The HONOR Magic5 Pro 5G is the brand’s premium flagship series model for 2023. After a sell-off by Huawei, Honor no longer bears the burden of the parent company’s trade restrictions and is able to license Google apps in its smartphones. It retails in Singapore at S$1249 with 512GB storage and 12GB RAM powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Here’s a list of the other specs that are truly flagship grade:
- Triple 50MP rear cameras – Ultra-Wide f/2/0, Wide f/1.6, Telephoto f/3.0 up to 100x zoom
- 12MP front camera and 2MP 3D depth camera
- 5100 mAh battery supporting 66W Wired SuperCharge, 50W Wireless SuperCharge
- 6.8-inch LTPO OLED 120 Hz refresh with 2160 Hz PWM Dimming and peak 1800 nits brightness
- Dual nano SIM with eSIM, supports 5G NR
- Infrared Sensor (old school but useful!)
- IP68 Water Resistant
- Bluetooth 5.2, supports SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD, LDAC
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, 2×2 MIMO
- NFC (works with Singapore contactless payment systems)
- 219 grams
For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S23 256GB storage with 8GB RAM is retailing at S$1298 as of Aug 2023. A matching-spec 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra 512GB with 12GB RAM retails at S$2098. This is the kind of value you are getting out of Magic5 Pro.
The first thing that impresses me after I swapped my primary review phone from the Honor 90 to the Magic5 Pro is the speed and performance. As mentioned in my Honor 90 review, it feels rather leisurely to use. On the Magic5 Pro, it blazes with every tap and swipe, not wasting any time waiting for animation or loading. Also, the stereo speaker setup delivers more impactful sound, the build feels more sturdy, and the big round camera system is following the trend for a large conventional camera lens look.
Dig deeper and you will find numerous features that you might take for granted. For instance, AI Privacy Call will auto-adjust the earpiece volume if it detects you are taking a phone in a quiet environment. Air gestures like wave to scroll and take screenshots are also available. There is also option to schedule power on and off which helps in doing scheduled reboot to keep the phone optimised. You can also install multiple instances of Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook etc. via App Twin.
The display options are aplenty: vivid colour lovers will find the setting to deliver punching images, but I prefer the normal mode to ensure colours look realistic. The eye-care display feature adjusts the screen colour temperature based on time and the 2160 Hz PWM dimming lets you enjoy dimmer screen without the flickering effects. Screen resolution and refresh rate can also be adjusted depends on whether you want the highest quality or balanced battery consumption. The default font size is generous but if you have better eye sight, you can reduce the size and see more content within the screen.
Even though the MagicOS 7.1 UI is the same version as Honor 90, there are fundamental differences. The obvious one is that the Honor 90 uses a single notification drawer while the Magic5 Pro uses the newer two-page drawer. Most of the UI design and features are inherited from the Huawei’s EMUI. There are a bagful of Honor apps and ecosystem of app market, themes, games, health. and to enjoy them, you need to sign in to the Honor ID. Definitely not unfamiliar to any smartphone user since other smartphone brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO also have their own ecosystem of apps. Through Honor Connect, information can be shared and moved among smartphone, tablet and laptops (Honor-branded).
Camera Quality
The camera system consists of three rear cameras with the same 50MP count, so there is a consistency in pixel density. The main camera lens is 1/1.12-inch size with 2.8um pixel size. Under normal shoot settings, the Magic5 Pro will save all images in 12MP unless you select the High-Res mode.
As a whole, the images turn out really dynamic, sharp, contrasty while balancing vividness, the latter depending on the subject which gets automatically enhanced when “AI Photography” is enabled. Depending on your philosophy on smartphone photography, I leave the AI Photography on for most of the time during the review because I find that the outcome is well-balanced and allows me to share on social media immediately without any further processing.
With 3.5x telephoto mode, even without digital zoom, I find the images appearing somewhat digital. The “High-Res” 50MP version appears less processed but still exhibits digital edges. Shooting with digital zoom offers slightly better sharpening and contrast, but if you prefer to capture the full resolution, the 50MP definitely delivers the raw pixel output. The file save is much faster than Honor 90.
When shooting in aperture or portrait mode, the camera will artificially process the bokeh to create depth of field. It seems that the final result is different from the live preview, and unlike the Honor 90, I was unable to achieve the narrow depth-of-field of f/0.95. And like the Honor 90, I am unable to adjust the bokeh post-processing.
A quick comparison with the Google Pixel 7 Pro shows that the Magic5 Pro is more generous in the colour tones, again for the benefit of image sharing rather than for archival.
For the night mode, the Magic5 Pro captures the same scene at a shorter time, but the Pixel 7 Pro extracts the blue tone a little better.
Macro capability is excellent, allowing me to shoot as close as 2.5 cm (ultra-wide lens) and 30cm (standard lens). The camera will auto-switch based on the focal distance.
Audio Quality
Perhaps the one feature that I don’t quite like is the headphone audio. There is the DTS:X Ultra audio processor that without a doubt improves the audio amplification and delivery. But as an audiophile enthusiast myself, I prefer my audio to be unprocessed so that I can listen to the original source. With the Magic5 Pro, after disabling the effect, the audio quality is less precise. Putting that aside, the various effects are rather useful for casual listeners to make the music sound more immersive.
Battery Life and Background Notifications
With a 5100 mAh battery capacity, the Magic5 Pro delivers a full solid day usage, far better than what I have experienced with my Google Pixel 7 Pro. However, I also noticed that I did not get the usual notifications from some of my background apps, despite enabling background permissions.
Conclusion
The Honor Magic5 Pro is yet another smartphone that I am very comfortable to use. It has the right amount of personalisation options like themes, Always On Display, and secure facial recognition option. The camera is versatile and delivers balanced images fit for sharing without looking too processed. The retail price of S$1249 includes a clear case, pre-applied screen protector, 66W AC wall charger, so essentially you need not buy any additional accessories. Consumers in Singapore enjoy 12-month warranty by TeleChoice International (TCI), with its service c entre located at 54 Genting Lane Unit 04-01 Block II，Ruby Land Complex, Singapore 349562
One privilege of being a product reviewer is that I can test a product extensively before purchase. That was how I decided on all the smartphones I owned. The Magic5 Pro works for me and I might buy one in the future. More product details and where to buy at the official Honor Singapore webpage.
