HONOR has announced the sale of Magic6 Pro in March 2024, and unlike the Magic5 Pro where it was launched 4 months after Malaysia, the Magic6 Pro is available at the same time with Malaysia. That’s good new for the local consumers as they do not need to wait too long to get hold of a local warranty unit. At launch, the retail price in Singapore is S$1399 in Epi Green and Black. I have the Green on review and it has a vegan leather rear with faded Gold frame.
Here is the breakdown of the detailed specs you can expect from this flagship smartphone:
- 12GB + 512GB
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- Triple rear cameras – 50MP Ultra-Wide f/2/0, 50MP Wide f/1.4-2.0, 180 MP 2.5x Optical Telephoto f/2.6 up to 100x zoom
- 50MP front camera and 3D depth camera
- 5600 mAh silicon-carbon battery supporting 80W Wired SuperCharge, 66W Wireless SuperCharge
- 6.8-inch LTPO OLED 120 Hz refresh 2800×1280 pixels with 3840 Hz PWM Dimming and peak 5000 nits brightness, Dolby Vision, 100% DCI-P3, HDR10+
- NanoCrystal Shield SGS Glass Drop Resistant, 1-year warranty against cracks
- 3D Face Recognition and FIngerprint Sensor
- Dual nano SIM with eSIM
- Infrared Sensor (with Universal Remote Control app)
- IP68 Water Resistant
- Bluetooth 5.3, supports SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD, LDAC
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, 2×2 MIMO
- NFC
- 225 grams
HONOR Magic6 Pro: Design
Since the day I received the review unit, I have fitted the soft transparent casing that comes in the package. It’s thin and does not add any bulk, but with the case, my hand could not feel the vegan-backed texture. The camera system cushion-shaped bezel takes inspiration from timepieces and in additional to its marble-finishing panel, presents as one of the more original smartphone designs. Metal parts are in light gold, looks premium without appearing too opulent.
HONOR Magic6 Pro: Display
The front display glass, HONOR NanoCrystal Shield, has a crystal density improvement of 50%, claims to be ten times stronger than regular glass, highly durable with 10 times more shock absorption. The phone is also IP68 water rated. They are so confident that even in the reviewer notes, they boldly suggested to conduct drop tests on wooden flooring or marble surface from up to 2 metres height, exposing to rough terrains, and liquid spills.
Apart from the durability, the HONOR Magic6 Pro offers improved OLED display quality with numerous premium display features to improve visual experience: like 4320Hz PWM dimming, Dolby Vision, Dynamic Refresh Rate up to 120Hz, 100% DCI-P3, HDR10+, peak 5000 nits HDR brightness. You can also personalise the colour mode (normal and vivid) and temperature (warm, cold, custom). The curved sides makes hand holding comfortable, resisting the current trend of sharp flat edges.
The top middle cutout screen houses the front camera system with a 3D TOF sensor. It is also where you interact with Magic Capsule. When a compatible app is running, there will be animations next to the black cutout area. When tapping it, the capsule expands to reveal the app and you can interact with it – play, pause, change tracks. Currently, Magic Capsule supports timer, media players (Spotify, YouTube, etc.).
HONOR Magic6 Pro: Camera
The Super Dynamic Falcon Camera System is everything you need. You can capture anywhere from 0.5x to 100x. All images are captured in 12MP size even though the sensors can capture a lot more. This is to allow the camera system to optimise resolution during digital zoom. To capture in its native resolution for each of the three lenses, use Hi-Res mode to capture but it does not support zoom. I usually leave the HDR mode on so that I can get well-exposed shots across the dynamic range. Occasionally when shooting scenery, the exposure is under, and I suspect that was due to the AI thinking that I want to shoot silhouette.
For bokeh effects, you can shoot either Portrait mode or Aperture mode. I find the Portrait mode is more versatile as it allows me to zoom for my desired shot. The Aperture mode does not support zoom, and while it can vary the aperture, I cannot readjust the bokeh post-editing.
The images all turn out great almost all the time, nice vibrant colours. There are three colour profile filters to choose from, depending on your preference. Vibrant brings out more details in shadow areas, Authentic has vignette at the edges, Natural is the default.
The zoom quality is good up to 10x, after that you can spot digital artifacts. Nevertheless, it is a really fun feature that helps you “see” things that are just too far away.
Shot-to-shot response is also quite fast, even if I enable HDR which usually takes a little more time. It also supports burst shots by press-hold the shutter button, then choose the perfect moment later.
HONOR Magic Portal
One of the cool features in the new MagicOS 8.0 is the Magic Portal, which lets you drag supported content to apps for quick sharing. Apparently there are more use cases but the feature is still being expanded in future version updates. For now, it works with text and images.
Audio Processor
The HONOR Magic6 Pro supports DTS:X Ultra sound effects and Spatial Audio that works only with headphones. As an audiophile, I am not a fan of audio processors as it alters the original mix and might even distort the audio quality. But the audio effects are actually quite decent. The Spatial Audio does expand the sound stage and make me feel that I am listening in a room. The DTS:X Ultra mode can also personalise by selecting one of the preset sound style or customise further with your desired stereo style, audio enhancement, and EQ. Depending on the tuning, the final audio could sound compressed to prevent overloading signal.
I would recommend trying them out and if you like what you hear, go ahead and enable them. It definitely makes audio content sound more immersive and improves the experience. For new owners, if your headphone audio sounds odd or distorted, go to the Sound settings and review the audio options.
Battery Life
The battery life is exceptional, as the phone has the ability to minimise battery consumption at the expense of background app notifications. By default, HONOR phones have rather aggressive app management so that the phones do not drain battery even when you do not actively use it. But this also means that many apps do not push notifications in real time, even though the battery setting claims that messages will still be received. My recommendation is to disable automatic app launch management for those important apps and set to manual.
Also, while the phone supports 120Hz refresh rate and high screen resolution, they will consume battery quite fast if you are always turning on your screen, for instance online shopping or social media apps. The good thing is that the 80W SuperCharge takes less than 1 hour to charge the phone to 100%.
User Experience and Comparison
After using for over a month, the HONOR Magic6 Pro works very well in all areas. The phone runs smooth and fast, be it face unlock, fingerprint unlock, switching between apps, taking photos. I have not experienced any app crashes. I love the infrared blaster which I can use to operate many of my appliances. The camera is able to capture any scenes that come in my way.
When compared to my personal smartphone, the Google Pixel 7 Pro, I find the Magic6 Pro has better battery life, more versatile in camera capture, its pre-installed apps like Gallery and File Manager are easy to use. It also supports secure data storage The only advantages for using Pixel 7 Pro are the exclusive apps like Recorder, Now Playing, and maybe quicker software updates.
Conclusion
I have always been a fan of HONOR smartphones, and Huawei for a large part until they stopped using Google Mobile Service. When HONOR regained the ability to use GMS, they relaunched in Singapore market. After I reviewed the HONOR 90 last year, I convinced my dad to replace his aging Huawei Mate 10 Pro. I think my next smartphone upgrade could be the HONOR Magic V2 successor or one of the HONOR flagships, depending on when my phone dies. Speaking of that, my HONOR 8 Pro is still operational after 7 years, the UI is still speedy and the camera still good.
With a RRP of S$1399 in 512GB storage running on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , the HONOR Magic6 Pro is one of the few smartphones with the most flagship features while priced very competitively. Take your time to compare the specs, which is only half the story. The other half is the real experience, and after using it daily for over a month, I will definitely keep using it for its reliable performance, long battery life, versatile camera, and the good old infrared blaster.