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Best Of MWC 2023: HONOR Magic5 Pro

Featured image for Best Of MWC 2023: HONOR Magic5 Pro

The HONOR Magic5 Pro has a spec sheet & design that are hard to ignore.

During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, HONOR announced two flagship-grade phones. Those phones are the HONOR Magic5 Pro and Magic Vs. The former is a regular, candybar-style flagship, while the latter is a foldable device. We’ve sent our ‘Best of MWC 2023’ awards to both of these devices, actually, but in this article, we’ll talk about the HONOR Magic5 Pro.

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This smartphone does look similar to its predecessor from the front, but HONOR changed things up on the back. It is one of the most powerful smartphones in the market, on paper, and it really does stand out design-wise. It has a bold, circular camera island on the back, and a pill-shaped camera hole on the front, which has a purpose. There’s a lot to talk about here, actually.

‘Star Wheel’ camera system, and the Gaudi Curve

The heading above may seem a bit confusing, but these are HONOR’s marketing terms. HONOR is referring to the camera island on the back as the “Star Wheel” triple camera system. The Gaudi Curve pays tribute to Antoni Gaudi, as the phone has symmetry dual-curved bezels on both sides. The camera island on the back actually rises gradually from the phone’s back, and it serves as a nice point to grip the device, especially with a case on. It also has a bold design that some of you may really like, which is combined with a really nice-looking frosted glass on the back.

The front side of the phone is also rather easy to set apart, thanks to the pill-shaped camera hole in the top-left corner. There is a reason HONOR went with a pill-shaped camera hole, instead of a punch hole, 3D facial scanning. Yes, this phone comes with advanced facial scanning which is supposed to work much better than your regular facial scanning that uses a single camera. This is supposed to do the trick in low light as well. Though, if you want to use a fingerprint scanner instead, you can, one is located below the display.

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Specs for days

The HONOR Magic5 Pro is, on paper, one of the most powerful smartphones on the market at the moment. That is hard to deny, and it’s impossible to talk about this phone without mentioning it. I don’t even know where to start. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC fuels the phone, one of the most powerful mobile SoCs out there, if not the most powerful one. In addition to that, HONOR included up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 512GB of storage.

You will find a 5,100mAh battery on the inside, while 66W wired charging is supported. Yes, you do also get 50W wireless charging support here, and both reverse wired and wireless charging. Do note that the charger does come with the phone. Stereo speakers are also here, and the phone is IP68 certified. An ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner is also on the list, and so is advanced facial scanning.

Android 13 does come out of the box, while there are three 50-megapixel cameras included on the back. HONOR opted for wide, ultrawide, and periscope telephoto units, which is arguably a great choice. The sensors are quite powerful too. On top of everything I mentioned thus far, a 6.81-inch panel is also included, and that is a 120Hz LTPO display that gets up to 1,800 nits of peak brightness. Yes, it’s also very sharp. As already said, talking about this phone without pointing out its ultra-powerful specs is kind of pointless. If you’d like to get the whole picture, check out the spec sheet.