Honor Magic 6 Pro Review: Innovation at Its Finest, but Is It Enough?

When I first held the Honor Magic 6 Pro in my hand, I couldn’t help but admire its sheer elegance. This is a phone that makes a statement before you even power it on. Sleek curves, a stunning display, and a luxurious feel all scream premium. But as with anything, first impressions only tell part of the story. After spending some quality time with the Magic 6 Pro, I’m here to give you the full scoop—flaws and all.

Design: Love at First Sight, with a Few Bumps Along the Way

Let’s start with the obvious: the Honor Magic 6 Pro is a beautiful piece of technology. The satin black finish on the model I reviewed feels smooth and sophisticated, and the curved glass back catches the light just right. It's the kind of phone that looks expensive—and it is.

But here’s where things get tricky. That gorgeous 6.8-inch OLED display, while stunning, has a pronounced curve that’s not just for show. Sure, it makes the phone look sleek, but it also means you’ll occasionally trigger something by accident just by holding it. If you’ve ever used a curved-screen phone, you know what I’m talking about—those unintentional touches can be a real pain.

The camera module on the back is another design choice that’s sure to divide opinions. It’s large and unapologetic, jutting out enough to be noticed. Personally, I think it adds character to the phone, but it does make the device a bit top-heavy. And then there’s the Magic Capsule, that pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen. It’s... noticeable. Sometimes it feels like it gets in the way, especially when you’re watching videos or gaming, but it also houses some pretty advanced tech, like the 3D face unlock, which I’ll get into later.

AI Features: A Glimpse into the Future, but Not Without Hiccups

Honor has packed the Magic 6 Pro with AI features that promise to make your life easier, and they’ve been hyping these up since day one. One of the standout features is Magic Text, which lets you extract text from images with a simple tap. Picture this: you snap a photo of a restaurant’s menu, and you can immediately tap on a phone number to call for a reservation. It’s quick, intuitive, and works surprisingly well.

Then there’s Magic Portal—an ambitious feature that allows you to drag and drop content between apps. It sounds like a dream for multitaskers, but in reality, I found myself forgetting it was even there. When I did use it, it worked well enough, but it’s one of those features that might take some time to become second nature.

Honor also teased an eye-tracking feature that would let you control the phone with just a glance—how cool is that? Unfortunately, it’s not available yet, so we’ll have to wait to see if it lives up to the hype.

What’s interesting is that all these AI tricks are powered by Honor’s in-house MagicLM model, which means everything happens on-device, keeping your data private and the experience fast.

Camera: Powerful Yet Temperamental

Now, let’s talk about the camera, because this is where the Honor Magic 6 Pro truly aims to stand out. With a trio of lenses that sound impressive on paper—a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 180-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide—the Magic 6 Pro is clearly aiming to please mobile photographers.

Telephoto Lens: The telephoto lens is a standout, allowing you to zoom in on distant subjects with remarkable clarity. Whether you’re capturing the details of a building’s architecture or a close-up of a distant landscape, the 5X zoom delivers some of the best shots I’ve seen on a smartphone.

Main Camera: The main sensor is no slouch either. It handles everything from bright outdoor shots to low-light scenes with aplomb. The variable aperture helps it adapt to different lighting conditions, ensuring that your photos are always well-exposed and vibrant.

Ultrawide Lens: But not everything is rosy. The ultrawide lens, while useful for capturing expansive landscapes or large group shots, struggles with consistency. Colors don’t always match up with the other lenses, and sometimes the edges of photos look a bit stretched or smoothened, losing the crispness that the other lenses manage to maintain.

And then there’s the processing. It’s clear that Honor is trying to push the boundaries of what a smartphone camera can do, but sometimes the processing goes a bit too far, especially when you zoom in beyond 5X. The images can start to look a bit like oil paintings—detailed, but not quite real.

For video, the Magic 6 Pro doesn’t disappoint. You can shoot in 4K at 60 fps with any of the main lenses, and the results are smooth and cinematic. The front-facing camera is also capable of 4K video, which is great for vloggers and selfie enthusiasts.

Battery Life: A True Powerhouse

One of the most pleasant surprises with the Honor Magic 6 Pro is the battery life. With a massive 5,600-mAh battery, this phone is built to last. I went through my usual routine—streaming videos, browsing the web, playing games—and by the end of the day, I still had plenty of juice left. On lighter days, I even managed to stretch it to two days on a single charge.

And when it does come time to recharge, the Magic 6 Pro supports fast charging up to 80 watts wired and 66 watts wireless—if you have the right charger. Unfortunately, there isn’t one included in the box, which feels like a bit of a letdown, especially given the phone’s price.

Performance: Powerful but Occasionally Flawed

Under the hood, the Magic 6 Pro is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 12 GB of RAM and a generous 512 GB of storage. On paper, that’s a winning combination, and for the most part, it lives up to expectations. Apps load quickly, games run smoothly, and multitasking is a breeze.

But, and this is a big but, I did run into a few issues that marred the experience. During my testing, I experienced a couple of crashes—once during setup and another time while playing a game with a Bluetooth controller. These crashes were unexpected and frustrating, particularly on a device that costs as much as the Magic 6 Pro.

The software, MagicOS 8 based on Android 14, is feature-rich, but it’s not without its quirks. There’s some bloatware to contend with, and I noticed some odd pop-ups in Chinese, which was a bit disconcerting. Honor promises four years of Android updates and five years of security patches, which is reassuring, but the software still feels like it needs a bit more polish.

Final Thoughts: A Flawed Gem

So, where does that leave us? The Honor Magic 6 Pro is a phone that dares to be different. It’s packed with innovative features, has a camera system that can produce stunning results, and offers exceptional battery life. But it’s also a phone that demands patience. The software can be quirky, the camera is inconsistent, and there are some design choices that might not be for everyone.

At nearly $1,000, the Magic 6 Pro is an investment, and while it delivers a lot, it’s not without its frustrations. If you’re the kind of person who loves to be on the cutting edge and doesn’t mind a few quirks along the way, the Magic 6 Pro could be a great fit. But if you’re looking for a flawless experience, you might want to consider other options like the Samsung Galaxy S24+ or the OnePlus 12.

In the end, the Honor Magic 6 Pro is a bold leap forward, but it’s not without its stumbles.