Honor detailed its new ‘dual flagship’ strategy today – both phones announced at today’s conference share the name ‘Magic’, one of which is the traditional number series. Honor Magic5 and the other is Honor Magic5 Pro So far, there is no Ultimate version.
Honor Magic5 Pro phone
development The new series Shown by the evolution of the rear camera ring design from last year to the star-wheeled triple camera system. Marketing names aside, what you need to know is that the camera has moved to a triple 50MP setup.
The main imaging unit features a dedicated 1/1.12″ sensor and has a bright f/1.6 aperture. This is a massive upgrade in terms of light-gathering ability compared to the Magic4 Pro, which has a 1/1.56-inch sensor and an f/1.8 aperture. Even better, Honor has enabled optical image stabilization on the main camera (Magic4 Pro skipped OIS). The 50MP (122°) ultra wide-angle camera also has a brighter aperture, f/2.0 (vs. f/2.2).
The periscope unit has changed dramatically. It now has a 50MP sensor, Sony IMX858, instead of 64MP. The lens still offers 3.5x optical zoom (with a brighter f/3.0 lens versus f/3.5) and brings the Ultra Fusion computational optics system to deliver high-quality digital zoom of up to 100x.
The camera system gets help from a host of sensors – a 3D ToF laser for focusing, a multi-parameter color temperature sensor and a flash sensor – as well as advanced software features. Honor has partnered with Guinness World Records to make Magic5 Pro The official camera to capture the world’s highest record attempt has done so automatically using AI motion sensor capture mode.
IMAX Enhanced Movie Master allows users to shoot and edit videos on their phones. Speaking of which, the phone can record 4K video at 60fps in either HDR10+ or Magic-Log 10-bit record format.
Taking a look around the phone, you’ll notice the curved design – which is claimed to be inspired by the work of architect Antoni Gaudí – the man behind many of the bold and unusual art buildings in Barcelona, where MWC takes place each year.
The 6.81-inch screen is curved on four sides. The large LTPO panel can be refreshed at up to 120Hz. Like last year’s model, it has a resolution of 1312 x 2848 pixels, which gives it a pixel density of 461ppi.
With the improved design, it can reach a peak HDR brightness of 1,800 nits (nearly twice the peak 1,000 nits of Magic4 Pro). When it needs to go down low, it uses high-frequency PWM dimming at 2160Hz. The screen is also calibrated for color accuracy at two brightness levels – 120 nits indoors and 800 nits – outdoors. This is a 10-bit display with HDR10+ support. It also has cinematic proportions with IMAX Enhanced certification. Stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra technology also enhance the entertainment potential.
On the front, there is a dual sensor bean-shaped cutout in the upper left corner. One is a 12MP sensor for the selfie camera (f/2.4, fixed focus), and the other is a 3D depth sensor. This enables 3D facial recognition; There is also a fingerprint reader embedded in the screen.
It’s time to mention the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that powers the entire phone. Honor has paired it with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The phone is launching with MagicUI 7.1 based on Android 13. This will only be a brief mention because Honor has loaded the phone with a lot of custom hardware as well.
Discrete screen chips can help increase the frame rate in games and have a lasting HDR effect on improving videos. The discrete security chipset was co-developed with Qualcomm; It’s where sensitive information like passwords and biometric data (face ID and fingerprints) are stored.
Then there’s the connectivity – Honor claims to have the industry’s first independent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna architecture, which should boost Wi-Fi 6 performance by up to 200% and reduce latency by up to 30%.
The phone is powered by a 5100mAh battery, which is quick to fill up with support for 66W wired supercharging and 50W wireless charging. The necessary charger is included in the phone box (oh my gosh, this is a feature worth talking about now!)
Honor Magic5 phone
Honor Magic5 is similar to its Pro brother in many respects. The difference here is in the slightly smaller 6.73-inch screen (yet still quite large). HDR peak brightness is down to 1,600 nits. However, this is much higher than what the Magic4 Pro can go for.
The most significant difference to the vanilla model is the camera – it has a 54MP (1/1.49-inch) main telephoto, 50MP ultra-wide and 32MP telephoto units.
Magic5 uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, but the memory configuration is 8/256 GB. Also, the phone is a millimeter thinner than the Pro but has the same 5,100mAh capacity and supports 66W wired SuperCharge (no wireless, though).
Price and availability
Honor Magic5 series will be available in the first quarter from April to June. The base model Magic5 comes in blue and black, and Magic5 Pro in ice blue, prairie green, coral purple, orange and black.
Honor Magic5 Pro is available in one choice, 12/512 GB, which will retail for 1,200 euros. The base model Honor Magic5 with a choice (8/256 GB) will be a good and affordable bargain at 900 euros