No doubt possible: for Honor, Sunday is the best day of the week to announce its flagship ! The manufacturer has just presented at a press conference at Mobile World Congress THE Magic6 Proits new high-end smartphone.
Like many of our colleagues, we had the opportunity to take the Magic6 Pro in hand. But unlike them, we chose not to immediately publish a test.
The evaluation unit entrusted by the manufacturer is equipped with unfinished software, which lacks AI-related functions. We therefore believe that a premature test would not have provided complete and reliable information.
Honor Magic6 Pro technical sheet
Summary
Technical characteristics
Display
Memory
Performance
Battery
Camera
Network
Connectivity
Equipment
Physical characteristics
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
AI in the spotlight
In addition to the hardware aspect, which we will return to a little later, the Magic6 Pro is distinguished by the integration of artificial intelligence into the MagicOS 8.0 home OS. We find it of course in the photographic part, but also in the interface through Magic Portal. It is supposed to make life easier for the user by analyzing their behavior in order to streamline the execution of complex actions. We can’t wait to check it all out!
The manufacturer has also joined forces with Qualcomm to integrate the LLaMA 2 generative AI model which carries out the tasks assigned to it locally, with no information being sent to the Net.
The Magic6 Pro is the brand’s first smartphone to implement the Magic Capsule. Made up of two sensors – in fact those of the front camera – it will allow eye tracking in order to perform very specific actions (launch of applications and ultimately control of a vehicle by gaze analysis).
It also takes over the display of information around the sensor notch. Presented by the manufacturer in December 2018 on the occasion of the launch of the Honor V20, this technology was popularized by Apple. Apple totally pumped her was strongly “inspired” by it in order to create the Dynamic Islandappearing on the iPhone 14 Pro in September 2022.
Not available at the time this handling is carried out, these promising technologies should be integrated into the Magic6 Pro at the time of its commercial availability. We will not fail to return to the subject during our test.
A design inspired by the luxury industry
The all-new Magic6 Pro adopts a rather unusual design. The back camera thus takes place in a plate with rounded shapes and takes up the codes of high-end watchmaking aesthetics. Whether we like the result or not, Honor at least has the merit of offering a design that stands out from the uniformity of the competition.
Like all products equipped with a large screen – 6.8″ or 17.2 cm diagonal – the smartphone is quite large and weighs a significant amount (162.5×75.8×8.9 mm for 225 g).
The version we had in our hands is adorned with a green synthetic leather covering, this time inspired by the embossed printed patterns of luxury leather goods. The whole thing turns out to be very successful in our opinion. It will also be offered in a more classic black version, the rear being covered with a sheet of matte glass to better resist fingerprints and dirt. Finally, the device benefits from IP68 certification.
High-end equipment
On the hardware side, we logically find a plethora of equipment: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of non-expandable storage. The Silicon-Carbon (Si-Ca) battery has a capacity of 5600 mAh.
Honor even has a specific energy management chip. Called E1, it monitors consumption very closely, has a charging strategy specific to Si-Ca technology and preserves autonomy when used in a very cold environment (skiing, for example).
Wired fast charging is done at 80 watts using an Honor power adapter (not included). Wireless charging is boosted to 66 watts provided you use the charger which is sold by Honor.
A really bright screen
The display is provided by an LTPO OLED panel displaying 2800×1280 pxl (density of 453 dots per inch) in 1.07 billion colors. Its refresh rate varies between 1 and 120 Hz, its maximum brightness reaches 1600 nits and can go up to 5,000 nits in peak HDR.
It is pierced by an elongated punch which houses the front camera (50 Mpxl sensor, lens opening at f/2) as well as a 3D module. This is used for unlocking by facial recognition, but also when creating selfies.
The screen is protected by a glass called Honor NanoCrystal Shield. As its name suggests, it is made from nanocrystal glass covered with a layer of silicon nitride, in theory offering enhanced protection.
The manufacturer specifies that this unique formula has been the subject of a multitude of patents both on the formula of the materials and on the chemical reinforcement. It would provide resistance to falls improved by 30%, allowing it to emerge unscathed from a fall of 1.60 m onto concrete!
Photography in the spotlight
Honor focuses a lot on photography. The Magic6 Pro’s back camera consists of three modules:
- Main module: 50 Mpxl 1/1.3″ sensor; dual aperture lens f/1.4 — f/2; optical stabilization
- Telephoto lens: 180 Mpxl 1/1.49″ sensor; 2.5x periscopic optical zoom; lens aperture at f 2.6; optical stabilization
- Ultra wide-angle: 50 Mpxl sensor; 122° lens opening at f/2; HD macro at 2.5 cm
The manufacturer praises the merits of its technology AI Motion Sensing Capture 2.0 whose algorithm predicts and captures the best image, including for sports photography. The Magic6 Pro is capable of shooting bursts of 30 photos in one second, a performance previously reserved for traditional cameras.
Another remarkable point, the periscopic telephoto lens has a 180 Mpxl sensor as well as a 2.5x zoom. Coupled with AI and a cropping intelligent image, it achieves a lossless magnification factor of 10x (100x in digital).
The main module has a lens with two aperture values (f/1.4 and f/2). This should allow it to capture more information in low light, but also to manage the bokeh of portrait mode more finely.
Our first tests, carried out with a non-final version of the internal software, show that Honor is on the verge of overshadowing the big names in the field. Here too, we will tell you more during our test.
Price and availability
The Magic6 Pro can be pre-ordered from February 25 on the Honor website or from its distributors at a price of 1,300 euros in the 12 GB + 512 GB version. It is offered in two colors — Epi Green and Black. From February 25 to March 14, 2024, an HONOR Pad 9 tablet worth €400 is offered with the purchase of the smartphone. It also benefits from a reduction of €130 using the code A6PPR from the manufacturer’s website.
Honor Magic6 Pro: our first impressions
At the end of this brief handling, it is clear that Honor’s new high-end smartphone has many advantages going for it. It should be able to compete with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, one of the best products of the moment. It’s the least we can do, for a product sold for €1,299…
Honor Magic6 Pro
Smartphone
release date: 02/25/2024
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