Disclaimer: HONOR confirmed that the HONOR Magic5 Pro that was sent to us was a “Beta Unit.”
The device ran on old software and also didn’t allow for some apps to be installed. Unfortunately, including the usual benchmarking apps that we use. As such, we could only test its gaming performance from a visual perspective.
Design
When you put it side by side with its predecessor, the HONOR Magic4 Pro, the HONOR Magic5 Pro doesn’t seem to be a lot different in terms of design, at least at the front.
You still get a curved display with a dual front camera module on the left side, and all its buttons are still on the right side. The bottom also looks the same with the USB-C port, SIM card slot, and the speaker grille. It also boasts an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
At the back, the camera module is still circular but protrudes more, and unlike in the Magic4 Pro where the center section is in a different color, the Magic5 Pro uses a similar color to the rest of the phone.
Moving to the display, the HONOR Magic5 Pro has a 6.81-inch LTPO OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, Full HD+ resolution, HDR10+ support, and now boasts a higher peak brightness of 1800 nits. As such, it’s a treat for basically whatever you’re doing with this phone, whether that’s media consumption, gaming, even general use.
Performance
HONOR Magic5 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s current flagship smartphone chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is present in a lot of other flagships. It also has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. So, in terms of hardware, you’re pretty much getting the best available.
While we weren’t able to run any benchmarking apps, what I can tell you is that the phone breezes through typical daily tasks without breaking a sweat, and it handled every game I threw at it at or very close to max settings. These include Asphalt 9, Genshin Impact, and the new game, Honkai Star Rail.
As for thermal performance, the phone did get a bit warm after a few minutes of use, but not to the point that it’s uncomfortable. We’ll be sure to update this part when we get our hands on a retail unit.
Camera
The HONOR Magic4 Pro got a lot of praise for its very capable optics, and the HONOR Magic5 Pro carries on with that – a 50MP wide camera with OIS, a 50MP periscope telephoto unit with 3.5x optical zoom and OIS, a 50MP ultra-wide unit, and a ToF 3D Depth sensor.
From the get-go, sample shots show excellent levels of detail and good sharpness. In most instances, the colors are also accurate to what the eyes see. Night shots also look great, though some light sources can appear blown out. There’s visible distortion on the ultra-wide shots and dynamic range can probably use some improvement.
As for the 100x digital zoom, you should be able to at least identify words properly, but don’t expect stellar clarity.
For the rear cameras, the device can record up to 4K 60 fps and does a good job at stabilizing shots while retaining quality. Upfront, the 12MP front camera can also capture 4K videos at 30fps. Unfortunately, the video I shot in low light with the front camera turned out to be a bit too grainy for my liking.
Battery
As for battery life, the device was playing a 1080p 60fps YouTube video for around 13.5 hours before we decided to abandon the test. I guess it’s safe to say that with light to moderate use, this should last you a whole workday with juice to spare for the trip home. Again, software also plays a factor in battery life, so results from the retail unit could be different.
HONOR Magic5 Pro is capable of 66W HONOR SuperCharge fast-charging, but we’ll save the test for the retail unit.
Verdict
Despite being a beta unit, the HONOR Magic5 Pro did impress us in many aspects, just like its predecessor. The new design works well, the performance has been great so far, and its cameras will not disappoint you in terms of image quality. Considering the powerful hardware inside, its battery life is also decent.
As for its 100x zoom, I would still put in on the more gimmicky side, and I feel like they should’ve focused on improving other aspects of the phone, maybe extra cooling components, or maybe even better optics.
If anything, the retail unit would most likely introduce even more improvements, and we can’t wait to try one to give a more complete assessment. It’s priced at PHP 59,990.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
