Review of the Honour Magic6 Pro

With the release of new high-end smartphones from Samsung, Xiaomi, and other major smartphone makers, this year has already been a significant one for flagship phones. We now own the Honor Magic6 Pro, another one. Unmatched by its rivals, the Magic6 Pro has an amazing camera configuration, cutting-edge AI technologies, and superior performance from its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU.

All of these may seem impressive on paper, but how does the Honour Magic6 Pro perform in real-world situations? Perhaps more crucially for this website, how does it manage mobile gaming? We cover every crucial aspect of the phone in our review, from design to performance and all points in between. In comparison to the gadgets on our list of the top 5G phones ), how does it perform? There's just one approach to learn more. Now let's get started.

Cost and accessibility

The main issue with Honour phones, similar to Xiaomi, is that they aren't officially available for purchase in the US for our readers. However, if you're really set on getting one, there are merchants on eBay offering it for between $900 and $1,400. Depending on the shop you choose, you may purchase one for around £1,099 if you're reading this from the UK. There are two colours available: Black and Epi Green, but we'll talk about them in more depth later.

Specifications

Features

Honour uses its own Android OS veneer, MagicOS, wherever it can, much like other Android companies. MagicOS 8.0 is the most recent version, and while it's not inherently a terrible operating system, it is a touch lacking in creativity. For my taste, it has an excessively similar vibe to iOS. Nevertheless, it does the job, and throughout the phone's testing, I saw no significant software problems.

In 2024, the Magic6 Pro would not exist as a smartphone if it didn't include any AI functions. The phone's generative AI features mostly pertain to its cameras, such as its AI motion capture sensors, but it also has a feature called Magic Portal that makes intelligent word and picture suggestions. For example, Magic Portal recommends using Google Maps to locate your way to an address if you get a message with one. Although it's not exactly Circle to Search, it's still fairly helpful. AI eye tracking is another function this phone can do, but Honour hasn't yet made it available globally, so we haven't seen it in action.

Every security feature you would expect from a contemporary flagship is included in the Magic6 Pro. But I can't seem to get my fingerprints recognised. I had some of the same issues with our Porsche Edition Honour Magic V2 RSR review, so this is kind of a repeating topic. However, it's quite inconsistent across the two devices. Only when I place my thumb in a very precise spot does it appear to register. Since face recognition works so well, I use it instead. However, since fingerprint recognition is a bit less secure, I would much rather use facial recognition. Though I'm not sure whether Honour could solve this in an update, I would be grateful if they could.

Design

The Honour Magic6 Pro seems to be a sleek piece of technology. Even while it weighs around 229g and is larger and heavier than the typical smartphone, it is by no means a monstrosity. The weight and heft, if anything, heighten the sense of luxury. The phone feels quite comfortable in the hand, which is a huge positive. You don't feel undersold at all. Having bigger hands than usual, I may be a bit biassed here, but those additional centimetres really help to make the display simpler to interact with.

Whichever hue you choose will determine the material on the back of the phone. My Epi Green version has a vegan leather back and glossy metal sides, which make it seem very opulent. Though it doesn't stick out from the pack of smartphones nearly as much as my smartphone, the other choice, the classic Black, looks just as exquisite. In any case, Honour offers something for everyone who prefers a somewhat more subdued look as well as those who want a design that borders on the gaudy. I'll continue to use gaudy, please.

Even yet, I must admit that there is some disagreement on the Magic6 Pro's design. When I presented my review unit to the SmartRead staff, not everyone liked the Epi Green colorway or the large camera bump on the rear. Although there are many images in this article to help you see it better, it's still worthwhile to look at the alternative. Colorway in black if the shade of lime green bothers you. I'm not sure I can assist you there if the camera bump is what's bothering you.

I can't finish this part without pointing out that the phone is IP68 certified for dust and waterproofness. That is significant. It's important, but not all brands live up to the expectations you have of a flagship. You want to know that the phone is as sturdy as possible without seeming like a tough phone if you're going to be spending this much money on it. In that sense, the Magic6 Pro has you covered.

Display

With its amazing 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen, the Honour Magic6 Pro shines at everything you use it for, including gaming and watching videos. There's a plenty of screen real estate thanks to the curved edge display and tiny bezels. A dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz makes everything that fills that area seem incredibly high quality and vibrant. It's a beautiful screen, and Honour should be able to compete with the big boys like Apple and Samsung if they choose to.While having a bright display is great, if you stare at it for more than fifteen minutes, you risk getting a headache from the brightness. Thankfully, the Magic6 Pro has you covered in this regard. When in low-brightness mode, 4320Hz PWM dimming kicks in to give your retinas a break. While it won't alter everything, it is helpful for nighttime phone usage.In a situation when it is poorly light, avoid turning the brightness all the way up. The max brightness of 5,000 nits is astonishing. We can't hold Honour responsible for the industry-wide tendency of manufacturers attempting to provide the brightest and most colourful screen, even if it may be too bright. Thankfully, the Magic6 Pro has one of the best automatic brightness features I've used—it can adjust the brightness of the lights to suit the environment.

Photographer

Let me start with the main reason I wanted to test out the Magic6 Pro: the camera. I knew I had to check out Honor's offerings for myself after hearing so many positive things about them from others and taking a cursory glance at MWC 2024. The product and brand deserve all the praise in this regard. This device has an amazing camera arrangement.A 50 MP wide main lens, a 180 MP periscope telephoto lens, and a 50 MP ultrawide lens are all part of the entire camera package. A 50 MP selfie camera is located on the front. The camera has a 100x zoom range, however after 10x, the quality starts to suffer. Even yet, the 10x zoom quality is quite amazing, providing images from considerably further out that are as crisp as those from a mid-ranger or the most recent flagship phone generation. It's the whole package, and the picture below shows you how much detail the Magic6 Pro can capture using my fluffy camera model.It's challenging to find a camera flaw. It can capture both still and video photographs, and the quality of its low-light shots is superior than that of several smartphones that pride themselves on their capacity to capture images in dim light. If I had to choose one item, I would say that, particularly when using the zoom feature, the AI augmentation is perhaps a bit too evident. Still, I'd rather something that is clearly modified than something that is hazy and useless.Performance

As anticipated from a high-end flagship phone in 2024, this device is capable of handling almost any task you throw at it. The Magic6 Pro is prepared for everything you need it for, whether it regular activities like chatting and web surfing or more complex ones like gaming or video recording.In order to thoroughly evaluate the gaming capabilities of this device, I proceeded as usual and launched Honkai Star Rail, an already challenging game, at its maximum graphics settings. What was the Magic6 Pro's response to this? Not at all problematic, merely an annoyance. Even at double speed, the animations run smoothly at 60 frames per second with no lag or stuttering. Its frighteningly high capacity is evidence of why gaming phones are not as common as they once were. With sharper cameras and a more elegant appearance, a flagship phone like this one can accomplish everything a gaming-specific phone can.And it doesn't get hot either. You did really hear correctly. It just doesn't get heated. In our tests, it didn't, anyhow. The rear panel didn't even feel close to becoming heated after an hour playing Honkai Star Rail at the maximum settings, along with a little Asphalt 9 and Diablo Immortal. It is important to emphasise again how significant it is. After using the Magic6 Pro for a few weeks, I'm really contemplating including it in our list of the best gaming phones, even though I didn't think it would make a good choice when I first sat down with it. It's evident that Honour is providing a real powerhouse here when you mix the outstanding performance and heat dissipation with the generous 256GB of storage (that's the lowest capacity that is currently offered) and 12GB of RAM.

Lightning

The Magic6 Pro, like the Bee Gees, never dies because to its 5,600mAh battery, 80W wired charging, and 66W wireless charging. The battery power on this device is quite impressive. It can operate flawlessly for a whole day under constant usage or for two days, maybe even a bit longer, under sporadic use. Even while the phone's 5,600mAh battery is just 500mAh more than its predecessor, it seems considerably more dependable—those are the generational improvements we always want to see.Although having rapid charging rates is fantastic, this phone only includes a charging cable; as a result, you will need to purchase or possess an 80W charging outlet separately. My 20W plug is the only one I have, thus charging is not nearly as quick as it might be if Honour included the plug in the package. Again, Apple isn't directly at fault for this tendency, but it would be nice if the product included everything needed to charge it as quickly as possible.Now that the warning has been addressed, let's talk about the billing rates. This gadget is said to be able to charge from 0% to 100% in less than an hour with the correct tools. It takes longer without the proper tools, but it's still not slow—it takes around two hours for a full charge or an hour and a half with a typical 20W plug. You won't notice the additional charging capacity if, like me, you leave your phone on to charge overnight, but for other people, without having to pay more for an 80W wall socket, it could be a deal breaker.

Is it wise to purchase the Honour Magic6 Pro?

We have few reasons not to suggest the Honour Magic6 Pro if you're searching for a flagship phone with amazing performance, superb cameras, and one of the finest screens available. It's undoubtedly one of the greatest smartphones of 2024 so far and a fair rival to devices like the Xiaomi 14 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus. Although it seems like a lot of hype for a phone, the quality is true.There are limitations, of course. The fingerprint sensor may be more precise and responsive, MagicOS still has to catch up to some of the other Android operating systems, and it's a little annoying that you can't charge at full speed without acquiring an additional device. It's hardly enough to permanently turn me off the phone, however, since Honour can fix the fingerprint sensor problem and MagicOS's limitations in addition to fixing the missing wall plug.

Replacements

If the Honour Magic6 Pro hasn't won you over, have a look at our recommendations for similar products below.

Xiaomi 14

The Xiaomi 14 series was the only smartphone I saw at MWC 2024 that wowed me almost as much as the Honour Magic6 Pro. Both the Honour gadget and the Xiaomi 14 basic model are reasonably priced, have amazing cameras, long battery lives, and sophisticated looks. It's hard to choose between the two, however the Xiaomi 14 could have a more subtle appearance and a somewhat more complex smartphone camera system.Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

One of the Honour Magic6 Pro's main competitors, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, is an apparent substitute as well. Though it's difficult to tell the two apart, Samsung's operating system is somewhat more efficient than Honor's, and the Honour phone performs marginally better when it comes to demanding tasks. Your own preferences for both phones will ultimately determine this choice. Check out ourSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review for our opinions on Samsung's top flagship if money isn't an object.