Introducing the Honor Magic 8 Pro: The Ultimate Flagship Smartphone

Honor has recently released its latest flagship device, the Honor Magic 8 Pro, showcasing a range of impressive features that are bound to catch the eye.

The successor to the Honor Magic 7 Pro maintains a familiar design, featuring the company’s signature ‘squircle’ camera module and rounded rear panel.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that the Honor Magic 8 Pro is slightly smaller in all dimensions. Measuring at 161.15 x 75 x 8.4mm and weighing 213g (10g lighter than its predecessor).

The display has also been slightly reduced in size to accommodate these changes. However, the 6.71-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 1256 x 2808, a 1 to 120Hz refresh rate (courtesy of LTPO technology), 4320Hz PWM Dimming, and an enhanced peak HDR brightness of 6,000 nits, with a high brightness mode reaching up to 1,800 nits, ensures that there is no compromise on quality.

Furthermore, the Honor Magic 8 Pro boasts an increased level of durability, now featuring IP69K certification in addition to the previous IP68 and IP69 ratings, making it one of the most water-resistant smartphones available. It also holds the SGS 5-Star Drop Resistance Certification, ensuring enhanced protection against accidental drops.

Honor Magic 8 Pro performance and camera

Powering the Honor Magic 8 Pro is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, promising top-tier performance akin to the OnePlus 15. Paired with 12GB of RAM and a spacious 512GB of storage, the device offers a seamless user experience.

The device features a capable triple camera setup, including a 50Mp f/1.6 1/1.3” main camera, a 50Mp f/2.0 1/2.88″ ultra-wide lens, and a remarkable 200Mp f/2.6 1/1.4″ periscope telephoto lens with an increased 3.7x zoom range. This periscope camera, termed as the SuperNight Camera, is particularly noteworthy for its low-light performance.

Additionally, the Magic Colour feature, described as “the industry’s first AI-powered color engine,” can intelligently extract 16.77 million colors, allowing users to adjust the tone of their photos in real-time. This feature even enables users to replicate tones from existing images, serving as templates for future shots.

On the front, there’s a 50Mp selfie camera complemented by a 3D ToF sensor for secure facial recognition, a feature uncommon among Android manufacturers but reminiscent of Apple’s approach.

Chris Hall / Foundry

Honor Magic 8 Pro battery and software

Despite its smaller form factor, the Honor Magic 8 Pro houses a larger 6,270mAh battery, surpassing the capacities of previous flagship models. Although not as large as the Chinese variant’s 7,200mAh or the ‘global’ model’s 7,100mAh batteries, it still offers significant improvements over its predecessors.

Honor has integrated various AI features into the device, including AI Deepfake Detection and AI Voice Cloning Detection, leveraging its proprietary tools alongside Google Gemini technology to enhance security and protect against audio and video manipulation during calls.

Additionally, the device features a dedicated AI Button that can be customized to access various AI functions, serve as a camera shortcut, and function as a shutter button, enhancing user convenience.

Noteworthy among the updates is Honor’s commitment to providing seven years of OS and security updates for the device, aligning with industry leaders such as Google and Samsung in offering extended support and longevity for their devices.

Chris Hall / Foundry

Honor Magic 8 Pro price and availability

The Honor Magic 8 Pro is currently available for purchase directly from the Honor website or through authorized retailers. It is offered in a single configuration in Sunrise Gold, Sky Cyan, or Black, priced at £1,099.99. An early bird discount of £200 is available for a limited time.

Comparatively, the price of the Honor Magic 8 Pro aligns with that of the Oppo Find X9 Pro, offering a more affordable option than the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Curious to see how the camera performance of the Honor Magic 8 Pro stacks up against the Pixel 10 Pro? We conducted a head-to-head comparison to provide insights into their respective capabilities.