Honor is no longer part of Huawei, and that has been the case for a while now. After the USA imposed numerous sanctions on the former parent company, the right way forward was to spin off the brand.

The manufacturer took advantage of its newfound independence and began offering models that were no longer just for price-conscious buyers. The Magic series, in particular, was also designed with impressive technical innovations in mind. This is evident once again in the latest model in the series, the Magic8 Pro.

Fastest Qualcomm SoC Behind the OLED Display

With the new flagship smartphone, Honor wants to leave no stone unturned. This begins with the display, which does not have a folding mechanism but offers a large screen area measuring 6.71 inches across diagonally. The manufacturer relies on OLED technology, a resolution count of 2,808 × 1,256 pixels, and an impressive brightness level of 6,000 nits.

Inside the smartphone lie the fastest components currently available on the market. We are referring to the processor in particular: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite boasts eight CPU cores based on the third Oryon generation. Right on top are two cores optimized for speed, which can operate at a clock speed of up to 4.6 GHz. They are flanked by six additional cores, which reduce energy consumption during computing with a maximum clock speed of 3.62 GHz. The GPU and Hexagon NPU are also faster than their predecessors. The Adreno 840 is said to offer around 23 percent higher performance, while the computing unit for AI applications is said to be 37 percent faster.

The SoC is supported by plenty of RAM, depending on the purchased model. The smaller version has 12 GB LPDDR5X-5300 RAM, while the highest-end model offers 16 GB. There are also differences in the internal memory count: the smaller model boasts 512 GB, while the storage space can be doubled to one terabyte for an additional charge.

12.5 Gbit/s Speed for Mobile Networks and 200 MP Night Shots

The data transfer speeds are also impressive. The X85 modem from Qualcomm achieves transfer rates of 12.5 Gbit/s for downloads and 3.7 Gbit/s for uploads, so Honor is already talking about “5.5G” — even if this is not an official standard. Data rates are also high for Wi-Fi: the FastConnect module integrated in the processor supports Wi-Fi 7, and peripheral devices can be connected wirelessly via Bluetooth 6.0.

Honor does not want to lag behind the competition when it comes to the camera. As with its predecessor, the main camera’s resolution remains at 50 megapixels, but a 200 megapixel sensor is used for telephoto or night shots. This should provide the image AI with so much detail that the image quality in these scenarios should set new standards.

Endless Power?

A final highlight of the new Magic8 Pro would be the battery, which, just like before, is based on silicon-carbon technology. Its predecessor already offered a comparatively large storage capacity of 5,270 mAh, and now this has been further enlarged to a whopping 7,100 mAh. The increased energy density also leads to faster charging. However, the carbon-coated silicon anodes are considered to be more vulnerable.

The Honor Magic8 Pro will also be launched in Germany, as can already be seen on the manufacturer’s website. In addition to the technical specifications, however, the exact price list is still unavailable. At its unveiling in Dubai, local buyers were quoted at around €935 for the smaller version, while there is a €165 premium for those who want more memory. The smartphone could therefore be available in Europe for €999 or €1,199 when released. There is no word on a US release at press time.

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