The Honor Magic 5 Pro was finally unveiled at this year’s MWC Barcelona, and we got our hands on a new device ahead of the big reveal (head over to our Honor Magic 5 Pro hands-on review to read our first impressions).
The fast-growing Chinese manufacturer has stepped out of the shadows of its old parent company, Huawei, on a mission to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple in the premium smartphone market – and the Magic 5 Pro could be the phone to help Honor do just that.
Honor made its first premium move last year with the excellent Honor Magic 4 Pro – the brand’s first true premium smartphone to be launched outside of China – and another device, styled after the Honor Magic5 Pro, debuted at MWC 2023 with a foldable Honor Magic Vs (Go to our hands-on Honor Magic Vs review for our first impressions of the device.)
So, in light of the phone’s official announcement, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to all the details you need to know about the Honor Magic 5 Pro. Below you will find information on the configuration, design and features of the camera, as well as all confirmed details about its price.
Honor Magic 5 Pro: release date
Honor officially unveiled the Honor Magic 5 series at MWC Barcelona 2023, but we still don’t know when the device will be available for purchase.
Most likely, the Honor Magic 5 Pro will be launched for pre-orders in the next few weeks, with the actual release date coming later. Its predecessor, the Magic 4 Pro, hit store shelves on May 13, 2022, so Honor may opt for a similar date for this phone’s successor.
It’s not worth anything though that the Magic 5 Pro probably won’t be available in the US. Huawei sold Honor in 2020 to avoid putting its one-time sub-brand on the US import blacklist, so there’s no legal reason why Honor couldn’t sell its upcoming flagship across the Atlantic, but it’s not something we’ve seen growing the brand is doing.
The Magic 4 Pro is available for purchase in the UK and Europe, so we expect Honor to follow suit by making the Magic 5 Pro available in those regions as well. Availability in Australia, however, seems unlikely.
Honor Magic 5 Pro: Price
Honor hasn’t released global pricing information for the Magic 5 Pro yet – but we do know that the base version of the device will cost €1,199 (around $1,270 / £1,060 / AU$1,890) in Europe.
For context, the Honor Magic 5 Lite is now available to buy from £329.99/€369, although its premium sibling will sell for much more for obvious reasons.
Honor Magic 5 Pro: news and specifications
The Honor Magic 5 Pro will arrive with a real smorgasbord of premium specs.
For starters, its predecessor’s “Eye of Muse” design for the rear cameras remains, as does the same 6.81-inch LTPO display topped by quadruple curved glass. However, in line with the brand’s new human-centric design philosophy, the Honor Magic 5 Pro’s 120Hz refresh rate display is certified for circadian rhythm, which basically means it doesn’t put too much strain on your eyes. By mimicking the dynamic dimming of natural light, the Honor Magic 5 Pro reduces eye strain by 18% (compared to other premium smartphones), giving you 30 minutes more sleep, says Honor.
Under the hood, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset marks a step up from the Gen 1 processor found in the Magic 4 Pro. Honor has also added new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth infrastructure to its new flagship, which should greatly increase Wi-Fi performance (and reduce latency). See the full Magic 5 Pro specs below:
This is a device that has been designed based on insights about YOU. #Unleash the Power of Magic with the all-new #HONORMagic5 Pro. From a floating display to computational photography to an extra-large battery and more! #HONORMWC2023 #MWC23 #Snapdragon pic.twitter.com/4m4fiWfBdAFebruary 27, 2023
The Honor Magic 5 Pro also has a hefty 5,100mAh battery5, which is said to provide over 12 hours of battery life with heavy use (compared to more than the S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max can handle).
On cameras – where this phone is likely to hit the headlines – the Honor Magic 5 Pro includes a 50MP wide-angle lens, a 50MP telephoto lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens on the front.
The key differences between the Magic 5 Pro and its top competitors, however, are the former’s various special shooting modes. One of them is AI motion sensing capture, which allows you to capture impressive photos during intense movements such as dancing, jumping or shuffling a deck of cards. Check out the feature in action via the tweet below:
#HONORMagic5 Pro surprises us with its AI function – see how it automatically records the moment of breaking GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™! Discover what else it can do to #UnleashThePowerofMagic at #MWC23! @GWR #GuinnessWorldRecords pic.twitter.com/d0fy7FVZWNFebruary 13, 2023
We’ll be testing AI motion detection capture (and the rest of the phone’s photo features) as we spend more time with the Magic 5 Pro in the coming months. In the meantime, head over to our aforementioned hands-on review to see how the phone fared in our early tests.