Having launched its 50-series of smartphones in June, Honor is back with the unveiling of its Magic 3 series of flagship phones that are powered by Qualcomm. It’s a little surreal seeing the Honor CEO chat about Qualcomm silicon on stage as opposed to the latest Kirin chipset in previous years, but it’s a sign of the brands’ separation from Huawei. The Magic 3 series consists of the vanilla Magic 3, the Pro, and the Pro+.
Top of the range is the Magic 3 Pro+ that sports a quartet of rear cameras that includes a 50MP main sensor, a 64MP monochrome sensor, a 64MP ultra-wide lens, and yet another 64MP sensor that has a periscope lens with 3.5x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. That’s a lot of megapixels on offer there, 242 of them in fact. The Pro uses the same setup apart from making do with a 13MP ultra-wide camera, while you’ll find a 50MP main camera, 64MP monochrome sensor, and a 13MP ultra-wide lens on the vanilla Magic 3. Besides the massive megapixel counts, the Magic 3 series are the first smartphones to feature Magic-Log and Level 3D Look Up Table (LUT) abilities to produce cinematic video quality courtesy of the IMAX Enhancement.
You’ll find a 6.7-inch OLED curved display with 2,772 x 1344 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate on all three models, which also share the same 4,600mAh battery with 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. Both the Pro and Pro+ offer IP68 water and dust resistance while the Magic 3 makes do with IP54, which is a shame. The Magic 3 series run Android 11 with Honor’s Magic UI 5.0 running on top. You can check out the full specs below:
| Magic 3 | Magic 3 Pro | Magic 3 Pro+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software | Android 11/Magic UI 5.0 | Same | Same |
| Display | 6.67-Inch OLED, Super-Curved, 2772 x 1344 Resolution, 120Hz Refresh Rate, HDR10+ | Same | Same |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ | Same |
| Memory | 8GB | 8/12GB | 12GB |
| Storage | 128/256GB | 256/512GB | 512GB |
| Rear Cameras | Main Camera: 50MP, Full Pixel 2×2 On-Chip Lens; 64MP Monochrome Lens; 13MP ultra-wide-angle Lens; |
Main Camera: 50MP, Full Pixel 2×2 On-Chip Lens; 64MP Monochrome Lens; 13MP ultra-wide-angle Lens; 64MP Telephoto Lens, 3.5x Optical Zoom, 100x Digital Zoom, 10x Hybrid Zoom, OIS |
Main Camera: 50MP, Full Pixel 2×2 On-Chip Lens; 64MP Monochrome Lens; 64MP Ultra-wide-angle Lens, 126° FoV; 64MP Telephoto Lens, 3.5x Optical Zoom, 100x Digital Zoom, 10x Hybrid Zoom, OIS |
| Front Camera | 13MP, 100° wide-angle lens | Same | |
| Notable Camera Features | IMAX Enhanced, 10-bit Log and Cinematic 3D LUTs, | IMAX Enhanced, 10-bit Log and Cinematic 3D LUTs, Super Night Mode | IMAX® Enhanced, 10-bit Log and Cinematic 3D LUTs, AIS, Super Night Mode |
| Battery | 4,600mAh | Same | Same |
| Wired Charging | 66W | Same | Same |
| Wireless Charging | 50W | Same | Same |
| IP Rating | IP54 | IP68 | Same |
| Dimensions | 162.8 x 74.9 x 9.5/8.99mm (Vegan Leather/Glass) | Same | 162.8 x 74.9 x 9.94mm |
| Weight | Vegan Leather: 202g; Glass: 203g |
Vegan Leather: 212g Glass: 213g |
236g |
| Colors | Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Black, White | Golden Hour, Black, White | Ceramic Black, Ceramic White |
| Price | €899 | €1,099 | €1,499 |
The Magic 3 series will go on sale in the west later this year at the following price points:
- Magic 3: €899 ($1,055)
- Magic 3 Pro: €1,099 ($1,290)
- Magic 3 Pro+: €1,499 ($1,790)
As you can see, the Magic 3 series isn’t an affordable budget flagship series of smartphones, but then they are running the latest Snapdragon 888 or 888+ chipset with OLED displays, and IMAX Enhanced cameras. With OnePlus having nailed it with the 9-series and both Realme and Xiaomi offering compelling options at much cheaper prices with their GT and Mi 11 handsets, does Honor’s Magic 3 series bring enough to the table to warrant their expensive nature?
Let us know in the comments if you would buy the Honor Magic 3 Pro+ or rather the Galaxy Z Fold 3 for a few dollars more?
