We had the opportunity to get our hands on the newly launched Honor Magic 5 Pro before its official debut at this year’s MWC Barcelona. Check out our initial thoughts on the device by heading over to our hands-on Honor Magic 5 Pro review.
Honor, a rapidly expanding Chinese manufacturer, has broken away from its former parent company, Huawei, and aims to challenge Samsung and Apple in the high-end smartphone market. The Magic 5 Pro could be the device that propels Honor towards this goal.
Last year, Honor marked its entry into the premium smartphone market with the launch of its impressive Honor Magic 4 Pro. The device was the brand’s first premium smartphone to be released outside of China. This year, at the MWC 2023 event, Honor introduced its successor, the Honor Magic5 Pro, which was unveiled alongside the foldable Honor Magic Vs. To get a first-hand experience of the Honor Magic Vs, check out our detailed review of the device.
With the official announcement of the Honor Magic 5 Pro, we have compiled a comprehensive guide that includes all the pertinent details you should know about the device. This one-stop-shop guide covers its camera specifications, design features, and performance capabilities, as well as any verified information regarding its pricing.
RELEASE DATE
The Honor Magic 5 series was revealed by Honor at MWC Barcelona 2023. However, the release date for the device is still unknown, leaving us in anticipation of when it will be available for purchase.
Pre-orders for the Honor Magic 5 Pro will probably become available in the upcoming weeks, while the actual release date may be announced at a later time. The Honor Magic 4 Pro was released on May 13, 2022, therefore Honor may choose a similar date for the launch of the successor to that device.
It should be noted that the Magic 5 Pro is not expected to be released in the United States. In 2020, Huawei divested Honor to prevent its former subsidiary from being added to the US import blacklist.
While there are no legal restrictions preventing Honor from selling its latest flagship phone in the US, the brand has not yet demonstrated an inclination to expand its operations to the other side of the Atlantic.
The UK and Europe markets can now purchase the Magic 4 Pro. Considering this development, likely, Honor will also release the Magic 5 Pro in these regions. However, it appears that the device’s availability in Australia is doubtful.
PRICE
The global pricing information for the Magic 5 Pro by Honor has not been disclosed yet. However, it is confirmed that the basic version of the device will be sold in Europe for €1199, which is roughly equivalent to $1270 in the United States, £1060 in the United Kingdom, and AU$1890 in Australia.
To provide additional information, the Honor Magic 5 Lite can be purchased starting from £329.99 / €369. However, its high-end counterpart will be priced significantly higher due to its premium features.
NEWS AND SPECS
The forthcoming Honor Magic 5 Pro is set to impress with an extensive array of high-end specifications.
To begin with, the Honor Magic 5 Pro retains the “Eye of Muse” design of its predecessor for the rear cameras and the same 6.81-inch LTPO display with quad-curved glass. However, in line with the brand’s new focus on human-centered design, the Honor Magic 5 Pro features a 120Hz display that is certified circadian-friendly. This means that the display is designed to be easy on the eyes, reducing eye strain by 18% compared to other high-end smartphones. By mimicking the dynamic dimming of natural light, the Honor Magic 5 Pro helps users get 30 minutes more sleep, according to Honor.
Beneath the surface, the Magic 5 Pro boasts a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, an improvement over the Gen 1 processor featured in its predecessor. In addition, Honor has incorporated novel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth infrastructure into its latest flagship, resulting in noteworthy enhancements to Wi-Fi performance and reduced latency. A complete Magic 5 Pro specification list is available for your perusal below.
This is a device that has been designed based on insights about YOU. #UnleashthePowerofMagic with the all-new #HONORMagic5 Pro. From the floating display to computational photography to super large battery, and more! #HONORMWC2023 #MWC23 #Snapdragon pic.twitter.com/4m4fiWfBdA
— HONOR (@Honorglobal) February 27, 2023
According to reports, the Honor Magic 5 Pro is equipped with a robust 5100mAh battery that allegedly provides more than 12 hours of battery life even with heavy usage. This is notably higher than the battery life of both the S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The Honor Magic 5 Pro is expected to grab attention primarily for its camera capabilities. It boasts an impressive array of lenses, including a 50-megapixel wide lens, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens located on the front-facing camera.
The main distinguishing factors between the Magic 5 Pro and its high-end rivals are the exclusive photography modes that the former offers. Among these modes is the AI motion-sensing capture, which enables users to capture stunning photographs of movements that involve a lot of motion, such as dancing, jumping, or shuffling a deck of cards. To witness the feature in action, you can refer to the tweet shared below:
The #HONORMagic5 Pro is blowing our minds with its AI feature – look at how it automatically captures a moment of breaking a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™! Uncover what else it can do to #UnleashThePowerofMagic at #MWC23! @GWR #GuinnessWorldRecords pic.twitter.com/d0fy7FVZWN
— HONOR (@Honorglobal) February 13, 2023
After spending more time with the Magic 5 Pro in the coming months, we plan to evaluate its AI motion-sensing capture as well as other photography features. For now, we recommend visiting our previously mentioned hands-on review to discover how the phone performed in our initial testing.
