When you’ve hit on the precise components in making a flagship cellphone, you shouldn’t change issues a lot. That is what the Honor has completed with the Magic 8 Professional, a refinement of its earlier flagships somewhat than a reboot, which seems like a dependable improve for the cellphone maker’s followers.
The brand new cellphone focuses on design and digicam efficiency, particularly low-light images that always proves to be difficult for lesser telephones. It additionally boasts lengthy battery life that makes it a sensible selection for folk searching for flagship efficiency.
My first impressions of the Magic 8 Professional are of a cellphone that appears and feels costly. For instance, the smoother curves and matte glass again in a champagne-like end give it a refined presence within the hand.
The big round digicam module, with its ring-like detailing, reinforces that premium really feel. When it comes to measurement, the 161.2mm top, 75mm width and eight.3mm thickness put it firmly in typical flagship territory, with a slim profile that sits comfortably within the palm.
Of us preferring a blockier, extra substantial grip should lean in direction of telephones with squarer sides from manufacturers like Samsung, Oppo or Vivo.
Weighing 219g, the Magic 8 Professional has sufficient heft to really feel stable with out being a burden in a pocket or bag. Its IP68, IP69 and IP69K rankings are noteworthy, as they level to robust safety in opposition to mud and water – further reassurance for when you’re caught in heavy rain or utilizing the cellphone close to water.
A small however sensible contact is the devoted digicam management button on the precise edge. Performing as each a zoom slider and shutter set off, it’s helpful for fast photographs when you do not need to fumble with on-screen controls, particularly for images and movies on the transfer.


Inside, the Magic 8 Professional runs on a top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Efficiency-wise, this implies apps open rapidly, switching between them feels clean, and video games like Name of Obligation Cell run with out apparent stutter.
There’s greater than sufficient house for images, 4K movies and apps, so most customers won’t want to fret about storage administration for a while. The general efficiency feels brisk and responsive.
Usability is helped additional by fast unlocking, whether or not you select face recognition or the in-display fingerprint scanner, so the cellphone is normally able to go as quickly as you choose it up.
Battery life is among the cellphone’s highlights. The big 7100mAh silicon-carbon battery, mixed with the environment friendly processor, comfortably lasts via a full day of combined use, even when you spend a good period of time on social media, streaming and images.
It’ll last more when you hardly take any snapshots or vlogging. When the battery does run low, quick charging helps hold downtime brief. You have got very fast 120W wired charging and quick 80W wi-fi charging, utilizing Honor’s chargers and equipment.
The entrance of the cellphone is dominated by a 6.71-inch OLED show, which is each sharp and vibrant and what you’d count on from most flagship smartphones at present.
On the again, there’s a 1/1.3-inch 50-megapixel sensor predominant digicam, a 50-megapixel sensor ultrawide digicam and a 1/1.4-inch 200-megapixel sensor zoom digicam, whereas the entrance digicam additionally gives 50 megapixels for selfies and video calls.



In day-to-day use, the primary and ultrawide cameras ship typically pleasing photographs. Colors are usually on the hotter aspect, so scenes might look a bit extra yellow or orange than in actual life, which some might discover flattering for pores and skin tones and sunsets.
When you favor extra impartial colors, the Professional mode permits you to modify the white stability and tweak the look extra exactly. That is helpful as a result of the white stability measurement does get some photographs improper, as I discovered in my checks.
The picture processing right here provides a mild carry to distinction and saturation, leading to punchier photographs the place topics “pop” extra distinctly from the background. The trade-off, nonetheless, is a slight lack of element in brighter areas.
Low-light efficiency is a powerful level. Night time mode captures shiny, detailed photographs in dim situations, making the cellphone appropriate for cityscapes, festive lights or interiors comparable to aquariums and dimly lit cafés.
Dialling again the publicity manually helps you to add further distinction and element, because the cellphone can typically over expose in contrasty scenes comparable to a stage or Christmas lightings.
Faces at evening are dealt with moderately effectively, although the slower shutter speeds utilized in very low mild imply that any motion may cause blur.
The identical applies to panoramas at evening, the place the digicam typically struggles to maintain shutter speeds excessive sufficient to keep away from smearing when panning is finished too rapidly. It’s best to mount and rotate the cellphone on a tripod for a greater seize.







What concerning the 200-megapixel zoom digicam? It definitely offers you a whole lot of attain, and outcomes at reasonable zoom ranges are first rate for sharing on social media or messaging.
Nevertheless, when pushed to its most, picture high quality softens and the software program processing doesn’t fairly match the very best out there. So, it’s higher to remain within the mid-range zoom ranges if you need cleaner photographs.
For product images, comparable to devices, meals or small objects, the digicam performs effectively. Publicity and distinction are nice, and pictures typically look clear sufficient that you simply won’t want a lot modifying, assuming the topic is lit with impartial white mild.
I’d say the Honor Magic 8 Professional delivers stable picture high quality, although occasional slips in white stability underneath sure synthetic lighting work in opposition to its in any other case succesful imaging system. The lacking variable aperture, a standout function on the earlier mannequin, can also be a letdown, particularly for customers who worth higher management over depth of subject.
Taken as an entire, the S$1,499 Magic 8 Professional comes throughout as a well-balanced and succesful flagship, with a number of quirks in white stability and low-light movement dealing with.
To be truthful, that gained’t hassle most customers who merely need a reliable, trendy smartphone that may take good on a regular basis photographs and will not be too choosy. So, that is nonetheless a succesful smartphone that has an important digicam.
The fundamental mannequin ought to be adequate however if you need extra storage and be prepared for extra demanding apps sooner or later, there’s a model of the Magic 8 Professional with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage that goes for S$1,699.
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