Review of Honor Watch Magic - Smart watch from Huawei. Review of Honor Watch Magic - Smart watch from Huawei What Honor Watch Magic can do

Honor Magic 2 is one of the few smartphones that brings us back to tactile interaction with the device. Here, the 6.4-inch diagonal Amoled display has minimal frames not only on the sides, but on the top and bottom. This was achieved through a slider - two front cameras are located in the edge, which “move out” of it when you need to take a selfie.

As for the cameras, there are six of them: three in the front; three - behind. Moreover, on the front panel there is actually only one full-fledged camera; additional two are depth sensors with 2 megapixel resolutions. But there is no such trick at the back - there are full-fledged cameras: a regular one, with a wide-angle object, and a monochrome sensor for obtaining more detailed information about the light of the scene.

The phone received the latest Huawei-developed processor – HiSilicon Kirin 980, made using 7nm technology, which was previously used in the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. Together with 6 GB of RAM and a 128 GB disk, it works quickly and handles games.

Characteristics of Honor Magic 2

• Body: aluminum frame, glass back, 206 g.
• Screen: 6.4 inches, AMOLED matrix, 19.5:9, Full HD+.
• Rear cameras: main – 16 MP, f/1.8, 27 mm lens; additional – with a wide-angle lens with a 17 mm lens, 16 MP, f/2.2; monochrome sensor – 24 MP, f/1.8, focal length 27 mm.
• Front cameras: 16 MP, f/2, focal length 27 mm. Additional cameras are depth sensors with 2 megapixel resolutions and f/2.4 aperture.
• SoC: HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2xCoretx-A76 2.6 GHz + 2xCortex-A76 1.92 GHz + 4xCortex-A55 1.8 GHz) + Mali-G76 MP10 graphics.
• Memory: 6 GB RAM + 128 GB disk; There is a modification with 8 GB of RAM and a 128/256 GB disk.
• OS: Android 9 Pie + Magic UI 2.0.0 shell.
• Battery: 3500 mAh, Huawei SuperCharge fast charging using a 40 W adapter.
• Communication and connection: Dual-SIM, LTE Cat.21 with a data transfer rate of 1.4 Gbit, USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 2.4 and 5 GHz, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC.
• Other: fingerprint scanner under the display, one multimedia speaker at the bottom.
• Contents: USB cable – USB Type-C, 40 W charger, USB Type-C – 3.5 mm jack adapter, hard case.

The big minus is the lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, these are modern trends - manufacturers are gradually getting rid of the bulky connector, so you will have to listen to music on your favorite headphones using a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm jack adapter.

Display

The Honor Magic 2 slider is equipped with a 6.4-inch Amoled display, which covers almost the entire front panel and occupies 84.8% of the area. Its resolution is Full HD+, aspect ratio is 19.5:9, pixel density is 403 ppi.

There is nothing new in terms of brightness and contrast - the screen is standard. Since it is Amoled, the black dots do not glow, which gives the highest contrast. The maximum white brightness at 100% backlight is 433 cd/m2. This is not the highest result, and there is no increase in this value when the automatic brightness mode is turned on, as in many smartphones. However, this may be for the best, since Amoled matrices are prone to burnout at high brightness. For example, the same iPhone X screens that have been standing on store windows for a year or two fade and receive afterimages that are clearly visible on a white background.

The minimum brightness is 2 cd/m2, which is very good. This will allow you to comfortably read the text in complete darkness. The display also covers the sRGB color space with high accuracy. According to the GSMArena website, the minimum deviation is DeltaE=1.6, which is a very high result. But maximum color accuracy is achieved by manually setting the color temperature in the screen menu. If you use standard modes, then “Normal/default” is the most accurate, I recommend using it.

Battery and autonomy

The phone has a built-in 3500 mAh battery. The closest competitors with the same processor, Huawei Mate 20 and 20 Pro, are better in this regard, as they are equipped with batteries with a capacity of 4000 and 4200 mAh, respectively. However, this is a slider, and most of the internal space is devoted to the slide mechanism, and the 3500 mAh capacity is very respectable.

According to GSMArena, the total operating time of the smartphone, including use in standby mode, is 89 hours. That is, with moderate use, the battery charge will last more than 3 days. This result is largely achieved due to the low-glutton processor and screen.

Exact autonomy data:

• Communication on 3G network: 24:18 hours.
• Surfing the Internet: 13:45 h.
• Video playback: 15:53 ​​h.

Speaking of autonomy and battery, it is important to note Huawei's patented SuperCharge fast charging technology - another plus in favor of the Magic 2. It is also available on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, but not on the regular Mate 20, so the Magic 2 is better in this regard. The kit includes a 40 W charger, with which the phone can be charged from zero to 100% in just 62 minutes; and in half an hour he gets 70% charge from scratch. This is a good result, but Oppo is still ahead of everyone with its Find X and RX17 Pro.

Software part

Honor Magic runs on the Android 9 Pie software platform and the Magic UI 2.0 shell. Essentially, this is the good old EMUI from Huawei, but with an updated bootloader interface. You won't find anything new here that wasn't in the original EMUI, so Huawei users will quickly adapt.

There are many options available in the settings to customize the theme, screen, smart rotation, and smartphone activation. Naturally, gesture controls are supported, but if you wish, you can leave the navigation buttons at the bottom. The top curtain is swiped as standard - there is also manual brightness adjustment, notifications, functions for activating or disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. In the security settings, you can register your face to unlock your smartphone using face unlock technology. However, to unlock the device with your face, you need to extend the cameras every time, otherwise the phone simply won’t see you, so facial recognition is clearly unnecessary here. The smartphone is convenient and easy to unlock using a fingerprint scanner located under the display. It works quickly and accurately, but in OnePlus 6T, for example, the scanner is even faster.

Performance

Honor Magic 2 received a “native” Kirin 980 processor - the newest SoC from HiSilicon, made using a 7-nm process technology, which made it possible to mark out more semiconductors. So far this is the only 7nm processor for Android.

Inside it are 8 cores, divided into 3 clusters:

• 2xCortex-A76 2.6 GHz
• 2xCortex-A76 1.92 GHz
• 4xCortex-A55 1.8 GHz

The Mali-G76 MP10 coprocessor is responsible for graphics processing. There is also 6 or 8 GB of RAM, but the amount of RAM does not affect the performance of the processor, so the performance test results below are quite accurate for all Honor Magic 2 phones.

As you can see, the new Kirin 980 has no equal in the multi-core test.

The Samsung Exynos 9810 chip wins here thanks to its powerful Mongoose cores, which so far have no analogues in the world. However, the improved Kirin confidently outperforms its closest competitor, the Snapdragon 845.

When it comes to graphics testing, we don't see anything new here. HiSilicon still uses weak graphics chips, so the Kirin 980 shows average values ​​for a TOP phone.

The powerful Adreno 630 graphics in the Snapdragon 845 are much better than the used Mali-G76 MP10 in the Kirin 980, and even the cheap semi-flagship Xiaomi Pocophone F1 outperforms the expensive Honor Magic 2 by a margin. However, Huawei phones have never been gaming phones, and if you plan to play often for “heavy” toys, it is better to consider options on Snapdragon.

Cameras

Magic 2 received six cameras - three on each side, although there is actually one camera on the front, the other two are depth sensors. They do not affect the quality of the photo and are only needed to defocus the background. But phones have long been able to blur the background without additional cameras, and even more so the Magic 2 with such a powerful processor can do it. That is, in Honor Magic 2 there is actually only one camera on the front; additional depth sensors were shoved in only for marketing purposes, which made it possible to advertise the smartphone as a device with 6 cameras.

At the back there are full-fledged sensors:

• The main module has a resolution of 16 megapixels and a lens with an f/1.8 aperture and a focal length of 27 mm.
• Additional camera with wide-angle object (17 mm) f/2.2 aperture.
• 24 MP monochrome sensor with f/1.8 aperture.

The camera application remains traditional - all the same modes, including photos with a wide-angle camera, portrait, as well as “Pro”, where you can set the shutter speed, white balance, and light sensitivity.

Examples of photos on Honor Magic 2

Contrary to expectations, the photo quality in daylight with the main camera is not impressive. The detailing is clearly poor, this is not what you should expect from a 16 MP sensor; Dynamic range is below average, colors are pleasant but sometimes oversaturated.

Pay attention to the facade of the building in the third frame - it has a pink tint, although it should be white. There are problems with color rendering. As for the AI ​​mode, it does not improve the situation much, and sometimes spoils it.

Examples of photos fromAI:

Pay attention to the second frame - the pink shades remain.

Examples of photos taken with a wide-angle lens:

Photo on a monochrome sensor:

The main advantage you get when shooting with a 24-megapixel monochrome camera (without a Bayer filter) is the highest level of detail. Pay attention to the decorative grilles (the first photo is in full resolution) - all the holes on it can be counted. You won't get anywhere close to the level of detail when shooting with a color camera.

Photo at night:

Selfie (front camera):

Comparison of shooting quality

In order to understand how well or poorly the new Honor Magic 2 takes photographs, I will give a short comparison using the GSMArena resource tool. Below are crops from photographs taken on Magic 2 and Huawei Mate 20 under the same lighting conditions.

Please note: Magic 2 added green colors that should not have been there. Very bad.

Weak light

Obviously, the Mate 20 has better detail - fine details are displayed, while in the photo on the Magic 2 they are absent.

As for video, the Magic 2 records honest 4K, but only at 30 FPS; processing codec – h.264 or h.265. In Full HD resolution, recording at 60 FPS is possible, but this will not surprise anyone. The shooting quality is high, but the detail when recording 4K is not at the highest level.

Example entry in 4K:

Conclusion

There are already phones on the market that implement mechanical techniques for extending front cameras: vivo NEX S (only one camera extends), Oppo Find X, Lenovo Z5 Pro, Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. Oppo Find X and Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 are obvious competitors of Honor Magic 2. They received TOP hardware, Amoled displays. Plus, Oppo Find X, for example, has very fast charging, which is its main advantage. Mi Mix 3 has a telephoto camera on the back (instead of a wide-angle and monochrome camera), as well as wireless charging included.

Lenovo Z5 Pro is a slider based on a Snapdragon 710 processor and an Amoled display, and most importantly, it is 2 times cheaper.

If we consider competitors without a slide, then it is appropriate to mention the new OnePlus 6T, Xiaomi Mi8, Samsung S9+ and of course Huawei P20 Pro, perhaps Huawei Mate 20.

The cheapest is Xiaomi Mi 8, it is equipped with SD 845, a cool GPS module and a good camera, but it lacks prestige. For about the same money or cheaper, you can get a OnePlus 6T with a cool camera, an in-screen fingerprint scanner and the latest Gorilla Glass 6.

Honor Magic 2 is a good phone without cool features that would make it unique in its segment. Yes, it has a good 7nm processor, an Amoled screen, and it is made in the form of a slider. The advantages also include the design and a cool monochrome camera, but only that. The main module is frankly weak, and as for the Kirin 980 processor, with the release of the new flagship Snapdragon 855 chip it will be hopelessly behind. This has already happened with the Kirin 970 and Snapdragon 845.

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Scope of delivery

• Smartphone
• Silicone case
• 40W charger
• USB Type C cable
• Adapter from USB Type C to 3.5 mm
• SIM tray clip
• Instructions

Positioning

It would not be amiss to remind you that Huawei considers Honor a separate company, and it is such. In fact, both companies use the developments of the same R&D, but create different devices. Therefore, if Huawei’s flagship for 2018-2019 is the Mate 20 Pro, then Honor’s flagship is the Magic 2. We can safely assume that this device is in some ways simpler than the flagship from Huawei, since the positioning of the Honor brand itself is different, it is more available devices. But all the signs of a flagship are there; the company has tried to realize the maximum possible for a reasonable price.

Magic 2 is not officially available in Russia, and Honor has no plans to bring it to the market, the reason is that the company is moving gradually. The same Mate line from Huawei in Russia became officially available for the first time only in 2018; until that moment, the strength of the brand did not allow mass sales of such devices. But perceptions have changed, and that's why the Mate is on sale. With Magic, something similar could happen next year, so it makes sense to take a look at what the current model offers. It is possible to buy this device in China, but there is not much point in doing so, since there is no localization, the software contains many Chinese services and you will not be able to get much pleasure from the model. On the other hand, this is something unusual, something that not everyone has. There is always an audience for such products; these are those who want something exclusive, not like everyone else.

Design, dimensions, control elements

One of the problems of our time for smartphones has been the growth of screen diagonals, as well as the need to place a front camera and various sensors. And if the sensors can be packed under the display glass, it is impossible to hide the camera there without losing a piece of the image. The concept of many Chinese companies and the answer to this challenge is to create a slider design. The screen is made movable vertically, you move the halves and a cutout appears in which the front camera is located. Since the slider is active, you can avoid wasting energy when scanning the surrounding world in anticipation of the user's face, as is done in the iPhone. Alternatively, some Chinese companies have made a pop-up camera module, but from a mechanical point of view this is not a very optimal design. The slider is more reliable and easier to implement, but the obvious disadvantage is that the body cannot be made as thin as in a regular all-in-one, and you may have to partially sacrifice battery capacity.

When closed, it is impossible to determine that this is a slider; nothing in the device gives away such a design.

Xiaomi has a model similar in design – Mi MIX 3, it also uses a slider.

Externally, Magic 2 resembles the P20 Pro: an iridescent body, the same format for the placement of cameras on the rear panel. There are no complaints about how the device is assembled. It seems to me that in recent years the quality of assembly has increased among all manufacturers; we have stopped thinking about it altogether, since the level is approximately the same everywhere, and this is a qualitatively good level.

Compared to Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Compared to Samsung Galaxy Note 9

There are several color options, look at the colors below.

For those, like me, who are annoyed by the notch in the screen, Magic 2 will be a salvation. The screen occupies almost the entire front surface, there are no cutouts, as there is a slider design. The sides are minimal, and they are comfortable enough, including for operating the device with one hand.

Face unlocking differs in different versions of this model, for example, in the basic version it is recognition by photo, in the older one (the one with 8 GB of RAM) it is an analogue of technology from Apple, a face map of 30,000 points is built. I was not able to try the second option, since there are no such devices anywhere. Therefore, it’s difficult to talk about recognition, this is exactly what we see in devices from Huawei/Honor today, a fast and reliable unlocking method, I really like it. To activate face unlock, you just move the slider to reveal the cameras, and it’s very convenient, you quickly get used to this feature.

The fingerprint sensor is built into the screen, just like the Mate 20 Pro. In cold weather it does not always work correctly, the vessels on the hand narrow, the capillary pattern changes, and the recognition accuracy is not as high as that of individual sensors on the body. On the other hand, in all other conditions it is convenient and works well.

At the bottom end there is a USB Type C connector, right there is a speaker output, as well as a microphone. The second microphone is on the top end, the noise reduction system works well.

At the top end there is an IR port window, it is used to control household appliances. For many, this will be a pleasant addition to the capabilities of the device, which has disappeared from Samsung flagships and has never been present in Apple smartphones.

The paired volume key is located on the right side, along with the on/off button. Don't look for a fingerprint sensor on the case; it's built into the screen.

On the left side there is a connector for two nanoSIM cards, there is a rubber seal (the device is protected according to the IP68 standard).

There are no complaints about the build quality, nor about ergonomics. The device is rather large, but quite convenient to use.

Display

The screen characteristics are as follows: 6.39 inches, 1080x2340 pixels, 403 ppi, AMOLED, 19.5:9, automatic brightness adjustment, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, DCI-P3 (100% coverage).

Auto-brightness, as usual for Huawei, is very aggressive, the screen is dark in most situations. But gradually the situation gets better if you constantly adjust this parameter; it took me two weeks. Unlike the Mate, there is no RGB sensor, so there is no natural color adjustment on the screen, everything is a little simpler.

Separately, you can adjust the color mode and temperature, but in manual mode. There are enough settings so that you get the color that is closest to you.

There is also an eye protection mode when the display takes on warm shades. It is poorly applicable in everyday life, and the horror story about harmful radiation should, apparently, convince us that the manufacturer has solved this issue. I am convinced that there is no point in scaring users, especially with “harmful radiation.”

In the sun, the screen remains readable, but in camera mode you see that the brightness in the sun is often not enough, the picture is no longer so vibrant, this is not what you get in the final result.

Unfortunately, the AlwaysOn Display mode is very simple; you only see the time and event icons for standard applications. You cannot set the mode or change the shape or appearance of the watch.

Battery

The built-in Li-Ion battery is 3400 mAh, let me remind you that in the Mate 20 Pro it is 4200 mAh. But the processor speed here is limited, there is no way to overclock it (there is no such setting in the menu), this, coupled with a lower screen resolution, gives comparable operating time - a day under heavy load (5.5 hours of screen operation, brightness 50-55%) or two days at 4 hours of screen operation. The full battery charging time is just under an hour, there is built-in wireless charging. I liked the device in terms of operating time, this is its strong point. There is aggressive killing of background processes, but the more you use your smartphone, the faster it normalizes work and does not turn off the necessary applications.

Memory, chipset, performance

The basic version of the device has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory, which is enough for most buyers. The HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset is a top-end solution that is the first in the world to offer an 8-core processor, with two Cortex A76 cores clocked at up to 2.6 GHz, two cores up to 1.92 GHz, and four Cortex A55 cores clocked at up to 1.8 GHz . A good chipset, high performance, there will be no flaws as such, the performance will be more than enough for several years. If you look at performance in real life, the interface “flies”, there are no lags or other problems. The fastest device possible.

Communication capabilities

Let's start with the main thing, the device has NFC support, it works like Google Pay, but not reading/writing to a Troika card (for many this is important, as the comments show). Dual-band Wi-Fi does not raise any questions, everything works like a clock. Bluetooth version 5.0, supported for both LDAC and aptX HD audio, music sounds good in wireless headphones.

For LTE, the maximum set of frequencies, their aggregation and maximum speeds are supported.

USB Type C (3.1) connector, OTG supported, but here I encountered certain problems. My USB Type C flash drives were not read by the device; it offered to charge them, but rejected any other type of connection. It was not possible to overcome this problem, although in all other devices these flash drives are read with a bang.

The built-in IR transmitter allows you to control household appliances.

Cameras

The front camera consists of three modules, but this is more marketing than a necessity; it takes pictures no better than the Mate 20 Pro, with comparable image quality.

But here are the pictures in comparison with the Mate 20 Pro, let me remind you that the optical zoom in Magic 2 is only x2, the optics themselves are also different, they are simpler.

I don’t know how you will rate the photos, but, in my opinion, this camera was deliberately made simpler, as a result, it is noticeably inferior to the Mate 20 Pro, but it also feels worse than the one in the P20 Pro. Moreover, in less than a week I was able to test the camera in different modes, literally in each of them it is inferior to models from Huawei. This is logical, since Honor as a brand is positioned under Huawei, and as such there is no point in making the device more powerful and cheaper. You get exactly what you pay for.

Apart from the Huawei/Honor line, I can say that the camera is above average, sometimes the pictures are just a feast for the eyes, but sometimes the camera misses and the result is defective. The main complaint about the camera is exactly the same as for its larger brothers: it is not always predictable. Sometimes these are very, very good pictures, sometimes they are not. It is extremely difficult to guess when and what it will be. On the same Samsung, the predictability is an order of magnitude higher, you know exactly when you can get a decent shot, and when the camera fails and you need to switch to manual mode.

And this is what the camera interface looks like.

Multimedia capabilities

The stereo speakers are quite loud, watching videos on the device is a pleasure, there are no particular complaints. Support for aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, HWA (Hi-res wireless audio) and Dolby Atmos will be pleasant for everyone who listens to music on wireless and wired headphones. The multimedia component seemed ordinary to me, without any failures or achievements.

It’s difficult for me to evaluate the YoYo voice assistant due to the fact that I don’t know Chinese. And therefore, I will only note that it is important to have such an assistant, but how good it is, how applicable, I cannot tell you. Alas. At the presentation, they talked a lot about how Yoyo outperforms Siri in terms of recognition quality and speed.

At the moment, only ten languages ​​are supported, the main one is Chinese, and there are also French, English, German, Spanish and some others. There is no Russian, and it will appear in a year at best, if Honor agrees with Yandex that Alice will turn into YoYo. Such conversations are ongoing, and there are chances that this will happen.

From what I liked and what I haven’t come across yet, I’ll note the translation in real time during a conversation. That is, you call someone who does not speak your language, and you immediately have decoding and translation. An interlinear text appears on the screen. As for me, this is just a gorgeous thing, and if it works at the very least, it will become an indispensable assistant when traveling. Until recently, the same Google translator made life very easy, but what can I say, in a tea house in Beijing I communicated exclusively with its help, as well as successfully bargained, giving arguments, and not just showing numbers on a calculator. The fact that this is now available for phone calls is very cool. This is something that will be implemented by almost all companies in the future, there is no doubt about it.

Yoyo also has an app to estimate your skin's age and various blemishes. This application has received some approval from relevant organizations, which serves as proof that it works. For women who take care of themselves, this feature will be interesting.

Impressions

In terms of connection quality, the device turned out to be good, there are no pitfalls here, the network holds up well in different conditions. There are no problems with data transmission, speeds in Moscow networks are high, frequency aggregation is used. The call is loud, the vibration alert is felt in different conditions.

The prices for this device in China are as follows (multiply by 10 and get the cost in rubles).

Considering that P20 Pro already costs 35 thousand rubles in Russia (at MTS with cashback) or 39,990 rubles everywhere in large networks, Magic 2 looks at least at the same level. It benefits from the presence of a fingerprint sensor built into the screen, a large display size without a notch, and a slider mechanism. An interesting model, but these devices are quite comparable in what they give to the user. And this, of course, is not the Mate 20 Pro at all, which looks noticeably more interesting.

Overall, I liked the Magic 2, it's a device with a twist and it looks interesting. There are not many competitors for it on the market, if you do not take into account mass models. Although why not take it? Samsung's flagships are more expensive, so the price difference will make the Magic 2 attractive to many (with the same S9+, the difference is at least 15-20 thousand rubles). If we take the line from Apple, then the nearest iPhone Xr simply does not stand up to competition, it is worse in everything except the brand, which is still perceived as a fashion brand, but this is already a thing of the past, now it is more likely the perception that a person overpaid without thinking per model. A direct competitor is Xiaomi Mi MIX3, but a number of parameters are worse there, for example, the fingerprint sensor on the rear panel.

Honor Magic looks stylish and even magical due to the glass that is strongly curved on the sides and the smooth shape of the body. A similar feature is used by Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but here the screen is curved not only on the sides, but also at the top and slightly at the bottom. And to such an extent that the ends of the device merge with the glass and this makes the phone look like a bar of soap or a smooth pebble. It's very unusual, but not particularly pretty. What's unusual for a Huawei smartphone is the fingerprint scanner. For the first time, it was not placed on the back, but integrated with the Home key under the display. On the back of the Honor Magic there are dual cameras with flash. The back is almost completely covered with glass, which looks stylish, but it’s not very practical - the body will slide and get dirty quickly.

The stated dimensions of the smartphone are: 146.1x69.9x7.8 mm, weight - 145 grams. It has a thin, but at the same time very tall body. For comparison, the 5.2-inch Huawei P9 weighs the same, but is more compact.

Honor Magic will be available in two colors: black and white.

Screen

Little is known about the Honor Magic screen - it has an atypical diagonal, 5.09 inches, an AMOLED matrix and an extremely high Quad HD resolution (2560×1440 pixels). The pixel density is very high - 577, image clarity is on par with the Samsung Galaxy S7. There is no more information about the display, but knowing about the AMOLED matrix, you can be sure of high image contrast and good readability in the sun.

Camera

Judging by the available information, Honor Magic received almost the same cameras as the Huawei Honor 8 - dual rear ones of 12 MP and a front one of 8 MP. The principle of dual cameras is the same as that of Huawei P9 - one camera is color, and the second is black and white, to improve the quality of photos (especially in low light conditions). Most likely, Honor Magic will shoot at least no worse than Honor 8, which is already good. The only pity is that the chipset used is not capable of shooting 4K video, which means the phone will be left without this flagship attribute.

Communications

Honor Magic has a fairly wide range of wireless communications:

• high-speed and dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac
• LTE support
• Bluetooth 4.2
• NFC chip
• A-GPS with GLONASS support.

There is no information about FM radio yet. The smartphone has two slots for nanoSIM cards, but they work alternately. It is also known that a USB Type C connector is used for charging and connecting to a PC.

Battery

The autonomy of Honor Magic is ensured by a rechargeable battery with a capacity of 2900 mAh. This is a good indicator for the diagonal of a smartphone. For comparison, the 5.5-inch models and Huawei Honor 5X have only slightly higher capacity – 3000 mAh. On the one hand, the phone has a fairly powerful chipset, but on the other hand, it has an economical display type. The manufacturer does not announce specific numbers, but you can expect autonomy from the device at the level of Honor 8, that is, about a day of work on one battery charge. But the company announced support for fast charging - up to 40% in 10 minutes and up to 70% in 20 minutes.

Performance

The performance of Honor Magic promises to be quite high. It has 4 GB of RAM, a fairly powerful, although not new, eight-core Hisilicon Kirin 950 chipset (4 cores at 2.3 GHz and 4 cores at 1.8 GHz). The same one was used in Huawei Honor 8, and its speed is fine. Except that the Mali-T880 MP4 graphics chipset is rather weak for Quad HD resolution and will be noticeably inferior to modern flagships in heavy toys.

Memory

The internal memory of Honor Magic is 64 GB. This is quite enough to store photos, music, install games and applications. There is no way to expect the possibility of expanding the memory - the phone does not have a slot for a memory card, which can be called a disadvantage of the model as a whole.

Peculiarities

The Honor Magic smartphone runs Android 6 OS, however, it does not have the usual EMUI interface, instead there will be something new, the “magic” Magic Live interface with artificial intelligence functions. There is no information about updating to Android 7.

Honor Magic has many features: an unusual design with curved 3D glass, an ultra-clear display, a dual camera and a new shell with artificial intelligence functions. The latter includes a number of “smart” features, for example, unlocking the phone with a glance (FaceCode) or predicting the user’s needs (offering recommendations based on the analysis of your messages). The Smart Display feature will proactively display information that is relevant to you. In fact, its implementation is not yet clear; it is possible that the function will only get in the way. In addition, this means that now not only Google, but also Huawei will collect your personal information, for example, about correspondence in instant messengers and social networks. It's interesting that Huawei was the first to introduce a device with built-in artificial intelligence, but its capabilities are not amazing. In addition, it is expected that Samsung will also use artificial intelligence in its flagship

Last Friday, Huawei presented the Honor Magic smartphone, which claims to be one of the most unusual devices of this year. Very little time has passed since the first rumors about the device appeared, however, many strange and amazing details surfaced on the Internet. For example, one of the sources reported that the smartphone will lose both cameras and various sensors on the surface of the body, and all this will be connected to it in the form of modules. However, the presented device turned out to be even more surprising than expected.

Technical characteristics of Honor Magic

• Processor: 16nm, 64-bit, 8-core Kirin 950 with an operating frequency of up to 2.53 GHz.
• Graphics chip: Mali-T880 MP4.
• RAM: 4 GB.
• Built-in memory: 64 GB.
• Display: 5.09 inches, AMOLED, 2560×1440 pixels, 3D glass.
• Main camera: 12 MP, two sensors (color + monochrome), f/2.2, dual-tone LED flash.
• Front camera: 8 MP.
• Battery: built-in, 2900 mAh with support for Huawei Magic Power.
• Software platform: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with proprietary Magic Live shell.
• 3.5 mm audio jack.
• Supports two SIM cards.
• Fingerprint scanner.
• Interfaces: LTE 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS.
• Dimensions: 146.1 x 69.9 x 7.8 mm.
• Weight: 145 grams.

Design

The appearance of Honor Magic is truly impressive. The smartphone looks unique and original. The manufacturer used glass curved on four sides on the front and back panels, so the gadget turned out to be very smooth and streamlined. Moreover, the main camera lies flush with the surface of the body.

Between the panels there is a thin metal frame, on which the power key and volume buttons barely fit. Only the bottom edge remained flat, where all the other components fit: a 3.5 mm jack, a USB Type-C port for charging, a slot for two SIM cards and a speaker.

Below the screen is the Home key, which is combined with a fingerprint scanner, which has a high recognition speed. To return to the main screen, just press the home key once, double-tapping will allow you to switch between tasks, and swiping on the button will take you back.

Equipment

The smartphone did not receive the latest processor, from which we can conclude that Honor Magic does not belong to the flagship family. The hardware base is an 8-core Kirin 950 chipset operating at a frequency of 2.53 GHz. The Mali-T880 MP4 accelerator is responsible for the picture quality. The amount of RAM and permanent memory is 4 GB and 64 GB, respectively.

Although we do not have the most high-end specifications, the device will easily cope with such daily tasks as searching the Internet, communicating on social networks, making calls, listening to music, watching movies, etc. To run games, including resource-intensive gaming applications, such equipment will also be sufficient .

The device was equipped with a not very powerful battery with a capacity of only 2900 mAh, but the manufacturer took care of “magic” fast charging, which will allow you to recharge the battery up to 90% in just half an hour.

In addition, the device received a 5.09-inch AMOLED display, which should be characterized by economical energy consumption, despite the resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Support for all modern wireless interfaces is provided, including NFC for mobile payments.

Camera

On the back of the body there is a dual 12-megapixel camera, one sensor shoots in color, and the second in monochrome. This combination reduces noise and improves the quality of images taken in low light conditions. How well this works has already been shown by the Huawei P9 and Honor 8 smartphones, where the camera works on a similar principle.

The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and is accompanied by an infrared sensor, which is also responsible for improving the quality of shooting in low light.

Software platform

The work is carried out under the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system. Using a set of smart sensors, the smartphone monitors the user's activity, learns to predict his needs and offers useful functions. The system is based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

The WiseScreen feature unlocks the screen when the user picks up the device and brings it to his face. For automatic locking to work, just turn your smartphone over or put it in your pocket. In addition, when in hand, the gadget will replace the signal with vibration if there is an incoming call.

The device not only recognizes, but also recognizes the owner by sight using FaceCode. This way, details in on-screen notifications are only shown to the registered user. The smartphone can give hints based on the analysis of correspondence. For example, if it comes to where you are, the Magic Live system will offer to send information about your location. During a discussion of a film, the user will receive a link to the film and recommendations for films.

However, this applies not only to friendly correspondence; the gadget can also be useful in various life situations. For example, offer to turn on a flashlight if you are in the dark, as well as help with booking tickets, shopping, sorting incoming messages and much more. Perhaps the most important quality of the system is the ability to train it on a daily basis in order to become more convenient and useful for the user every day.

Conclusion

The new product is estimated at only 3,699 yuan (about 32,500 rubles), although it was expected that its price tag would be much higher. For this money, the user gets a smartphone with a unique design and a smart operating system that will make the device your little assistant in everyday life. The gadget fits nicely in the hand and works quickly and smoothly. And given the small display diagonal with thin frames, Honor Magic is also suitable for those who prefer compact devices.

Illustrative material Gizmochina.com | ItHome.com

Huawei Honor Magic was officially announced in December 2016 in China. This smartphone belongs to the premium segment. It has a lot of innovations, and also has a remarkable design and a powerful technical base.

Appearance and ergonomics

The Huawei Honor Magic case is made of glass and metal. Thanks to the curved edges of the back and front panels, the device looks truly impressive. It uses 3D glass which looks amazing. There is a powerful flash on the back side, and there is also a dual camera. The front part is distinguished by the presence of a mechanical button with a built-in fingerprint scanner located under the screen. Curved and graceful corners make the body of the device not only beautiful, but also comfortable.

Inside there is a 2900 mAh battery with support for exclusive fast charging. Dimensions of Honor Magic: height - 146.1 mm, thickness - 7.8 mm, width - 69.9 mm, weight - 145 g. Color - white and black.

Display

The gadget is equipped with a 5.09-inch display with an advanced AMOLED matrix. Moreover, the resolution of this screen is 2560 by 1440 pixels, which makes it possible to truly enjoy the detailed image. The display is very rich, the black color is close to ideal.

Hardware and performance

Honor Magic received a processor with eight cores, well known to fans of this series, called Kirin 950 (maximum frequency 2300 MHz). This is a very powerful chip that provides excellent performance in literally all applications today. There is 4 GB of RAM, and another 64 GB is used as storage for files. Android 6.0 is used here.

A clear innovation is the presence of a unique Magic Live shell. It was she who gave users the progressive WiseScreen Sensor Magic function, thanks to which the smartphone recognizes not only a person’s hands, but also his eyes. For example, if you take the device in your palm, the screen will automatically turn on. When the device is placed in your pocket, the display goes dark. The shell itself has a beautiful and “easy” interface, as well as useful features.

Communication and sound

There are absolutely no problems with communication in Huawei Honor Magic. You can hear your interlocutor perfectly. The speakers have crystal clear sound, but in headphones the melodies will sparkle with even greater colors. There is support for LTE, two SIM cards and Bluetooth 4.2.

Camera

The dual 12-megapixel module allows you to take high-quality pictures. The user can create depth of field, change the focus point and much more. It is worth noting the large selection of settings and functions that give room for experimentation. There is a dual flash, and there is also an 8-megapixel front camera.

Conclusions

In China, Huawei Honor Magic can be purchased for $530-550. The buyer receives a balanced smartphone, with tangible innovations in the form of incredibly fast charging, the Magic Live shell and the WiseScreen Sensor Magic function. This device is suitable for a wide variety of people who don’t mind paying a little over $500 for a new gadget.

Pros:

• New interface with advanced features.
• Dual camera.
• Powerful processor.
• Large amount of memory.
• Great design.

Cons:

• The camera doesn't do its best work in the dark.
• Battery is not powerful enough.

Technical specifications of Huawei Honor Magic

Prices

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