HUAWEI P8 Lite announced, coming to the U.S. today

At a special event for the U.S. market, HUAWEI took the veil off the HUAWEI P8 Lite, a mid-range handset with a premium look and feel.

The P8 Lite features the same general aesthetic as its higher-end brother, the HUAWEI P8, though it makes a few concessions in order to keep the price tag lower. When it comes to looks, the biggest change is the use of plastic, over the all-metal design of the P8. Thankfully, it is still a very well put together unibody design that feels durable and has a nice enough grip that you’ll still feel like you have a premium device in your hands.

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Under the hood, the P8 Lite ditches HUAWEI’s in-house Kirin processor in favor of a Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM. Other specs include a slightly smaller 5-inch display with a resolution of 720p, a 5MP front cam, a 13MP rear cam, microSD, dual SIM support, and a 2200 mAh battery. While the HUAWEI P8 Lite doesn’t have quite as impressive specs as its bigger brother, it’s still a very capable mid-range device that should be able to handle just about anything you throw at it.

Of course, one big difference between HUAWEI and other popular Android OEMs is the software. The P8 Lite is powered by Emotion UI 3.0, a highly customized skin that is based on Android 4.4 KitKat with a promise to eventually update to Lollipop. What makes the UI here different when compared to skins from HTC, Samsung, and other competitors is that HUAWEI’s UI lacks an app drawer, in favor of an aesthetic that mimics iOS.

There’s also a boatload of added features that easily rival TouchWiz, Sense, and LG UI — though it can almost feel a bit overbloated. Still, the UI has quite a few fans, plenty of features, and can be further tweaked with custom launchers and 3rd party apps.

Pricing and availability

The HUAWEI P8 Lite will be available from today through Hauwei’s website, Amazon.com, and several other retail partners. The Lite will come fully unlocked with a price tag of just $249.99, an exceptional price given the specs and features offered by this premium mid-ranger. In addition to the handset, that low price also includes a 2-year warranty, local repair with free shipping, and additional support including live online chat and a US call center for support.

We’ll be bringing you a hands-on shortly, with a full review to follow in the weeks to come. What do you think, anyone planning on picking this one up?