Honor 200 Pro Review: A Portrait Photography Powerhouse

In this Honor 200 Pro Review let’s discover why this near-flagship Honor phone has so much to offer.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: SPECS

Dimensions: 163.3 x 75.2 x 8.2mm
Weight: 199g
Display: 6.8-inch OLED, 120Hz
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
RAM: 12GB
Storage: 512GB
OS (at launch): MagicOS 8.0, based on Android 14
Rear cameras:
- 50MP (f/1.9) main
- 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide
- 50MP (f/2.4) telephoto
Front camera: 50 MP
Battery: 5,200mAh

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: DESIGN

Velvety-feeling Matte Glass Back

The Honor 200 Pro is distinguished by its elegant design, featuring a velvety-feeling matte glass back. This texture, reminiscent of high-end devices like the Vivo X100 Pro, not only feels luxurious in hand but also effectively resists fingerprints, ensuring a clean and pristine look.

Casa Milá-Inspired Camera Surround

One of the most striking design elements is the elongated circular camera surround, inspired by the iconic shape of Barcelona’s Casa Milá. This unique design choice sets the Honor 200 Pro apart from the typical circular and square camera bumps, adding a touch of architectural sophistication. The silver bezel surrounding the camera glass enhances its premium aesthetic, reminiscent of an airplane window or a Portal turret.

Curved Edges and High-Gloss Metal Frame

The phone features gracefully curved edges on both the front and rear, contributing to a slim and comfortable grip. The high-gloss metal frame around the edges further adds to its sleek appearance, exuding a sense of refined craftsmanship.

Color Variants

The Honor 200 Pro is available in three striking colors: Moonlight White, Black, and Ocean Cyan. The Moonlight White variant, which I tested, showcases a marble-like pattern on the back, evoking the elegance of a fancy kitchen countertop. For those who prefer a more understated look, the Black version offers a uniform finish with a professional appeal. The Ocean Cyan model is the most vibrant, featuring a dual-texture rear with a distinctive sweeping S-shaped curve.

IP65 Dust and Water Resistance

Adding to its durability, the Honor 200 Pro is IP65-rated for dust and water resistance, ensuring it can withstand everyday splashes and dust encounters.

Box Contents

While the glass back’s matte texture is delightful to touch, it can be slippery. Fortunately, Honor includes a transparent TPU case in the box, providing added protection and grip without compromising the phone’s sleek design.

The Honor 200 Pro’s design successfully marries functionality with aesthetics, offering a premium feel and distinctive look that sets it apart from its competitors.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: DISPLAY

6.78-inch Quad-curved 120Hz OLED Display 3840Hz PWM Dimming 4000 nits Peak Brightness

The Honor 200 Pro boasts a stunning 6.78-inch quad-curved OLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, dynamically adjusting between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on the content. While it doesn’t match the efficiency of an LTPO panel that can drop to 1Hz, it still balances smooth performance with battery efficiency, ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming and seamless scrolling.

At first, I was skeptical of the curved display, having preferred flat screens. However, the Honor Magic 6 Pro’s tight curves won me over. The Honor 200 Pro’s curves are more typical, which may delight some users while being prone to accidental touches. Despite this, the screen offers a sharp, high-resolution view with vibrant colors and impressive brightness, capable of competing with direct sunlight.

A standout feature is its 3840Hz PWM dimming, surpassing even some top-tier flagships like the Samsung S24 Ultra with its 480Hz PWM dimming. This technology minimizes flicker at all brightness levels, reducing eye strain for sensitive users.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: CAMERAS

50MP Main (f/1.9) 50MP 2.5x Telephoto (f/2.4) 12MP Ultra-wide Macro (f/2.2)

Honor dubs the 200 Pro as “the portrait master,” and it lives up to this title with impressive camera hardware. The rear setup includes a 50MP main camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor and OIS, a 50MP 2.5x telephoto with OIS, and a 12MP ultra-wide with macro capabilities. The front features a 50MP wide-angle selfie camera in a pill-shaped cutout.

The main camera excels in low light, leveraging its large sensor to deliver high-quality images. It offers a 2x digital crop option with minimal quality loss under good lighting conditions. The 2.5x telephoto lens is robust, though a longer focal length would be preferable. It performs well up to 5x zoom, with image quality deteriorating beyond 10x digital zoom.

The ultra-wide camera, while not as wide as some competitors with its 16mm equivalent field of view, includes autofocus and macro capabilities for unique close-up shots. Though lower in resolution, it captures ample detail but struggles in low light, as is typical for ultra-wides.

The selfie camera, with its high 50MP resolution and wide field of view, is perfect for group shots. However, it lacks autofocus, requiring precise positioning for the best results.

A highlight is the new portrait mode, developed with Studio Harcourt. It offers AI-enhanced filters like Harcourt Classic for stunning black and white portraits, and Harcourt Color for warm-toned images. Both modes add artificial bokeh and enhance lens flares, with exceptional edge detection for fine details like wisps of hair.

However, these effects are limited to the main and telephoto rear cameras, leaving selfie enthusiasts out. Video capabilities include up to 4K 60fps recording on the main and telephoto cameras, and 4K 30fps on the ultra-wide and selfie cameras. Videos are well-stabilized, with extensive manual control features provided by Honor’s software.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: PERFORMANCE

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Chipset 12GB RAM and 512GB Storage

The Honor 200 Pro is equipped with the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, designed to deliver a flagship-like experience at a more accessible price point. In everyday use, this goal is largely achieved—the phone operates smoothly, with apps launching quickly and running without stutter.

Benchmark tests reveal a more nuanced picture. While the Honor 200 Pro doesn’t quite match the graphical performance of last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 devices, it occasionally outperforms them in computational tasks. It’s not the absolute best, but it still surpasses the Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8 in gaming capabilities.

In real-world usage, the 8s Gen 3 chipset provides ample power for demanding games like Wuthering Waves at maximum settings. The phone does get warm under heavy loads, but it remains comfortable to hold, thanks to Honor’s new super-sized vapor chamber which efficiently manages heat dissipation.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: SOFTWARE

Magic OS 8.0, Based on Android 14

Running on Magic OS 8.0, the Honor 200 Pro offers a highly customized experience built on Android 14. This software, similar to what we saw on the Honor Magic 6 Pro, significantly deviates from the stock Android interface.

Magic OS takes cues from Apple, separating the notification shade and quick settings menu, disabling the app drawer by default, and introducing a Dynamic Island-like feature called Magic Capsule. This may require some adjustment for traditional Android users, while iPhone users might find it more familiar.

Initially, Magic OS felt unfamiliar to me, but it has grown on me, especially the Magic Capsule, which provides quick access to media controls and timers regardless of the foreground app. Another notable feature is Magic Portal, which allows you to drag text or images to the side of the display for quick sharing or searches in recommended apps. This is particularly handy for dragging addresses into Google Maps or performing reverse image searches.

However, the software isn’t without flaws. Some bloatware needs to be cleaned up during initial setup, mostly consisting of Honor’s own apps. Additionally, the Magic Capsule occasionally had issues, such as unresponsive media controls, though these problems resolved themselves. Since I was using pre-release software, it’s likely that these issues will be fixed in the final version.

HONOR 200 PRO REVIEW: BATTERY

5,200mAh Silicon-Carbon Battery 100W Wired Charging 66W Wireless Charging

The Honor 200 Pro features a 5,200mAh battery, utilizing the same advanced silicon-carbon technology found in the Honor Magic 6 Pro, allowing it to fit a large battery into a slim design. This results in impressive battery life, easily lasting through a day of heavy use, with a day and a half achievable, and potentially two days with lighter use.

Charging is equally impressive. Using the included 100W wall adapter, the phone charges from empty to full in just 50 minutes, with a 30-minute charge reaching around 70%. The 200 Pro also supports 66W wireless charging, matching the speed of the higher-end Magic 6 Pro. Using Honor’s SuperCharge stand, I found the phone could be fully charged in about an hour, making it a worthwhile investment for the convenience of fast wireless charging.

HONOR 200 PRO: QUICK REVIEW

Honor’s ‘number-series’ phones have consistently offered flagship-level features at mid-range prices, as seen with the impressive Honor 90 in 2023 and the Honor 70 before it. However, while Pro variants were previously exclusive to China, they have now made their way to Europe for the first time.

The Honor 200 Pro is a step above last year’s Honor 90. Instead of targeting the upper mid-range market, it aims at the lower-tier flagship segment, competing with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 rather than the A55. To stand out at this level, a phone needs top-tier cameras, blazing-fast performance, and cutting-edge features—and the Honor 200 Pro delivers on all fronts.

One of the most exciting features is a new set of portrait effects developed in collaboration with the renowned Studio Harcourt. These effects work like filters with some AI enhancements, producing truly stunning portraits.

The device is solid across the board. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset ensures smooth daily operations and a great gaming experience. The large 5,200mAh battery provides excellent battery life, and its charging speeds, both wired and wireless, are among the fastest in its class.

Competition is fierce, with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 8 offering more advanced AI features and longer support windows. However, they lack the impressive battery life and portrait capabilities of the Honor 200 Pro. Choosing the right phone depends on your priorities.

Verdict

The Honor 200 Pro delivers impressive specs at a competitive price. The phone’s Studio Harcourt portrait effects are the standout feature, but it has plenty to offer elsewhere. The Honor 200 Pro has the largest battery in its class, charges extremely fast, and excels in gaming performance.