Chinese smartphone maker Honor, today, introduced its first new flagship smartphone since 2019. Half a year since being sold, the former Huawei sub-brand has introduced the new Magic3 smartphone series, the Magic3, Magic3 Pro, and range-topper Magic3 Pro+.
The Magic Pro series of smartphones are significant for several reasons. Beyond being the first flagships from the brand since it was spun off from Huawei in early 2021, the devices come with Google Mobile Services (GMS) meaning that it will run Android 11 and have access to Google’s suite of apps.
While the Pro+ is similar in most respects to its Magic3 series siblings, it is in imaging that most of the differences and upgrades occur. The Magic3 Pro+ promises impressive imaging capabilities, powered by a unique hexagon rear camera setup.
Honor has added a 50MP IMX700 1/1.28” Sony sensor for its 23mm lens with Full Pixel Octa PD Autofocus, a 64MP ultrawide camera, a 64MP monochrome camera and a 64MP telephoto camera, as well as a fifth rear camera for portraits. On the front, it has a 13MP punch-hole selfie camera next to the ToF sensor.
In terms of design, the resemblance of the Magic3 Pro+ to the Huawei Mate 40 Porsche Design model is unmistakable. But taking design cues from a previous and attractive design from its former parent is nothing to be embarrassed about.
The Magic3 series of smartphones will go on sale in China first but are expected to come to Europe and the Middle East, as well as to Asian markets, later. No word on when, or if, it will come to the USA, though Canada is a possibility given the positive reaction that Huawei’s smartphones received there.
The camera is one of the most important technical features in a handset. The camera is often a key factor that determines which handset a consumer will purchase, making cameras important differentiators for mobile phones. MEGAPIXELS have been used to define the quality of the camera in handsets, and while the megapixel race between vendors had slowed in recent years, Strategy Analytics has identified a new wave of megapixel races between vendors. The Magic3 Pro+ is Honor’s statement that it is ready to take this fight directly to the rest of the smartphone industry.
Strategy Analytics’ Device Technology service tracks and forecasts smartphone imaging technology. Our latest report, Global Device Imaging Enablers Forecasts to 2026 examines several key technologies found inside the modern camera phone such as: Sensor size and amount, Front Camera, Flash, Autofocus, HDR, Sensor Shift and Optical Image Stabilization, Rear Multi-Sensor Camera, and Camera AI. That report can be found here.