A few weeks back, the team from HONOR jetted into Dublin to run us through the latest range of phones coming to the Irish market in January and February. I’ve already run you through the stunning, spec-laded HONOR Magic8 Lite, and now it’s flagship time.
I’ve been daily driving HONOR for a few months since swapping over to the HONOR Magic V5 from my iPhone 16 Pro and have been generally very impressed – impressed enough to not go back. But how does the latest flagship from HONOR weigh up?
HONOR positions the Magic8 Pro as their primary flagship for 2026 (aside from their folding Magic V5), succeeding last year’s Magic7 Pro (which I reviewed previously). At €1,299.99, it competes directly with Samsung, Apple, and Google’s flagships both on price and spec.
Design: Premium Feel Without Premium Materials
At 219g, the Magic8 Pro isn’t light, but it feels nicely balanced despite the substantial camera system HONOR has packed into the rear. That’s some achievement given the hardware involved.
The overall design is interesting for several reasons, not least of which is HONOR achieving a premium feel with a fibre-plastic hybrid casing rather than glass or metal throughout. In hand, you wouldn’t immediately identify the material difference, particlarly impressive in my hands which haven’t forgotten the premium vibes of an iPhone 16 Pro.
The 6.71-inch quad micro-curved screen offers the comfortable hand-feel of curved edges whilst maintaining the clear viewing area of a flat display. It’s a sensible middle ground that addresses complaints from both camps. During extended one-handed use, the weight becomes noticeable, but it’s not prohibitive unless you have particularly small hands. The curved edges have become nearly a must have in flagships. Whether trend or functionally required, it makes for a nice phone in hand experience.
Throughout December’s testing, including several accidental drops onto hard surfaces, the phone has survived without damage. The water resistance handles Irish weather without concern, though I haven’t deliberately tested the high-pressure jet resistance the IP69K rating promises.
There is one thing I’m disappointed in, not least because I made this prediction amongst other tech media last year. This is the first flagship of 2026 and it launches without any MagSafe like feature. Google broke the walls on this with the Pixel 10 and Pixel Snap. I’ve retro fitted a MagSafe accessory thing to my Magic V5 because I can’t live without this after being an iPhone user for so long. Given this is now available for Android, it’s a pity 2026’s first flagship launches without. All eyes on Samsung now to see if this becomes main stream.
But this is a somewhat niche interest in a feature I personally believe should be widespread.
Functionality: Where Capability Meets Daily Use
Camera Performance That Justifies the Hardware
The camera system deserves proper attention because it’s genuinely excellent. HONOR has equipped the Magic8 Pro with a 50MP main camera, 200MP periscope telephoto with 3.7x optical zoom, and 50MP ultrawide. Given the, admittidly, laughable bulk this camera array adds to the rear of the phone, it has to deliver.
The primary shooter is incredible, as I’ve come to expect from HONOR. Since moving from my iPhone 16 Pro to the HONOR Magic V5 earlier this year, I’ve been consistently shocked at the difference in photo quality. The Magic8 Pro captures the feeling of a moment, not just a vague representation of what happened. If you understand that distinction, you’ll know how important it is.
I tend to shoot at 1x as much as possible, preferring to move physically rather than zoom digitally. However, the stabilisation improvements make zooming actually usable. All the zoom capability in the world means nothing without stabilisation. In practical terms, shooting handheld at 10x zoom produces surprisingly sharp results where previous phones would deliver blurry disappointments.
Low-light performance excels, particularly for night portraits. The combination of large sensor, wide aperture, and AI processing ensures subjects remain well-lit and natural against complex night backdrops. I’ve captured clear shots during Dublin’s early winter evenings (when darkness arrives by 4pm) that would have been impossible with previous devices.
AI Features: Genuinely Useful and Experimentally Interesting
HONOR is particularly proud of their AI capabilities, and some features genuinely warrant that pride. AI Colour lets you save the tone and colouring of a photo you like and apply it to future shots. “Colour” is not spelled the American way, which is a nice touch. In practice, this means capturing a sunset’s warm tones and applying that aesthetic to subsequent photos, maintaining visual consistency across a series.
There’s a raft of AI editing tools included. AI Outpainting allows expanding photos beyond their original framing, which is fantastic for creatives who need different aspect ratios after capturing the shot. It’s hit and miss, as all AI remains, but when it works, results are impressive. I’ve successfully extended landscape shots to fill ultrawide displays without obvious artificiality, though you’ll generate outputs multiple times before achieving satisfactory results.
AI Eraser removes unwanted elements from photos, AI Cutout extracts subjects from backgrounds, and AI Upscale improves resolution. These tools exist across various platforms now, but HONOR’s implementations work reliably enough for regular use rather than remaining novelties you try once and forget.
The AI Button deserves mention. It’s a dedicated physical key separate from the power button, defaulting to camera launch with a double press. You can customise different gestures: short press, double press, and long press can trigger different functions. Having instant camera access without fumbling through lock screens genuinely improves your ability to catch spontaneous moments. I’ve missed too many shots over years of waiting for camera apps to launch. The execution of this button on the Magic8 Pro is far more impressive than Apple’s take on the iPhone 16 Pro – which left me utterly frustrated with a confusion button that did too much but never what I wanted.
Battery Life That Matches Reality
As I’ve already alluded to, the HONOR Magic8 Lite has stolen the headlines for me with it’s battery, but the Magic 8 Pro is not to be sniffed at.
The 6,270mAh silicon-carbon battery is genuinely impressive. Through December’s testing, I’ve consistently achieved full-day usage without anxiety, and I mean proper usage: photography, navigation, streaming during commutes, messaging throughout the day. By evening, I’m typically sitting at 30-40% remaining, which is comfortable territory.
Charging speed is where HONOR continues excelling. The included 100W wired charger delivers 41% in 15 minutes and fully charges in under 50 minutes. For context, a quick charge whilst showering and getting ready provides enough power for the entire day. Wireless charging at 80W is similarly rapid. During the briefing, HONOR confirmed that those fast speeds don’t need HONOR’s own chargers either. You just need a plug capable of 100w – something which is increasingly common in my house (though I’m not much of a sample size I guess).
Display Quality With Practical Benefits
The 6.71-inch LTPO OLED panel supports up to 6,000 nits peak brightness. In direct sunlight, text and maps remain clearly legible without squinting or finding shade. The 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate adjusts smoothly based on content: scrolling feels fluid, but static pages don’t waste battery maintaining unnecessary frame rates.
What genuinely impressed me were the eye comfort features, though explaining why requires context. HONOR has implemented dimming, which reduces flicker at low brightness levels. If you’ve experienced eye strain from using phones in dark environments, this addresses that issue. Additionally, the Chip-Level AI Defocus Display mimics myopia-control lenses, subtly adjusting content to reduce eye fatigue during extended use.
These aren’t features you consciously notice moment to moment, but after several hours of reading or working on the device, the reduced strain becomes apparent. I’ve been using the Magic8 Pro as my primary device for several weeks, including late evenings, and haven’t experienced the usual eye tiredness I’d expect.
Don’t fly passed these features and dismiss them. Because the HONOR Magic8 Pro is the type of phone that benefits from you sitting down and learning about it. I didn’t realise I suffer from motion sickness quite a bit (not really copping what it was). HONOR has integrated motion sickness dots on the screen which is easily activated. I was shook at how much of an impact that had on me traveling in the back seat of a car over the Christmas.
Performance Without Drama
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 handles everything thrown at it without complaint. Gaming performance is excellent, though I’m not the target audience for mobile gaming now that I’ve grabbed my Switch 2! What matters more for my usage is that demanding tasks (photo editing, running multiple apps simultaneously, processing AI features) occur without lag or thermal throttling.
HONOR’s graphic technology upscales games from lower resolutions to higher frame rates, but honestly, if you’re not gaming extensively, this specific feature won’t impact your experience. It’s impressive technically, but practical benefit depends entirely on your usage patterns.
Cross-Platform Connectivity
Here’s where things get interesting for someone using multiple ecosystems. HONOR Share now supports bidirectional file transfers between Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. For those of us working across platforms, this removes previous friction points (not something new to HONOR but may be new to other Android users). Indeed, Google isn’t alone in trying to break down these cross-platform file transfers.
I’ve successfully transferred photos between the Magic8 Pro and my MacBook, and the process works smoothly once everything’s set up. The setup itself requires installing HONOR Super Workstation on your computer and ensuring devices share the same network, which isn’t complicated but does require initial configuration.
The device cloning feature deserves mention: if you’re switching from an iPhone, HONOR Magic8 Pro can migrate contacts, photos, notes, reminders, and more. Having watched friends struggle with platform switches, this comprehensive approach addresses real pain points.
Coolness: Features Worth Discussing
Overall the coolness features of the Magic8 Pro centre in on the camera quality, and the AI-powered editing features. But if you but this phone and just use it like you have every other phone you’ve ever owned, you’re not going to be overly impressed. You need to learn how to make the most of this phone.
This is an important note because not everyone will be bothered in doing that.
For example, when editing photos, Magic Colour, the AI-powered colour engine I mentioned earlier, intelligently extracts 16.77 million colours and applies them across photos. You can save this and use the same colours later. Through device-cloud collaborative technology, it achieves efficient colour tracking for both global tonality and local fine-tuning. Currently, three built-in presets exist (Romantic Blue, Golden Autumn, Warm Sunset), but you can upload sample images and apply their colour characteristics to new shots. This simplifies professional-level colour grading significantly.
The comprehensive AI toolkit positions HONOR ahead of competitors in practical AI implementation. I’ve seen some other companies ream off AI-laden presentations (and don’t get me wrong, this one has plenty too) without really delivering anything to encourage me to play with the same features.
HONOR has built tools that genuinely improve photography and editing workflows. AI Moving Photo creates slow-motion effects, motion trails, and motion clones from standard captures, adding creative possibilities without requiring specialised shooting modes.
HONOR’s translation, by the way, is still the best translation experience I’ve ever had – again, confirmed after another Christmas in Germany!
Value for Money: Justified Investment or Overpriced?
At €1,299.99, the Magic8 Pro sits firmly in flagship territory. Whether it represents value depends on which features matter to you.
The HONOR Magic8 Pro targets users who prioritise photography and don’t mind learning features to maximise capability. If you’re someone who shoots in automatic mode exclusively, you’ll benefit from hardware quality but won’t leverage many differentiating features.
For creators working across multiple devices and platforms, the combination of excellent camera hardware, comprehensive AI tools, and cross-platform connectivity creates genuine workflow advantages. The battery life and charging speed support full working days without compromise.
If you’re platform-agnostic and work across multiple devices like I do, the cross-platform features alone warrant serious consideration. Being able to seamlessly move files between Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows removes friction that compounds over time.
Over the past few years, ther Magic6 Pro wasn’t miles off the Magic7 Pro and of course the Magic8 Pro isn’t miles off the Magic 7 Pro either. But if you are dailying something like a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – I genuinely think you will enjoy this phone more. Bold statement, eh?
The HONOR Magic8 Pro, priced at €1299.99, will be available from Harvey Norman in mid-January, and Three from February 2026. The HONOR Magic8 Pro is available in Ireland in Black.
