It was another strong year for Honor as it cemented itself as one of the leading Android manufacturers globally. Honor makes some of the best foldables out there, and its flagship Magic6 and midrange Number series devices also stand out from the crowd.
Adding to its strong smartphone lineup is a bevy of excellent tablets and laptops, with the MagicBook Art 14 one of our 2024 favorites. There were some growing pains along the way, so let’s summarize and recap Honor’s 2024 campaign.
Winner: Magic V3
Honor delivered arguably the best foldable of 2024 with the Magic V3. The thinnest and lightest book-style fold on the market feels a generation (or two) ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 and other major competitors in the space.
With its crazy thin 4.4mm width and 226-gram weight in unfolded mode, Honor has delivered an 8-inch device that takes up the same amount of space in your pocket as a flagship iPhone Pro Max or a Samsung Galaxy Ultra slab phone.
And it’s not just 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 solid software and a decent battery life.
Winner: Magic6 Pro
It was one of the first flagship Android phones to launch in 2024, and the Magic 6 Pro has been a factor throughout the year. It ticks most of the boxes for a current-gen flagship – a bright and crisp LTPO OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a top-notch 180MP periscope and great cameras with high levels of battery endurance. It was also the only Android flagship to offer an iPhone-rival 3D face unlock system.
Unbelievable video shooting and some minor software mishaps aside, the Magic6 Pro is a decent 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 gorgeous 14.6-inch OLED 120Hz touchscreen to its sleek aluminum chassis and Intel Core Ultra 5 chip, the MagicBook Art 14 leaves little to be desired.
The Art 14 weighs no more than 980 grams, and that neat tuck-away camera module is a cool party trick that will appeal to the privacy-focused crowd. The titanium keyboard and large glass trackpad are a joy to use, and the 60Wh battery got us through the day. We also expect to see those numbers increase with the Snapdragon X Elite version, which is in our review pipeline.
Loser: International availability
For all the great devices it has launched in the past twelve months, Honor has continued its policy of keeping some of its devices China-exclusive. Great phones like the non-Pro Magic 6, Magic V Flip, and X50 GT are sadly not available outside of 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 it 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 inspiration. It’s a common theme for Chinese smartphone manufacturers but we think 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 really reaches the likes of Samsung’s One UI or Google’s Pixel UI.
The loser: the flagship smartwatch
Honor’s flagship smartphones and foldables are some of the best in the Android market so we’re wondering why the brand isn’t putting more effort into premium smartwatches. The Honor Watch 5 and Watch GS 4 are the only smartwatches from the manufacturer to launch in 2024, and while both are capable devices, they’re far from proper WearOS smartwatches.
A WearOS Honor Watch with a Porsche design look would be a welcome addition
Honor already has a large ecosystem of premium devices, from smartphones to tablets and laptops, so it only makes sense to complete the circle with a flagship smartwatch. With its expertise from its Porsche Design smartphones, we’re sure Honor can create a standout premium smartwatch that will breathe some fresh air into the stale WearOS market.
