Honor today detailed its new “dual flagship” strategy. Both product lines share the “Magic” name, one traditional number series and another his Magic V foldable. Magic Vs has some exciting developments, but we’ll cover them in another post.
Today’s focus was on the announcement of the new Honor Magic5 and Magic5 Pro flagships (at least not the Ultimate).
Honor Magic5 Pro
The new series evolves last year’s “Eye of Muse” camera ring design into a star wheel triple camera system. Marketing names aside, what you should know is that the camera has moved to a triple 50MP setup.
Honor Magic5 Pro
The main module features a customized 1/1.12 inch sensor with a bright f/1.6 aperture. This is a significant upgrade in terms of light gathering ability compared to the Magic4 Pro which has a 1/1.56″ sensor and f/1.8 aperture. Even better, Honor enabled optical image stabilization on the main camera (the Magic4 Pro skipped his OIS). The 50MP ultra-wide-angle (122°) camera also has a brighter aperture (f/2.2 compared to f/2.0).
The periscope module has changed significantly. It now has a Sony IMX858 for his 50MP sensor instead of the 64MP. The lens continues to offer 3.5x optical magnification (using a brighter f/3.0 lens than f/3.5) and brings the Ultra Fusion Computational Optics system, offering up to 100x high-quality digital zoom.
The camera system utilizes an array of sensors (3D ToF laser for focus, multispectral sensor for color temperature, flicker sensor) and advanced software features. Honor partnered with Guinness World Records to make the Magic5 Pro the official camera to capture the world record slam dunk attempt between the legs. And it did it automatically in AI motion sensor capture mode.
IMAX Enhanced Movie Master allows users to shoot and edit videos on their mobile phones. Speaking of which, the phone he can record 4K video at 60 fps in either HDR10+ or Magic-Log 10 bitlog formats.
Look around the phone and you’ll notice the curved design. It is said to have been inspired by the work of architect Antoni Gaudi, who has created many of the bold and unusual masterpieces of Barcelona, where the annual MWC is held.
The 6.81-inch display is curved on four sides. Large LTPO panels can be refreshed at up to 120Hz. Similar to last year’s model, the resolution is 1,312 x 2,848px with a pixel density of 461ppi.
The improved design allows it to reach a peak HDR brightness of 1,800 nits (nearly double the Magic4 Pro’s 1,000 nits peak). If you need it lower, use high frequency PWM dimming at 2160Hz. The display is also color-accurate calibrated with two brightness levels (120 nits indoor and 800 nits outdoor). This is a 10-bit panel that supports HDR10+. It also has a pedigree of IMAX-enhanced-certified movies. Stereo speakers powered by DTS:X Ultra also enhance your entertainment possibilities.
On the front, there is a dual-sensor circular cutout in the upper left corner. One is his 12MP sensor (f/2.4, fixed focus) for the selfie camera and the other is his 3D depth sensor. This enables 3D face recognition. There is also a fingerprint reader built into the display.
Honor Magic5 Proc
It’s time to mention the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that runs the show, which Honor has paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. The phone launches with MagicUI 7.1 based on Android 13. Honor has loaded a lot of custom hardware into the phone as well, so this is just a brief mention.
Discrete display chipsets help boost frame rates in games and enhance videos with always-on HDR effects. The Discrete Security Chipset was co-developed with Qualcomm. This is where sensitive information such as passwords and biometric data (face ID and fingerprints) are stored.
Then there’s connectivity. Honor claims to have the industry’s first Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standalone antenna architecture. This improves Wi-Fi 6 performance by up to 200% and reduces latency by up to 30%.
The phone packs a 5,100mAh battery and supports 66W wired and 50W wireless SuperCharge for fast charging. The necessary charger is included in the box.
Honor Magic 5
The Honor Magic5 is similar to its Pro sibling, but dialed down. It starts with a slightly smaller (but still quite large) 6.73-inch display. Peak HDR brightness drops to 1,600 nits. Still, this is much higher than the Magic4 Pro.
A more significant difference in the vanilla model is the camera. There is a 54MP main (1/1.49 inch), a 50MP ultra wide angle and a 32MP telephoto module.
The Magic5 uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, but with a memory configuration of 8/256GB. The phone is also 1mm thinner than the Pro, but has the same 5,100mAh capacity and supports 66W of wired SuperCharge (not wireless).
price and availability
The Honor Magic5 series will be available from April to June. His Magic5 in vanilla comes in blue and black, while the Magic5 Pro comes in Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Coral Purple, Orange and Black.
Honor the Magic5 Pro in Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Coral Purple, Orange and Black
The Honor Magic5 Pro is available in one configuration of 12/512GB and retails for €1,200 (equivalent to $1,270/£1,055/£105,000). The vanilla Magic5 (8/256GB) is reasonably priced at €900 ($950/£795/£78,500).
