Less than a year ago, we were seduced by the Honor Magic 6 Pro, which carved out a place for itself among the best smartphones of the year. We were therefore logically waiting for its successor, the aptly named Honor Magic 7 Pro, of which here is our full test.
Honor's new high-end smartphone integrates the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip from Qualcomm, which should equip a good number of premium phones this year. However, we decided to compare it to the iPhone 16 Pro, which is equipped with an Apple A18 Pro chip, but also to the Oppo Find X8 Pro, which is equipped with Mediatek's latest high-end chip, the Dimensity 9400. While waiting for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S25, we will also pit it against the excellent OnePlus 13, which caught our eye.
Honor Magic 7 Pro price and release date
Like its predecessor, the Honor Magic 7 Pro is priced at €1,299.90 in a version with 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. That’s €100 more than the asking price for the Oppo Find X8 Pro (€1,199.90), €270.90 more than the OnePlus 13 (€1,029), but €179.10 less than an iPhone 16 Pro Max (€1,479).
A real gem in hand
With its 6.8 inches, the Honor Magic 7 Pro is part of the large smartphone category. This is obviously felt from the first time you hold it, with a device with generous dimensions (but similar to those of its competitors) and its weight of 223 g rather in line with the standards of the genre. We are therefore in the presence of a smartphone that will not be forgotten in your pocket.
Coming from a Pixel 9 Pro whose camera module is placed horizontally on the upper part of the back of the phone, the circular shape of the Magic 7 Pro's camera module was quite disconcerting. Indeed, the center of gravity is different, which often led us to place our index finger on the camera module to hold the phone. At least initially, before better understanding its form factor.
Beyond its aesthetics, the matte glass back is very pleasant to the touch and does not show fingerprints. The aluminum frame is also thicker and the screen and case are less curved than on the Magic 6 Pro, which makes it easier to hold and increases overall comfort when you have to hold the smartphone firmly.
© Guillaume du Mesgnil d’Engente / 01net.com
The power button falls perfectly under the thumb, but those to control the volume are located a little high, which requires a little gymnastics to reach them. On the lower edge, there is a first speaker grille, as well as the SIM drawer which can accommodate up to two nanoSIM cards. The second speaker is located between the screen and the upper edge of the Magic 7 Pro.
On the upper part of the screen, we still find the pill which houses the front camera and the 3D TOF sensor. The smartphone is protected by a “NanoCrystal Shield” glass and benefits from an IP68 and IP69 protection rating against dust and water, which guarantees its waterproofness
The screen is a feast for the eyes
The Honor Magic 7 Pro benefits from a 6.8-inch screen with an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 91.6%, a definition of 2800 x 1280 pixels and a comfortable resolution of 453 pixels per inch. All with a 120 Hz LTPO display for perfect display fluidity.
With an average screen brightness measured by our 01Lab at 1406 cd/m2 and a peak brightness at 1533 cd/m2, needless to say that we take full advantage and that the screen is perfectly readable in bright sunlight. But the Honor Magic 7 Pro also thinks of your eyes in the dark with a minimum brightness of 1.97 cd/m2 which, combined with the different eye comfort modes, makes it very pleasant to use in the dark.
The OLED panel obviously offers infinite contrast and the average delta E of 2.95 indicates good color fidelity, measured in DCI-P3, a fairly demanding color spectrum. The Oppo Find X8 and OnePlus 13 do a little better on this point, however there is little chance that you will see the difference with the naked eye. As you can see, our opinion on the Honor Magic 7 Pro screen is very positive. The Chinese brand has mastered its subject here perfectly.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite as the new master standard
Unsurprisingly, the Honor Magic 7 Pro is equipped with Qualcomm’s latest high-end chip, namely the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The SoC is accompanied by 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. We are therefore on the top of the range on Android and even on the smartphone market in general, alongside Apple’s A18 Pro. We have already come across Qualcomm’s chip on the OnePlus 13 and the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, so we are not surprised to see the excellent performance it offers.
This translates into perfect interface fluidity and the ability to run all the games in the Play Store in the best conditions. Thus, we ran Genshin Impact at a high graphic level and at 60 fps. All with excellent stability and a controlled heating level. Indeed, our 01Lab measured a thermal amplitude of only 13.4°C.
Autonomie et charge
The Honor Magic 7 Pro is equipped with a 5270 mAh battery. A capacity significantly lower than the 5600 mAh of the Honor Magic 6 Pro, but higher than the Magic 5 Pro which was 5100 mAh. However, we are far from the 6600 mAh battery of the Magic 7 Lite.
The Chinese brand seems to be looking for the right balance with its Magic 7 Pro. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip being more efficient than previous generations, the smartphone manages to offer excellent autonomy. This Honor Magic 7 Pro test is also an opportunity to compare the smartphone with other references on our new mixed autonomy protocol. As you can see below, the Magic 7 Pro has more endurance than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has a smaller 5,000mAh battery, but Honor's smartphone is not far from the OnePlus 13, which nevertheless packs an impressive 6,000mAh battery.
More empirically, we can tell you that Honor's high-end smartphone benefits from very good battery life that can last from one to two days, depending on how intensively you use it. If you're the type to play and take a lot of photos, the phone should never let you down before the end of the day.
The Magic 7 Pro is compatible with 100W wired and 80W wireless fast charging. The charger is no longer in the box, but we used a 100W compatible charger from the brand. Our 01Lab nevertheless took 1 hour and 15 minutes to regain 100% battery, with an average of 23.6 W and a peak of 59 W. A strangely long time considering the charging speed... If you want to get the official 100W charger from Honor, you will have to pay €79.90 more. It stings.
Interface: 5 years of Android updates
The smartphone runs on Android 15 with the in-house MagicOS 9.0 interface. The manufacturer promises 5 years of Android updates and 6 years of security updates. This is better than the 4 years of the Magic 6 Pro, but it is one year less than the Honor Magic 7 Lite which will benefit from 5 years of Android updates. The latter, however, comes out with Android 14. Honor's efforts in this area are welcome, but remain a notch below what Samsung and Google offer on their high-end smartphones, namely 7 years of Android and security updates.
MagicOS 9.0 offers smooth animations, a look halfway between Android and iOS and a "control center" separate from the notifications panel. We particularly appreciate the system of large folders that can be arranged to store applications that remain accessible in one click (up to 9 applications, you have to open the folder beyond that).
On the other hand, there are still too many pre-installed applications: a dozen applications, Google, as many at Honor, and several bloatwares like Facebook, Booking, TikTok, Amazon, LinkedIn, Trip or even Amazon Music. Some can be uninstalled, others not. Too bad.
In terms of features, we find the "Magic Capsule" which is integrated into the pill that houses the front camera, as Apple can do with its "Dynamic Island". Thus, it can discreetly house a recording in progress, the media player or the clock. This is practical so as not to have to search for the application in question if you want to return to it. Honor does not hesitate to put AI in all the sauces in its interface, including on features that did not have this label until now. We are thinking in particular of the possibility of keeping the screen on when you look at it or even navigation by gestures.
The "Magic Portal" is still there, it requires you to select an element displayed on the screen with the articulation of one of your fingers. Once the selection is made, you can quickly share it to an application, but also extract the selected text or image. Practical to use, but the initial selection is not always easy to make.
Audio: bass is very present
The Honor Magic 7 Pro benefits from powerful stereo speakers with very present bass (for a smartphone). This is rare enough to be noted. The sound is rather well balanced between the speakers, which is also appreciable. This does not replace good wireless headphones, which you can connect via Blutooth 5.4 and enjoy your favorite music thanks to full compatibility with LDAC, AptX & AptX HD codecs.
Photo and video: always at the top
Here is the photo configuration of the Honor Magic 7 Pro
- On the back:
- 50 Mpx wide-angle, variable aperture from f/1.4 to f/2.0, OIS;
- 50 Mpx ultra-wide-angle, f/2.0 aperture ;
- 200MP telephoto lens, f/2.6 aperture, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 6x “lossless” digital zoom, up to 100x digital zoom.
- On the front:
- 50MP wide-angle, f/2.0 aperture, 122° field of view
- 3D TOF sensor
Thus, the main photo improvement of the Magic 7 Pro compared to the Magic 6 Pro comes from the periscopic telephoto lens which goes from 180 to 200MP, now offering a zoom factor of x3 compared to the main module (wide-angle) and no longer x2.5 like last year.
Wide-angle
The Magic 6 Pro is one of the best smartphones for taking photos, and the Magic 7 Pro is a logical continuation of this lineage. The wide-angle camera module allows you to capture incredibly precise shots that perfectly match what you see on the screen before you capture your shot. On the photo app, we chose the “Vivid Colors” mode which is a little more flattering to the eye, but you can also opt for the “Natural” or “Authentic” mode. The photos below speak for themselves.
Ultra-wide-angle
The ultra-wide-angle offers a fairly wide field of vision (122°) and provides perfect color continuity with the main camera module. The distortion and the slight loss of quality are well controlled in the corners. Special mention to the dynamic management which works very well to unblock the shadow areas, including backlighting.
Telephoto lens with 3x magnification
The Honor Magic 7 Pro's periscopic telephoto lens offers a 3x zoom factor. The result is convincing, with a stable level of detail and controlled colors. However, we regret not seeing a x3 zoom factor like some competitors like the iPhone 16 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offer.
3x telephoto lens on the left, 6x digital zoom on the right. – © 01net
In response to this criticism, Honor says it offers a "zoom without loss of quality x6". The result is excellent, but the loss of details is still noticeable in the areas that require the most details. The x10 magnification is also effective, but is logically a little less precise.
6x digital zoom on the left, 10x digital zoom on the right. – © 01net
Portraits and selfies
The portrait mode does its job. The clipping is good and it is possible to choose from three filters from Studio Harcourt: “Bright”, “Color” and “Classic”, the last one being the most iconic of the company.
Portraits with Harcourt mode, from left to right: "Vivid", "Color" and "Classic". – © 01net
The 50 Mpx front camera takes good quality selfies, but we noticed a lack of precision in portrait mode when it came to cropping the subject. The background blur could also be a little more progressive.
Photo without portrait mode on the left, with on the right. – © 01net
La nuit
The night shots are very clean, with good white balance management. The smartphone's automatic mode sometimes allows itself a pause of a second or two in order to capture more light and restore the maximum amount of detail.
The same observation applies to the ultra wide-angle, with a fairly logical loss of quality in the corners. We appreciate the natural rendering of the scene which does not try to make us believe that we are in broad daylight.
3x telephoto lens on the left, 6x digital zoom on the right. – © 01net
Video
The Honor Magic 7 Pro can film up to 4K at 60 fps with a definition of 3840 x 2160 pixels, both on the rear camera unit and on the front camera module.
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