Over four years after Huawei was banned from using Google apps (ending the company’s ambitions for a global takeover), the once-sister but now-independent Honor brand seems to finally deliver on its mission to replace, and (possibly) overtake ex-parent company, Huawei.
Between 2018-2020, Huawei’s super-aggressive flagshis like the Huawei P20 Pro, Mate 20 Pro, and P30 Pro managed to corner Samsung and Apple, helping the Chinese phone-maker to become number one in the world.
Honor Magic 5 Pro revives iconic Huawei design with cutting-edge specs; brings two new features that could change Android and iPhone forever
I’m glad Honor brought back the Huawei P40 Pro’s design language with the Magic 5 Pro! The noticeably smaller Dynamic Island-like cutout (pioneered by Huawei) looks far less obtrusive than Apple’s, right?
Before I talk about anything else, I can’t skip discussing the aesthetic design of the Honor Magic 5 Pro. Warning: That’s the subjective section of the story – feel free to disagree (respectfully) by leaving a comment.
You might recall the Huawei P40 Pro – the first Huawei “P” series flagship (the “P” is for “photography”) affected by the US trade embargo. What you don’t know (there’s no reason you would) is that together with the Nexus 6P, the Huawei P40 Pro might be my favorite phone (design) I never got to use/own. I know, it’s heartbreaking.I was a Huawei P30 Pro user when the P40 Pro came out. The P30 Pro was arguably the best Android phone on the market at the time – certainly with the strongest camera system, and I was more than ready to upgrade to the new Huawei. Of course, the lack of Google support put an early end to my love affair with the excellent Chinese flagships, but I never got over the beautiful design of the P40 Pro.
Coincidence or not, about a month ago I was on the way to buying a used Huawei P40 Pro just so I can (finally) check it out. Live my “childhood” dream if you will…
The Honor Magic 5 Pro’s display is now equally curved on all sides, but not only that. It’s also curved on all four corners, making the Magic 5 Pro’s screen the only one on the market that creates a spillover effect, which in turn makes it look like you’re looking at and holding a floating piece of glass. Looks matter after all.
Another important detail about the Honor Magic 5 Pro’s 6.8-inch 120hHz display is that this is the only Android screen with a Dynamic Island-like cutout, which also houses a real, 3D face-unlocking scanner (reminiscent of the iPhone 14 Pro’s). And yes, it was indeed Huawei that pioneered what Apple now calls the “Dynamic Island with 3D face-unlocking tech, meaning if anyone’s taking inspiration here, then that’s Apple (from Huawei). Not trying to start a fight – just clearing the air.
Honor Magic 5 Pro brings groundbreaking battery tech – increases capacity without increasing volume and weight; level up Samsung, Apple!
Honor Magic 5 Pro brings the industry’s 1st Silicon-carbon battery! A monumental moment for modern smartphones?
Unlike the beautiful design of the Magic 5 Pro, which isn’t exactly something we haven’t seen before, the new Honor flagship brings something completely new and unseen until now, which promises to change phones forever. Like for real!
We’re talking about a new, groundbreaking type of battery from the silicon-carbon type, which has 5,450mAh capacity, while being the same weight and size as a traditional 5,100mAh Li-Ion cell. Let that sink in. It’s a first in the smartphone world, and that doesn’t happen every day (not even every year).Unfortunately, the “catch” here is that Honor has decided to keep the new battery exclusive to the Chinese version of the Magic 5 Pro and Magic 5 Ultimate (the latter is essentially the same as the Pro but with a different rear look, ultrasonic fingerprint reader and UWB support).
The global version of the Honor Magic 5 Pro is 8.77mm thick, weighing 219g, or exactly the same as the Chinese version with the higher battery capacity (350mAh or 7% increase). An engineering achievement to remember!
Apple and Samsung don’t seem to be bothered by the fact that Honor is breaking new ground before them. The last something similar happened, Huawei went on to become the number one phone-maker in the world.
Remember AI? Honor Magic 5 Pro’s strong focus on Artificial Intellgence helps the camera take jaw-dropping photos; let’s you control the phone with your eyes
Motion Capture can freeze you at the highest point of your jump – automatically! Image courtesy of TechNick.
Together with the unique front look of the Honor Magic 5 Pro and the unseen-before battery tech, the other standout aspect of this extravagant Android flagship is the renewed focus on AI features. Remember Artificial Intelligence? It used to be all the rage back in the day!
Really, the AI tricks found on the Honor Magic 5 Pro aren’t just one or two. However, the two most intriguing ones have to do with the camera and the way you control the phone.
Thanks to a new AI motion detection feature called Motion Capture, the Honor Magic 5 Pro has the ability to intelligently select the best action shot within 1.5 seconds before and after you press the shutter key to take a photo! In practice, this means the camera can freeze time all by itself – automatically. You know the cheesy “jump” photo we’ve all tried to take at least once in our lifetime? The Honor Magic 5 Pro can now detect your motion and freeze just the right moment. “At the highest point of the jump” is Honor’s actual claim, and judging by early samples it seems to be… correct. Again, the phone does it automatically, which means you don’t even need a photographer (in that case you’d probably need a tripod).
Although this might seem like a “gimmicky” feature or at least one that you won’t be using all that often, the truth is that we take action shots almost every day – without even realizing it. If you have kids, you already know that, but sports events, concerts, or anything that involves rapid movement, are other scenarios where such a feature could save the moment. Literally.
Telekinesis? Honor Magic 5 Pro lets you control your phone with your eyes; uses 3D face recognition to show Always-on display on demand
If a brand new battery tech wasn’t enough, the Magic 5 Pro can also do… Telekinesis.
But the real Magic happens when you start playing around with the Honor Magic 5 Pro’s 3D sensor-enabled AI features.
- Honor Magic 5 Pro lets you view your Always-on display when it recognizes your face from a distance, instead of having to keep it… “always-on” (cool trick; questionable usability)
- Honor Magic 5 Pro lets you unlock the phone and use your eyes as a mouse pointer (yes, that’s right) to navigate the UI and open notifications/messages
Before you said it, yes, that’s not the first time we see a phone that utilizes 3D sensors to let you control it from a distance. LG took this feature for a spin years ago, while Google’s Pixel 4 also had a go at “telekinesis”. None of those phones kept this feature around for future models though, so it’s interesting to see how things pan out for Honor’s flagships.Are the impressive hardware-software tricks going to be as game-changing as the Honor Magic 5 Pro’s new battery tech? Unlikely. But if you’re looking for a phone that does something no other device can do, Honor brings the party tricks for the bragging rights…
Camera samples show Honor Magic 5 Pro might be as good or better than Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro but Honor’s biggest problem might be… Google
As mentioned in the beginning, our Honor Magic 5 Pro review is in progress, so I’m not going to tell you whether to go out and spend $1,200-1,300 on the phone or not… yet.
What I can tell you, though, is that the very price of the Magic 5 Pro will likely be what holds this phone back; you know – the “make it or break it” factor. Really, considering the current state of the phone market, it can’t be any other way.
Yes, other premium flagship phones from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, and even Huawei aren’t any cheaper but Samsung will give you better software support and the brand recognition; Xiaomi’s 13 Pro comes in hot with a 1-inch camera sensor; and Huawei is still… the original Honor, meaning it has nothing to prove here (given you don’t care about dedicated Google apps).
But the real issue ahead of the Honor Magic 5 Pro (and other expensive Android phones) might actually be called “Pixel” – namely, the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and upcoming Pixel 7a. Again, I’m not jumping to conclusions just yet, but with US availability and at a far lower price, Google’s phones might just make the Honor Magic 5 Pro (and similarly priced Android phones)… a really hard sell.
The irony here is abundant… Google’s high-value flagship phones might be the reason Honor’s new flagships are hard to recommend – just like the lack of Google apps was the reason we couldn’t recommend Huawei’s excellent phones from 2020 onwards.
And despite that, the Magic 5 Pro might have an even more important role to play, and that’s the role of a smartphone that pushes the industry forward… faster. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly what phones like the Huawei P20 Pro, Mate 20 Pro, P30 Pro and P40 Pro+ did back in the day.
Modern Night Mode and periscope zoom cameras found on phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro followed only after Huawei made those features “cool”, and I’m hoping the new battery tech, magical AI features, and even the design of the Magic 5 Pro can inspire the industry to move ahead sooner.
