It appears like 2016 would be the year of mid-range smartphones, with powerful handsets like the iPhone SE, Galaxy A9, Zenfone 3 and now, the Honor 8, entering the market. Among the best mid-rangers unveiled so far, however, it seems like the Honor 8 would actually be the handset to beat when it comes to features, design and raw power.

In fact, since its recent unveiling, critics have lauded the Honor 8 as a worthy competitor to the flagship phone of its parent company, the Leica-lens-totting Huawei P9. In terms of specs and features, how well does the Honor 8 hold up against its more expensive cousin?

Honor 8 vs. Huawei P9 - Cameras

The Huawei P9 was made famous by the company's partnership with one of the biggest names in the photography business, Leica. With the handset's cameras finely tuned by the camera manufacturer, the P9 is able to take astounding photos in both color and black and white.

The Honor 8, on the other hand, also has two sensors at the back. Unlike its more expensive cousin, however, the Honor 8's camera is pretty much standard fare. While it takes great photos on its own, the quality of the P9's shots is far superior to that of the mid-ranger's.

Honor 8 vs. Huawei P9 - Processor and RAM

This part gets particularly tricky, since Huawei was able to pull off something quite unique with the Honor 8. While the Honor 8's home-grown Kirin 950 Octa-Core CPU is not as powerful as the P9's Kirin 955 Octa-Core processor, the performance of the two chips are actually pretty close to each other.

Couple this with the fact that the low-end P9 only comes with 3GB of RAM while the Honor 8 starts at 4GB, and it definitely appears that power-wise, the Honor 8 takes the cake from its more expensive sibling.

Honor 8 vs. Huawei P9 - Frame and Build

With regards to the Huawei P9 and the Honor 8's build quality, the decision would really be up to the consumer's preference. The P9 features an all-metal design, which was generally the preferred frame for flagships during previous years. On the other hand, the Honor 8 channels the Galaxy S7 with its glass-clad front and back, giving the device a very premium feel.

It should be noted that a metal frame and a glass bodied phone do have notable disadvantages. An all-metal phone like the P9 is quite prone to scratches. Thus, those who would go for Huawei's flagship are better off buying a protective case for the phone. While scratches are less of a problem for the Honor 8's glass body, however, the mid-ranger's frame would be a magnet for fingerprints.

Honor 8 vs. Huawei P9 - Price

Just like the frame and build, the value of these two handsets would be best determined by the preferences of consumers. The Huawei P9 is now on sale on Amazon for as little as $495, this being only around $100 more than the Honor 8. However, $495 would only give consumers the 32GB, 3GB RAM version of the phone. The Honor 8, on the other hand, automatically ships with 4GB of RAM for $399.

It's pretty hard to argue against the advantages and features of the Honor 8. While it does get beaten by its more expensive cousin in the camera department, it nevertheless provides users with near-flagship performance at a pretty bargain price.

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