Latest news with #HonorMagic7Pro
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Phone Arena
No one saw this coming: is your next Android flagship going to charge slower?!
Honor Magic 7 Pro. | Image credit – PhoneArena Those who want to get a taste of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 – what many expect to be the top-shelf chipset for the 2025/2026 season – are patiently waiting for the Honor Magic 8 Honor's upcoming flagships will undoubtedly excel on fronts like performance, camera, build quality and others, there's a possibility that the new devices might be inferior to their predecessors in one key area: charging enough, none other than the well-known Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station has insisted that the two aforementioned flagships will arrive with charging speeds of 90W – but the Magic 7 Pro offers 100W wired speeds (and 80W wireless charging speeds: respect!): Image source – Weibo, machine translated Now, a difference of just 10W is not that crucial, if we're talking about the 90W–100W ballpark. But it surely seems odd that a newer phone can't offer what its predecessor could. Of course, these are some early findings and the rumored 90W could be reserved for the Magic 8 and the potential Honor Magic 8 mini that we've told you about. As you may've noticed, there's a growing trend in the Chinese smartphone market – flagship models with slightly smaller screens. The Magic 8 mini is said to arrive with a 6.3-inch display – smaller than the 6.58-inch standard model and 6.7-inch Pro, though still far from the truly compact phones of the past. The "mini" label here is relative, as Chinese flagships tend to be quite large, making anything under 6.5 inches feel small by full specifications are not yet known, early leaks suggest the Magic 8 mini will run on MediaTek's upcoming Dimensity 9500 processor, while the Pro model may debut with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, set for release in September. Camera rumors for the Magic 8 Pro point to a high-end triple setup, including a 50 MP main lens, a 50 MP ultra-wide, and a 200 MP periscope telephoto, hinting at a strong focus on imaging above is based on the details from a couple of devices that have passed the important 3C certification with model numbers BKQ-AN00 and BKQ-AN80 – these are believed to be the Honor Magic 8 and the Honor Magic 8 Pro. China's 3C certification, short for China Compulsory Certification, is a mandatory approval system that mobile phones and other electronic products must pass before they can be sold in China. For smartphones, it verifies that the device meets national safety, quality, and electromagnetic compatibility standards, ensuring it is safe for consumers to use and compliant with local regulations.
Phone Arena
4 days ago
- Phone Arena
Forget Liquid Design, we need this super useful feature on the next iPhone
We often focus on flashy new features while overlooking smaller, more practical innovations that can genuinely improve our daily phone experience. Apple's new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, for instance, feels like a visually impressive update that doesn't fundamentally change how we use our phones. It's a prime example of style over substance. I was reminded of this in my recent experience switching to Honor's Magic 7 Pro, where I found the opposite approach. The UI focuses on functional improvements rather than on flashy new effects. Quick reminder: Honor was created by Huawei in 2013 as a sub-brand focused on online-first sales. It catered to young buyers and value seekers, sharing the same software as Huawei, but differentiating on the hardware. When the US placed Huawei on its Entity List in May 2019, it lost access to Google Mobile Services (GMS). This affected sub-brands like Honor. Without the Google Play Store or Google apps, Honor phones were far less a year later, in November 2020, Huawei sold Honor to a consortium led by Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co., Ltd., backed by the Shenzhen government and private entities. This was the moment Honor became officially independent and free from the US sanctions. And in 2021, Honor phones were back on sale with the Google Play Store and full access to GMS. Since then, the concept of the company also changed. It's now releasing premium phones and while its software still looks very Huawei-like, it has some unique features. What really caught my attention was how folders work on Honor phones. Rather than having one small icon that you tap to open, you have a box you can freely expand with smaller icons inside. Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. This is a game-changer. The size of each icon is a bit smaller, so it's much easier to fit lots of icons in a small space, and still be able to easily tap them open, without having to first tap to expand the folder. What I've done with this is placing all of my Google apps in one folder, so I have like a dozen of Google services within easy reach. I previously had to search in the app drawer to find each one, and I just love this. It's a very elegant way to skip the extra step of opening a folder to find an app. It's disappointing to see the big names like Samsung and Apple work on some elaborate designs for their user interface without providing true customization options that could elevate your experience. These "super folders" are just one example, but far from the only one. Another very useful feature on Honor phones is a quick drag-and-drop tool for photos. When you long press an image, a sidebar of relevant apps appears, allowing you to easily drop the photo to Instagram and share it as an IG story. These types of quality-of-life upgrades seem to be a common focus on phones from Chinese brands, which often appear laser-focused on functional experience, not just visual appeal. I am not saying that the software of Honor phones is perfect (it's not), but there are so many great ideas across various UIs that just never make it to Samsung phones or iPhones. There is simply not enough pressure for these big companies to innovate faster, and that results in more or less the same software every year. No wonder people are starting to get bored after a while. Get 50% off – try it for 3 months today! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Scotsman
29-07-2025
- Scotsman
Honor Magic 7 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: which Android flagship wins in real life?
Putting two flagship smartphones head to head has been an interesting exercise This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. After years of using Google Pixel phones, consumer technology writer Gareth Butterfield has lived with the Honor Magic 7 Pro full time — and it made him miss his old Huawei days. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... One of the best smartphones I ever owned was a Huawei Mate 20 Pro. I upgraded that to a Huawei P30 Pro, and then I was all excited about upgrading to the P40 Pro, but some political stuff happened we won't dwell on and the handset was barred from using any of Google's Play services. Not wanting to live with a phone that couldn't access Maps, or YouTube, or even the native Gmail app, I admitted defeat and chose to switch to a Google Pixel. Moving away from years of using Chinese smartphones was a bit of a shock to the system at first. In hardware terms, the Pixel series was not a patch on the Huaweis. The battery life was dire in comparison, charging times were slow, the processor was weaker and the camera was only better because of its clever software - the hardware was still not a patch on the Huawei. Quite a few years have passed since I last lived with a flagship Chinese smartphone, and I've since upgraded to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL as my daily device, which I'm quite happy with. But then the nice people at Honor offered to send me their new Magic 7 Pro, which is a close competitor to my Pixel, and I saw it as a great opportunity to catch up with the innovations that have been bubbling over quietly from the big Chinese brands. Importantly, Honor used to be part of Huawei. It split off in 2020, not long after the political "incident" occurred, and started to built itself up as a big player. It's had a decent time to gestate, then, but can its new hero product compete with my flagship Pixel? On paper, at least, it's pretty close. For a kick off, they're a spookily similar size. We're talking millimetres of difference across the main dimensions. They even weigh basically the same. But then you dig a little bit deeper into the spec sheets and you notice some disparity. The Honor has a more powerful camera suite, but only just. The Honor has larger on-board storage as standard, and a faster processor, and a brighter display, better built-in speakers, and it's better protected from the elements. The Honor has curved bezels, so it feels a little nicer in the hand | Honor And then there's the battery setup. The Honor has a bigger battery straight out of the box, but it can also charge at up to 100 watts. The Pixel 9 Pro XL falls behind a lot of its competitors here with only 37 watt fast charging. Its wireless charging is also a sore point, with a 23 watt capacity in the Pixel to the Honor's 80 watts. In hardware terms, then, it seems like the Honor has the Pixel 9 Pro XL beaten into a cocked hat. But we all know there's more to a smartphone's attributes than that, so I swapped my sims, and started living with the Honor Magic 7 Pro full time. The Pixel 9 Pro XL has similar dimensions, and the tiny hole punch is less intrusive | Google There are a few things that strike you early on about a Chinese phone. I promise I won't keep going on about this, but battery life is a world apart. My Pixel often struggled to last a day, but it's rare the Magic 7 Pro gets to my bedside table at night with less than 50% left. And if I have given it a particularly tough time, it can be topped up in 10 minutes thanks to that ridiculously quick charging. However, there are some shortcomings, and the chief issue I have with the Magic 7 Pro is rather all-encompassing. It relies on an operating system called Magic OS 9.0, and it's really very good. But it is not a patch on Google's bare and brilliant pure Android interface. While Honor's Magic OS does bring some funky customisation options, and perhaps a few other benefits I haven't bothered with, you just can't beat a bone-stock Android OS for simplicity and functionality. No bloatware, no messy gesture controls, no duplicate apps, no performance compromises, and plenty of Pixel-only features that I have genuinely missed. The Honor's round camera bump is annoyingly intrusive The Pixel's camera bump is shorter and squarer, so it sits better on a surface Android on a Pixel is an absolute delight to use, and it feels so much more polished and professional than the Honor, but that doesn't mean the Honor is a fiddly mess. While I'll always miss Pixel features like the auto music ID and call-screening, the Honor has similar versions of a lot of these features (not the Now Playing feature though, sadly) and they all do a reasonable job. But there are other annoyances in the Magic OS user experience, such as the clumsy folder layout, some of the home-screen customisation options just aren't as good, and the fact you'll have to wait much longer for updates. I'd admit, I'm being a bit picky now. Both phones are a joy to use, and there's no noticeable compromises on performance, either. The handsets use different chips, but they both do a cracking job of ploughing through a beefy game, or editing a pile of pictures. The Honor Magic 7 Pro tends to give a very faithful image The Pixel's reliance on software can lead to a slightly muddier image, and too much depth of field at times | Gareth Butterfield Ah, yes, the cameras. This is the big one. You see, on paper, the Honor Magic 7 Pro does have a better camera array than the Pixel 9 Pro XL. There's a 200mp periscope telephoto lens over the Pixel's 48mp, and the main module on the Honor has a wider aperture and a slightly better ultrawide sensor. Video performance is pretty close, at least in hardware terms, and the Honor has a better selfie camera. But it all changes when you come to use them. Then the numbers matter a bit less. Truth be told, they're both absolutely brilliant at taking pictures. Market leading, even. But what the Pixel lacks in hardware it makes up for in software. In most cases, you'd have to be seriously picky to call a winner between them, but there are shortcomings the Honor can't make up. The AI zoom, for example, is weaker on the Honor. Like the Pixel, it zooms in incredibly far on a digital level, and then AI tidies the grainy result up. While the Honor does this more quickly, the Pixel's AI engine is that little bit more intelligent. It wins by a nose. The Pixel's magic erase system is better, as are the other AI tools, but not by all that much. And it does take an age to process. The Honor is always quicker. I've already said the physical differences between the two handsets aren't really worthy of a mention, but Google manages to pack all this camera tech into a much smaller protrusion than the Magic 7 Pro. Its bulbous camera lump really is quite awkward and unbalanced. That said, I'd fancy its chances in a scratchathon over the Pixel. The Honor has always felt more robust. This all leaves me with a rather woolly conclusion to come to. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to go back to a Chinese flagship smartphone again. It made me realise how much I missed those halcyon Huawei days, and how much better the hardware is. But the Pixel series will always take the edge in overall useability, even if it's only by the smallest of margins. However, to be honest, these extremely mild irritations haven't been enough to make me want to switch back to the Pixel. The time will come soon to give the Magic 7 Pro back to the nice people at Honor and, normally with that sad day looming, I'd switch back to my trusty Pixel to get reacquainted. But I've yet to get the sim tool out. I'm sticking with the Magic 7 Pro for now. And when the man comes to collect it, he'll have to take my right arm with it. It's fabulous. 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Scotsman
29-07-2025
- Scotsman
Honor Magic 7 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: which Android flagship wins in real life?
Putting two flagship smartphones head to head has been an interesting exercise This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. After years of using Google Pixel phones, consumer technology writer Gareth Butterfield has lived with the Honor Magic 7 Pro full time — and it made him miss his old Huawei days. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... One of the best smartphones I ever owned was a Huawei Mate 20 Pro. I upgraded that to a Huawei P30 Pro, and then I was all excited about upgrading to the P40 Pro, but some political stuff happened we won't dwell on and the handset was barred from using any of Google's Play services. Not wanting to live with a phone that couldn't access Maps, or YouTube, or even the native Gmail app, I admitted defeat and chose to switch to a Google Pixel. Moving away from years of using Chinese smartphones was a bit of a shock to the system at first. In hardware terms, the Pixel series was not a patch on the Huaweis. The battery life was dire in comparison, charging times were slow, the processor was weaker and the camera was only better because of its clever software - the hardware was still not a patch on the Huawei. Quite a few years have passed since I last lived with a flagship Chinese smartphone, and I've since upgraded to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL as my daily device, which I'm quite happy with. But then the nice people at Honor offered to send me their new Magic 7 Pro, which is a close competitor to my Pixel, and I saw it as a great opportunity to catch up with the innovations that have been bubbling over quietly from the big Chinese brands. Importantly, Honor used to be part of Huawei. It split off in 2020, not long after the political "incident" occurred, and started to built itself up as a big player. It's had a decent time to gestate, then, but can its new hero product compete with my flagship Pixel? On paper, at least, it's pretty close. For a kick off, they're a spookily similar size. We're talking millimetres of difference across the main dimensions. They even weigh basically the same. But then you dig a little bit deeper into the spec sheets and you notice some disparity. The Honor has a more powerful camera suite, but only just. The Honor has larger on-board storage as standard, and a faster processor, and a brighter display, better built-in speakers, and it's better protected from the elements. The Honor has curved bezels, so it feels a little nicer in the hand | Honor And then there's the battery setup. The Honor has a bigger battery straight out of the box, but it can also charge at up to 100 watts. The Pixel 9 Pro XL falls behind a lot of its competitors here with only 37 watt fast charging. Its wireless charging is also a sore point, with a 23 watt capacity in the Pixel to the Honor's 80 watts. In hardware terms, then, it seems like the Honor has the Pixel 9 Pro XL beaten into a cocked hat. But we all know there's more to a smartphone's attributes than that, so I swapped my sims, and started living with the Honor Magic 7 Pro full time. The Pixel 9 Pro XL has similar dimensions, and the tiny hole punch is less intrusive | Google There are a few things that strike you early on about a Chinese phone. I promise I won't keep going on about this, but battery life is a world apart. My Pixel often struggled to last a day, but it's rare the Magic 7 Pro gets to my bedside table at night with less than 50% left. And if I have given it a particularly tough time, it can be topped up in 10 minutes thanks to that ridiculously quick charging. However, there are some shortcomings, and the chief issue I have with the Magic 7 Pro is rather all-encompassing. It relies on an operating system called Magic OS 9.0, and it's really very good. But it is not a patch on Google's bare and brilliant pure Android interface. While Honor's Magic OS does bring some funky customisation options, and perhaps a few other benefits I haven't bothered with, you just can't beat a bone-stock Android OS for simplicity and functionality. No bloatware, no messy gesture controls, no duplicate apps, no performance compromises, and plenty of Pixel-only features that I have genuinely missed. The Honor's round camera bump is annoyingly intrusive The Pixel's camera bump is shorter and squarer, so it sits better on a surface Android on a Pixel is an absolute delight to use, and it feels so much more polished and professional than the Honor, but that doesn't mean the Honor is a fiddly mess. While I'll always miss Pixel features like the auto music ID and call-screening, the Honor has similar versions of a lot of these features (not the Now Playing feature though, sadly) and they all do a reasonable job. But there are other annoyances in the Magic OS user experience, such as the clumsy folder layout, some of the home-screen customisation options just aren't as good, and the fact you'll have to wait much longer for updates. I'd admit, I'm being a bit picky now. Both phones are a joy to use, and there's no noticeable compromises on performance, either. The handsets use different chips, but they both do a cracking job of ploughing through a beefy game, or editing a pile of pictures. The Honor Magic 7 Pro tends to give a very faithful image The Pixel's reliance on software can lead to a slightly muddier image, and too much depth of field at times | Gareth Butterfield Ah, yes, the cameras. This is the big one. You see, on paper, the Honor Magic 7 Pro does have a better camera array than the Pixel 9 Pro XL. There's a 200mp periscope telephoto lens over the Pixel's 48mp, and the main module on the Honor has a wider aperture and a slightly better ultrawide sensor. Video performance is pretty close, at least in hardware terms, and the Honor has a better selfie camera. But it all changes when you come to use them. Then the numbers matter a bit less. Truth be told, they're both absolutely brilliant at taking pictures. Market leading, even. But what the Pixel lacks in hardware it makes up for in software. In most cases, you'd have to be seriously picky to call a winner between them, but there are shortcomings the Honor can't make up. The AI zoom, for example, is weaker on the Honor. Like the Pixel, it zooms in incredibly far on a digital level, and then AI tidies the grainy result up. While the Honor does this more quickly, the Pixel's AI engine is that little bit more intelligent. It wins by a nose. The Pixel's magic erase system is better, as are the other AI tools, but not by all that much. And it does take an age to process. The Honor is always quicker. I've already said the physical differences between the two handsets aren't really worthy of a mention, but Google manages to pack all this camera tech into a much smaller protrusion than the Magic 7 Pro. Its bulbous camera lump really is quite awkward and unbalanced. That said, I'd fancy its chances in a scratchathon over the Pixel. The Honor has always felt more robust. This all leaves me with a rather woolly conclusion to come to. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to go back to a Chinese flagship smartphone again. It made me realise how much I missed those halcyon Huawei days, and how much better the hardware is. But the Pixel series will always take the edge in overall useability, even if it's only by the smallest of margins. However, to be honest, these extremely mild irritations haven't been enough to make me want to switch back to the Pixel. The time will come soon to give the Magic 7 Pro back to the nice people at Honor and, normally with that sad day looming, I'd switch back to my trusty Pixel to get reacquainted. But I've yet to get the sim tool out. I'm sticking with the Magic 7 Pro for now. And when the man comes to collect it, he'll have to take my right arm with it. It's fabulous.
GSM Arena
06-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Honor Magic7 Pro selected as Esports World Cup 25 official smartphone
Michail, 04 July 2025 The Esports World Cup 2025 tips off next week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Honor will once again supply the official smartphone for the tournament. The honor (pun intended) goes to the Magic7 Pro, which is this year's EWC official device. Honor's flagship will be used by players across a range of gaming titles, including Honor of Kings, PUBG: Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Free Fire. Honor Magic7 Pro 512GB 12GB RAM € 897.00 € 897.00 1TB 16GB RAM $ 994.84 Magic7 Pro is Honor's latest flagship device and it features top-tier specs like the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, an LTPO OLED, and a 5,270mAh battery with 100W wired charging. The device impressed us during our written review with its sustained performance under stress and top-notch benchmark scores. It also boasts an excellent display, class-leading speakers and ample battery endurance, which are key factors for professional gamers.
