A large screen usually comes with poor battery life: if you want to enjoy videos and social media on a display that’s beautiful to look at, it’s better to have your smartphone charger with you. Unless you choose to have it with you Honor Magic6 Lite, the new device that we tell you about in this review.
With an introductory price 349,90 euro for this first month of 2024, the smartphone launched today January 2 from Honor It seems to be worth much more than the price suggests. And while it has some limitations (those looking for turbo performance and perfect shots will want to spend a little more), it could make a lot of potential buyers happy. Especially thanks to his gorgeous screen and his huge battery.
Our review of Honor Magic6 Lite
Honor launched this new smartphone at the beginning of 2024, the Lite version of the new Magic6 line. A mid-range device, with a price of 399.99 euros which for the first month after launch drops to 349.90. However, it boasts some really interesting features, beyond the price.
In Honor’s minimalist, plastic-free packaging we find just your smartphone and a USB-A/USB-C cablewhich however is rather long and convenient to connect to a transformer you have at home.
A familiar but refined design
Even before turning it on, we notice that Honor Magic6 Lite has retained the “spirit” of Honor’s Magic line. The device remains light (185 grams) and thin (7.89mm), remaining well in the hand despite the large display. And it features some of the distinctive features of this product line, albeit with small but welcome variations.
On the back of plastic, which does not retain fingerprints in the version Midnight Black that we tested (there are also Sunrise Orange and Emerald Green), we find two concentric circles that enclose the cameras and the flash. This year, however, Honor has surrounded this structure with knurled metal that it resembles the bezel of a watch. A touch of style that we appreciated.
The shiny edges of the device appear very thin, also because it screen curves laterally at the edges. On the right side you will find the power button and the volume keys, while the left one is completely empty. At the bottom you will find the SIM slot, the USB input and a speaker, while the other is located at the top above the screen and the selfie camera.
Honor told us that it tested the device to withstand drops of up to five feet. Furthermore, she has the IP53 certification, which allows it to resist up to 15 seconds immersed in water. We have not attempted crash tests, but we can say that the device seems very well built: no creaks of any kind, and after two weeks of testing it does not present any kind of scratches or dents. It seems like a good compromise between style and resistance.
A really great display, especially for the price
Honor has equipped the Magic6 Lite with a 6.78 inch AMOLED display and we must say that, from the first switch on, it is the feature that struck us most during this review. The 1.5K resolution (429PPI density) allows you to show very detailed images and vivid colors, with perfect contrast. The variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz ensures that you can view any content (including games) at its best.
The brightness comes to toccare 1200 nits, allowing you to enjoy series and videos even outdoors (at least in these winter days). And although we’re not usually fans of curved displays, we really like the effect in this smartphone. Honor has fitted a screen protector that you can feel with your fingers on the curves of the display, something we usually avoid, but which will probably make most users happy.
There are also many software customizations: you can enable Night mode, change the warmth of the screen and choose more or less vivid colors. You can also activate the blue light filter according to the time and increase visual comfort. All options that become looser on a screen like this, especially at this price.
Performance and daily use
While the screen is perfect for multimedia content, the processor isn’t exactly ideal for gaming. The platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 was created to guarantee mixed use and great autonomy, certainly not to surprise in the benchmarks. Where, however, Honor Magic6 Lite defends itself rather well (2740 in Geekbench multicore, 2393 in 3DMark Wild Life).
We played graphically light games like Football Manager 24 and Pokémon Go without delays, but even in Genshin Impact the new Honor smartphone was able to defend itself. Without getting too hot and without noticeable slowdowns. If you buy it mainly to play, it’s better to focus on something else. But he can defend quite well if you only play occasionally for fun.
The 8GB of RAM and 256GB However, the memory is more than sufficient for daily use. Although the processor sometimes makes it a little slower to open an application (at least compared to more powerful smartphones), switching between them works without a hitch. This smartphone is not as snappy as a top of the range smartphone, but it is more than usable.
Honor has equipped this device with MagicOS 7.2, based on Android 13. Which does a few things well: The lock screen animations and wallpapers show off the screen’s capabilities well. But it has a few too many pre-installed apps (most of which you can remove) by default it doesn’t have the “drawer” for applications, installing everything on the home pages. We love more minimalist operating systems, but with a little patience you can customize your smartphone to make the most of it.
The camera is pretty good, but it doesn’t shine as bright as the screen
Honor has equipped its new smartphone with a 108MP main camera, with a 1/1.67 inch sensor and an aperture of 1.75, accompanied by a 5MP ultrawide sensor and a 2MP macro.
After looking at the colorful images of the backgrounds on the Magic6 Lite’s excellent screen, the camera’s results are there they look pretty good, but not as bright as we would have hoped. The large sensor allows you to capture good quality images both day and night low light conditions: in the evening you can shoot with confidence, for images that are not always precise but well balanced. Furthermore, it offers the opportunity to zoom up to 3X without losing much definition (even if it is not a physical sensor, it simply “crops” the image of the main sensor).
Unfortunately however, even in excellent light conditions, the colors are not very vividi, although the images are quite sharp. Snap in HDR mode makes colors more brillianti, and we don’t understand why Honor hasn’t inserted a simple toggle in the main camera: instead you have to go to “Other” to select the “HDR Camera”. In general, it seems to us that the software is not very convenient to use. But if you have the patience to find the right settings and position your smartphone well, you can get great shots.
Wide angle and macro are not very usable: even in good light, the images are grainy and unconvincing. Better to take a step back or bring the smartphone closer and use the main one, one level (or even two or three) higher. We didn’t really like the videos either: the stabilization disappoints. However, if you take fixed shots or use a tripod, the situation improves a lot: you can capture details and clean images.
Furthermore, the 16MP selfie camera is good, which also thanks to software that helps to frame you is easy to use. For social media and video calls it is more than sufficient.
Test shots
Honor Magic6 Lite review: a truly infinite battery
If the screen is the first thing that struck us during this review, the battery of Honor Magic6 Lite that’s what convinced us. The company has made a battery fit in this small thickness 5.300mAh which, combined with the low-energy processor, surprised us with its battery life. Even using it to its maximum, with benchmarks, shots, games and videos, we were unable to get it below 40% at the end of the day. With average use, two days is more than possible.
The fast charging reaches 35W using a SuperCharge charger (not included in the package). It’s not record-breaking, but considering the great autonomy it seems more than sufficient. However, wireless charging is missing.
Honor Magic6 Lite review: is it worth it?
At the launch price of 349,90 euro, Honor Magic6 Lite offers a really interesting package. It has a truly splendid screen and impressive battery life, as well as a good quality main camera, albeit with software that has uncertainties. However, the processor performance reminds us that it is a mid-range device, as does the wide angle and macro sensor.
Knowing these compromises, it seems to us that there are several users who would appreciate this smartphone. If you love scrolling through social media, watching videos, taking photos (with the main camera) and playing games that aren’t very demanding on a graphics level, Honor Magic6 Lite allows you to do it on an excellent display and for two consecutive days. You can find Honor Magic6 Lite on the official website.
