Honor Magic8 Pro review: The battery monster with iOS influences

The Honor Magic8 Pro confidently positions itself as the latest flagship and aims to shake up the market with a blend of enormous battery technology, proven design, and a touch of Apple's feel. But is sheer hardware power enough to compete against Samsung and Google? I tested the device in everyday use.

Design and workmanship: Robustness meets familiar curves

Picking up the Magic8 Pro, it immediately feels familiar. Honor is clearly focusing on continuity here: the large camera module on the back and the rounded corners are familiar from its predecessor. The front is also familiar from the Magic7 Pro. It features a pill-shaped cutout in the display, strongly reminiscent of Apple. This cutout houses not only the front camera but also sensors for secure 3D facial recognition.

Weighing in at 219 grams, the smartphone has a solid feel in the hand, which is perfectly acceptable for a flagship of this size. It's available in Sunrise Gold, Sky Cyan, and classic Black. What truly impressed me, however, is its robustness. Honor doesn't stop at the standard IP68 certification for water and dust resistance, but goes a step further with IP69 and even IP69k. On top of that, it boasts a 5-star SGS certification for drop resistance from up to 1,5 meters. The impression of holding a veritable tank in a tuxedo is absolutely confirmed in everyday use.

The screen: A feast for the eyes

The display is simply excellent. Honor has installed a 6,71-inch LTPO panel that dynamically adjusts the refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz and boasts a peak brightness of up to 6000 nits. In practical testing under direct sunlight, readability was indeed excellent at all times. proProblem-free. The resolution of 1256 × 2808 pixels at 459 ppi ensures razor-sharp content.

One point that will likely divide opinions is the rounded display edges. While Samsung has opted for flat screens with the S25 Ultra and Google with the Pixel 10, Honor remains committed to curves. It looks stylish, but its usability is a matter of personal preference. Honor hasn't skimped on biometrics: The combination of the aforementioned 3D face recognition and a super-fast ultrasonic fingerprint sensor worked reliably and incredibly quickly in my test.

Hardware and performance of the Honor Magic8 Pro

Under the hood, it's powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 5 (manufactured using a 3nm process), the latest chip from Qualcomm. Combined with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage, there's no room for compromise here.proMiss. Apps open in the blink of an eye, games run buttery smooth, and thankfully the device remains pleasantly cool.

The Magic8 Pro also excels in multimedia. The speakers sound full and loud, and the vibration motor delivers crisp, precise feedback on par with flagship phones – even if the Pixel 10 Pro might be a touch more finely tuned in this regard. The overall package feels extremely cohesive.

The cameras: A powerful duo with a weakness in wide-angle lenses.

Honor uses a setup consisting of a 50MP main camera, an impressive 200MP telephoto camera and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens.

In everyday use, the main camera delivers reliably good results. While the colors are slightly boosted, typical for Honor, they don't appear unnatural, and I also like the shadow detail. The real highlight for me, however, is the zoom camera. The 3,7x optical zoom is of outstanding quality. Even when digitally zoomed to 10x, a surprising amount of detail is preserved thanks to the high-resolution 200MP sensor.

We took some more photos with the Honor Magic8 Pro, which you can see here. here can watch. 

Unfortunately, the ultrawide camera falls short. Images often appear somewhat soft in comparison, lacking sharpness, and its dynamic range doesn't match that of the other two lenses. For videographers, 4K recording at up to 120 fps is available. Stabilization performs well, and useful features like tone filtering round out the package. Overall, a good, though not market-leading, camera performance.

Software: Greetings from iOS!

The device ships with Android 16 and the Magic OS 10 interface. Honor now promises a proud 7 years of software and security updates – an extremely important step to catch up with Google and Samsung.

Visually, Honor makes no secret of its inspiration. Magic OS 10 strongly resembles iOS 26. It features a transparency mode, a dock for quick access, and various design elements that will be very familiar to iPhone users. A new addition is a side-mounted AI button that can also be used to control the camera – a clear response to the camera button on current iPhone models. The software appears significantly more polished and better adapted to the European market than before. Nevertheless, it must be said that Google and Samsung currently still have the edge when it comes to AI features, even though Honor is countering with its own unique approaches.

The battery: The absolute highlight

Let's move on to the Magic8 Pro's standout feature. Thanks to the new silicon-carbon technology, Honor manages to pack a whopping 6270 mAh battery into the European version (7200 mAh in China). That's noticeably more capacity than the competition.

In everyday use, this is a game-changer. Even with very intensive use, I easily got through the day, often with enough power left for the next morning. And if the battery does run out, it recharges incredibly fast: With a 100-watt wired connection, the device is fully charged in under an hour. An impressive 80 watts is also possible wirelessly. One small drawback for European buyers: The charger is no longer included in the box and must be purchased separately.

Conclusion

The Honor Magic8 Pro is a truly excellent flagship phone that will especially delight hardware enthusiasts. The battery life is phenomenal, the display brilliant, and the performance beyond reproach. The main and telephoto cameras are fun to use, as long as you don't scrutinize the ultrawide lens too harshly.

Anyone upgrading from an older Huawei device or looking for an alternative to Samsung and Google who isn't concerned about battery life will find this device ideal. However, you'll need to be comfortable with the software's strong iOS-like interface and be prepared to pay the hefty price of €1299.