Honor Magic 6 Pro Review

Honor’s reentry into the Indian smartphone market has been relatively quiet, but the brand has still managed to release some impressive devices. Among its latest offerings, the Honor Magic 6 Pro stands out as a flagship designed to deliver on all fronts—performance, display, cameras, and more. This review covers the features of the Magic 6 Pro in depth, exploring what makes it one of the most well-rounded premium smartphones on the market.

Design and Build Quality

The Honor Magic 6 Pro is available in two color options: Epi Green and Black. The Epi Green variant, in particular, is a testament to Honor’s focus on aesthetics, offering a premium look and feel. The back panel is adorned with a soft faux leather texture that not only feels great in hand but is also resistant to smudges and fingerprints, keeping the phone looking pristine throughout the day.

The phone is meticulously designed, featuring a large camera module at the back. While this has become a common trend in modern flagships, Honor’s implementation is elegant. The cameras are arranged in a triangular layout, encased in a glossy rose-gold metallic frame that matches the device’s edges. Beyond aesthetics, the device offers IP68 certification, which ensures protection against water and dust. Whether it’s a minor splash or an accidental drop in the pool, the Magic 6 Pro is built to handle it.

At 229 grams and 8.9mm thickness, the Magic 6 Pro feels solid without being overly bulky, striking the perfect balance between premium build quality and comfort.

Display Excellence

The Honor Magic 6 Pro is equipped with a stunning 6.8-inch OLED display, offering a resolution of 2800 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The display is capable of achieving an extraordinary peak brightness of 5,000 nits, making it one of the brightest screens available. This ensures excellent visibility even in harsh outdoor lighting conditions.

The curved display supports Dolby Vision, delivering vibrant colors, deep contrasts, and immersive visuals. Whether you’re streaming videos, gaming, or browsing, the display makes everything look stunningly vivid. The stereo speakers complement the display, offering loud, clear, and balanced audio.

Biometric security on the Magic 6 Pro is handled by an optical fingerprint scanner and 3D face unlock. While the fingerprint scanner is slightly slower than those on competing devices and is placed a bit lower than ideal, the 3D face unlock feature is extremely fast and works reliably even in complete darkness. This combination of security features ensures convenience without compromising on safety.

Camera Performance

The camera setup on the Honor Magic 6 Pro is one of its standout features, offering a powerful and versatile photography experience. It includes:

• 50MP primary sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)

• 180MP telephoto lens with 2.5x optical zoom

• 50MP ultra-wide lens

• 50MP front camera for selfies

The Magic 6 Pro excels in capturing detailed, vibrant, and true-to-life photos. In well-lit conditions, the primary sensor produces images with impressive sharpness and dynamic range. Colors are accurately represented, offering a natural look without oversaturation. The ultrawide lens maintains great consistency, with minimal distortion at the edges and a surprising level of clarity.

The telephoto lens is the highlight of the camera system, delivering excellent results even at 5x zoom. While there’s a slight dip in quality at higher zoom levels, the images remain more than usable.

Low-light photography is equally impressive. The Magic 6 Pro captures detailed shots with minimal noise, and colors stay vibrant even in challenging conditions. The dedicated night mode further enhances the output, making it one of the best cameras for nighttime photography.

Video capabilities are robust, with support for 4K recording at 60fps on the rear cameras and 4K at 30fps on the front. Videos are vibrant, well-stabilized, and smooth. However, low-light video performance can be inconsistent, particularly when using the ultrawide and telephoto lenses, where footage may appear darker.

Performance and Software

The Honor Magic 6 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, one of the most powerful chipsets in 2024. Paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, this configuration ensures seamless multitasking, fast app launches, and excellent gaming performance. Whether you’re running demanding apps or playing graphics-intensive games, the Magic 6 Pro handles everything effortlessly.

Out of the box, the Magic 6 Pro runs MagicOS 8.0, based on Android 14. Honor has committed to four years of OS updates and five years of security patches, ensuring long-term software support. The software experience is feature-rich, offering tools like:

• Air Gestures for hands-free navigation.

• Smart Sensing, which keeps the display active as long as you’re looking at it.

• Magic Capsule, which provides quick access to background tasks like media playback and charging.

• Magic Portal, a productivity tool that allows you to drag and drop content between apps.

While the software is functional and productivity-focused, it’s not without drawbacks. The device ships with a noticeable amount of pre-installed apps, and the home screen can feel cluttered initially. However, these can be customized or removed, offering users flexibility to tailor the experience to their preferences.

Battery and Charging

The Magic 6 Pro houses a large 5,600mAh battery, which supports 80W wired charging and 66W wireless charging. The battery life is one of the phone’s strongest aspects, offering a full day of use even with heavy multitasking, gaming, and media consumption.

The inclusion of a silicon-carbon composite anode in the battery design enhances energy density, allowing for improved performance and efficiency. Charging speeds are impressive, with the phone going from 20% to 100% in just 38 minutes using the included fast charger.

Conclusion

The Honor Magic 6 Pro is a well-rounded flagship smartphone that offers an exceptional combination of design, performance, display quality, and camera capabilities. Its thoughtful features, including a stunning display, versatile camera system, and robust battery life, make it a strong contender in the premium segment. While the software could benefit from some refinement, the overall experience is polished and satisfying.

With a price of ₹89,999 for the 12GB+512GB variant, the Honor Magic 6 Pro provides excellent value for money. It’s a solid choice for users who want a smartphone that excels in all key areas, delivering both style and substance in equal measure.