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Honor Magic 7 Pro review: a top-tier Android for gaming and everything else

The new Honor Magic 7 Pro is a truly exceptional Android cell phone, offering great gaming, top-tier cameras, and lightning-fast charging.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the device in the reviewer's hand

Our Verdict

The Honor Magic 7 Pro aims to impress in every area. It has one of the nicest screens around, top-notch performance, a huge battery, super-fast charging, and impressive cameras. It also boasts some unique software and AI capabilities. If you're looking for an Android handset that can do everything, this is a great option. It's not perfect, but with some tweaks, it might come close.

Reasons to buy
  • Stellar performance
  • Huge battery
  • Impressive cameras
  • Amazing display
Reasons to avoid
  • No charger or case in the box
  • Image processing isn't the most consistent
  • Software won't be to everyone's taste

The Honor Magic 6 Pro was one of my favorite phones of 2024, it may not have stood out as the absolute best at any one particular thing, but it was good at everything, and that made it a delight to live with. Now, the brand is back with its flagship offering for 2025, the Honor Magic 7 Pro,  arriving slightly earlier than usual.

This model is looking to build upon the success of its predecessor, and again we’re seeing an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. It has powerful performance, a massive battery, speedy charging, a big bright display, impressive camera specs, and plenty of AI to boot.

The question is, does the Honor Magic 7 Pro do enough to stand out against a sea of fierce competition? We’ve seen some wild flagships from the likes of RedMagic, OnePlus, and Asus in the past couple of months, and Samsung’s S25 series is right around the corner. I wanted to see how Honor’s best effort compares with the best gaming phones on the market, and after spending a week with it, here’s what I think.

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Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone alongside its box

Price and availability

The Honor Magic 7 Pro is now available to order in most regions across the globe. Unfortunately for our US readers, it doesn’t seem like this one will launch Stateside, so you’d have to consider importing if it sounds like the phone for you.

The Magic 7 Pro costs £1099.99 in the UK and €1,299.99 in Europe. In terms of colorways, the Magic 7 Pro is available in Black, White, Gray, and Blue.

Specs

Here are the Honor Magic 7 Pro’s specs: 

Battery 5,270 mAh
Display 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED (1280 x 2800 pixels)
CPU Snapdragon 8 Elite
RAM 12GB
Storage 512GB
Front camera 50MP f/2.0
Back cameras 50MP f/1.4-2.0 main, 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide, 200MP f/2.6 3x telephoto
Weight 223g
Dimensions 162.7 x 77.1 x 8.8mm
Colors Black, White, Gray, Blue

Performance and gaming

The Honor Magic 7 Pro utilizes one of the most powerful mobile chips available, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. In the global market, it only comes in one configuration, with an ample 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Of course, this means the Magic 7 Pro can play games like the best of them, but Honor has taken extra steps to ensure the best experience possible. This phone can use its NPU to improve image fidelity or increase framerates without adding extra strain on the GPU. This means that you can run even demanding games like Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail at higher settings for longer periods without worrying about battery drain or excessive temperatures.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone's gaming software running over Genshin Impact

It works using something called an AI Predictive Scheduling Engine, and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on behind the scenes, but presumably, it’s some blend of upscaling and frame interpolation. Whatever the secret sauce may be, it works very well. Honor’s game overlay gives you quick access to all the settings and makes it very easy to tune the performance to your liking while indulging in the best Android games.

After playing Genshin Impact for over an hour at maximum settings, I was blown away by this phone’s cooling capabilities. It felt cooler to the touch than the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro (without its external fan backpack attached) and considering that the Asus is a dedicated gaming handset, this is a very impressive showing.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone running Genshin Impact

It’s safe to say that no matter what you’re doing with your phone, the Magic 7 Pro will be up to the task. It’ll run any game with ease and it’s just as capable when it comes to tasks like video and photo editing.

Features and software

The Honor Magic 7 Pro runs on a highly customized version of Android 15 called Magic OS 9. If you’ve used a recent Honor phone, you won’t be in for many surprises, but if you’re coming from another Android device, it’s a fairly unique experience.

Honor’s OS adds a lot of extra functionality and tweaks the layout and styling quite significantly. There’s clearly some Apple influence at play, and Honor has its own version of the Dynamic Island, split notifications, and settings shades. These changes mean that Honor’s OS is quite divisive. Some people can’t stand it, but personally, it’s becoming one of my favorites.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing various apps open on the phone

There are a few reasons for this, but for starters, it’s extremely snappy and highly customizable. The OS lets you tweak everything from animation styles to icon color, and it seems to run smoothly no matter what options you pick.

I also find Honor’s tweaks very handy and practical. I love the Dynamic Island clone, as it lets me quickly access my media controls, no matter what I have in the foreground. Honor’s Magic Portal is excellent, too. It allows you to drag information from one app to another, and it’s easier to use than ever, thanks to a new circle-with-your-knuckle gesture.

The OS also now comes with Circle to Search and has Google Gemini as the default voice assistant. There’s nothing new here, and these features are becoming commonplace with most Android brands, but they’re as fantastic as ever, and I’m always pleased to see them.

When it comes to AI features, Honor has expanded its portfolio for 2025. You’ll now find an AI translator, AI transcription, formatting, and summarization in the Notes app, an AI object eraser in the gallery, and more. It’s not quite as comprehensive as Samsung’s suite, but most of the useful stuff is here.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone's AI transcription tool

Soon, the phone will also gain the ability to detect deepfake scams via video chat. I’m not sure how widespread this issue is, it’s certainly not something that I’ve experienced, but regardless, an extra bit of protection is always welcome.

Design

The Honor Magic 7 Pro adopts a slightly different look to its predecessor. It no longer has pronounced lateral curves, and instead sports flat, boxy side rails and matching symmetrical micro curves on the front and rear.

It seems to be a bit of a trend with recent Chinese flagships. We’ve seen similar design changes from Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. I’m happy to see it, I was never a big fan of curved screens, and these new micro-curved units are an excellent middle ground. Gesture controls feel wonderfully smooth on your fingertips, but you don’t have to worry about accidental touches or reflections, as the curved section is mostly just bezel.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone standing upright

The global version is available in three colors. There’s Breeze Blue, Lunar Shadow Grey, and the creatively named Black option. I have the Grey variant in for testing, and it’s definitely the most iconic of the trio.

There’s a subtle marble-like pattern that runs across the entire back panel, and it becomes more noticeable as the light hits it. All models feature a velvety-feeling glass rear, and there are no vegan leather variants this time around.

The phone feels solid and premium in the hand, and it’s less slippery than some of the other matte-textured glass-backed phones I’ve tried. I was very thankful for this, as there’s no case included in the box, so it meant gripping this phone carefully for the past week.

If the worst happens, you should be fairly well protected anyway, as highly scratch and impact-resistant NanoCrystal Shield glass covers the Magic 7 Pro. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed my Honor devices seem to pick up fewer scratches than other brands, so there’s a good chance they’d fair better in a drop, too. I wasn’t quite confident enough to try that for myself, though.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the camera island on the back of the phone

The Magic 7 Pro has been certified IP68/IP69 for dust and water resistance. This is a new standard that’s starting to appear on phones from various manufacturers, and it means that as well as all the usual testing criteria, the phone is rated to withstand blasts of hot water up to 80 degrees Celsius.

Is that something that matters to most people? Probably not, but it means the phone is very well protected against dust and water ingress. And hey, if you absolutely can’t wait to get out of the shower before checking your messages, the Magic 7 Pro will likely survive the ordeal.

Display and speakers

For the most part, the display specifications are no different from the Magic 6 Pro, but that’s no bad thing. It was one of my favorite displays last year, and it’s just as impressive today.

It’s a 6.8-inch LTPO panel that can dynamically shift between 1 and 120Hz and it has a peak brightness of 5000 nits. You’ll never struggle to see this screen on the brightest days, it always looks vibrant, punchy, and inviting.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing a cityscape visual on the display

The main change is the shape, I’ve already professed my love for the new quad micro curve design, but it’s worth mentioning again. You get all the benefits of a flat screen, but gesture controls that require you to swipe from the edge of the screen feel dramatically better. What’s not to love?

Honor always puts a lot of emphasis on eye-care and the Magic 7 Pro is the most full-featured to date. If you’re sensitive to flicker, the PWM dimming rate is one of the highest that I’ve ever seen, a whopping 4320Hz. There are also eye comfort modes, low blue light options, and even a layer of circular polarisation to keep your baby blues at their best.

Another change is with the in-display fingerprint sensor. It has been upgraded to an ultrasonic unit that’s much faster and more reliable – and it also has the benefit of not blinding you when used in a dark room. Apparently, this is the first phone to feature both a 3D face unlock and an ultrasonic fingerprint reader. So you’re well equipped for all manner of secure logins.

The speakers have also seen a big upgrade. There’s now a dedicated subwoofer, as well as a much larger internal cavity, and this makes for one of the most bassy phones on the market. It sometimes verges on a little too boomy for my tastes, but it certainly makes an impact, which is great for action-packed games like COD Mobile. There’s also a good amount of stereo separation which helps pinpoint positioning in games.

Cameras

The majority of the cameras on the Magic 7 Pro are the same as the previous generation. The main snapper still has a 50MP 1/1.3-inch sensor, complete with a mechanical aperture that can shift from f/1.4 to f/2.0 as needed. The ultrawide and selfie cameras are both still 50MP f/2.0 units, too.

The telephoto is where you’ll find the most significant hardware changes. It now has a massive 200MP resolution, up from 180MP, and it’s now a 3x zoom, rather than a 2.5x.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing a camera quality example image of a Gundam Hello Kitty figure

The idea behind this approach is that you can use the massive resolution to allow for more extreme digital zooms, negating the need for an additional 5x or 6x telephoto. In practice, though, it just doesn’t seem to work that well. Shots up to 10x look great, but I’ve seen the same thing with 50MP units, so I’m not entirely sure what that extra resolution is actually for.

Honor seems to know this, as it has added a new feature called AI SuperZoom to clean up shots at 30x zoom and above. At the time of writing, it has only just been added via a firmware update, and Honor says it will improve over time as the AI model learns from additional data. As it stands, the results are a little hit-and-miss.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the camera's quality with an example picture of an old church

Oppo introduced an almost identical feature with its Find X8 series, and to be honest, I’ve found Oppo’s results to be a little better. Oppo also has the distinct advantage of processing the images on-device, whereas the Honor AI SuperZoom needs an internet connection to process images in the cloud. The results are still more impressive than what the camera is naturally capable of, but there’s a surreal watercolor-like effect to the images, and sometimes details are completely fabricated. Hopefully, we’ll see this feature deliver some more pleasing images in the coming months.

Another thing that’s new on this phone is the addition of Studio Harcourt-backed portrait mode effects. These debuted with the Honor 200 Pro, before appearing on the Magic V3, and now they’ve finally landed on the brand’s top-tier flagship. I absolutely adore these effects, they create some of the most impressive portrait shots I’ve seen from any phone – and combined with the Magic 7 Pro’s superior optics, they look better than ever. My only wish is that you could use them with the selfie camera, as frustratingly, they’re still constrained to the main and telephoto lenses.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the camera's quality with an example picture of a cat

The Honor Magic 7 Pro is capable of taking some stunning shots, but the consistency is lacking a little bit. I suffered more blurry shots than I’m used to, and sometimes the images would come out looking overly sharpened with exaggerated colors. Occasionally, you’ll get a breathtaking image straight out of the camera, but other times it will just miss the mark. I’m hoping as the software matures, the consistency will get better too.

The hardware is exceptional, and with a bit of tweaking to the software, I think it has the potential to rival the best camera systems on the market. As it stands, though, I just don’t quite trust it as much as the cameras from rival manufacturers.

Battery

The Honor Magic 7 Pro swings for the fences in all categories, but for me, the most impressive aspect might be the battery. It houses a 5,270 mAh pack, which is fairly big, but not the largest I’ve come across. So, I was expecting good results, but nothing mind-blowing.

Somehow, the Magic 7 Pro manages to last longer than any flagship handset that I’ve tested recently. I guess we have some clever software optimization to thank for that. More than once, I managed to make it almost two full days on a charge, and I wasn’t using the device sparingly. That’s with plenty of camera use and lots of screen time, it’s quite astonishing.

Custom image for Honor Magic 7 Pro review showing the phone on charge

When you eventually drain this thing, you won’t be waiting long for it to charge, either. Some manufacturers have chosen to dial back their charging speeds a little this year, but Honor has doubled down. This phone boasts an impressive 100W max charging rate with a wire and 80W with the right wireless charging pad.

There’s no charger in the box, just a cable, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of an appropriate wall adapter if you want to achieve the advertised speeds. I’d say it’s worth the outlay, though, as you can expect a full charge from flat to take just under 35 minutes using Honor’s official charger.

Should you buy the Honor Magic 7 Pro?

The Honor Magic 7 Pro is an outstanding phone. It comes at a high price, but it justifies its cost extremely well. It has one of the nicest displays on the market, exceptional performance, a huge battery, and very fast charging.

The camera hardware is among the best available, and at times, the results are stunning. Unfortunately, a lack of consistency in the processing holds this system back from being my outright favorite, but it’s still one of the finest options, and the Harcourt Studio portrait effects are magnificent.

The operating system will divide opinions somewhat, if you’re looking for a stock Android-like experience, then you’ll need to look elsewhere, but if you’re not afraid of some iOS-inspired design changes, there’s a lot to love about Magic OS. I know I’m going to miss the Magic Capsule and Magic Portal when I switch to my next device, and some of the newer additions, like the AI object eraser, are very handy too.

If you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades Android flagship, it’s hard to go wrong with the Magic 7 Pro. It does everything, and it does it well

Alternatives

If you’re not sure that the Honor Magic 7 Pro is right for you, here are a couple of other incredible flagships to check out.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung’s top flagship is another phone that aims to impress in all areas. Many people find Samsung’s software easier to get along with, and there’s no doubt its AI features are a little more advanced. When it comes to the battery and charging, though, it doesn’t hold a candle to the Magic 7 Pro. It’s also worth remembering that the S25-series is arriving very soon. For more on this one, check out our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

iPhone 16 Pro Max

If you’re not married to the idea of an Android phone, it’s well worth considering Apple’s best device. It also has impressive cameras, a lovely display, and, crucially, it’s the only way to play Genshin Impact at 120Hz. Just don’t expect the same blazing-fast charging speeds, as the iPhone is a snail by comparison. To get the full lowdown on this Apple alternative, see our iPhone 16 Pro Max review.