Gadget of the Week: Honor
narrows the flagship gap

What is it?

The Honor 600 Pro occupies an increasingly interesting corner of the smartphone market. It offers many of the features associated with premium flagship devices, but with a price tag well below Honor’s Magic Series, which is nominally the top of the range. It also comes loaded with AI tools that range from useful to mildly eccentric.

A 6.57-inch AMOLED display dominates the front, while a substantial camera housing and an extra side button hint at where Honor has focused its efforts. The overall design is polished, although the resemblance to Apple’s design language is difficult to miss, particularly in an orange finish.

The 600 Pro comes to market one rung below the Magic Series. On paper, however, the distance between them iss surprisingly short. Both the Magic8 Pro and 600 Pro feature Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets, although the Magic uses a newer generation. Both offer a 120Hz display, IP68/IP69K protection and wireless charging.

Those specifications translate into an experience that feels thoroughly premium. Apps open quickly, multitasking is effortless and gaming runs smoothly. The 120Hz display keeps scrolling fluid, while a massive 7,000mAh battery powers comfortably through a full day of heavy use and still has energy in reserve. Fast charging takes less than an hour, making overnight charging feel almost old-fashioned.

One omission is LTPO display technology, which would have allowed refresh rates to scale down to 1Hz for greater power efficiency. The 600 Pro switches between fixed refresh-rate steps instead. In general use, though, few users are likely to notice.

Honor AI

Honor has packed the 600 Pro with AI features, centred on a dedicated AI button on the side of the device.

Users can assign different functions to single, double and long presses, including Honor AI, Google Lens, AI Photo Agent, AI Screen Suggestions and AI Memories. The button works well as a shortcut system, although support for everyday apps like Google Maps or WhatsApp would have made it far more versatile.

Among the AI features, Magic Portal stands out. It recognises text and images on screen and suggests relevant actions, such as opening Maps from an address, creating a calendar entry from a date, launching ChatGPT or saving information to notes. At times it feels unusually eager to take over but, most of the time, it gets the job done.

AI Memories attempts to give screenshots a second life by organising and categorising captured content. The concept is appealing, although the current implementation feels closer to an upgraded screenshot manager than a productivity breakthrough.

Image editing produces mixed results. AI Photo Agent supports natural-language prompts, allowing users to request changes through simple instructions. Results vary. In testing, skin tones shifted unexpectedly and facial features changed.

AI Upscale sometimes pushed portraits towards illustration rather than photography, while AI Outpainting occasionally left visible artefacts around expanded image areas. AI Magic Colour proved more dependable, enhancing colour without turning images into tourism brochures.

The image-to-video generator occupies a category all of its own. Accessible through the gallery’s Create menu, it transforms still photographs into short animated clips in a few minutes. Some results are impressive. Others resemble scenes from a dream that made perfect sense until the alarm clock rang.

Combining photographs of two cats produced a convincing enough animation, aside from one cat developing eye colours that nature appears to have overlooked. Urban Groove and Graceful Ballet, which transform still images into dancing videos complete with music, offer similar entertainment value.

Several AI features are still demonstrations of possibility rather than necessity. Fortunately, the phone never depends on them.

The camera system delivers at flagship level. The main 200MP camera, 50MP telephoto lens and 50MP selfie camera produce detailed images with natural colour and reliable exposure across a variety of conditions. Portraits look balanced, while mixed lighting presents few challenges. The 12MP ultrawide camera keeps pace for most situations, although fine detail softens when examined closely.

At 7x zoom, an AI-enhanced zoom option becomes available. This is one area where the technology adds clear value. The difference appears subtle at first glance, but closer inspection reveals improved detail in hair, fur and textured surfaces.

Performance remains strong across the board. Gaming sessions keep temperatures under control, stereo speakers provide plenty of volume and clarity, and both the fingerprint scanner and facial recognition work consistently.

The software experience introduces a few irritations. Many AI features remain disabled by default, requiring a tour through multiple settings menus before they reveal themselves.

How much does it cost?

The Honor 600 Pro is available at a recommended retail price of R19,999, or from R799 per month over 36 months. The Honor 600 is available at R14,999, or from R549 per month over 36 months. Both come in orange, while the 600 Pro is also offered in golden white and the 600 in black.

Does it make a difference?

The Honor 600 Pro delivers much of what buyers expect from a flagship smartphone: excellent battery life, powerful performance, strong cameras, wireless charging and premium build quality. Some AI features will become part of daily use, while others will provide a few minutes of amusement before fading into the background. The strengths of the device remain firmly rooted in the fundamentals, and those fundamentals are handled exceptionally well.

What are the biggest negatives?

• Several AI editing tools produce inconsistent results.
• Many useful features remain buried in settings menus.

What are the biggest positives?

• Outstanding battery life with fast charging.
• Bright and fluid 120Hz AMOLED display.
• Excellent camera system with particularly strong zoom performance.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”. Jason Bannier is deputy editor of Gadget.co.za.