Huawei P8 announced: 64-bit octa-core, OIS camera, sleek metal unibody

At its light-themed event in London today, Huawei introduced its newest flagship creation, the P8.

The Huawei P8 (the “Ascend”branding has been dropped) is a 5.2-inch Full HD device that impresses through its sleek metallic design and intriguing camera features. The device follows the well-received Ascend P7 from last year, a phone that we appreciated for its design, great display, and powerful front camera. It remains to be seen whether the P8 remedies the issues we highlighted in our review, including the mediocre speakers, rear camera, and performance.

The Huawei P8 comes in an attractive 6.4-millimeter thick package, in Mystic Champagne, Titanium Grey, Gold, Carbon Black. The device takes cues from the Ascend P7, but also channels the Ascend Mate 7, with the major difference being the rounded edges and the rectangular element around the camera on the back.

Huawei P8 specs and features

Specs of the Huawei P8 include a Kirin 930 processor (made by Huawei), featuring eight 64-bit cores in a big.LITTLE arrangement, four Cortex A53 cores at 2GHz and four Cortex A53 at 1.5GHz. 3GB of RAM and storage space starting from 16GB (expandable) complete what should be a decent experience.

Huawei managed to cram a 2,680 mAh battery in the 144.9 mm x 71.8 mm x 6.4 mm body (144 grams) and – impressively – the camera on the back doesn’t stick out like it does on many high-end devices these days. Speaking of which, you get a 13MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and a dual-LED flash, while the front shooter is a 8MP unit. Huawei is promising some intriguing software features for the camera, including a “light painting” mode that lets you record light graffiti, a “movie director” mode, a time lapse mode, and the obligatory beautification features. Technical tidbits include a image processor that Huawei claims rivals DSLR offerings, as well as a “world’s first” four-color 13MP image sensor.

The P8 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, with Huawei’s EMUI 3.1 on top. We’ll update this section with more details as we get them. In the meantime, here’s two new Huawei videos, one highlighting some of the device’s features and the other basically talking about Huawei’s “vision” for the P8 as tool for creativity.

Huawei P8 price and availability

The Huawei P8 will cost less than €500 ($530) when it arrives in May. A version will be sold in the US from May, while the UK and Europe can expect it from later this month.

We’ll be bringing our hands-on impressions of the new Huawei P8, but meanwhile, tell us your impressions.

Huawei P8 launch event, live from London: watch it here

Huawei is gearing up to unveil its newest flagship, the P8. Dropping the “Ascend” part of the name but walking in the footsteps of last year’s Ascend P7, the P8 shapes up to be a sleek and powerful Android device that can stand its own against the likes of Galaxy S6 and One M9.

Huawei is introducing the P8 at a London event that will be livestreamed starting in about an hour, and we will be there to bring you hands-on impressions of the device and relevant comparisons.

You can watch the Huawei P8 event right here, and keep an eye on the site for timely posts going in detail on Huawei’s latest. The leaks have ruined the surprise when it comes to the P8, but Huawei may have something else in store as well. Stay tuned!

Huawei Ascend P8 promotional material leaks out ahead of tomorrow’s event

There have recently been a lot of rumors floating around the internet regarding Huawei’s next big flagship, the Ascend P8. Now, we don’t know for sure that the phone even exists, but given the number of rumors and leaks we’ve seen in the past few weeks, we’re pretty confident that it will launch sometime soon. Huawei is holding a big event in London tomorrow, which is when the company will likely show off the new handset for the first time. To help add to the hype surrounding this unannounced phone, some new promotional material for the Ascend P8 has just leaked out, giving us a better look at the handset.

This promotional poster helps us substantiate a few leaks and rumors we’ve already heard in the past. The device is thin – only measuring 6.5mm – and will be offered in four different color variants. It’s hard to tell what specific colors will be available judging by the quality of this image, but it is clear that there are four different options presented on the poster.

Previous rumors have suggested that the P8 will launch with a 5.2-inch 1080p display with a 2.5D panel, a 64-bit octa-core Kirin 930 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage, a 13MP rear-facing camera with OIS and a 2,600mAh battery. None of these specs are confirmed quite yet, so we’ll have to wait until the big Huawei event tomorrow to know anything for sure.