It’s also the first flagship from Honor since their departure from Huawei
Honor released their first flagship since their departure from Huawei. As the company is no longer part of Huawei, the devices should come with Google services. Although despite this, the company still uses some assets from their former parent company, as if they didn’t depart at all. Think of Honor as pre-2020 Huawei.
The company has released three new flagships under the Magic 3 line: the Magic 3, 3 Pro and 3 Pro+ which all come with differing spec sheets. The most prominent feature is the IMAX-certified video recording which also includes several cinematic video effects
Honor Magic 3 and 3 Pro
The Honor Magic 3 sports a waterfall display measuring 6.76in. It uses OLED for the panel and has FHD+ resolution with 120Hz refresh rate. Announced alongside the display is the IP rating. The Magic 3 comes with IP54 dust and splash resistance.
Similarly, the Magic 3 Pro uses the same waterfall display and OLED panel as well as 120Hz refresh rate. Although, this one uses a higher IP68 rating, which means you can dunk the phone in water for a minute and a half and it would still be fine.
There are three cameras on the back of the Honor Magic 3 and 3 Pro. Their camera arrangement is nearly the same, both even have an oval-shaped camera notch. These front cameras include a 13mp main along with a 3D Time-of-Flight sensor.
The Honor Magic 3 comes with three types of cameras: a 50mp main camera, typical for a flagship, a 64mp monochrome, which, just like Aqua Infinity’s 20mp depth sensor, is quite a strange one, and the 13mp ultrawide. The main camera is equipped with laser PDAF for less motion blur when taking a picture with your hands.
On the other hand, the Magic 3 Pro also uses the same 50mp Sony IMX766 as the regular variant as well as the same monochrome and ultrawide sensors, however, there’s also the addition of a 64mp periscope camera with OIS and 3.5x optical zoom, to differentiate the two.
As mentioned in the title, Honor has partnered with IMAX to bring you cinematic level of videography (though, actual video cameras or DSLRs will still perform better, of course). This partnership brings LOG support along with 8 cinematic themes and effects. The LOG format enhances dynamic range as well as tonal range which should bring better whites, blacks and colour accuracy and reproduction. In addition, the phones support 3D color grading profiles which should make your videography experience more life-like and vibrant.
For performance, the Magic 3 comes with regular SD888 with 5G, unlike the Huawei P50 series. For the Magic 3, you get an 8/256 configuration and comes with MagicUI 5.0 on top of Android 11.
The Magic 3 Pro comes with the enhanced Snapdragon 888+ processor along with a memory and storage options of 12/512.
Both devices come with 4600mAh batteries with 66W fast charging. The Pro model however has 50W wireless charging that’s compatible with Qi chargers
Honor Magic 3 Pro
The Honor Magic 3 Pro+ is the highest end of the lineup and is the main star of the show. This device includes features already available on the previous two but enhanced.
The display is identical to the other two: 6.76in. OLED panel, FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
Though the three phones aren’t CG Glass guaranteed, the company said they’ve used their own toughened glass called “Nano Crystal Shield” that is 3x stronger than other protective panels.
The main differentiator between this and the other two is the hexagonal camera setup. Instead of a Sony IMX766 main sensor, Honor used a Sony IMX700 with 50mp resolution and 1.22µm pixel size. It has a focal length of 23mm and an aperture of F/1.9 and supports full pixel Octa PD autofocus. In contrast to the Sony IMX766, this one has a larger sensor size and micron pixel size, which brings about brighter photos and enhanced dynamic range.
The other complementary cameras are the same as the Pro variant: a 64mp monochrome and a 64mp periscopic telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom and OIS. Also, instead of a 13mp ultrawide, this phone uses a 64mp ultrawide camera.
Other than the camera module, the rest of the specs are the same: Snapdragon 888+ 5G, IP68 dust and water resistance, IMAX enhanced videography and 66W fast charging with 50W fast wireless charging and 4600mAh battery.
Prices:
Though not out in the Philippines yet, here are the prices of the Magic 3 series directly converted to PHP. The Golden Hour (rose gold) and Blue Hour designs of the vanilla Magic 3 and 3 Pro comes with synthetic leather while the other colours use a traditional glass back. The Pro+ comes with a ceramic unibody and has two colours: black and white
- 8/256 (vanilla Magic 3): EUR 899 (~Php 53.6K)
- 12/512 (Magic 3 Pro): EUR 1099 (~Php 65.5K)
- 12/512 (Magic 3 Pro+): EUR 1499 (~Php 89.3K)
They were released in China first but an international release date is expected.
Source: GSMArena, The Verge, Android Authority