This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The $200 Honor X8b is a cheap carbon copy of the $1,200 iPhone 15 Pro Max (if that’s how you choose to think about it), and the intro to a longer story about Android’s tendency to emulate the iPhone in an attempt to… beat it.
But about the $200 iPhone… Personally, I don’t hate the Honor X8b. Not at all! Why? Because it’s a good iPhone knock-off, and I believe this is an important distinction to make.
To give you some context, the Honor X8b (currently available only in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia), boasts incredible value for money, and focuses on design more heavily than any other $200 phone I’ve seen recently:
It has a super impressive 6.7-inch OLED display with a pill-shaped cutout, a 120Hz refresh rate, 2000 nits of peak brightness, and super thin bezels - if this sounds familiar, it’s because the $200 Honor more or less matches the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s screen
It runs on the budget Snapdragon 680 SoC, which is roughly 6x slower than the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Bionic but perfectly in line with other phones/chips in this price range
It comes with 8GB of RAM and a whopping 512GB of storage by default - as sold on Honor’s Malaysian website (the iPhone 15 Pro starts at 256GB of storage)
I must admit, “capsule” might’ve been the safer name option for the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. But Apple doesn’t do “safe” names.
It has a 108MP primary camera with a rather large 1/6-inch inch sensor; a 5MP ultra-wide camera, and a 50MP selfie shooter
It brings a 4,500mAh battery with 33W fast charging - that’s a larger battery and faster charging speeds compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max; while having a larger battery than the iPhone doesn’t necessarily mean better battery life, the Honor’s super-efficient SoC might actually help it get to the iPhone’s battery endurance
And, of course, a “Magic Capsule” - Honor’s own twist on Apple’s Dynamic Island, which happens to look quite a lot better than the iPhone’s much larger hole; the Magic Capsule doesn’t have Face ID but it houses an actual flash next to the 50MP selfie camera, which seems like a bright idea and a practical use of space
Honor X8b is what the iPhone 15 Pro Max would’ve been if it costed $200, and I don’t hate it: You can buy 7 Honors for the price of a single iPhone 15 Pro Max
But, but, but… We’ve seen phones that try to copy the iPhone before. There are plenty of similar knock-off devices from brands and with names even I can’t remember.
However, one phone that comes to mind is the legendary Xiaomi Pocophone F1, which was deliberately designed to look like the novel (at the time) iPhone X… for absolutely no reason. The difference? Well, Xiaomi’s flagship-killer packed flagship specs and a great camera, so it really didn’t need to look like the iPhone X. In fact, it would’ve looked far, far better (and more modern) without a massive, useless notch (without Face ID capabilities).
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But in the case of the Honor X8b, we’re (very clearly) talking about a $200 Android phone that’s trying to impress with a design, and specs that punch way above its price point - save for camera and SoC, of course (because some compromises must be made)... And that’s why I really, really like it.
The Honor X8b starts at $200 for 512GB of storage, with a display, design, and battery pretty much as impressive as those of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The equivalent variant of Apple’s flagship starts at... $1,400 in the US, and $1,700 in Europe. That’s seven Honor X8b’s. Seven!
Not to mention, the back of the Honor X8b brings some individuality with a faux leather finish and a neatly arranged camera island. Overall, this is one of the cleanest looking $200 phones I’ve seen in a while.
In fact, I would’ve bought an Honor X8b in a heartbeat… if it was available globally. You know - just to see if I can use it as my regular phone… Or perhaps give a couple Honor X8b’s to family members as a gift I can afford!
Android phones should stop copying the iPhone ASAP - at least if they want to make a better phone than Apple’s
Carl Pei recently tried porting iMessage onto the Nothing Phone 2.
But let’s not get carried away…
While I do love what Honor’s done with its version of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I think that copying the iPhone might be a good idea in the short-term but a terrible one in the long-run for Android phone-makers.
And I get it - attracting Apple’s incredibly loyal user base is very hard. In fact, it’s nearly impossible in certain regions of the world, like in the US, where Apple rules 50-60% of the market, and nearly 90% of the younger demographic (#iMessage). Therefore, some Android phone-makers will be trying to steal a fraction of Cupertino’s business by any means possible.
But here’s one of the trickiest questions to answer in the smartphone industry - one the likes of Samsung, Google and many more have been trying to find the answer to for years…
What is the right way to go about attracting people who are considering buying an iPhone (if they aren’t using one already)? My theory is that Android phone-makers might be going about it the wrong way…
Some Android phone-makers believe that “to beat the iPhone, you must be the iPhone”, but is this true?
Xiaomi continues to use iOS as the primary inspiration for its (new) Hyper OS skin based on Android 14; Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 Ultra will have a titanium frame (like the iPhone 15 Pro), and Nothing takes inspiration from Apple’s focus on design before everything else (after it failed to take iMessage).
As things stand, Android phone-makers try to attract Apple users by using several different methods of emulation:
Nothing’s (failed) idea to bring iMessage on the Nothing Phone 2 was a blunt, desperate attempt to attract those who don’t mind using an Android phone but need iMessage - that is Apple or Android users
Xiaomi’s new Hyper OS (just like MIUI) is clearly designed to look and function like the iPhone’s iOS (Xiaomi’s CEO has been vocal about his admiration of Apple since day one, which is respectable, if you ask me)
The Galaxy S24 and S24+ have flat, iPhone 14-like frames and even the same color selection as the iPhone 14 Pro, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra is adopting a flat display and a titanium frame - like the iPhone 15 Pro
Then you have the “bezel race” - every new flagship phone seems to be competing with the iPhone when it comes to the size of their display borders, often referencing the iPhone during launch events; Apple was the first company to launch a phone with even bezels in 2017 with the iPhone X, and the iPhone 15 Pro had the thinnest display borders on the market when it launched earlier this year (a record now held by the Xiaomi 14)
And of course, we have phones like the Honor X8b and Tecno Spark 20 - honest iPhone design rip-offs with their own Dynamic Islands, flat frames, and iPhone-like camera cutouts (which, when done right, I have nothing against!)
Android phone-makers who copy the iPhone design underestimate people’s taste and ability to choose a phone that looks different
My boring iPhone 15 Pro Max has nothing on the head-turning Oppo Find X6 Pro, which looks nothing like the iPhone. Who would’ve thought!
So, the examples of companies and phones that try to “beat the iPhone by being the iPhone” are diverse, and many… But why? Why would that be the key to attracting Apple’s users, or any user in general, when it’s been proven to be a wonky strategy over and over again?
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that thinking all people want just another iPhone rip-off, and can be so easily “manipulated” is borderline offensive to me as a user.
For example, my favourite phone designs look nothing like the iPhone... The Pixel 6 Pro (the best looking phone I’ve owned), Pixel 8 Pro, Oppo Find X6 Pro, Galaxy Z Flip 5, OnePlus Open, Huawei P40 Pro… I can keep going.
None of my favorite Android phones/designs look like an iPhone, and that’s the best thing about them! If I could make my iPhone 15 Pro Max look like the Pixel 6 Pro or Oppo Find X6 Pro, I’d change Apple’s tired design in a heartbeat.
If you want your Android phone to look and work like an iPhone, then you should buy an iPhone: Android should go back to doing what it does best, which is being a bolder, more practical alternative to the iPhone
Google isn’t exactly as bold as LG but it’s doing a good job at making phones that look as different as possible than the iPhone.
If you find yourself looking for too many iOS/iPhone features and design elements in an Android phone, you probably want an iPhone, and you should just go ahead and… buy one
See, if you wish your Nothing Phone had iMessage; if you wish your Xiaomi phone ran iOS, and if you wish your Honor/Huawei phone had a Dynamic Island… Just go to the Apple store. Because being like the iPhone isn’t really what makes Android great.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than glad when Android phones copy some of Apple’s useful, practical features like Face ID, MagSafe (coming to Android very soon), and the gesture navigation system. But those are (some would say) game-changing features that I’d add to any phone.
But most things that make me choose an Android phone over an iPhone are features that make Android better than the iPhone - not the same as the iPhone. Like the fact that large Android phones are far easier to use with one hand than the iPhone 15 Pro Max (something Android phone-makers don’t even advertise); the Pixel 8 Pro’s more unique look, folding phones, etc.
So, what’s the way to “beat the iPhone”? Well, I don’t know… If I did, I would’ve been Samsung’s CEO… However, if you ask me, the way to challenge the iPhone is to take what’s not so great about it, and make this the selling point of your own, original Android phone.
Of course, another way of being original and giving people something Apple isn’t currently offering is with a folding phone. For example, the one feature I wish my iPhone 15 Pro Max had would be the ability to fold in half, which would make it easier to use with one hand, more compact in my pocket, and truly feel like a new, innovative, and fun device.
Android’s always been about being a more practical, clever alternative to the iPhone. Not a half-baked iPhone... So, let’s do more of that?
Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.
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