Hey guys, I’m Roland, the Techusiast, and I’ve used the HONOR Magic5 Pro for more
than two weeks, and here’s how it went.
Let’s take a look!
The HONOR Magic5 Pro is a beautifully crafted smartphone with gentle curves all around the
side without a single sight of sharp edges.
It feels comfortable and great in hand, and the frosted glass panel has a texture that
makes this Meadow Green look stunning.
The only downside is that it’s extremely slippery, and I had to put on the case to
use it as it kept sliding out of my hands after just a few hours.
The camera module on the back is absolutely gigantic.
The circular camera island has a slight curvature that makes it transition seamlessly into the
back panel, although it protrudes ever so slightly.
That said, the phone sits flush on a flat surface, and it won’t wobble on a table,
unlike many other phones.
The sides are flat with rounded off edges, and are made of aluminium.
The right side sports the volume rocker and power button.
There’s nothing on the left, and the top houses an IR sensor, a microphone, and a speaker,
The bottom contains the USB-C port, another microphone, another speaker, and the SIM card
slot.
Overall, the HONOR Magic5 Pro looks and feels elegant and stylish, and dare I say, it might
be one of the best-looking phones in 2023.
I just wish HONOR made the back surface less slippery, but that might not be a massive
issue for everyone, since most people use cases nowadays.
Here, I am reviewing the higher-end model of the two, which is available in the Meadow
Green color option.
It comes with 512GB of storage, and 12GB of memory.
I also have the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM, which comes in a single Black color.
As for the rest of the specs, it packs most of the latest and the greatest.
HONOR was proud to announce that the Magic 5 Pro claimed the number one spot on the DXOMARK
ranking for the smartphone camera and smartphone display charts, and I have to say, it’s
a pretty well-deserved spot.
The display always looked bright and beautiful, but more on that later.
The Magic 5 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, and it performs as you would
expect.
Graphics-intensive games have never been an issue, and the device was more than capable
of using multiple applications simultaneously.
I never experienced any slowdowns or any sluggish behaviour, even after pushing it to its limits
while gaming for over an hour.
The Magic5 Pro comes with a massive 6.8-inch LTPO OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate,
and I must say, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a phone display look this good.
The Magic5 Pro looks stunning from all angles, and it’s bright, colorful, and accurate.
It’s a joy to use whether I’m inside or outside in the sun.
Speaking of the sun, the phone has a peak brightness of 1,800 nits, making it easy to
see in direct sunlight.
I always found the panel responsive, and watching movies and multitasking was a breeze.
Movies and videos looked amazing, and games were fun to play for extended periods.
If there’s a nitpick, it would be that I’m still not a fan of the curved edges, which
I often found to be distracting.
The curved panel made typing slower and harder, and while all the content looked amazing,
I wish HONOR made it flatter to make it more user-friendly.
That said, the Magic5 Pro’s display is excellent and up for any task.
If you’re after the best displays on the market, the Magic5 Pro might be the one you’re
looking for, with its exceptional color accuracy, sharpness, and bright panel.
Moving on to the software bit, the Magic5 Pro doesn’t disappoint, and the device is
one of the first in the series to receive three years of Android OS and five years of
security updates, in line with what Google offers for its Pixel devices.
I love to see it, and it’s great that more companies following suit.
As for the software itself, the Magic5 Pro comes with Magic OS 7.1, based on Android
13.
It has most of the features that you expect from an HONOR device, and it the usual looks
and the ecosystem built to sync up with other existing HONOR devices, such as earbuds, tablets,
laptops, and smartwatches.
Magic OS 7.1 also comes with a nice user interface, and i like HONOR’s take on the minimalist
looks.
I’ve used the Magic5 Pro for more than two weeks, and during that time, i didn’t face
any slowdowns, lags, and the operating system didn’t hang once.
I’ve played a few graphics intensive games, and multitask using two applications simultaneously,
and the the device was always butter smooth.
The Magic5 Pro was always a phone I could rely on, and it never let me down.
In general, the software is pretty much up to par with what we’ve seen in the past
from HONOR, but I’d love to mention that Material You isn’t implemented and nowhere
to be found, which means that you won’t get wallpaper-based color theming across the
device, unless you change the theme directly in settings.
The default launcher has large folders and cards, which is just HONOR’s way of saying
widgets, and the layout can be tweaked to your liking, making it customizable.
There’s also an Always-on Display feature, a multitasking side-menu, and many more under-the-hood
features that make this a compelling and attractive smartphone.
Overall, if you’re looking for a stock-ish user interface with HONOR’s clean looks
and neat features, you won’t be disappointed.
However, keep in mind that some Android 13 features will not exist here, and it’s uncertain
whether they’ll arrive in the future.
That said, the software gets a solid pass from me, and I enjoyed my experience with
it.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro sports a triple camera setup on the back, consisting of a 50MP primary,
a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto sensor.
The triple 50MP camera array doesn’t just look stylish, but it also provides a photo
quality that looks absolutely stunning, whether you’re shooting in broad daylight or at
night in pitch black.
The primary 50MP camera takes stunning images in all lighting conditions, and the pictures
always come out sharp with great dynamic range, and plenty of detail.
I took the Magic5 Pro on holiday with me to Brighton, and needless to say, the phone captured
some breathtaking photos on the beach.
The image quality is slightly worse at night, but HONOR managed to ensure the sensor can
capture plenty of light without introducing too much noise, and I’m impressed with the
overall quality of the image.
The ultrawide camera is equally just as impressive, and HONOR’s algorithm does a great job of
balancing things.
The photo’s sides aren’t distorted, unlike on some competitive smartphones, and they
contain more than enough details, sharpness, and contrast to make it straight onto your
Instagram without any edits.
Moving over to the telephoto sensor, I have to say, I’m truly amazed.
The Magic5 Pro lets you zoom in 0.1 increments, and the phone can capture 3.5x zoom using
the optical lens, and up to 50x using the digital feature.
The shots are usually only impressive up to 10x zoom.
Still, the camera and the perspective that you capture from these unique angles can provide
some head-turning images in great lighting conditions.
The selfies were also excellent, and the 12MP sensor captured plenty of detail with enough
sharpness and dynamic range to be social media-ready.
I rarely found the camera to be out of focus, and the nighttime capability is just as impressive
as it is during the daytime.
Overall, the HONOR Magic5 Pro is an excellent camera smartphone and, dare I say, one of
the best point-and-shoot camera systems we’ve seen so far this year.
If you’re after a versatile and very capable camera system, the HONOR Magic5 Pro has got
your back.
The Magic5 Pro sports a large 5,100 mAh battery, capable of lasting you more than a full workday
on a single charge.
I used the device as my daily for more than two weeks, and during that time, I took plenty
of photos, played games, and used the phone for browsing the internet and navigating around
using the GPS.
It comfortably lasted me all day on a single charge.
The Magic5 Pro doesn’t boast 100W fast wired and wireless charging like its predecessor,
but luckily HONOR was able to equip the phone with a 66W fast wired charging solution, and
provide support for 50W wireless charging.
A full charge, using the wired solution, takes around 50 minutes, and a quick 20 to 30-minute
top-up will also give you enough juice to last you for the full day.
I do have to mention that using anything other than the provided power brick and cable will
provide a limited charging speed.
When I tried charging the Magic5 Pro using my Samsung cable and 25W power adapter, the
phone would only receive 5W of speed, and the same could be said when i attempted to
charge the phone with a wireless charger.
I understand some of the reasoning behind this, but I hope HONOR can lift this limitation
in the future, as it can be frustrating when you charge your device at a friend’s house
or in the car.
Aside from that, the Magic5 Pro provides impressive charging speeds, and an above-average battery
life that stands out among the myriad of high-end smartphones.
The Magic5 Pro does a great job at running things efficiently, and if you’re looking
for a powerful flagship for less, the Magic5 Pro is an excellent alternative for both power
and general users.
The Magic5 Pro is a serious contender to the Galaxy S23 series, the iPhones, and the Pixels,
and I think HONOR did an excellent job.
Sure enough, it would’ve been better if the phone was less slippery, and more widely
available in places like the US and Canada, but there’s really not much else I can nitpick
about.
It’s just an excellent overall device.
So, should you buy the HONOR Magic5 Pro?
I think it’s a fairly easy, and definite answer.
If you’re after a beautifully crafted, high-end smartphone with a gorgeous display, and outstanding
camera experience, the Magic5 Pro is one of the best phones you can buy right now.
The other main reason that makes the Magic5 Pro an easy recommendation is the commitment
HONOR made, which is that it’ll receive three years of OS, and five years of security
updates, making it one of the best high-end phones on the market today.
The only other players offering similar or even better commitments are Samsung, Google,
and OPPO, and the latter isn’t widely available in the Western markets, making the HONOR an
appealing alternative.
So, there you have it.
I hope you found this video useful.
Don’t forget to leave a like and subscribe to my channel.
With all that said, thank you for watching.
I’ll see you next time.