Honor 200 Pro Review | Draws attention with camera system and design
After testing the mid-range segment, Honor has now set its sights on the premium bracket with the launch of the Honor 200 Pro. This device represents Honor’s ambitious push into the high-end market, showcasing advanced technology and innovative design.
Design
The Honor 200 Pro immediately catches the eye with its Natural coastline design, inspired by organic curves found in nature. This artistic approach, drawing inspiration from Gaudi’s “Casa Mila,” results in a harmonious blend of symmetry and sensuous curves. This design philosophy is evident in the phone’s quad-curved floating screen, which offers a seamless visual experience. The device feels remarkably premium in hand, with its smooth lines and gentle curves contributing to excellent ergonomics.
The phone is lightweight and manageable for extended usage. The button placement is intuitive, with the power button and volume rocker easily accessible on the right side of the device. The bottom edge houses the USB-C port, speaker grille, and SIM tray, maintaining a clean and modern look. On the top, you will find the IR emitter and another speaker grille.
Also, unlike other phones, the new Honor 200 Pro comes with dual selfie sensors. The triple rear sensors at the back are placed in an elevated oval frame.
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Display
The new Honor 200 Pro comes with a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2700 x 1224 pixels and 4,000 nits of peak brightness which also drops to 26 nits as minimum. This FHD+ panel supports 1.07 billion colors, ensuring vibrant and lifelike visuals. The 19.85:9 aspect ratio provides an immersive viewing experience, ideal for multimedia consumption and gaming.
The quad-curved floating screen design minimizes bezels, creating an almost borderless appearance. This not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also contributes to a more immersive user experience. The use of aluminosilicate glass adds durability to the display, offering protection against scratches and minor impacts.
OS
The Honor 200 Pro runs on MagicOS 8.0, based on Android 14. This custom skin offers a clean and user-friendly interface while introducing several AI-enhanced features. The integration of AI throughout the system is notable, particularly in areas like photography and device optimisation.
MagicOS 8.0 brings a host of customisation options, allowing users to tailor the interface to their preferences. The system feels responsive and well-optimised, with smooth animations and quick app launches. Honor has also focused on privacy and security features, aligning with the latest Android standards.
Processor and Performance
The latest Honor 200 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, a SoC that we’ve recently seen in devices like the Razr 50 Ultra, Moto Edge 50 Ultra, and Realme GT 6. This octa-core processor, featuring a 1x Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A720 cores at 2.8GHz, and 3x Cortex-A520 cores at 2.0GHz, delivers robust performance across various tasks.
In day-to-day use, the Honor 200 Pro handles multitasking with ease. App switches are instantaneous, and even with multiple apps running in the background, the device maintains its snappy performance. The Adreno 735 GPU complements the processor well, offering smooth graphics rendering for both casual and demanding games. The gaming performance of the Honor 200 Pro is also good, running the games at high frame rates.
With 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage, the Honor 200 Pro provides ample memory for multitasking and storage for apps, games, and media. The generous RAM allocation ensures that apps remain in memory longer, reducing reload times and enhancing overall system fluidity.
In benchmark tests, the Honor 200 Pro achieved a single-core score of 1581, a multi-core score of 4528, and a GPU score of 8780. While these figures are good, they’re not particularly impressive when compared to some competitors. Notably, the Realme GT6, which is priced significantly lower, outperformed the Honor 200 Pro in these benchmarks.
Camera
The camera system on the Honor 200 Pro is one of its standout features, promising “Beyond DSLR-level portraiture.” The triple main camera setup, coupled with AI enhancements, aims to deliver studio-quality results in various shooting scenarios.
Honor 200 Pro camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
The primary 50 MP camera utilises a large 1/1.3-inch H9000 sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS). This sensor employs 4-in-1 pixel binning, resulting in an equivalent pixel size of 2.4μm, which aids in capturing more light. The f/1.9 aperture and 7P lens contribute to sharp, well-exposed images.
Honor 200 Pro camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
In daylight conditions, the main sensor captures impressive detail and dynamic range. Colors are vibrant without being oversaturated, and the AI enhancements help in scene recognition and optimisation. Portrait shots benefit from the dedicated Honor AI Portrait Engine, which intelligently separates the subject from the background, applying natural-looking bokeh effects.
The 50 MP telephoto camera, featuring a Sony IMX856 sensor, offers 2.5x optical zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. This versatility allows for capturing distant subjects with remarkable clarity. In good lighting, the telephoto lens produces sharp images with minimal loss of detail, even at higher zoom levels.
Honor 200 Pro camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
The 12 MP ultra-wide and macro camera, with its 112° field of view, proves useful for landscape photography and group shots. The 2.5cm ultra-short focus capability enables impressive close-up shots, capturing fine details in macro subjects.
Honor 200 Pro camera sample | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Low-light photography is where the Honor 200 Pro truly shines. The AI-enhanced Night Portrait Mode leverages the large main sensor and OIS to capture detailed portraits and backgrounds in challenging lighting conditions. The results are impressive, with good noise control and preserved colors, rivaling the performance of some dedicated cameras.
As mentioned towards the beginning of the review, the phone comes with a dual selfie camera setup. There is a 50 MP wide lens and a 2 MP depth sensor. The front-facing camera delivers high-quality selfies, benefiting from the enhanced Honor portrait algorithm. Skin tones appear natural, and the camera handles varying lighting conditions well, making it a solid choice for social media enthusiasts.
Battery
The Honor 200 Pro comes with a 5,200 mAh battery power which is good enough for a day under moderate usage. The silicon-carbon battery technology employed here promises improved efficiency and longevity compared to traditional lithium-polymer batteries.
The phone supports up to 100 W wired SuperCharge. Additionally, the Honor 200 Pro offers up to 66 W wireless charging, a feature that adds convenience for users invested in wireless charging ecosystems. However, charger is not included in the box.
Verdict
The new Honor 200 Pro stands as a good package with its elegant design, powerful camera system, and robust set of features. The quad curved display draws attention. The triple camera set up at rear does justice most of the time with portrait being its highlight. The dual front lenses compliment the rear with desired output. Battery life matches expectations, but not having a charger inside the box irks. Software also requires a bit of tuning with lesser pre-loaded apps.
However, breaking into the premium segment won’t be an easy task for Honor, given the fierce competition from established players like OnePlus and Samsung. Honor 200 Pro sells at ₹57,999.