2024 Winners and Losers: Honor | Infinium-tech
It was another strong year for Honor as it established itself as one of the leading Android manufacturers globally. Honor makes some great foldables, and its flagship Magic6 and midrange Number series devices also stood out from the crowd.
Its strong smartphone lineup is complemented by great tablets and laptops, with the MagicBook Art 14 being one of our 2024 favorites. There were some bumps along the way, so let’s summarize the good and not-so-good of Honor’s 2024 campaign.
Winner: Magic V3
Honor introduced arguably the best foldable of 2024 with the Magic V3. The thinnest and lightest book-style Fold on the market feels like a generation (or two) ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 and most other major competitors in the field.
With its ultra-thin 4.4mm width and 226-gram weight in unfolded mode, Honor delivered an 8-inch device that takes up as much space in your pocket as a flagship iPhone Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy Ultra slab phone.
And it’s not just about looks, Honor brought all the bells and whistles with the V3 – a reasonably sized 6.43-inch cover screen, a huge 7.92″ main display that supports stylus input, the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and A capable trio of cameras. Backed by a solid software and a well-lasting battery.
Winner: Magic6 Pro
It was one of the first flagship Android phones to launch in 2024 and the Magic6 Pro remained a factor throughout the year. It ticked most of the boxes for a current-generation flagship – a bright and crisp LTPO OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, great cameras with a top-notch 180MP periscope and top-tier battery endurance. It was also the only Android flagship to feature an iPhone-rivaling 3D face unlock system.
Aside from unreliable video shooting and a few minor software mishaps, the Magic6 Pro is a worthy flagship and remains competitive against the best in the business. We can only hope that the Magic7 Pro is coming to global markets soon.
Winner: MagicBook Art 14
It was one of the best-looking laptops we reviewed this year, and the MagicBook Art 14 didn’t disappoint on the hardware front either. From its beautiful 14.6-inch OLED 120Hz touchscreen to its sleek aluminum chassis and Intel Core Ultra 5 chip, there’s little to be desired with the MagicBook Art 14.
The Art 14 weighs around 980 grams, and that neat tuck-away camera module is a great party trick that will appeal to the privacy-minded crowd. The titanium keyboard and huge glass trackpad are a joy to use and the 60Wh battery kept us going all day. We’re also expecting these numbers to increase with the Snapdragon X Elite Edition, which is in our review pipeline.
Loser: International Availability
For all the great devices it’s launched over the past twelve months, Honor has continued its policy of keeping some of its devices China-exclusive. Sadly, great phones like the non-Pro Magic6, Magic V Flip, and X50 GT aren’t available outside China.
Honor Magic6 • Magic V Flip • X50 GT
Additionally, the brand’s latest Magic7 series phones are still only sold in China nearly two months after their announcement, with no word on which phones will make a splash overseas.
Loser: MagicOS
Despite Honor’s continued commitment, MagicOS isn’t among our favorite Android skins. From the Magic Capsule pill-shaped cutout to the Control Center, it’s clear that Honor’s software team looks to iOS as an inspiration. This is a common theme for Chinese smartphone makers, but we feel that Honor’s capable hardware is held back a bit by the software.
The latest MagicOS 9.0 looks promising, but we’ll have to get our hands on the global release to see if it’s really on par with the likes of Samsung’s One UI or Google’s Pixel UI.
Loser: Flagship Smartwatch
Honor’s flagship smartphones and foldable Android are some of the best on the market, so we’re left to wonder why the brand doesn’t put more effort into premium smartwatches. The Honor Watch 5 and Watch GS4 are the manufacturer’s only smartwatches launching in 2024 and while both are capable devices, they are far from a proper WearOS smartwatch.
A WearOS Honor Watch with a Porsche design look would be a welcome addition
Honor already has a huge ecosystem of premium devices, from smartphones to tablets and laptops, so it only made sense to complete the circle with a flagship smartwatch. With its Porsche Design smartphone expertise, we’re sure Honor can create an exceptional premium smartwatch that will bring some fresh air to the stale WearOS market.
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