Huawei has announced that the Huawei P8 Lite 2017 will become available in the UK starting from 1st Feb. The firm claims that the 2015 model was one of the best selling smartphones available last year thanks to its sweet spot appeal in terms of features, performance, and price. The new model pushes these parameters further with powerful performance, excellent low light photography capabilities, and its elegant rounded edge finish in polished glass crowned by a 5.2-inch full-HD 2.5D screen.
Huawei emailed us directly with news of the P8 Lite 2017 launch, its specifications and features. I had a quick look for a product page but there wasn't one live on the UK redirected site at the time of writing, so it's important to inform you of the full tech specs, as below:
Huawei P8 Lite 2017 – technical specifications
- Screen: Resolution: 1920 x 1080p, Technology: IPS
- Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 655 Octo-Core, Frequency: 4 x 2.1GHz A53, 4x1.7GHz A53
- Operating system: Android 7.0 (Nougat), EMIU 5.0
- Memory: Internal: 3GB, 16GB, External: microSD card up to 256 GB
- Camera: Rear: f/2.2, 12MP, 1.25μm, PDAF, LED, Front: f/2.0, 8MP
- Battery: 3000mAh, Call time: up to 36 hours
- Fingerprint reader: Fingerprint 4.0 (unlocks in 0.3 seconds)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi: 802.11 b / g / n, Wi-Fi Direct, connection sharing, Bluetooth: 4.1
- USB Connection: Micro USB Type-B (2.0 High Speed), USB Features: Charger, OTG, file transfer
- Network: 4G FDD: B1 / B3 / B7 / B8 / B20, 3G: 850/900/2100 / 1900GHz
- SIM: Nano SIM + Nano SIM (The second SIM location can also be used as a location for MicroSD card)
- Product dimensions: About 147g (with battery), Height: 147.2mm; Width: 73mm; Depth: 7.63mm
Checking through the above there are quite a few improvements over the 2015 model evident. The new model has a larger higher res screen, more RAM, a faster processor, a significantly more capacious battery, plus the convenience and security afforded by a fast fingerprint reader. That's quite a lot of upgrades for the same launch price, before we get to the cameras…
Despite a step down in megapixels (12MP from 13MP) and worse f-stop rating (f/2.2 rather than f/2.0) the rear camera is said by Huawei to be more advanced with better low light performance. If it is true that "photos shot on the P8 Lite 2017 are brighter, more realistic and rich in detail," the improvement must come from some improved lens construction, sensor pixel size, or otherwise refined optical sensor tech.
Without doubt a major step up in the P8 Lite specification is in battery capacity. Its 3,000mAh battery easily beats the 2,200mAh unit in its predecessor and is capable, according to Huawei, of powering you through; 1.7 days of normal usage, or 15 hours of video playback, 36 hours of phone calls, 11 hours of 4G navigation, or 93 hours of music.
In its email to HEXUS, Huawei said that the P8 Lite 2017 16GB version (3GB RAM) in Black will be available first on Vodafone in retail stores from the 1st of February. You will be able to snag it on PAYG for £185, or free on contracts from £16 per month.
