Honor Magic 7 Pro review: The gilded lily

Like its predecessor, the brand new Honor Magic 7 Professional arrives initially of the calendar 12 months, intent on setting the bar by which forthcoming rivals are measured.

It guarantees bombastic {hardware}, with Qualcomm’s newest top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, superior viewing consolation, a digital camera setup punctuated by a brand new 200Mp 3x telephoto sensor, the corporate’s latest battery tech, and upgraded photographic and productivity-centric AI options.

All that mentioned, 2025 is already hotting up; with the current launch of the OnePlus 13, the approaching launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 collection and Xiaomi ready within the wings to carry its latest flagship Xiaomi 15 lineup to worldwide audiences.

So does the Honor Magic 7 Professional have what it takes to earn a spot as top-of-the-line telephones of 2025? Let’s discover out.

Design & Construct

• Refinement of earlier design
• NanoCrystal Defend cowl glass
• IP68 & IP69 rated in opposition to mud and water

For essentially the most half, the Honor Magic 7 Professional’s aesthetics are a transparent continuation of these seen on its predecessor.

Most notably, the ‘squircle’ digital camera encompass and closely rounded corners of the Honor Magic 6 Professional persist, though issues have been massaged this era, for better subtlety and higher ergonomics.

I don’t thoughts the decrease screen-to-body ratio, which comes because of diminished rounding alongside the sides of the cellphone’s cowl glass. The (marginally thicker) bezels are nonetheless pleasingly skinny, slender and balanced, however you additionally get a flatter display screen that’s simpler to make use of.

Talking of which, Honor claims that the ‘NanoCrystal Defend’ defending the display screen is ready to provide drop safety that’s ten occasions higher than typical smartphone cowl glass.

I by no means threw my assessment unit on exhausting floor (shock horror), however after a month of use and not using a case there’s no actual signal of wear and tear and tear, even after having been partly buried in snow, laid throughout timbers and stone, and usually knocked round by the inevitable geometry encountered in daily use.

The 7 Professional additionally ups the ante with its water resistance, with the 6 Professional’s IP68-certified safety now joined by IP69-certification, which accounts for high-pressure water jets at as much as 80°C. This implies the 7 Professional isn’t simply snug within the moist, however a sizzling and steamy bathe shouldn’t trigger any points both.

Testing the 7 Professional with moist palms didn’t seem to have an effect on interplay, with swipes, faucets and use of the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor all proving as constant and fast as you possibly can hope for.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

The obvious visible distinction between generations is the transforming of the cellphone’s rear triple digital camera array, which for the final two entries within the collection has sat in a triangular configuration; with the floor across the digital camera cut-outs colour-matched to the cellphone’s physique. The Magic 7 Professional opts for a extra typical look.

The three rear sensors and laser autofocus array now sit in a squared structure, with their placement largely hid by the change again to an all-black digital camera encompass.

It makes telling the 7 Professional aside from its predecessor simpler, however really means it’s a extra generic trying cellphone total, with the likes of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, Realme 14 Professional and Vivo X200 Professional being just a few situations of current options that even have huge black round digital camera modules on their backs.

The glass of the digital camera module additionally protrudes previous the encompassing steel squircle, which means it’s extra prone to catching on issues, and doubtlessly chipping or shattering, when you don’t throw safety on the cellphone first. And no, Honor doesn’t embody a case within the field (nevertheless it does promote one individually for £24.99, within the UK).

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

With the worldwide mannequin, you’ve acquired three colourways to select from: Lunar Shadow Gray (pictured on this assessment), Breeze Blue or black. The impact on the Lunar Shadow Gray is eye-catching for positive, with a end harking back to the patina on a mirror; reflecting mild in distinction in opposition to itself.

It’s not as audacious as among the Honor finishes from yesteryear (the Honor View 20‘s refractive chevron motif involves thoughts) nevertheless it’s much more attention-grabbing than something you’d discover from the likes of Apple’s, Google’s or Samsung’s present finest.

The Breeze Blue end is completely accessible when choosing the Magic 7 Professional up direct from Honor’s on-line retailer, however whereas I all the time admire a extra vibrant choice to select from, on this case, I believe it’s the weakest end of the three.

Counterintuitively, the diffuse impact of the again glass on the black mannequin provides it specific attract; extra so than most black telephones that hit the market.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.8-inch 1280 x 2800 1-120Hz LTPO OLED
• HBM brightness: 1600nits, peak brightness: 5000nits
• Honor Encompass Subwoofer

So far as the audiovisual expertise is anxious, the Magic 7 Professional is among the many finest on the market right this moment, with one small caveat.

The Magic collection has pushed the envelope, by way of applied sciences and methods that assist mitigate eye pressure, over the previous few generations. Key points of this function set – like 4320Hz PWM (pulse-width modulation) dimming – endure on the 7 Professional, however with this mannequin, they’re joined by a brand new round polarizer too.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Not like a linear polarizer, mild is subtle evenly, regardless of the viewing angle or cellphone orientation, with the bonus impact of side-stepping the obvious display screen dimming that happens when a display screen off-axis, whereas carrying polarised sun shades.

It’s not essentially the most outlandish innovation in its personal proper, however within the context of Honor’s present repertoire of eye consolation methods, it’s yet one more welcome addition.

Honor is so dedicated to providing one of the best, most snug viewing expertise on the market, that the ‘Pure Gentle Honor AI Eye Consolation Show’ (to make use of its full title) even will get its personal sub-section within the cellphone’s settings menu; separate from the final show and brightness controls.

Right here you may toggle extra eye care options, like Circadian Night time Show, which warms color temperature within the evenings, relative to your mattress time.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Extra elementary to any cellphone’s viewing prowess is brightness, and the 7 Professional delivers right here too, with a whopping 5000nit peak brightness; outpacing the likes of the Galaxy S24 Extremely (which peaks at simply 2600 nits) and making certain great-looking HDR content material in addition.

Extra importantly, nevertheless, is the panel-wide 1600 nit peak output (matching the current OnePlus 13), which implies nice out of doors visibility, even in shiny environment. Might it go brighter? Positive, however that doesn’t detract from the very fact the Magic 7 Professional’s display screen can throw out mild and color higher than virtually any rival, at current.

Whereas it would at first appear arbitrary, with a cellphone as extremely priced because the Magic 7 Professional, attributes like decision and pixel density should be scrutinised too; greater than they might in any other case be on a extra reasonably priced gadget.

The cellphone’s 1280 x 2800 (the identical decision as its predecessor) panel undeniably appears to be like nice and can show completely sharp for most individuals, however at 453ppi (pixels per inch), it lags behind virtually each certainly one of its most like-minded rivals; from the aforementioned Ultras to the likes of the Pixel 9 Professional XL and even the iPhone 16 Professional Max.

It’s nice that each refresh charge and backbone can scale within the pursuit of energy effectivity, however the Honor’s decision ceiling is simply that a lot decrease, which stands proud amongst these it’s seeking to surpass.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Not like the asterisk that hangs over the cellphone’s otherwise-excellent viewing expertise, its stereo audio system are second to none in right this moment’s smartphone house.

Whereas I’d welcome much more bass on future iterations, the 7 Professional outshines robust rivals, like Sony’s newest Xperia 1 VI, with low distortion all through the cellphone’s quantity vary, and a fullness to the sound that different telephones can’t match.

There’s even management for the ‘Honor Sound Subwoofer’ with ‘Premium Bass’ mode activated by default, however the choice to change to ‘3D Encompass Sound’, in addition to a ‘normal’ mode too.

As for wi-fi audio, over the cellphone’s Bluetooth 5.4 connection, you once more have the choice of spatial audio, however by default, the cellphone depends on DTS:X Extremely expertise for a extra immersive sound profile.

Specs & Efficiency

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• 12GB RAM & 512GB storage
• RAM Enlargement as much as an extra 12GB

Because the torch bearer for Honor’s 2025 cellular efforts, it ought to come as no shock that the Magic 7 Professional packs Qualcomm’s newest top-of-the-line cellular chipset: the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

It’s the silicon we first spent a while with on the OnePlus 13 and can probably function within the majority of the 12 months’s finest and brightest telephones.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Within the case of the Magic 7 Professional, it’s been put to good use, serving up spectacular benchmarking scores that prime something bar the similarly-specced OnePlus, even trouncing Apple’s mighty A18 Professional SoC.

Though Honor hasn’t spoken a lot on the 7 Professional’s thermal administration, real-world testing reveals that even at maxed settings, the cellphone had no qualms delivering persistently easy high-fidelity gameplay with solely delicate warming after a full hour’s play time of Zenless Zone Zero.

In most conditions, you’re unlikely to problem the 7 Professional’s {hardware}, nevertheless it’s good to know that the efficiency headroom will assure this stays a succesful cellphone within the long-term.

Honor Magic 7 Professional benchmarks

Not like the mannequin in Honor’s native China, or the particular version Magic 7 RSR (Honor’s newest collaboration with Porsche Design), the European variant examined on this assessment is available in a single 12GB RAM / 512GB storage configuration.

Although there are rivals with a tad extra reminiscence (to not point out the pricier RSR comes with twice as a lot), the 7 Professional feels properly future-proofed. And when you do have reminiscence issues, as much as 12GB of the cellphone’s speedy UFS 4.0 storage might be reallocated as extra digital RAM anyway; a long-standing function dubbed ‘RAM Enlargement’.

Cameras

• 50Mp foremost, ultrawide and selfie cameras
• 200Mp 3x telephoto digital camera
• AI SuperZoom as much as 100x

Though Honor’s moved the digital camera senors round on the cellphone’s again, the Magic 7 Professional options the identical 50Mp foremost, ultrawide and selfie sensor because the 6 Professional.

The headline grabber, from the angle of each Honor’s advertising and marketing and primarily based on real-world testing, is the brand new 200Mp 3x periscopic telephoto sensor; up from a 180Mp 2.5x telephoto on the 6 Professional. It’s the biggest of its form in any smartphone and permits for the seize of some nice photographs, particularly because it helps 6x lossless sensor-cropped seize too.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

To complement the promise of tremendous long-range taking pictures (as much as 100x), Honor’s additionally added a function referred to as ‘AI Tremendous Zoom’ to the 7 Professional. It kicks in above 30x magnification and requires an web connection, because it depends on off-device processing of your snaps, however in return, you may have the possibility to rescue usually in any other case unusable photographs.

In observe, nevertheless, whereas an attention-grabbing improve, it’s a must to be discerning about what you’re attempting to seize.

Telephoto digital camera samples

Man-made topics – issues more likely to function plenty of straight strains and uniform or common shapes – don’t hold-up properly after being squeezed by way of AI Tremendous Zoom’s processing, whereas the inherent irregularity of the geometry in pure objects – bushes or forests, snow-capped mountains and so on. – higher align with the artistic license the 7 Professional takes with photographs.

Offered you’re OK with what usually seems to be a painterly look (similar to the processing I noticed utilized to excessive zoom photographs from the Xiaomi 14 Extremely), AI Tremendous Zoom has its makes use of, it’s simply not as dependable or succesful as Honor desires you to suppose it’s. It’s additionally value noting that the moon photographs, whereas spectacular, are synthesised in-camera too.

AI Tremendous Zoom at 50x

One factor the Magic 7 Professional’s Falcon Digicam system is especially good at is freezing movement. The principle 1/1.3-inch 50Mp sensor comes with a variable ƒ/1.4 to ƒ/2.0 aperture. This robotically opens up or closes down, relying on accessible mild, to be able to maintain noise low and seize as a lot element as doable (you may alter the aperture manually in Professional mode).

HD Go off / on

For those who don’t have time or don’t wish to fiddle with the professional controls, Motion Mode robotically kicks on when the 7 Professional detects a transferring topic in-frame, once more serving to freeze movement and cut back the possibility of a blurry shot successfully. It’s a pleasant inclusion, however I discovered it kicked on a little bit too readily; often when the cellphone itself was simply transferring as I raised it to border up a topic, even when the topic itself was stationary.

Constructing on that, HD Tremendous Burst is a brand new method to make sure high-quality nonetheless seize of transferring topics at 10fps, and it delivered in testing (see above), with crisp outcomes, even in opposition to fast-moving sledders kicking up snow as they handed me by.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Portrait taking pictures is extra versatile than ever, now accessible throughout 1x, 2x, 3x and 6x zoom ranges, with the Studio Harcourt therapies (Vivid, Color and Basic) we have been launched to alongside the Honor 200 Professional final 12 months, current too.

The Magic 7 Professional’s digital camera system is brimming with options, like these designed to assist get the clearest shot, whether or not it’s distant or fast paced, however for all the artistic taking pictures modes on provide, it’s the elemental picture processing that Honor actually must concentrate on with its subsequent flagship.

Even when viewing photographs within the cellphone’s native digital camera app, there’s evident color banding when nice swathes of sky. The color science can nail it, however inconsistently, whereas the cellphone’s HDR processing tends to over-expose; both brightening areas of shadow with the impact of flattening out a picture, or inflicting the brightest areas to blow out, somewhat than stopping down.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5270mAh (Si-C) battery
• 100W wired + 80W wi-fi charging
• No energy adapter in-box

The Magic 7 Professional showcases Honor’s third-generation Si-C (silicon carbon) battery tech, which delivers better power density, with out including bulk. It’s what’s allowed the 7 Professional to boast a bigger 5850mAh capability (up from 5600mAh on the Magic 6 Professional), while being a lighter cellphone total. If solely this have been true for all markets, although.

When requested, Honor wasn’t particular as to the ‘why’, past insinuating EU regulation could have performed a component within the change. Not like the Honor Magic 7 Professional offered in China and the worldwide mannequin accessible within the likes of Malaysia, throughout Honor’s retail markets all through the EU and the UK, the cellphone loses its bragging rights, coming as an alternative with a smaller 5270mAh cell.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Even so, the EU mannequin examined for this assessment nonetheless put up an excellent struggle, delivering an excellent rating of 12:37 in our PCMark battery benchmarking take a look at and a stable 10.25 hours of screen-on time on a single cost in real-world use.

This interprets to a day and a half of assured use, or two days with extra thought of use. It’s necessary to do not forget that the EU 7 Professional’s capability and battery tech nonetheless surpass what’s accessible from the newest Apple, Samsung or Google handsets – it’s no slouch.

Honor features a 6A USB A-to-C cable in-box, however no energy adapter, which is a disgrace as a result of the Magic 7 Professional might be refilled at a blistering tempo (a promised full recharge in 33 minutes) with the appropriate brick.

The Magic 7 Professional helps as much as 100W wired and 80W wi-fi charging (that’s 20W and 14W sooner than the 6 Professional, respectively), you simply want certainly one of Honor’s chargers to succeed in these speeds. Sadly, I don’t personal a 100W Honor Tremendous Charger, however to my shock, the 66W adapter from my Honor MagicPad 2, did simply nearly as good a job, refilling the cellphone from flat in 33 minutes, begging the query, what are these excellent 34W even for?

Even with the smaller capability, the battery efficiency of the EU 7 Professional stays aggressive and nonetheless beats down among the newest choices from Honor’s key rivals; it’s simply bittersweet that patrons within the area can be getting a barely lesser model of the cellphone until they import.

Software program & Options

• MagicOS 9.0 atop Android 15
• Eye monitoring
• 5 years OS + 5 years safety replace assist

Honor’s MagicOS will not be as clear or as elegant a person expertise as Google’s Pixel launcher or OnePlus’ OxygenOS, nevertheless it’s crammed with attention-grabbing options. The most recent rendition – MagicOS 9.0, because it seems on the 7 Professional (working atop the newest Android 15) – unsurprisingly focuses on including to or increasing AI performance, as is all the craze, at current.

Earlier than diving into that, nevertheless, newcomers will extra instantly be struck by the numerous similarities to a sure Apple-made cellular OS it bears.

For those who’re coming from an iPhone, MagicOS has long-held quite a few iOS-like sensibilities; from the short settings and notifications accessed by swiping from the highest proper or left nook of the display screen, respectively, and the dearth of an apps drawer by default, to the wallpapers and, extra just lately, Honor’s tackle the Dynamic Island.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Just like the iPhone’s stylised cutout, the ‘Magic Capsule’ on the Honor Magic 7 Professional homes the entrance going through digital camera, in addition to a 3D ToF (time of flight) depth sensor. This permits for face unlocking with added safety (which works reliably, even in low mild), and provides quick access to persistent notifications, like timers and music playback controls. Up to now, so Apple. Honor’s taken issues additional, although.

One of many options teased between the discharge of the Magic 6 Professional and seven Professional was the promise of eye monitoring, and it capabilities surprisingly properly, virtually straight out of the field on the corporate’s newest.

After a quick calibration the place you have a look at just a few specified factors on display screen, throughout a variety of various lighting environments and at various angles, I used to be impressed how the Magic 7 Professional would be capable to observe my gaze, displaying a dot on-screen that adopted wherever I used to be trying.

It’s spectacular tech, however I can’t assist however really feel like we’re solely seeing the tip of the iceberg. Proper now, if the cellphone notices you watching a notification that simply popped up for lengthy sufficient, it’ll act as when you tapped the notification and open the related app.

The system can be utilized to ensure the interface is oriented accurately, ensure the display screen doesn’t fall asleep if you’re it, or get up if you look at it. You may even use your eyes to quiet an incoming cellphone name.

True gaze-driven hands-free interplay seems like a methods off, however Honor is ready to be the pioneer on this space if it continues.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Magic Portal is MagicOS’ common sharing menu; activated by long-pressing on imagery or textual content, and now by drawing round a component of curiosity on-screen along with your knuckle. AI’s now been infused into the expertise on the 7 Professional to supply extra related and dynamic sharing choices. It’s ubiquity is its energy, however the improved relevance of outcomes means I want it have been accessible on extra units.

The corporate additionally guarantees AI-powered Deep Pretend detection later this 12 months (April 2025), nevertheless, because it’s restricted to video calls and may’t perform throughout the likes of WhatsApp, Instagram or Zoom, I query how impactful it’ll be for customers when it does arrive.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

It appears most telephones leaping on the AI bandwagon flip to a set of staple options value shouting about and the Magic 7 Professional is not any completely different. AI-powered reformatting, summarisation or minute-generation, in addition to transcription and translation providers (with 13 languages supported at launch)

Utilizing my Mexican pal’s newest Instagram Tales to try it out, the cellphone’s new native AI Translate app has each a chat and interpreter function. With the latter, I used to be in a position to get most of translated Spanish being spoken, however constancy was on-par with equal applied sciences I’ve examined from the likes of Samsung and Google; it really works, nevertheless it’s clearly not but 100% error-free.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

As for picture enhancing, I used to be shocked to search out that Honor hasn’t gone wherever close to as deep with its AI instruments, or somewhat instrument.

There’s solely an eraser, so far as inbuilt AI picture enhancing instruments are involved. Samsung helps you to generate fully new parts inside a picture utilizing solely a rudimentary sketch, Oppo and OnePlus allow you to take away reflections, unblur and upres imagery, in addition to erase parts, whereas Google’s newest Pixels welcome full text-to-image modification of your photographs.

Honor’s AI Eraser does not less than provide a comparable consistency and talent to comparable options on rival telephones.

A welcome software program improve additionally comes within the type of the transfer to 5 years of OS updates, in addition to 5 years of safety; one extra 12 months over the Honor Magic 6 Professional’s providing and a greater worth proposition, because of this.

Worth & Availability

Regardless of first happening sale in China in late 2024, the Honor Magic 7 Professional made its debut on the worldwide stage throughout a week-long launch occasion in Bled, Slovenia, on January 15, 2025.

As there’s just one storage variant to contemplate in most markets, there’s just one worth to fret about too. Nonetheless, at £1099.99 / €1299.99, it’s simply as excessive as its predecessor, which means it’s one of the vital costly typical flagship telephones out available on the market (i.e. not a foldable) right this moment.

It slots in at £100 lower than the bottom iPhone 16 Professional Max, whereas boasting twice the storage, nevertheless, its most up-to-date Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered adversary – the OnePlus 13 – begins at roughly £200 much less, whereas the 512GB variant nonetheless prices £100 lower than the Honor. As such, ensure that it’s the Magic 7 Professional-exclusive options or Honor’s ecosystem cross-compatibility that drive your buy, in any other case your cash is perhaps higher spent elsewhere.

You may choose the Honor Magic 7 Professional up within the UK, immediately from Honor’s UK retailer, if you’d like the selection of all three colourways talked about earlier, in any other case, the Lunar Shadow Gray and black fashions are on sale from among the nation’s foremost carriers: O2, Three and Vodafone.

On the time of writing, established third-party retailers, like Amazon, Argos, Very and Currys, will even quickly provide the Magic 7 Professional.

As ever, Honor’s telephones aren’t immediately offered within the US.

Try our checklist of one of the best telephones to see one of the best options.

Do you have to purchase the Honor Magic 7 Professional?

With the Honor Magic 7 Professional, the corporate seems to have centered on bettering the points that made the earlier Magic 6 Professional nice, whereas the road’s downside areas persist.

The digital camera is divisive, in that it’s feature-packed and may take nice photographs, however inconsistency in picture high quality and the liberties options like AI Tremendous Zoom take, received’t enchantment to each person.

Equally, the cellphone is constructed to final from each a design and {hardware} perspective, with that Snapdragon 8 Elite chip providing loads of future-proofed use, offered you may get on with MagicOS’ eccentricities.

It in any other case is a well-rounded flagship, wealthy in options, with top-notch efficiency, good battery life, excellent quick charging and a succesful digital camera system, brimming with options. To not point out, prolonged software program assist makes the cellphone’s excessive asking worth that little bit simpler to swallow.

Specs

• MagicOS 9.0 atop Android 15
• 6.8-inch, 19.5:9, 1280 x 2800, 8T LTPO OLED, 1-120Hz
• Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
• 12GB RAM (LPDDR5X)
• 512GB storage (UFS 4.0)
• Cameras:
• 50Mp 1/1.3-inch f/1.4 to f/2.0 foremost sensor w/ OIS
• 50Mp 1/2.88-inch f/2.0 122° ultrawide
• 200Mp 1/1.4-inch f/2.6 3x periscope telephoto
• 50Mp 1/2.93-inch f/2.0 90° selfie digital camera + 3D ToF sensor
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5270mAh (EU) | 5850mAH (RoW) Si-C battery
• 100W Honor SuperCharge wired charging
• 80W Honor SuperCharge wi-fi charging
• 162.7 x 77.1 x 8.8mm
• IP68 & IP69 licensed
• 223 grams
• Colors: Lunar Shadow Gray, Breeze Blue, black