Verdict
The Honor 600 is an AI-lover's dream, with many features to help in just about any aspect you can think of, from writing to capturing those perfect images with its top-notch cameras. However, it also excels in performance, working smoothly and quickly, ensuring a good experience for gamers.
- Great battery life
- Decent gaming performance
- Excellent AI features
- Nice cameras
- Long charge time
- Smaller battery in EU
- Gets warm after a while
There are many phone brands, each bringing out new devices each year, and among them is Honor, a company with a great reputation in the Android space. As such, I take notice when a new phone from the Chinese manufacturer is on the horizon. This time, it's the Honor 600, and if you want to see what AI can do on a smartphone, this might be the device for you.
Mind you, there are other major selling points for the Honor 600 beyond its artificial intelligence prowess, including stellar cameras, decent performance, and a good battery. I'm pretty anti-AI for the most part, being a journalist whose entire livelihood is under serious threat from it, but I'd be lying if I said it's not at least a little bit impressive. Still, can it really compete with the best gaming phones on the market? Let's find out.
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Price and availability
The Honor 600 will be available across various regions, including Europe and the United Kingdom. We'll share the exact price as soon as we can. You can get the phone with either 8GB or 12GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage in the Black, Orange, and Golden White colorways.
For the purposes of this review, Honor sent me a Golden White device with 8GB RAM and 512GB storage.
Specs
Here are the Honor 600's specs:
| Battery | 7,000 mAh, 6,400 mAh (EU) |
| Display | 6.57-inch AMOLED 120Hz (2728 x 1264) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB |
| Front Camera | 50MP Portrait Selfie Camera |
| Back Cameras | 200MP Ultra-clear Night Camera, 12MP Ultra Wide and Macro Camera |
| Colors | Orange, Golden White, Black |
Performance and gaming
It shouldn't surprise you to learn that I'm an avid gamer; I'd be in the wrong line of work if I weren't, and that includes enjoying some adventures on my cell phone. As such, gaming performance is perhaps the most important factor to me when picking a new phone. If the chipset can't handle the likes of Destiny: Rising or Zenless Zone Zero decently, it's probably not for me, which is why those are my go-to games when testing out a phone's capabilities.
The Honor 600 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset, one of the leading mid-range performance chips, and it really shows in the gaming department. Playing Destiny: Rising on it is very smooth, offering a decent experience that I certainly prefer to my iPhone 13, and it might even beat the Poco X8 Pro Max in this department, which I also feel offers a premium gaming experience. However, it's worth noting that the device can get a bit toasty after a while, though not to an uncomfortable degree.
Beyond games, the phone is highly responsive, with a 120Hz refresh rate that's mighty handy when scrolling through the phone, whether on social media, your preferred browser, or any other activity. Watching my favorite shows on Disney+ with this device is delightful, giving it another use to me beyond gaming and the day-to-day. Honestly, while it doesn't boast the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, I don't feel sad about that at all, particularly as phones with that particular chip easily cost around $300-$400 more than this one, at the very least.
Features and software
When you review as many phones as I have, you almost dread firing up the device because of all the bloatware that you're likely to find. Yet, I got a pleasant surprise with the Honor 600: it didn't have a ton of apps to delete after setup, which is always a win in my book. MagicOS 10 is the operating system behind this device, and it's incredibly user-friendly, being among my preferred Android OS skins. Plus, Honor promises up to six years of upgrades and security patches, giving the phone some good longevity.
In terms of features, it's the AI capabilities of the Honor 600 that are at the forefront; the device even has an AI button, which shows how much Honor is putting into artificial intelligence. Pressing the button gives you quick access to features such as AI Screen suggestions, AI Settings Agent, AI Memories, camera, and AI Photos Agent. You also get access to a suite of artificial intelligence productivity tools, like notes, recording minutes, and summaries, along with features to help with writing.
However, the star of the show is undoubtedly AiMAGE camera system, which helps create better images in the dark, offers a super zoom, and more. At the same time, the AI edit tool allows you to turn images into videos, erase items or people from an image, change color, and much more. Face tune (beauty), upscaling, cutout; I could honestly go on and on about all of the AI features on offer for the camera work you may do, and, as a bona fide AI hater, I still have to give the Honor 600 its dues in this area. If you love AI tools and can make good use of them, Honor's suite isn't one to turn your nose up at.
As is the norm these days, all you get in the box besides the phone is a charging cable. While it's not a massive deal, I must admit that I have extra appreciation for the likes of Nubia and Poco, as those phones typically come with a case. Cell phone accessories can be expensive, and you certainly pay enough for the phone alone.
Design
Let's get the most obvious thing about the Honor 600's design out of the way: it looks just like an iPhone, and it certainly feels like one to hold. Heck, the device even comes in an orange colorway, a trend the iPhone 17 Pro kicked off after its release last year. Still, the 600's likeness to Apple's flagship product isn't a negative; it's quite the opposite, giving the phone a sleek, lightweight feel.
To look at it, I have to admit that I'm a fan of the Golden White colorway, as it gives the phone a very nice finish, one that I think is a bit cleaner than the Black version. Oh, and for those of you wondering whether or not your phone will survive a dip in the toilet or a puddle, the Honor 600 has IP68, IP69, and IP69K water and dust resistance, so there's no problem there.
Display
At 6.57 inches, the Honor 600 boasts an AMOLED screen (2728 x 1264) with 120Hz refresh rate, making for a lovely display that reaches 8,000 nits at peak brightness, so you never have to worry about the screen being too dark. Some people might raise their eyebrows at the refresh rate, with other phones reaching 144Hz these days, but I have two things to say to that. Firstly, the odds are it's a flagship model, not mid-range. Second, can you really tell the difference beyond 120Hz? I certainly can't, and for that, I can't fault the display here.
In fact, it's a delight to play games and watch movies on. As technology continues to improve, we're seeing bigger and better games arrive on cell phones, so it's good to know that there are affordable mid-range devices out there that can make them look as pretty as they should be.
Cameras
Samsung has some competition when it comes to phone cameras, and not just from the Poco X8 Pro Max; the Honor 600 also boasts flagship tech at a mid-range price. I couldn't be happier with the quality of the pictures you can snap with this device, making it a top pick for me when it comes to an Android phone if you want it to double as a camera. The South Korean company needs to watch itself, as its more impressive phones often cost more than $1,000, while these mid-rangers have come to play at a more affordable price.
On the rear, there's a 200MP Ultra-clear Night Camera along with a 12MP Ultra Wide and Macro Camera, both of which offer flagship quality. I'm honestly thrilled with the way the pictures turned out, enough that I have little use for the AI features. Again, I am biased, but I'll always recognize innovation and good performance from new technology. As ever, my pup Monty was my model, and you can see just how much detail the camera catches with a close-up of his face as I interrupt nap time.
The phone's zoom function is also excellent, without compromising image quality too much. As for the front, there's a 50MP selfie camera that's sure to please those of you wanting to get some good Instagram photos, though I won't be punishing you all with detailed pictures of my face. No one deserves that, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
Battery
In Europe, the phone boasts a 6,400 mAh battery (though it's 7,000 mAh in other regions), and while that isn't quite as large as the 8,000 mAh battery in the Poco X8 Pro Max, it's still impressive. I actually found myself waiting for it to deplete, even with constant use like playing music and watching YouTube, so that I could test its charging speeds.
Suffice to say, I'm impressed, as it took at least a couple of days before I needed to juice it up, and, when I did, the phone reached 100% in a couple of hours, which, granted, isn't quite as fast as other devices. Still, the likes of Samsung and Apple don't offer batteries that large, so I can forgive a longer charge time, particularly when it lasts a good while even with excessive use, but I also need to point out that, with no wireless charging available, you absolutely need to pick up a charger.
Should you buy the Honor 600?
The Honor 600 is an excellent Android phone for those who enjoy AI features and want to snap gorgeous pictures without spending more than $1,000 on a Samsung. Better still, it offers a premium gaming experience for a mid-range phone, with a battery that delivers plenty of mileage before needing a charge.
My biggest criticisms are getting a bit warm while playing games, taking longer to charge than other phones, and not including a charger in the box, though that's an industry norm these days. None of those are deal-breakers at all, however, and don't stop it from being a great Android phone.
Alternatives
If you don't think the Honor 600 is for you, that's not a problem, as there are some great alternatives to consider for your new phone instead:
Poco X8 Pro Max
The Poco X8 Pro Max is one of the best flagship killers I've ever had the pleasure of holding, offering an excellent gaming experience with respectable cameras at a fantastic price. Furthermore, it has the biggest battery I've ever seen in a phone at 8,000 mAh, ensuring you get plenty of use out of it before needing to recharge. For more on this one, check out our Poco X8 Pro Max review.
iPhone 17e
Apple is continuously pushing forward with AI, so if that's what you like about the Honor 600, you might like to see what Apple Intelligence has to offer. However, the biggest selling points might be that iOS is a top-tier, user-friendly operating system and that iPhones host some triple-A games, such as Tomb Raider (2013) and various Resident Evil titles, as well as the Apple Arcade library, making it a dream device for gamers.