A former rising star in the world of smartphones, Honor unsurprisingly suffered greatly from the US embargo against Huawei. Now independent, the brand returns to the telephone market.
TOP 3 of the best Honor smartphones
honor returns
7 /10
- a good screen
- Globally Balanced Services
- Google services are finally back
- Too much saturation in the photos.
The mid-range Honor
7 /10
- Long-lasting battery and fast charging
- Versatile in photography
- Brilliant display at 120Hz
- Just two major Android updates
At a time not long ago when Huawei was breaking sales records and seemed on its way to becoming the world’s number one smartphone, Honor was a more affordable subsidiary of the Chinese manufacturer.
Thriving, the brand has naturally been hit hard by the US technology embargo. So much so that the two companies parted ways to allow Honor to escape sanctions.
The manufacturer introduced a battery of new phones, like the Magic series that aims to be ambitious. In fact, the new Honor smartphones integrate Google services, which are absolutely essential in our regions.
Still, despite the desire to appear completely separate from Huawei, the reality is that this first generation of Honor’s standalone smartphones looks like two peas in a pod to the models from the old parent company…
For a wider choice, take a look at our guide to the best smartphones.
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8 /10
- Your versatile camera
- The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
- An excellent touch screen
Available in €849 on Amazon
This is the model that marks the return of Honor to the fore. The Honor Magic 4 Pro is the manufacturer’s standard bearer with a high-end technical sheet. The prestige starts from the design with generous dimensions and a sure grip. The camera on the back gives the phone real cachet. At this point, Honor meets all the requirements of a good high-end smartphone.
Above all else, the build of the phone highlights its superb touch screen. The Magic 4 Pro is equipped with a 6.81-inch OLED panel with adaptive refresh at 120Hz. Color fidelity is good, as long as you prefer normal temperature mode. The brightness reaches 837 cd/m2. In short, the interface is the strong point of the phone.
In animation, the Honor smartphone is based on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor supported by 8 GB of RAM. It is capable of launching any game, but be careful with heat management. MagicUI 6.0 software brings everything new in Android 12 for everyday use. The battery lasts all day, but the Magic 4 Pro comes with 100W fast charging.
A final word on the photo part of the phone. The photographic module is integrated in a great circle and made up of three complementary lenses that offer excellent versatility, whatever the conditions. With its performance, it is one of the best in its class.
The Honor Magic 4 Pro test written by Titouan is available to read for more information.
where to buy the
Honor Magic 4 Pro at the best price?
7 /10
- Long-lasting battery and fast charging
- Versatile in photography
- Brilliant display at 120Hz
- Just two major Android updates
Available in €479 at Fnac
Honor decides to provide its mid-range with a smartphone with good qualities. The Honor 70 is an elegant product, all in finesse. The finishes are of good quality, although not everything is perfect. However, the grip is not perfect, due to the edges that are too angular.
The screen of the smartphone is of quality. It is a 6.67-inch curved OLED panel capable of giving you great service on a day-to-day basis. You are entitled to a definition in Full HD +, but also to an adaptive refresh that goes up to 120 Hz. In the performance measured in the test, the recorded brightness reaches a maximum of 808 cd / m², however, the color palette offered it’s a little less. well.
In photography, the Honor 70 offers excellent performance. On the back of the phone is a triple photo sensor. The 54-megapixel main lens is accompanied by a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens. Put to the test, the Honor 70 proves to be versatile, with good color management overall and intuitive enough to keep you entertained.
On the performance side, the animation of the phone is provided by a well-done Snapdragon 778 G SoC. Thus, the Honor 70 is capable of running resource-intensive mobile games. Above all, the mobile is excellent in its autonomy component. In use, allow a day and a half for versatile use. It comes with a 66W fast charging block.
If all the correct boxes are checked, then some things are missing from the phone. Specifically, a somewhat high price, 549 euros when it was launched, and above all, only two years of major Android updates. Our full Honor 70 review is available to read to find out more.
where to buy the
Honor 70 at the best price?
7 /10
- a good screen
- Globally Balanced Services
- Google services are finally back
- Too much saturation in the photos.
Available in €259 in SFR
We are not going to lie to ourselves, we expected this Honor 50! In fact, it is the first smartphone of the brand to be officially entitled to Google services since 2019. Let’s start with the elephant in the Chinese store: its design is identical to that of the Huawei Nova 9. This is not as bad as it is. is. If some colors are a bit flashy, the device itself is light, slim and pleasant in the hand.
Honor offers a good display here: the 120Hz adaptive OLED panel is bright and offers relatively decent colours. The brand has chosen the Snapdragon 778G as its SoC, a mid-range chip with solid performance. So we can play in good conditions and the user experience is generally pleasant. On the endurance side, it’s pretty average, count a great day of use and a quick charge that will need 45 minutes to fill the battery.
As for the photo, the Honor 50 does not live up to its very prominent 4-sensor photo block. In question, a main sensor with frankly ridiculous colorimetric shots and disappointing additional sensors. The representation at night is, on the other hand, very correct.
There remains the question of software. The phone uses Magic UI 4.2 and we are not going to lie: it is a carbon copy of EMUI, Huawei’s interface. That said, the experience is pleasant, with a polished aesthetic and plenty of customization. Google services obviously complete everything.
With the Honor 50, the brand is making a solid, if not revolutionary comeback. Honor offers us a balanced phone, but one that has a hard time standing out from the competition. We also see that the umbilical cord with Huawei is still present for now, both from a hardware and software point of view.
We tell you more in our Honor 50 test.
where to buy the
Honor 50 at the best price?
- 90 Hz successful display
- interesting design
- a small price
Available in €229 in baker
For the design of this basic smartphone, Honor has innovated. So it has flat edges, but also a photo module which is very similar to what Apple does on its iPhones. For the screen we can count on a 6.67-inch FHD + panel with an honorable refresh rate at 90 Hz.
To liven up its affordable smartphone, Honor went for a Snapdragon 680, a reliable chip, aided by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space.
In the part of the photo, there are no less than four sensors that play with the elbows. The 64 MP main sensor does it quite well, without the shots being extraordinary either: the photo is not particularly the strong point of this smartphone.
Like its congeners, it runs under Magic UI based on Android 11. Given the asking price, we ignore 5G and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Currently offered at 239 euros, it would be wise to wait for the price reductions to break through. : it will. then become more interesting.
where to buy the
Honor Magic 4 Lite at the best price?
6 /10
- Solid battery life and charging
- efficient main sensor
- Its graphics performance
Available in €249 in SFR
At best to say it right away, the Honor Magic 4 Lite is not a great success. It accumulates several negative points, starting with its screen, in LCD technology, which is not at the level of 2022 in this price range. Its colorimetric calibration is not correct and it lacks more luminosity.
As for strength, the Magic 4 Lite makes up for it with its autonomy, which will wait for two days. Charging at 66W is effective. We will also mention the main sensor (48 megapixels) which does very well, especially in good light conditions. Portrait mode is fine. The graphics performance is honest, we can play without heating up the classics Fortnite either genshin impact.
In short, it is probably not the most interesting smartphone in this price range, mainly due to its screen. But if you are looking exclusively for an Honor smartphone with a bit of power, this is the representative of the brand in the entry/mid range.
For more details, check out our Magic 4 Lite review.
where to buy the
Honor Magic 4 Lite at the best price?
All about Honor smartphones
Who is the Honor brand?
It is important to explain where this Chinese manufacturer comes from. From China, yes, but more precisely? Honor is actually a brand created in 2013 by Huawei. However, the two entities separated in 2020: Huawei sold its subsidiary to a Chinese consortium called “Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co., Ltd”.
Who are Honor smartphones intended for?
Like many Chinese electronics brands, Honor has historically focused on entry-level and mid-range phones, though with some more ambitious models. The goal remains to offer smartphones at an affordable price. However, the brand has branched out and also offers premium smartphones, such as the Honor Magic 4 Pro.
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