The HONOR N series are positioned in the midrange smartphone segment and its previous models are priced between S$500-900. The processors are typically midrange or past-gen flagships. With the HONOR 600 Pro, they are using the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and the retail price goes up to S$1099. If you preorder before 29 April, you will get a S$100 discount, a new HONOR Pad X8b, 1-year front screen crack replacement, 1-year extended warranty. From 30 April onwards, the limited-time launch sale will enjoy the same offer except the HONOR Pad X8b is replaced with the HONOR Watch X5i. Pre-launch special is the best time to get the phones, especially with attractive free gifts that you can cash out in Carousell.
I always prefer to use flagship smartphones due to better processor performance that makes the phone run faster and smoother without slowing me down. The HONOR 600 Pro feels like a flagship device because it is running on Snapdragon 8 Elite. Since it is also running MagicOS 10, it is a breeze cloning my HONOR Magic8 Pro to HONOR 600 Pro, transferring all storage wirelessly, retaining all the homescreen folder layouts and settings. The process took less than 10 minutes if you have little data, or 30 if you have lots of photos and videos from your previous phone.
After completing the migration, I started using the phone and instantly liked how it feels on my hand. The HONOR 600 Pro is lighter at 200g, little shorter and broader than Magic8 Pro. It feels less bulky yet offers similar screen size.
The rear camera layout bears a resemblence to iPhone 17 Pro, but instead of aluminium, it is made of 0.5mm cold-carved glass that is more scratch-proof than iPhone. One of the selling points is the 0.98mm thin bezel, which is advantageous for filling up the surface with a larger display – 6.57 inch – which keeping the phone dimensions compact.
The HONOR 600 Pro comes with a 7000 mAh battery capacity, just 100mAh smaller than the Magic8 Pro, so I expected similar longevity when using the phone. Just like the Magic8 Pro, the HONOR 600 Pro’s generous battery liberates me from anxiety. In fact, I have become more generous in operating the phone without fear of draining the battery. Only days when I use the camera excessively did the phone battery drop to a third before bedtime.
Camera
The camera system is obviously less premium than Magic8 Pro, but when doing side-by-side comparison, the HONOR 600 Pro processes images slightly different. It appears to tune up the exposure a little more, images appear more vivid.
For indoor setting, its smaller aperture forces it to be more conservative in the exposure.
The HONOR 600 Pro actually offers higher zoom at 120x (compared to 100x), though its ultra wide maxes at 0.6x (while Magic8 Pro goes wider at 0.5x). Personally, I am a sucker for ultra-wide angle cameras. While the HONOR 600 Pro’s ultra-wide is just 12MP, the images do not reveal any limitations.
Due to its lower pixel count of 50MP at telephoto, the HONOR 600 Pro is unable to match the ability to capture more details when heavily zoomed in. Comparatively, the Magic8 Pro uses a 200MP telephoto lens that can capture more raw details which it uses to further improve using AI.
On the flipside, the HONOR 600 main camera is 200MP while the Magic8 Pro is 50MP. This configuration means the main camera zoom images is more resolving.
At such a massive zoom level, having CIPA 6.5 image stabilization really helps me to get the shot with ease. I do not have to fight against the OIS that much to frame the super zoom image.
For selfies, the images turn out sharp and detailed. There are several shoot modes, and I generally prefer to shoot with standard photo mode. The portrait mode will blur the background for nice separation but sometimes it blurs the best part of the shot. I also prefer to shoot with minimal beauty filter applied as I could do that during post-processing.
The camera system is also very responsive to shutter trigger, so I can take the shot quickly without having to wait for focus, exposure, and save. I generally do not need to do any exposure adjustments unless there are too much black or white areas which might force the camera to misjudge. Having said that, if the camera recognises the scene, e.g. food, then it will optimise the exposure and saturation.
In general, the HONOR 600 Pro’s image output are aligned with the Magic8 Pro quality. This midrange model is going to be a great value choice for trigger-happy consumers who are more price-sensitive.
| Feature | HONOR 600 Pro | HONOR Magic8 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Main Sensor | 200MP, f/1.9, 1/1.4″, CIPA 6.0 | 50MP, f/1.6, 1/1.3″, OIS |
| Telephoto | 50MP, f/2.8, 24mm, 120x zoom, OIS, CIPA 6.5 | 200MP, f/2.6, 1/1.4″, 100x zoom, OIS, CIPA 6.5 |
| Ultrawide | 12MP, f/2.2, 16mm | 50MP, f/2.0, 15mm |
| Front Camera | 50MP, f/2.0 | 50MP wide, f/2.0 + TOF 3D sensor |
AI Image to Video 2.0
This feature is in the HONOR Gallery app. The version 1 has very few templates and limited to one image. With V2.0, there are more templates to choose from, you can upload up to 3 images for some templates, and you can even write your own AI prompts.
Although the video is limited to 5 seconds, it is a fun AI feature that otherwise would require paid subscription from other providers. This feature has a limit of up to 10 uses per day, and if you only sign up from 1 Aug 2026, you will get 10 uses every 30 days over 270 days.
Here is a a snippet of the footage I generated with AI Image to Video 2.0. I must admit that some of the outcomes are rather impressive, though it does not work all the time. You need the right images and the right prompts for the tool to know how to interpret. For instance, I used the image of the Hina & Fiona Dear To Us and hope to generate an unboxing animation, but the effect appears too AI.
The HONOR MagicOS: Why I Like It
Among the smartphones in recent years, I have consistently reviewed the HONOR brand whenever they release an important model. Since the review of the Magic6 Pro, I have switched to HONOR and find the MagicOS an intuitive Android UI.
A smartphone is more than just the camera or the design. It is a tool that aids you in your life. Every smartphone brand will have their fans and supporters, somehow there is a match in the UX. I really cannot appreciate iOS, and I struggle to operate my work phone which is an iPhone. My wife uses Samsung. Day-in, day-out, I review smartphones, experienced Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, Pixel (to name a few). There are great features, attractive design, outstanding camera quality, but unless you use those features very frequently, you end up having to live with the main OS.
All these features have been shared extensively in my detailed review of the HONOR Magic8 Pro. Go to that article if you want to read and see screenshots.
Home Screen. That is the face of the phone. You choose the apps that you always use, you lay them on the home screen at positions that you want. You group them into folders. All the smartphones default yo 4×6 icon layout, which I hate, because there are not enough icons for me to fill the screen. And in folder mode, I cannot see what apps I have in the folder until I open it. With HONOR MagicOS, I can adjust the folder to different sizes and shapes. 3×3, 1×3, 5×1, you can even tap the icons and run the app without opening the folder.
Magic Sidebar. The slide-out sidebar feature is not unique to HONOR, but I like the ability to run the app from the sidebar as a floating window. I always call out the calculator and do my sums without leaving my current screen.
Magic Capsule. It’s the “island” surrounding the front camera popularized by Apple. Whenever I run a Music Player or a timer or an audio recording, the Capsule will display an icon which I can tap to expand and lets me navigate the app without loading the full app.
Magic Portal. I can either tap-hold a content on-screen or do a knuckle-circle, then this function will be activated to display a column of apps where I can drag this content to. Immediately the content will be copied to that app and you can take further actions like compose a message or to share.
Notification to Pop-Up App. When I receive an app notification, the preview will appear on top, and I have the option to open the app as a pop-up window so that I can quickly access the app, respond to it and close, without leaving my current screen. There is also the ability to reply to the app notification, where a text box will appear on the preview and I can just type a quick response and hit send, without leaving my current screen.
Honor AI. Honor has implemented some AI functions that you can use all over the phone. For instance, you can initiate AI Summary to summarise the webpage on screen, or AI compose to write an email, or AI Subtitles to translate and transcribe what it hears. I don’t use them often, and if you already have an AI engine that you use often, then perhaps these AI functions are not that fantastic, but nevertheless having them integrated to the phone means you can use them without going through extra steps to process them.
AI Enhance Image. Whenever the camera processes the image using AI, there is an option to save the original photo with the enhanced image. This beats other smartphones where there is no option and will always save only the AI-processed image.
What delights me is that all these powerful UI on the flagship Magic8 Pro is also available on the HONOR 600 Pro.
What’s Missing in HONOR 600 Pro?
There are reasons why the HONOR 600 Pro is priced affordably. Clearly there are features that have been stripped. First, the camera system is in a different configuration, and even though the ultra-wide camera is only 12MP, I do not see any major impact to the image quality. Second, the HONOR 600 Pro does not support secured facial biometrics, something that I am quite accustomed to on the Magic8 Pro. Third, the speaker system is not as powerful and boomy. If you get a chance to hear the Magic8 Pro speakers, you will be impressed at how they produce the warm and reverberating lows from the phone.
The lesser important features (to me) that are missing on the HONOR 600 Pro is the HONOR C1+ RF Enhanced Chip, which apparently improves network connection especially during roaming.
Verdict
After using the Magic8 Pro for months, switching to HONOR 600 Pro feels refreshing. It is lighter, less bulky, yet offers the same wonderful UI experience. The camera is slightly downgraded on the super zoom range but anything below 60x is great. With a street price of below S$1000, the HONOR 600 Pro looks to be one of – if not the best – valued premium mid-range smartphones in Singapore. Considering the value of the free gifts offered during the pre-launch, this deal is quite simply unbeatable.
If I did my research accurately (with the help of Copilot), I cannot find a cheaper smartphone with a 120x zoom camera system running on Snapdragon 8 Elite. If you prefer a smartphone with a reputable camera co-brand (like Leica, Hasselblad, Zeiss), you have to pay a premium or to contend with a lower tier processor like the Xiaomi 15T Pro which I quite enjoy reviewing during my 2025 Japan trip.
Pros
- Performance similar to HONOR Magic8 Pro
- Versatile camera system up to 120x zoom
- AI Image to Video 2.0 provides free generative AI content to the masses (albeit for a limited time)
- Relatively lightweight for its specs
- Battery life lasting almost 2 days under normal usage
Cons
- Extreme zoom images are not as impressive as HONOR Magic8 Pro
- No co-branding with camera brands to provide imaging premium
- Unoriginal rear panel design
Availability
The HONOR 600 Pro is now on preorder till 29 April with S$100 discount, free HONOR Pad X8b (new model), 1-year front screen crack replacement, 1-year extended warranty. Official sale begins on 30 April, and consumers will enjoy S$100 discount, free HONOR Watch X5i, 1-year front screen crack replacement, 1-year extended warranty. Visit the official HONOR new product launch site.
