Huawei has entered the U.S. market via its sub-brand Honor, as the new Honor 8 flagship is announced for the U.S. market.
Honor has officially announced that the new Honor 8 is already up for pre-orders, with the iteration going on sale starting Aug. 26. Meanwhile, third-party retailers are also expected to display the new flagship on their shelves, with some stores like Amazon and Newegg even offering $50 gift cards. The Honor online store also confirms a $50 rebate for direct buyers.
The new Honor 8 is priced at $399.99 for the base model with 32GB of onboard storage. Meanwhile, the premium 64GB edition has a $449.99 price tag.
Prior to the U.S. announcement, the Honor 8 flagship is only exclusive to China. However, with the North America launch, it may suggest that a global launch for the Honor 8 is highly possible.
Specs-wise, the new Honor 8 is similar to Huawei's current main flagship, the P9. The new iteration also carries the same 5.2-inch IPS display with 1080p resolution, as well as a dual-cam setup (the main feature of the P9). However, instead of the new Kirin 955 chipset, the Honor 8 features a previous-gen, octa-core Kirin 950 processor with 4GB of RAM. In addition, its dual-cam setup, while an above-average assembly, is not the same as the Leica-engineered camera found on the Huawei P9.
Other specs of the Honor 8 include a fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C connectivity, 3,000 mAh battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow layered with Huawei's Emotion UI 4.1 platform.
Launching the new Honor 8 flagship in the U.S., company president George Zhao said, "It goes against established industry norms and market conventions with a higher aesthetic standard. At the same time, it balances looks with the smarts, speed, and connectivity that today's millennial consumers demand. Honor 8 reflects our understanding of and commitment to their needs and goals."
