The HONOR 200 Pro is a powerful contender in the high-end smartphone market, boasting top-tier specs and innovative features. Here’s a detailed breakdown to see if it lives up to the hype.
HONOR 200 Pro specs:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.78-inch FHD+ Curved OLED, 2700 x 1224 pixels, 120Hz, 4000 nits peak brightness |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, Octa-core, up to 3.0GHz |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Storage | 512GB |
| Rear Camera | 50MP main (OIS), 50MP telephoto (OIS), 12MP ultrawide/macro |
| Front Camera | 50MP selfie shooter, 3D depth camera |
| Battery | 5200mAh |
| Charging | 100W wired, 66W wireless |
| Weight | 199g |
Unboxing
The HONOR 200 Pro arrives in a sleek, minimalist box. Inside, you’ll find:
- The phone itself
- A 100W wired charger with a USB-C cable
- A USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter
- A clear protective case
- A SIM card ejector tool
- Quick start guide and warranty information
Design and Construction
The HONOR 200 Pro feels like a flagship phone should. The curved OLED display creates a waterfall effect that seamlessly blends into the metal frame. The glossy back part of this Ocean Blue colorway, while undeniably attractive, is a fingerprint magnet.
Thankfully, the included clear protective case offers some level of scratch and fingerprint resistance without compromising the phone’s aesthetics. At 199g, it’s surprisingly lightweight for its size, making it comfortable to hold for extended periods.
The volume and power buttons are located on the right side of the frame, with good tactility and responsive feedback.
The SIM card tray sits on the bottom edge, along with the USB-C, the microphone, and half of the phone’s loudspeakers.
Another set of loudspeaker and microphone are up atop along with the IR blaster.
At the front is the AMOLED display, with a pill-shaped cuthole at the top for the selfie camera and depth sensor.
The under-display fingerprint sensor is a welcome addition, offering a secure and convenient way to unlock the phone. It’s fast and accurate, even with slightly damp fingers. However, some users might have preferred a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for easier access, especially when the phone is lying flat.
The only design element that feels like a missed opportunity is the USB-C port. While it supports 100W wired charging, it’s a USB 2.0 port instead of the newer and faster USB 3.0 standard. This means slower data transfer speeds compared to some competitors. Overall, the HONOR 200 Pro delivers a premium design that feels luxurious and well-built. Minor quibbles with the fingerprint sensor placement and USB port standard don’t detract from the overall user experience.
Display and Audio
The 6.78-inch OLED display is the star of the show. The FHD+ resolution (2700 x 1224 pixels) offers sharp visuals, and individual pixels are virtually invisible to the naked eye. Text appears crisp, and details in photos and videos are well-defined. The display utilizes HDR technology, ensuring vibrant colors and deep blacks for an immersive viewing experience. The 120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel incredibly smooth, from scrolling through social media feeds to playing fast-paced games. Whether you’re browsing the web, watching videos, or gaming, the display is a joy to use.
Adding to the multimedia experience are the phone’s dual speakers. They deliver rich and clear audio, with enough volume to fill a room. The soundstage is surprisingly wide for a smartphone, and the bass response, while not earth-shattering, is adequate for most users. For an even more immersive audio experience, you can utilize wired listening with a USB-C earphone or using a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, or sticking to using wireless audio gear like I do. Overall, the display and audio combination on the HONOR 200 Pro is excellent, making it a great choice for entertainment enthusiasts.
Camera
The HONOR 200 Pro boasts a versatile triple-camera system on the back, but the magic truly extends beyond the hardware.
The HONOR 200 Pro boasts a versatile triple-camera system on the back. The main sensor is a 50MP Sony IMX9000 with an f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS). It captures stunning photos with excellent detail, dynamic range, and color accuracy in well-lit environments. The autofocus is fast and reliable, ensuring you never miss a fleeting moment. The 50MP telephoto lens with OIS offers 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, allowing you to capture subjects from afar with good clarity. While some quality is lost at higher zoom levels, it’s still impressive for a smartphone camera.
The 12MP ultrawide sensor with autofocus is a welcome addition, allowing you to capture expansive landscapes and group photos without sacrificing detail in the edges. It also doubles as a macro lens for capturing close-up shots of flowers, insects, and other small objects. Low-light performance is decent, with the phone’s AI algorithms doing a good job of reducing noise and improving image clarity. However, some detail is lost compared to daylight photos.
The 50MP selfie camera with a 3D depth camera takes high-resolution selfies with natural-looking bokeh effects. The portrait mode allows you to adjust the level of background blur for a more customized look. Video recording capabilities are impressive as well, with the phone supporting 8K recording at 30fps and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Overall, the HONOR 200 Pro camera system is well-suited for most users, offering excellent photo and video quality in a variety of lighting conditions.
The phone is equipped with advanced AI image processing software, elevating your photography experience. The processing is undeniably faster than last year’s HONOR 90, which should put those quick uploading scenarios at ease. A key highlight is the Studio Harcourt Portrait Mode, a result of HONOR’s collaboration with the prestigious Parisian photography studio.
This unique mode leverages Studio Harcourt’s rich heritage and expertise in portrait photography. When activated, the Studio Harcourt Portrait Mode offers users three distinct styles:
- Vibrant: This mode delivers a bright and colorful aesthetic, perfect for capturing the energy and life of a subject.
- Color: This mode creates a more classic look with a focus on rich, natural colors, ideal for timeless portraits.
- Classic Black and White: This mode emulates Studio Harcourt’s signature black and white style, known for its dramatic lighting and timeless elegance.
Each mode utilizes AI algorithms to optimize lighting, exposure, and background blur, recreating the iconic Studio Harcourt look directly on your smartphone. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or just starting, the Studio Harcourt Portrait Mode allows you to capture stunning and professional-looking portraits with a tap.
Beyond the Studio Harcourt collaboration, the HONOR 200 Pro’s camera software offers a variety of other features to enhance your photos. These include:
- AI Scene Recognition: The phone can automatically detect the scene you’re shooting and adjust camera settings accordingly for optimal results.
- Night Mode: This mode allows you to capture clear and detailed photos even in low-light environments.
- Pro Mode: For photography enthusiasts, Pro Mode offers full manual control over camera settings, allowing you to fine-tune your shots for creative expression.
The combination of powerful hardware, advanced AI software, and the unique Studio Harcourt Portrait Mode makes the HONOR 200 Pro camera system a truly versatile tool for capturing memorable moments.
Performance
The HONOR 200 Pro is a powerhouse when it comes to performance. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor is a beast, handling even the most demanding tasks with ease. Whether you’re multitasking between multiple apps, editing high-resolution photos, or playing graphics-intensive games, the HONOR 200 Pro delivers smooth and stutter-free performance.
The phone comes with 12GB of RAM, ensuring excellent app switching and background operations. You can keep numerous apps open in the background without experiencing any lag. It also offers 512GB of ample storage, providing ample space for all your apps, photos, videos, and music. With the increasing file sizes of games and media.
The HONOR 200 Pro runs on MagicOS 8.0, a custom user interface based on Android 14. MagicOS offers a clean and user-friendly interface with a focus on customization. Out-of-the-box bloatware is minimal, and the phone allows for extensive customization options for themes, icons, and launcher layouts. While some users might prefer a stock Android experience, MagicOS offers a feature-rich alternative with a learning curve that shouldn’t be too steep.
MagicOS elevates user experience with a suite of innovative features:
- Magic Portal: This feature acts like a smart assistant, understanding messages you receive and directing you to relevant applications. It eliminates the need to switch between apps manually, allowing you to complete tasks with a single gesture. Magic Portal also incorporates AI Smart Folders and AI Blur for better privacy and usability, helping you access apps faster and more securely.
- Magic Anywhere Door: This innovative feature simplifies file transfer between devices. With a simple drag-and-drop motion, you can long-press and drag text, pictures, files, videos, and more for quick storage across devices, boosting efficiency. Magic Anywhere Door also includes a convenient 3-finger swipe gesture that allows for global searches across all your connected devices.
- Magic Ring: Perfect for multitaskers, Magic Ring streamlines working across multiple devices with a single swipe. It supports up to eight concurrent services, including screen sharing, network sharing, mouse sharing, window sharing, call sharing, camera sharing, notification sharing, and keyboard sharing. This allows for seamless collaboration and enhanced productivity across your ecosystem of devices.
- Magic Capsule: This handy interface provides quick access to essential functions like alarms and calling without needing to navigate through multiple apps. It also keeps you informed about important notifications like timers, boarding times, meeting schedules, and order statuses, ensuring you never miss a beat.
- MagicLM AI: HONOR takes on-device AI a step further with MagicLM. This innovative language model utilizes a powerful billion-parameter structure within the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor. MagicLM personalizes your user experience by understanding your usage patterns and preferences. It can also enhance safety features by providing real-time alerts and suggestions.
- Magic Lock Screen: MagicOS redefines the lock screen experience with Magic Lock Screen. This feature offers a fully customizable always-on display (AOD), allowing you to personalize your lock screen with the information and style that matters to you. Additionally, Magic Lock Screen provides an extra layer of security with parallel spaces. These isolated spaces allow you to keep certain contacts and information separate, ensuring your privacy.
By incorporating these features, MagicOS empowers users to streamline their workflow, personalize their experience, and prioritize security.
On the connectivity front, the HONOR 200 Pro boasts all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a high-end smartphone. It supports 5G connectivity for blazing-fast download and upload speeds, allowing you to stream high-resolution videos, download large files, and enjoy lag-free online gaming. Wi-Fi 6 ensures smooth and reliable wireless connections, while Bluetooth 5.3 offers improved range and lower power consumption for connecting to wireless headphones and speakers. NFC allows for contactless payments, adding to the phone’s convenience features.
The combination of powerful hardware, advanced software like MagicOS, and top-notch connectivity makes the HONOR 200 Pro a true productivity powerhouse.
Charging and Battery Life
The HONOR 200 Pro packs a decent-sized 5200mAh battery. This, coupled with the phone’s power-efficient processor and software optimizations, translates to excellent battery life. Even with moderate to heavy usage, the phone can easily last a full day on a single charge. Power users who constantly push their phones to the limit might need to top up before the end of the day, but for most users, a single charge will suffice.
Where the HONOR 200 Pro truly shines is its fast charging capabilities. The included 100W wired charger can juice up the battery from 0 to 100% in around 30 minutes. This is perfect for those times when you need a quick power boost before heading out the door. The phone also supports 66W wireless charging, making it a convenient option for topping up the battery without fumbling with cables. Overall, the HONOR 200 Pro’s battery life and fast charging capabilities are excellent, ensuring you’re never left stranded with a dead phone.
Final Thoughts
The HONOR 200 Pro is a top-tier smartphone that delivers exceptional performance, a stunning display, and a versatile camera system with a unique Parisian flair. The phone is a powerhouse for multitasking, gaming, and content creation, with ample storage to hold all your files. With its long battery life and fast charging capabilities, you’ll never have to worry about running out of juice.
While the glossy back and USB 2.0 port might be minor drawbacks, and the price tag is on the higher end, the overall package is impressive. The HONOR 200 Pro caters to users who demand the best and appreciate innovative features like the Studio Harcourt Portrait Mode. If you’re a power user or a photography enthusiast who prioritizes performance, a beautiful display, and a unique camera experience, the HONOR 200 Pro is a compelling option.
