The Honor Magic 8 Pro is a bold attempt at a premium Android phone, but ultimately disappoints. Despite packing cutting-edge specs like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a bright, vibrant display, its overzealous camera processing undermines an otherwise capable device. While initial testing revealed purple fringing on early samples—an issue now resolved in retail units—the core problem remains: Honor’s software aggressively alters images, creating unnatural results that fail to justify the phone’s £1,099 (roughly $1,480) price tag.
Camera Performance: A Software Disaster
The Magic 8 Pro’s camera hardware is solid—a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 200-megapixel telephoto with 3.7x optical zoom. However, Honor’s image processing ruins the potential. Photos consistently suffer from harsh sharpening, unnatural brightening of shadows, and digital artifacts. Even in seemingly good shots, a hazy halo surrounds subjects, while details are often lost in overzealous noise reduction.
Comparisons with rivals like the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro highlight the issue. Apple’s images retain more natural tones and detail, while Honor’s processing feels aggressively artificial. Shooting in raw DNG format reveals that the hardware can produce excellent images, but the phone’s default settings deliver consistently subpar results. Night mode suffers particularly badly, with over-saturated colors and unnatural smoothing.
Performance and Features: A Mixed Bag
Beyond the camera, the Magic 8 Pro excels in raw performance. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers benchmark scores that rival top-tier flagships, making demanding games and everyday tasks feel effortlessly smooth. The 6.71-inch display is bright and responsive, with a variable refresh rate that dynamically adjusts to conserve battery.
The phone runs Android 16 with Honor’s Magic OS 10 interface, which includes AI-powered tools like image upscaling, object removal, and generative AI features. While some additions are gimmicky (a cartoon filter that produces bizarre results), the overall experience is pleasant. Honor promises seven years of software support, a significant advantage in longevity.
Battery and Charging: Average at Best
The Magic 8 Pro houses a 6,270-mAh battery, but battery life is only average, comparable to the Galaxy S25 or Google Pixel 10. It lags behind the iPhone 17 Pro Max and OnePlus 15 in endurance. The phone supports 100W wired charging and 80W wireless charging (with a proprietary charger), but lacks Qi2.2 compatibility.
Verdict: Hard to Recommend
The Honor Magic 8 Pro is a frustrating device. Its hardware is capable, but Honor’s overzealous software ruins the camera experience. If you’re willing to shoot exclusively in raw format and edit your photos manually, it might be passable. However, at its high price point, better alternatives exist. The Oppo Find X9 Pro offers superior camera performance, while the OnePlus 15 excels in battery life.
Ultimately, the Magic 8 Pro is a reminder that powerful hardware alone is not enough. Software optimization is critical, and in this case, Honor has failed to deliver a flagship-worthy experience.
