© Lemon squeezer
After OnePlus, it's Honor's turn to launch its 2025. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer unveiled the Magic7 Pro, its new flagship, on January 15. Although it doesn't revolutionize the genre, it brings some technical and software improvements allowing it to easily compete with the latest iPhones as well as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25s.
Performance, photography and software have been the focus of the greatest attention, including a more in-depth integration of artificial intelligence.
The fact remains that at 1,300 euros, the Magic7 Pro is far from affordable. Also, the price gap with the flagship models from Samsung and Apple is narrowing year after year. Is Honor's star worth its price?? Is it attractive enough to make us forget the iPhone and Galaxy S?? Answers after several weeks of testing.
A total screen treat
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As soon as you open the box, it's hard not to be dazzled by the Magic7 Pro's magnificent screen . During our report on the lands Honor, the company explained to us that screens were among the top priorities of the engineers at the R&D center. It shows.
< strong>The Magic7 Pro's 6.8'' OLED panel impresses with its excellent contrast ratio and maximum brightness (up to 5,000 nits). Apart from models from Samsung, Google and Apple, we don't remember having handled a screen of such quality.
The 120 Hz refresh rate allows for an optimal gaming experience, while Dolby Vision certification allows you to enjoy your films and series with greater comfort. Above all, Honor has worked on the problems of visual fatigue caused by prolonged exposure to screens.
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In addition to using specific glass treatments, engineers have developed algorithms that reduce the harmful effects of light blue. The Magic7 Pro also features a circadian night display that adapts to sleep cycles.
AI also allows for brightness adjustment and contrasts in natural light in real time. Although less spectacular, these improvements change the comfort of daily use. A treat!
Top performance, autonomy and recharge
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The Magic7 Pro is one of the first smartphones to integrate the latest generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Accompanied by 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, it delivers simply breathtaking performance. Although it does not reach the level of power of the latest iPhones , the Magic7 Pro competes without batting an eyelid with its Android counterparts integrating the same chip. On all the benchmarks carried out, it displays, without much surprise, the same results as its competitors.
On a daily basis, the Magic7 Pro therefore perfectly meets all needs.Productivity, social media, photography, video production, gaming: no usage is lacking. Even AAA games powered by cloud gaming apps run with disconcerting fluidity.
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Beyond performance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip allows for better energy management.Coupled with a 5,270 mAh silicon-carbon battery (nearly 600 mAh less than the Chinese version, who knows why), the Qualcomm chip allows two days of use, provided you don't push the most demanding uses (gaming, photography, video). The most connected users will have to recharge after a day and a half. Performance comparable to the previous generation, but with much more power.
Honor has also boosted the charging power. The Magic7 Pro is now compatible with 100W wired charging (compared to 80W for the Magi6 Pro) as well as 80W wireless charging. The new European legislation having come into force on January 1, 2025, the charger is no longer provided. You will therefore have to pay to take advantage of this power allowing the smartphone to be fully recharged in around thirty minutes.
AI, AI and more AI
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After some initial steps in 2024, AI will be more concretely introduced into smartphones in 2025. Thanks once again to the chip Snapdragon 8 Elite. Honor is exploiting this potential by integrating more AI features.
Digital photo processing is the first beneficiary (we will come back to this), but not only. Honor has also developed new features, some of which are worth checking out.
For example, we are thinking of the article capture feature which, by simply sliding up and down with three fingers, allows you to directly store an article in the Honor Notes application. Once stored, the article can then be summarized by AI in the form of text or a bulleted list.
Honor Notes also integrates other features already seen at Samsung or Google last year. The creation of summaries or summaries is available directly in the application (AI Summary). Automatic translation currently supports 13 languages.
Notes also includes a tool for those who are used to long meetings. AI Minutes can transcribe, summarize, translate or analyze training documents or meeting minutes.
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The Magic7 Pro also includes Gemini, Google's new personal assistant (built into all Android smartphones), as well as Gemini Live , its counterpart conversational.
Finally, Magic Portal 2.0 facilitates multitasking and interconnection between different applications thanks to his ability to understand semantics.
Honor is therefore not revolutionizing the genre but is bringing a good number of AI features expected last year. Although they bring more comfort to everyday life, these improvements remain a first step in AI.
Honor explained to us at the end of 2024 that the challenges related to AI required a lot of time: to accumulate data, develop tools, anticipate future legislation in Europe and the United States. In the absence of regulation, the industry is still feeling its way. We will therefore be content with a few practical features, while waiting for a more in-depth integration of AI into smartphones.
King of portraits
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The Magic7 Pro benefits from the partnership signed between Honor and Harcourt last year. For the uninitiated, Harcourt is a Parisian studio recognized worldwide for the quality of its portraits. Stars from all over the world have passed through Harcourt studios to get their legendary black and white photo.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The Magic7 Pro therefore includes a portrait mode based on the Harcourt style. Much more than simple filters, the three shooting modes (2 color, one black and white) were developed in collaboration with the Parisian studio.
Combined with the cutting-edge hardware integrated into the photographic module, these processing algorithms allow us to capture the most beautiful portraits we have ever been able to shoot with a smartphone. The clipping is indeed ultra-precise, the bokeh disconcertingly natural, the colorimetry remarkably accurate.
Reducing the Magic7 Pro to a portrait camera would be unfair. Like its predecessor, it also stands out for its great versatility. Its 50 MP (1/1.3'') main sensor is paired with a wide aperture lens variable (f/1.4-2), the ultra wide-angle (f/2) is coupled with a 50 MP sensor and the telephoto lens (f/2.6; 3x optical zoom) is based on a 200 MP (1/1.4''). This technical arsenal allows it to meet all the needs of a photographer, beginner or experienced.
In good lighting conditions, the Magic7 Pro never fails. The brightness, colorimetry and sharpness are simply excellent. The 3x zoom is impeccable, so the AI takes over on higher zoom factors. The promise of a 100x zoom ” impressive “ is effectively kept outdoors with a resplendent sun.
The Magic7 Pro also manages to show the extent of its talent when the light goes down . Our shooting in the streets of Las Vegas perfectly illustrates this level of excellence. At night, the Magic7 Pro proves to be very convincing up to a zoom factor of 30x. Above, the loss of detail is too significant to hope to exploit the shots. There's nothing to report in the selfie capture either: egocentric users will be able to inflate their self-esteem without any problem.
© Ultra wide angle
© Wide-angle
The only downside is the Magic7 Pro is slightly behind in video. Capable of filming in 4K at 60 fps, it does not reach the level of an iPhone 16 Pro or Galaxy S24 Ultra. The cause is stabilization in below its competitors as well as the lack of creative features. The Magic7 Pro was designed for photography, not video.
Little change from the previous generation
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From a purely technical point of view, what could we criticize the Magic7 Pro for? ;? Its screen is sublime, its performance and autonomy impress, it excels in photography and it is compatible with an ultra-fast charging system.
However, Honor's latest smartphone suffers of the same defect as its competitors: it has evolved very little compared to its predecessor.Some might say that there are still some differences. That's right: the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is much more powerful, the camera has been slightly improved, as has the charging speed.
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However, we can't help but think that the Magic7 Pro is ultimately just a Magic6S Pro, just like an iPhone 16 Pro could have been branded iPhone 15S Pro. Because in use, the difference with the previous generation is far from obvious.A feeling of déjà vu reinforced by a virtually unchanged design. Side by side, only the colors allow us to distinguish a Magic7 Pro from a Magic6 Pro.
This phenomenon is not specific to Honor, it concerns the entire market. Smartphones have reached such a level of maturity that it seems difficult for manufacturers to improve their recipe each year. Enough to call into question the annual release rate ? Without a doubt.
It's hard not to fall for the Magic7 Pro. Very elegant, Honor's latest is almost flawless. Its screen is magnificent, its performance reaches peaks, its battery life is comfortable and it proves formidable in the exercise of photography. The cherry on the cake is that this year it inherits many AI-boosted features, the lifeblood of war in 2025.
At 1,299.90 euros, the Honor Magic7 Pro is therefore a highly recommendable premium smartphone, provided you do not already own a premium smartphone that is less than 3 or 4 years old. The few improvements made over the last five years seriously questions the annual release rate. A problem that is not specific to Honor but which concerns the entire industry. If your current smartphone is less than 4 years old, you can move on.
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