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5.7-inch Huawei Honor V8 could be available in 1080p regular and QHD ‘Plus’ models

honor-v8

We’ve read (and written) about the Honor V8 handset a couple of times over the past few weeks. Huawei’s sub-brand is expected to unveil the budget-friendly high-end phablet at an event next week, and it could be the first Honor phone to be equipped with a dual camera system, similar to the setup on the more premium Huawei P9.

Initial leaks and online listings suggested that the Honor V8 would come with a Quad HD screen (another first for Honor), but we’ve been doing a little digging on TENAA and discovered another model of the same phone with a lower resolution screen, less powerful processor and less storage.

For reference, TENAA is similar to the FCC in the US. Smartphones generally get listed there in the weeks leading up to being launched in China. In most instances, it’s a reliable source of information for upcoming devices. What’s more, Honor has already teased (quite openly) that the V8 is coming on May 10th. This teaser clearly wanted us to know that a dual-camera equipped phone was on its way.

Towards the end of April we posted an article linking to an Honor smartphone listing, which we assume is the V8 due to its camera(s) on the back. This particular listing was for an Honor smartphone with the model number KNT-AL20. Its spec list included a large 5.7-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, processor clocked at 2.5GHz and a 3,400mAh battery. If accurate, this would make the Honor V8 a true flagship. But it may not launch alone. It might have a lesser-powered sibling.

Today, we found a listing for another device which is identical to the KNT-AL20 in all ways, except for a couple of specifications.

This particular listing is for an Honor device with model number KNT-UL10. Like the AL20, this version has a 5.7-inch screen, 3400mAh battery and even measures the same 157 x 77.60 x 7.75mm dimensions. It looks exactly the same, except for the color, and has the same 12MP x 8MP dual camera setup on the back above a squircle fingerprint sensor. There are some key differences though, suggesting it could be sold at a lower price than the other V8.

While the screen size is the same, its resolution is listed as 1920 x 1080, and while it has the same 4GB RAM, it only has 32GB storage and a processor clocked at 2.3GHz.

It’s not uncommon for brands to launch a regular and ‘Plus’ model of the same smartphone. But it is fairly uncommon for them to have different screen resolutions, but still be the same size. Normally, Chinese manufacturers will launch a super-powered device with more RAM and more storage, but keep the screen size and resolution the same. Either that or — like Huawei with the P9 and P9 Plus — make the ‘Plus’ model bigger as well as more powerful. The only example similar that springs to mind is the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Premium, the latter of which had a 4K resolution screen.

Of course, there’s always the chance that this is down to human error and specifications are wrong. It could also be simply that Honor is testing two versions, but only plans to launch one. But given past reliability and accuracy of TENAA listings, I find it more likely that both devices will be announced. Especially given that they’re listed with a different model numbers and more than one differing feature. Of course, there’s even the possibility that there will be different versions for different markets.

Clearly we don’t know Huawei/Honor’s plans with any certainty, but thankfully, we don’t have to wait long before we find out.

Sound off in the comments if you think Honor will launch two versions and, if so, would you rather stump up extra cash for a QHD screen, or are you happy to save and stick with 1080p?

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