Honor Magic6 Pro review: first look

Today at MWC Barcelona 2024, Honor globally launched the Honor Magic6 Pro. This phone is for the big-handed and big-walleted, with a 6.8in screen, 225g weight and a price of – well, I cover that below.

My review sample arrived on Friday, which means I haven’t had long to play with the phone. So, in this first-look review of the Honor Magic6 Pro I’m going to concentrate on what I can say about it. How it looks, how it feels, how good the camera is – and how to knock down that price.

Honor Magic6 Pro price & availability

When Honor says this is the global launch of the Honor Magic6 Pro, that doesn’t mean you can buy it in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. You can’t. The rest of the world can place pre-orders from Friday 1 March. It will go on sale proper from Friday 8 March.

In Europe, the price is €1,299, in the UK it’s £1,100. However, subscribe on the UK site and you can use the code AM6PP250 at checkout to swipe £250 off the price. That takes it to £850. Hopefully, other offers will be available in Europe.

The Honor Magic6 Pro will also be available to new and existing Three UK customers for £50 upfront with a £37.50 monthly tariff for 36 months. But that only includes 2GB of data, so expect to pay more in reality.

Looks, weight and screen quality

The phone comes in two colours: black and “epi green”. Honor sent me the black one, which it calls “timeless” and I call a tiny bit dull. It’s matt, at least, but what actually sets it apart is a wide screen and the absolutely huge camera housing. This sits in the centre, so there’s no awkward wobble.

Those with smaller hands will, I suspect, prefer a slimmer phone than this, but if it’s size of screen that matters then you’ll love the OLED panel. Its resolution is 1,280 x 2,800, a 19.5:1 ratio, and Honor claims it goes up to 1,600cd/m².

I haven’t had a chance to test the screen yet, so will report back, but every high-end phone I’ve tested recently has a top-quality panel that covers all the colours you need. This is no longer a differentiating factor.

It’s a heavy phone in the pocket, but there is ample reward in the build quality. And, indeed, the photos.

Eye-tracking skills

One of the Magic6 Pro’s most interesting features – how useful, time will tell – is eye tracking. Using the 3D sensor and the camera, the phone can see where you’re looking and act upon it. With the right software, of course. This is best shown by an Honor-sponsored video by UK motoring brand Autocar.

Honor Magic6 Pro photos quality

As I mentioned, I’ve only had the Magic6 Pro for a couple of days and so I’ve only just started my testing. Here, though, our four photos to show you what the camera is capable of.

The Magic6 Pro includes three main cameras. The first is a 50MP f/1.4-2.0 offering with a 1/1.3in sensor. Notably, that means it can change its aperture, like a “real” camera. The second a telescopic zoom lens with a 180MP 1/1.4in sensor with f/2.6 aperture. The final ultrawide camera (not used above) is again 50MP f/2.0 with a 1/2.88in sensor.

There’s also a 50MP selfie camera on the front, complete with a depth sensor to help with those Instagram pics. I took a photo but will spare you from that horror. Let’s just say that it’s great at capturing detail, and applying beauty filters if you need them.

Key specs of the Honor Magic6 Pro

This phone has all the key ingredients of a top-end phone, but let’s list them anyway.

Some standout features there: the 5,600mAh battery with 66W wireless charging. That’s blistering. However, as standard there’s no charger in the box.

I wait to hear how many years of OS and security updates we receive.

Early verdict on the Honor Magic6 Pro

It’s way too early to give a proper verdict, but you’re getting all the features you expect from a flagship phone coupled with a highly capable camera. I suspect it will be a winner for value alone.

I also think it has an excellent chance of winning one of our Best of MWC Barcelona awards.

Whether it’s a true adversary to the top Android phone of the moment – to my mind, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – is a different question. And one I will come back to when I update this review.