**** The Official Chinese Phones Thread ****

Well I ended up biting the bullet and going all out on the Honor 8X due to a well known high street store having a weekend discount on it... so far really liking it, despite initially still being unsure about it the overall size but it's hardly any bigger than my OP5T, if anything about 3mm taller but also around 3mm slimmer along the sides which helps even more for one hand use. The only noticeable difference is the bigger screen / smaller bezels but I have seem to of adapted to it pretty much straight away - going back to my OP5T when copying data over onto the new device strangely didn't seem right / outdated due to the bigger bezels along the top & bottom.

EMUI has improved a lot now when compared to when I last used it on a Mate 10 Pro I briefly owned just over a year ago - seems cleaner, smoother, closer to the stock android feel, less complicated settings to work around and a lot less buggy. This was why I returned the Mate 10 Pro previously. The 8X hasn't shown any signs of lagging yet, even when porting data across & restoring apps. So far - very impressed, all ready to go only after a couple of hours of setting everything up.

I did very nearly go for the Honor 10 Lite but the place I was shopping at literally sold out of all the versions this morning (it appears the 3GB RAM variant is only available in the UK, as opposed the 8X having 4GB - this was another concern about the 10 Lite), I wanted to stick to this place of purchase either way as I've got a 30 day window for return... I could have opted for CPW instead but from past experience they prove to be tricky when it comes to returns (a few years ago it was a 14 day return window for online orders only?).

Will give the 8X a good run for it's money and put it through it's paces to ensure I am definitely happy with it for the next few days, if by chance I am not then I'll return it in favour for the 10 Lite.

Liam.
 
Last edited:
My current phone is a broken Bluboo Maya which stopped working a month ago -Total black screen and no charging or start- Took battery out and get 4.2v on pins in phone when plugged in - Battery voltage has dropped since it broke and is down to 2.7v - Today a new battery came (with 4.1v)and I get the same symptoms which includes no charging so that's it - in the bin.
I have budgeted £200 for a new phone and at the moment its looking at a Xiaomi Mi A2 lite 64gb which I can get with a case and screen protector for £190 - One question - will this phone pick up all provider signals ie. Giffgaf ( O2) as I have two cards. - I want Android 8.1 only (androidone)
Second - Can I do better for my £200 and this is looking at UK or Amazon purchase.

I am not a big Phone user so perhaps a better camera could be had

Thanks
 
DXP55 said:
My current phone is a broken Bluboo Maya which stopped working a month ago -Total black screen and no charging or start- Took battery out and get 4.2v on pins in phone when plugged in - Battery voltage has dropped since it broke and is down to 2.7v - Today a new battery came (with 4.1v)and I get the same symptoms which includes no charging so that's it - in the bin.
I have budgeted £200 for a new phone and at the moment its looking at a Xiaomi Mi A2 lite 64gb which I can get with a case and screen protector for £190 - One question - will this phone pick up all provider signals ie. Giffgaf ( O2) as I have two cards. - I want Android 8.1 only (androidone)
Second - Can I do better for my £200 and this is looking at UK or Amazon purchase.

I am not a big Phone user so perhaps a better camera could be had

Thanks
Click to expand...

The Mi A2 Lite certainly will work with all the 4G networks over here - including O2/GiffGaff as it has band 20.

However when I researched recently as I was in the same boat as you but looking for a bigger screen / slimmer bezels - £200 can land you with say the Honor 10 lite and other equivalent devices (even the Honor 8X if you're prepared to get one from abroad) with the Kirin 710 chipset which is meant to be on par with the Snapdragon 660 (Mi A2 has the 636). So therefore better performance for the money. Both Honor models I mentioned come with a case & a screen protector already applied out of the box.

The Mi A2 Lite however has the biggest battery out of the others in the same size bracket so it will depend on what you favour the most.

Liam.
 
Last edited:
DXP55 said:
Thanks Liam - I did read your posts above. - will have another look around.
Click to expand...

No worries. I've just realized that you want Android 8.1 only, while this is not a bad thing and to be honest Android 9.0 has still got improvements to be made despite it now being pushed out at full pelt by some of the manufactures. As the Mi A2 Lite is Android One, devices on this platform will be pushed with the latest Android updates pretty much before anything else so just take this into account too.

Have a good read on the other devices out there by Xiaomi / Huawei, it's really opened my eyes from reading up the past few days with how much these brands in particular really are breaking into the market now and seriously holding up a fight between the likes of Samsung / Apple. Just remember to stick to models that are Band 20 compatible (4G - 900Mhz).

Liam.
 
I'm using my Mi A2 Lite on Giffgaff no problems. Seem to get 4g more than I did on my OP One actually. Can't fault the phone, it's fantastic. I've had 5 days battery out of it, averaging 3-4. Good sound from the headphone jack, works well with a 128gb SD card. Very pleased with it.
 
Very old chipset though, originally launched in 2016 (underlying architecture is even older of course). Still fine if you don't use your phone for consuming media, playing games, productivity etc, but worth bearing in mind.

I'd be looking for a 636 based phone minimum myself, if I wanted something that's gonna last.
 
Thanks for the replies - When I asked for 8.1 I meant nothing less than that.
I had made up my mind on 8X then Scam came on with the Mi A2 Lite and said that was good -

Now money isn't the problem so if either of you (Scam and Liam) was buying again which of the two would you choose - I know both of you are up for what you have but on Spec alone which should I go for? - One is on Amazon and the other (8x) I can pick up tomorrow at Argos if I order today.

I now notice the A2 is 625 chip so according to Michael it is out of date so it looks like 8x. - My head says go for the most up to date even if it is slightly bigger than my old one.
 
I don't know how big the 8X is but I really went for the A2 Lite because it was smaller than everything else, had a headphone jack and runs Android One (stock). Money wasn't an issue for me either, I chose it over a OnePlus 6 actually!

Understand it won't be for everyone though. I tried the OP6 and just decided I had to have something smaller. And I had to have the headphone jack :)

I got it for £160 so my thinking is if it lasts a year or two I've done well out of it. But I keep phones forever, my OPO lasted almost 5 years lol.
 
DXP55 said:
Thanks for the replies - When I asked for 8.1 I meant nothing less than that.
I had made up my mind on 8X then Scam came on with the Mi A2 Lite and said that was good -

Now money isn't the problem so if either of you (Scam and Liam) was buying again which of the two would you choose - I know both of you are up for what you have but on Spec alone which should I go for? - One is on Amazon and the other (8x) I can pick up tomorrow at Argos if I order today.

I now notice the A2 is 625 chip so according to Michael it is out of date so it looks like 8x. - My head says go for the most up to date even if it is slightly bigger than my old one.
Click to expand...

Personally if I had to choose one again, well... at this moment in time I am torn whether to keep my Honor 8X I purchased on Friday or the Honor 10 Lite which I purchased yesterday haha - just to have a good feel for both and then return / sell on the one I don't want after a few days once I'm fully decided. I wasn't so set on the 8X not long after purchase because of the size but I seem to have got used to it since, but I have come to the realization that it's in fact the bigger screen itself that makes you over think that it's a bigger phone but in reality it is not - placing my old OP5T along side it give you a much better conclusion, as the OP5T isn't that much smaller.

I've been using the Honor 10 Lite for nearly a day now as the main device indoors to get a real feel for everything, while still using the Honor 8X here and there at home too. Personally, I am more siding towards the 8X I reckon despite it being a bit taller & bigger screen (6.5" for the 8X / 6.21" on the 10 Lite). In my own opinion, the 8X is also has slightly better build quality.

Anyway back on topic about the Mi A2 Lite - personally I have never had a play on one, so I cannot comment and overall feel. However as per the above and my own thoughts on the specs and if I had to choose between it and say the Honor 8X - definitely go for the 8X. I've just realized as well that the Mi A2 Lite variant for over here and say if purchasing from CPW only has 3GB of RAM - while not the end of the world, for future proofing I'd still prefer 4GB anyway which is what the 8X comes with by default.

Liam.
 
Gentlemen - Thank you for your assistance - I have just ordered a 8X -- Liam This phone is same width as my old one but about half inch deeper so not really that much bigger.

Why do Amazon make it hard to order things - Used to be one click and done - now it's a minefield trying to dodge signing up for Prime.
 
DXP55 said:
Gentlemen - Thank you for your assistance - I have just ordered a 8X -- Liam This phone is same width as my old one but about half inch deeper so not really that much bigger.

Why do Amazon make it hard to order things - Used to be one click and done - now it's a minefield trying to dodge signing up for Prime.
Click to expand...

Nice :) Let us know your thoughts on it when it arrives. Admittedly for me another thing to get used to again was going from an AMOLED screen on my OP5T to the IPS on the 8X - it made me realize the colour differences, however didn't take long to adjust to at all.

Liam.
 
I have now completed the easy bit buying the phone - my Sim cards are full size - Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! - one is actually 20 years old and I need to keep that number so tomorrow is a trip to EE shop - I have ordered a Giffgaf replacement nano so that is easy one. I am sure things didn't seem this complicated when I had my first Nokia.

I will miss my Nokia 6630 which has to be 15+ years old - The smart phones I had were just for something to do if I went out. :)

Delivery is next Monday 11th but I think it will get here within a few days.
 
My 8X turned up an hour ago - I am sitting here with a hand full of broken finger nails - How the hell do you get the back off :mad:

I see the sim card goes in the side but how do you remove the flap - I have the pin but before I start poking it anywhere I need to know - also where does second sim card go - Inside I presume -
This is the trouble with a generic user start up guide - Up till now my phones have been a bit basic so all this is new to me.:rolleyes:

Sorted :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom