In our test of the Samsung Galaxy A16, we noted with astonishment the haste with which the manufacturer had decided to renew its entry-level model after only a few months. None of this with the Honor Magic 7 Lite: the Honor Magic6 Lite was released about a year ago. So everything is normal this time, including the modifications and improvements made by the manufacturer to a mid-range terminal that was already solid and quite atypical.
Let's see in this test if the Honor Magic 7 Lite has what it takes to establish itself in this 400€ segment, not so represented despite the return to France of a certain Oppo with the Reno 12 FS 5G.
Price and availability of the Honor Magic 7 Lite
The Honor Magic 7 Lite is available at a price of 379.9 euros in only two colors, Titanium Black and Titanium Purple. It is the latter, which tends more towards pink, that we tested. Now available for a few dozen euros less, it has joined our selection of the best smartphones under 300 euros.
Design: solidity and good looks
In terms of looks, Honor has slightly revised its copy compared to the Honor Magic 6 Lite. While the main lines have been retained for this Honor Magic 7 Lite, a few small differences, including one important one, are worth noting.
We are still dealing with a smartphone with a curved screen, which gives a feeling of premium that is certainly not unpleasant, both for the eyes and for the hands. While this choice does not make it the most pleasant smartphone to hold for a long time without a case because of the edges that protrude slightly from the body, the latter is very thin and benefits from beautiful finishes. We will also appreciate that, this time, Honor has ensured that its smartphone enjoys an IP64 certification (water resistance, but not waterproof). The whole thing is therefore intended to be solid (a point that Honor particularly emphasizes, with falls of up to 2 m) and resistant to water and dust, unlike the previous model.
The shiny plastics chosen can unsurprisingly attract fingerprints, but there is no need for more noble materials here as the result works and reinforces this feeling of high-end without really being so. The panel itself takes up a large space and the edges are barely visible. There is also another small difference with the Honor Magic 6 Lite: the front camera is now integrated into a small pill and not just a circle.
On the edges, nothing new: volume and power buttons on the right, a speaker at the bottom, next to the USB-C port and the SIM card door. Note that the device also integrates an additional speaker hidden at the top to provide a stereo result. The sound part is thus more successful than on the Honor Magic 6 Lite, even if to listen to music at high volume we would prefer to go through a solution that saturates less.
In terms of dimensions, almost nothing has changed: the Honor Magic 7 Lite is still only 7.98 mm thick by 75.5 mm wide and has a height that has dropped very slightly to 162.8 mm. This new model has gained an unfortunate 4 grams, to reach a very reasonable 189 g. A contained solution despite a large screen, therefore.
The final difference between this model and the old one is on the back, in the round island where the photo sensors are located. Still quite thin and well distributed so as not to unbalance the smartphone too much when it is placed on its back, this circle called "Matrix" reviews its organization. No black circle around a colored circle with all the sensors at each cardinal point this time, since the sensors are this time inside a black circle, arranged in a square. Everyone will have their preference, especially since we imagine this change above all aesthetic.
Screen: very attractive curves and specificities
Still a nice size of 6.78 inches, the AMOLED screen of the Honor Magic 7 Lite offers a very slightly higher definition of 2700 × 1224 px. Enough to offer a very appreciable resolution of 436 ppi, rarely equaled elsewhere at this price. It's quite simple, this screen flatters the retina.
Capable of reaching 120 Hz, it is also generous in terms of maximum brightness: 1123 cd/m². Enough to calmly counter the sun, while the automatic brightness in the dark proves very effective in not finding yourself momentarily blinded. Several automatic tools are also there to reduce eye fatigue.
On the color fidelity side, our test shows that the Delta E 2000 is a little high by default, at 5.31 on DCI-P3 content. The more sober normal mode manages colors only in sRGB, which logically leads to a more reasonable delta E at 3.57. It’s up to you whether you prefer to reduce the color spectrum to obtain something more precise or not.
Apart from these technical considerations, there is not much to complain about this screen, especially for this price range.
Performance: an honorable representative of the mid-range
Powered like its big brother by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, the Honor Magic 7 Lite still does a perfectly adequate job in its price range. The interface is perfectly fluid and the 8 GB of RAM is more than enough to run applications and games. Only the most demanding of the latter will perhaps be a little limited, but nothing dramatic. A title like Genshin Impact can for example run on high without making the smartphone cough too much.
There is no doubt that if Honor had also boosted this part of the smartphone its price would not have been the same. 256 GB of storage is there, as well as basic network supports: WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 and other NFC. No WiFi 6 or even 7 in sight.
Photo: Honor adds OIS
For the photo, Honor has taken the same trio as last year and adopted by many competitors: a 108 Mpx main sensor (f/1.75, which here gains optical stabilization), a 5 Mpx ultra-wide-angle sensor (f/2.2) and a 2 Mpx macro sensor.
In addition to the classic 1x, Honor offers 2x and even 3x focal lengths to digitally zoom into the image. No miracle to expect in terms of precision with this solution unless you benefit from perfect conditions, but it has the merit of existing.
This observation can also be applied to the main module, which does not shine particularly brightly when the light is lacking (however, it is difficult to take advantage of conditions conducive to photography in the middle of winter...). The result is satisfactory for this price range, but those who are more demanding on the photo side will probably want to invest more. Compared to our daily Redmi Note 13 Pro, which was released last year at a lower price, the result seemed slightly less detailed to us. In addition, the colors are less generous on Honor's solution (some will also consider them more sober).
Concerning the 5 Mpx ultra-wide angle, our criticisms are the same as with the competition: the image is darker and less precise on the edges than with the main sensor, greatly reducing its interest.
On the front, the 16 Mpx sensor does a decent job. With or without the bokeh effect, the result is sufficiently precise and filters are there to improve the result if necessary. The interface also automatically turns white when the light goes down to try to improve the shot.
Honor offers many modes to have fun with photography. Dynamic Images borrows from Apple to take moving shots, "Capture highlights" will interest sports photography fans, for example, while multi-video allows you to film with the front and back at the same time. The video can also be increased to 1080p in 60 FPS or 4K in 30 FPS.
Interface: there is better with MagicOS 8.0
No Android 15 (yet) for the Honor7 Lite, but Android 14 and the MagicOS overlay in version 8.0. Regarding the update duration, Honor has finally decided to align itself with the competition — and is probably anticipating the implementation of a European standard in 2025. We are therefore entitled to 6 years of major updates and 6 years of security patches. Enough to see more than come with this type of device.
Especially since with its solidity, its monster autonomy and the many features of MagicOS the Honor Magic 7 Lite could stay in your pocket for a good while.
MagicOS is indeed a generous and clear overlay that multiplies the options to personalize your experience, while being quite reasonable on bloatware. There is also a small touch of AI, especially on the photo side. We will also note the presence of some nice features, such as Magic Portal, which allows you to drag and drop content (text, image, etc.) from one compatible app to another, or Magic Capsule, interactive notifications that will remind iPhone users of something.
We did not find any functionality that was really missing from the solution.
Autonomy: a very, very good student
Its big brother was already a model of autonomy, but the Honor Magic 7 Lite shines just as much in this area. Equipped with a beautiful 6600 mAh silicon-carbon battery (compared to 5300 mAh for the 6), the Honor Magic 7 Lite impresses. Used on an average daily basis (meaning mostly at home on WiFi and often in front of a PC), the terminal quietly lasted four days before needing to be recharged. Honor announces three days, or 25.8 hours of continuous video playback.
This thunderous autonomy is the greatest strength of this smartphone. A striking concrete example: during our test, watching an episode of a series in streaming on Canal+ only cost 3% of battery. A really solid performance, especially for a mid-range. Note that our opinion on the Honor Magic 7 Lite, based on real use, is partly confirmed during our automated mixed autonomy measurement, set up by 01Lab. The smartphone then takes 17 hours and 4 minutes to go from 100% to 10% autonomy. A score that places it above average.
This enormous autonomy is paid for on the other hand on the charging side, fast but not too fast. It took us a little over 2 hours to go from 10 to 100% with a 33W charger. The latter is not provided in the box. However, for those in a hurry, this smartphone is compatible with 66W wired charging.
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