Honor Magic 6 Pro Review: The Devil is in The Detail

For a company that used to be known for cheap smartphones, Honor puts a lot of emphasis on high-end devices these days.  

The foldable Magic V2 might be its most groundbreaking device, but the Magic 6 Pro isn’t far behind in terms of ambition. 

At £1,099/€1,299, it’s Honor’s most expensive smartphone in Europe, though that might change if the Magic 6 Ultimate ever makes it out of China. 

Unfortunately for Honor, the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google all make compelling devices around this price. And as good as the cameras are on the Magic 6 Pro, most people will be better off with a different device. 

See our guide to the best smartphones you can buy for the top alternatives.

Design & Build

• Premium glass and aluminium design
• Huge rear camera module
• IP68 rating

The design of the Magic 6 Pro makes it very clear what Honor wants you to focus on. Its huge rear camera module dominates the back of the phone, taking up almost half of the entire space on the back. 

Despite needing space for three lenses and a flash, Honor could’ve achieved this without making it look so outlandish. In case you needed to know, this is a camera first, smartphone second device. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

The way the Magic 6 Pro looks will divide opinion, but I actually quite like it. It’s very clear that this is a serious bit of photography kit, yet the glass surrounding the camera module still blends seamlessly into the back of the phone. I also found that my finger rests just below it very naturally. 

The rest of the back feels boring by comparison, especially in the muted ‘Black’ finish, which looks more like grey in person. You can switch things up by going for ‘Epi Green’ instead, with a matt coating on both avoiding any visible fingerprint smudges. 

I still wouldn’t recommend going case-free, though, given the Magic 6 Pro’s tendency to slide out of your pocket or off a table. More grip is very much needed. 

A case also provides protection, though durability is already good. The phone feels very well-made, with a combination of tough aluminium and glass that shows no signs of wear and tear after more than two weeks of usage. 

Honor uses its own ‘Giant Rhinoceros Glass’ on the display, which is supposedly able to deliver even better shock and drop resistance than Gorilla Glass. However, it’s worth noting that there’s a pre-applied screen protector that’s prone to accumulating scratches.

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Like most flagships, the 6 Pro also has an IP68 rating, meaning it can survive submersion in up to 1.5mm of water (for up to 30 minutes) and is fully protected against dust.  

A weight of 224g makes the phone feel premium, though I wish it was just a bit lighter. At 9.7mm, it’s not particularly slim either, though this is often the case on huge phones like this. 

Elsewhere, the vibration motor on the Magic 6 Pro is solid, and delivers realistic haptic feedback while gaming, typing or simply navigating apps. 

Screen & Speakers

• 6.8-inch OLED display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Dual stereo speakers

The Magic 6 Pro has one of the biggest phone displays around, but also one of the best. 

Its 6.8-inch panel is on par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra in terms of size, though curved rather than flat edges make it easier to hold than Samsung’s phone. As an OLED, you get the combination of vibrant colours and deep blacks that make it perfect for gaming or watching videos. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

A 120Hz refresh rate isn’t the absolute highest around, but very few apps can go above that anyway. Everything still feels silky-smooth and responsive, even when on the default ‘Dynamic’ mode. As an LTPO screen, this allows it to move between 1-120Hz depending on what you’re doing, helping to conserve battery life. 

Again, the Full HD+ (2800 x 1280) is a small step down from the 1440p or even 4K displays on some phones, but I doubt you’ll notice. Detail and clarity are still very good, even in the optional greyscale ‘eBook mode’. 

I used the Magic 6 Pro outside extensively, including on bright sunny days. Visibility was excellent throughout, with a maximum recorded brightness (with auto adjustment turned off) of 780 nits coming into its own. 

The Magic 6 Pro’s display isn’t the best in class in any one area, but it has no weaknesses either. 

Within the screen is an optical fingerprint scanner. While I’d like the target area to be bigger, it’s one of the better ones I’ve tried, consistently and quickly unlocking the phone.  

You might prefer to use face unlock, though, given it’s now secure enough to be used to authenticate purchases and log in to banking apps. 

The front-facing camera combines with a dedicated 3D sensor to make it possible, and it’s totally seamless. It even works well in the dark, making this the closest thing we’ve seen to Face ID on an Android phone. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

However, you’ll have to put up with an annoyingly large cut-out at the top of the display. While watching videos, it really interrupts the viewing experience. Is this a worthwhile trade-off for a seamless unlocking experience? That comes down to personal preference, but it is for me. 

The Magic 6 Pro has stereo speakers, though it doesn’t rely on the earpiece for regular audio. Sound is clear and crisp in all scenarios, with more bass than you might expect for a device of this size. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Specs & Performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
• 16GB RAM, 512GB internal storage
• 5G and dual-SIM support

Honor hasn’t made any compromises when it comes to performance on the Magic 6 Pro. 

Not only do you get Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the only model available in the UK offers a bumper 16GB of RAM. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Combined, they ensure the Magic 6 Pro delivers some of the best performance you’ll get on any smartphone. During most everyday tasks, it feels like the phone has an embarrassing amount of power in reserve. 

During extensive testing, I primarily used it for web browsing, messaging, watching videos, taking lots of photos and the occasional call. Throughout all of that, there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation or slowdown, which can’t be said for all flagship phones.  

As expected, this great performance makes the Magic 6 Pro a potent gaming machine. Across three titles known to be very demanding – Call of Duty: Mobile, EA Sports FC Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends – gameplay remained smooth and responsive, with no noticeable dropped frames.  

Even during gaming sessions, the back of the phone only gets slightly warm to the touch, and never becomes uncomfortable. Unless you’re really serious about mobile gaming (in which case I’d recommend a dedicated gaming phone), this will satisfy all your performance needs. 

Honor Magic 6 Pro benchmarks

While there’s no support for expandable storage, the 512GB on offer here is more than enough for most people. You can put two SIM cards in instead to make use of that 5G support, while there’s also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC here. 

Cameras

• 50Mp variable aperture main lens
• 180Mp periscope telephoto
• 50Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp selfie with separate 3D depth sensor

Honor isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to camera hardware on the Magic 6 Pro. There are a total of four lenses across the front and back, plus a separate 3D depth sensor. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Let’s start with the 50Mp main lens, which is the one you’ll probably use most often. It has a variable aperture, meaning it’ll automatically move between f/1.4 and f/2.0 focal lengths depending on the scene. 

There are two key benefits compared to a regular lens. The first is in challenging lighting conditions, where the sensor can adjust how much light it lets in in order to maximise detail. 

And I have to say, the Magic 6 Pro is the best low-light smartphone camera I’ve ever tried. Even in very dimly lit scenes, shots are still brimming with detail and noise is kept to a minimum. It also manages to brighten the image without looking artificial, something many phone cameras struggle with. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The other is for portrait-style shots, where you have extra control over the level of background blur – including after the shot was taken. Again, the Magic 6 Pro excels in this area, and its edge detection is second to none. 

Of course, this main lens is very capable for regular photos, too. Even in the default 12.5Mp mode (where a process known as pixel binning has combined four pixels into one), detail and dynamic range are superb. 

Exposure is handled well, and colours tend to pop. My only complaint is it’s not particularly true to life, though this saturated look is well-suited for sharing on social media. 

There are two AI features within the camera app, though neither are particularly effective. The AI Photography mode recognises what you want to take a photo of and adjusts the scene accordingly, but I can’t tell the difference compared to a regular shot. 

And the AI Motion Sensing is meant to keep subjects in focus while moving around a lot, but it didn’t stop pictures of a dog from being blurry more often than not. 

However, for zoom shots the 180Mp, f/2.6 periscope telephoto is very impressive. It only offers 2.5x optical zoom, but can crop in on 180Mp shots to give you 5x without any noticeable drop-off in image quality – this is very impressive. 

Even 10x shots are very usable, though I wouldn’t recommend going far beyond it. The 100x digital zoom is just there for the sake of it. 

Sadly, the 50Mp, f/2.0 ultrawide lens isn’t quite as good. The 122-degree field of view is very useful in some scenarios, though it lacks the optical image stabilisation (OIS) of the other cameras. As a result, shots are prone to looking blurry and some dynamic range is lost. The contrasty colours are also even more pronounced here. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

The 50Mp selfie camera delivers clear, crisp selfies, whether you want the realistic background blur or not. Even when it’s basically pitch black, the screen illuminates your face and captures a very decent image. 

I think the 3D depth sensor next to it helps quite a lot, even if its main purpose is for the secure face unlock. 

If you’re serious about photography, there are loads of pro-level photography features here – including the ability to manually adjust that aperture. But in most cases, this is also an excellent point and shoot camera, which is the most important thing for most people.  

All four lenses can capture detailed video in 4K, though OIS on the main and telephoto sensors makes them better suited to anything with a lot of movement. 

So, is the Magic 6 Pro the absolute best camera phone you can buy? Perhaps not – the Google Pixel 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Oppo Find X7 Ultra and Vivo X100 Pro all have something to say about that – but it’s not far off. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 5600mAh carbon-silicon battery
• 100W wired charging, 66W wireless
• No charger in box

The Magic 6 Pro doesn’t have your average battery. Firstly, rather than the usual lithium-ion cell, it’s made from a combination of carbon and silicon. 

The main benefit of this is the ability to fit a larger battery into the same space. And the phone’s 5600mAh capacity is among the biggest around. 

That doesn’t guarantee great battery life, but I’m pleased to confirm that the Magic 6 Pro is one of the longest-lasting smartphones you can buy. 

For most people, this is a two-day phone more often than not. Even on those demanding days, with lots of mobile data, usage, high brightness and GPS, you’ll usually end the day with charge to spare.  

I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was to leave for a full day of sightseeing in Barcelona and not have to worry about the battery running out.  A score of 14 hours and 52 minutes in the PCMark battery test reflects this – it’s well above average.

The charging situation is a little more complicated. While the Magic 6 Pro supports wired speeds of up to 100W, the necessary charger isn’t included in the box. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

The only one I had available was at 65W, which only reached 10% in 15 minutes and 22% after half an hour. In other words, frustratingly slow. 

It’s a similar story for wireless charging, where most Qi chargers can’t output at the Magic 6 Pro’s maximum of 66W. Reverse wireless charging is available too, but much slower. 

Software & Apps

At launch, the Magic 6 Pro runs Honor’s MagicOS 8.0 skin. It’s based on Android 14, but differs from the stock version on Pixel phones in several ways. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

The one you’ll notice first is the ‘Magic Capsule’, which most people will recognise as a copy of the iPhone’s ‘Dynamic Island’. Its functionality is currently similar to Apple’s version, allowing you to quickly control music and timers and respond to notifications or incoming calls. 

A future software update will allow you to interact with it using your eyes, but I don’t see it providing any benefit to the user experience. 

However, I do genuinely believe that this is the best solution if you want two sensors on the front of your phone. Rather than being wasted space, the Magic Capsule is genuinely useful in some situations. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Magic Capsule uses AI to an extent, but there are also other dedicated artificial intelligence features. 

Magic Portal is by far the most impressive, allowing you to seamlessly drag and drop text and images from one app to another. I was able to start Google Maps navigation to an address shared in Gmail or search Google using an image from the Gallery with just one step. 

Not many third-party apps are supported right now, but this should continue to get better over time. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

AI Privacy Call is designed to reduce sound leakage while on the phone, helping your private conversations to stay that. While not perfect, it does a better job in that regard than most phones I’ve tried, while still ensuring excellent call quality. 

There’s also Magic Ring, which allows you to easily share information between Honor devices or use the Magic 6 Pro’s camera as a tablet or laptop webcam.  

Alongside useful app suggestions, easy text extraction from images, air gestures and the ability to sense when you’re looking at it, the Magic 6 Pro already has a comprehensive suite of AI features. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

However, the user experience as a whole isn’t the most enjoyable. With so many colourful icons, constant pop-ups and annoying bloatware, MagicOS feels very cluttered. 

When I first set up the phone, it all felt a bit overwhelming. Over time, you can get it looking and working the way you want it to, but I found this requires turning off some optional features. 

All these options also make it difficult to find key features or options. Finding things in settings or simply searching for apps took way longer than it needed to. 

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik_Tomaszewski / Foundry

Is this a dealbreaker for you? It isn’t for me, but this is far from ideal. 

There is good news when it comes to software support, which is the best it’s ever been on an Honor phone. From its late 2023 launch in China, the Magic 6 Pro will get four years of OS updates and five years of security updates, which is very respectable if not market-leading. 

Price & Availability

As you probably guessed, the Magic 6 Pro is an expensive phone.  

The only version available in Europe, offering 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, costs £1,099/€1,299. 

In the UK, you can buy one from the Honor website and via Amazon.

However, there’s no option to buy on contract, so you’ll have to afford the upfront price and then get a SIM-only deal if you don’t have one already. 

And like all Honor devices, the phone isn’t being sold in the US. You might be able to import one, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work with US carriers. 

At this price, the Magic 6 Pro is going toe-to-toe with the best flagship phones around. The Google Pixel 8 Pro (from £999), Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (from £1,249) and iPhone 15 Pro Max (from £1,199) are all great options, and all three have more affordable alternatives in their lineups. 

Should you buy the Honor Magic 6 Pro?

Possibly, but only if you’re a very specific type of smartphone user.  

One who takes lots of photos, and cares about the quality being on par with the best camera phones around.  

Someone who needs top-tier performance and displays, and likes the idea of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island and Face ID but on Android. 

If that’s you, and you don’t mind the high asking price, the Magic 6 Pro might be the phone for you.  

But if it feels a little expensive, you don’t particularly like the design or a slick software experience is important to you, there are better options elsewhere. 

Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset  
• 12GB RAM 
• 512GB internal storage 
• 6.8-inch, 2800 x 1280 LTPO OLED display, 120Hz 
• 50Mp, f/1.4-f/2.0 variable aperture main camera with OIS  
• 50Mp, f/2.0 ultrawide camera  
• 180Mp, f/2.6 2.5x telephoto camera with OIS  
• 50Mp, f/2.0 front-facing camera with 3D depth sensor  
• 5600mAh battery  
• 100W wired charging  
• 66W Qi wireless charging  
• 5G  
• Dual stereo speakers  
• Wi-Fi 7  
• Bluetooth 5.3 
• NFC  
• IP68 water and dust resistance  
• Magic OS 8.0 (based on Android 14)  
• 162.5 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm 
• 225g