154.7 mm / 6.09 in 73.3 mm / 2.89 in 8.9 mm / 0.3504 in 185.9 g0.4098 lbs148 mm / 5.83 in 105 mm / 4.13 in 1 mm / 0.03937 in 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

The Honor Magic8 Lite still ships with Android 15 and MagicOS 9.0, but is expected to receive the update to Android 16 along with MagicOS 10 in the near future. Compared to the flagship models, the available AI features are slightly limited.

The outer packaging is free of plastics, but Honor does not provide any specific information on the overall sustainability of the product. In Europe, the Magic8 Lite receives six years of security and version updates, while buyers in the rest of the world are only offered two years.

Image comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Main cameraMain cameraUltra-wide-angle lens5x zoomLow light

The 6.79-inch (17.25 cm) OLED display of the Magic8 Lite delivers a sharp image and supports refresh rates of up to 120 Hz, which can be reduced to 60 Hz either automatically by the system or manually.

Considering its price class, display brightness is very high and reaches up to 6,000 cd/m² in HDR mode. Colour reproduction is well calibrated, and outdoors the panel remains easy to read in most situations.

Honor uses high-frequency PWM dimming at up to 3,840 Hz to make the display easier on the eyes. However, the low base frequency may still pose an issue for sensitive users.

* … smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Screen flickering / PWM detected	60 Hz Amplitude: 14.56 % Secondary Frequency: 3846 Hz
The display backlight flickers at 60 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8083 (minimum: 5 – maximum: 343500) Hz was measured.

Display Response Times

↔    Response Time Black to White
1.07 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.5315 ms rise
	↘ 0.5395 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 4 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.2 ms).
↔    Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
0.68 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.281 ms rise
	↘ 0.3985 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (31.6 ms).

The Honor Magic8 Lite is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 paired with 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. This entry-level SoC delivers solid overall system performance, but no more than that.

Surface temperatures remain largely below 40 °C even under load, rising to a peak of 44.8 °C only in a small area. The SoC itself is unaffected and does not throttle.

The dual speakers provide solid sound output at medium volume, but distort heavily at maximum volume. Bass response is generally weak.

Although the battery is smaller than in the Chinese version, its 7,500 mAh capacity is still very substantial and delivers very good runtimes in our testing. With better efficiency, however, significantly longer runtimes would likely have been possible.

The battery charges at up to 66 watts. In our test, a full charge takes 57 minutes (50% in 19 minutes, 80% in 37 minutes).

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 39.3 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 32.9 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 44.8 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 35.2 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 247 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 40.2 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 34 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.1 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32.9 °C / 91 F.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2039.838.22529.629.23119.332.24025.336.15033.3386320.7388023.83710018.43812515.238.816011.952.8200155825011.758.531511.760.240010.161.55009.867.163010.870.280011.371.9100011.376.5125012.377.8160011.777.5200011.381.725001282.2315012.282.6400012.882.8500013.177.7630013.375.6800013.372.21000013.466.81250013.365.91600012.968.3SPL24.491.1N0.582.2median 12.2median 71.9Delta1.38.638.24632.536.421.931.831.429.333.538.921.730.72430.317.835.116.643.119.754.41952.117.559.716.260.816.562.412.368.112.371.31570.913.273.212.47611.675.713.377.91278.312.779.812.980.113.379.51380.113.18013.579.713.670.813.463.225.489.90.782.2median 13.3median 73.21.79.5hearing rangehide median Pink Noise

Battery Runtime

The Honor Magic8 Lite is a robust mid-range smartphone featuring an extremely durable chassis, a bright 120-Hz OLED display, a large 7,500-mAh battery and a solid main camera. However, it makes compromises compared to the China model in areas such as Wi-Fi performance, speaker quality, the ultra-wide-angle camera and certain convenience features.

Total Sustainability Score: 54.8%

Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

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Editor of the original article: Daniel Schmidt – Managing Editor Mobile – 815 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2013

As a child I was fascinated by my Commodore 16, and this sparked my enthusiasm for computers. Using my first modem, I surfed the BTX videotext system and later the World Wide Web. I have always been captivated by the latest technologies, and this is especially true for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I’ve been part of the Notebookcheck team since 2013 and have also on occasion written for Notebookinfo.de, and I’m looking forward to testing new innovations for our readers. I like to spend my spare time indulging in photography and barbecues and being with my family.

Translator: Ninh Ngoc Duy – Editorial Assistant – 693285 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2008

My main responsibility as an editorial assistant is maintaining the Library section, which aggregates reviews from other publications and channels. In addition, my daily breakfast is Notebookcheck’s long list of new content, which I comb through to select the most interesting topics for translation from English to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch.”