Honor 200 Series
lands in SA

It was probably coincidence that Paris featured prominently in the Johannesburg launch of the new Honor 200 series in the same week as the opening of the Olympic Games in the French capital, but it was also appropriate.

Honor worked closely with the Parisian portrait photography house Studio Harcourt to train its cameras to perform at the highest level of their game. The intention, said the company, was “to really set the Honor 200 Series apart from competitors”. In particular, Honor is targeting the gold medal in the artificial intelligence race, working with Studio Harcourt to co-engineer the Honor AI Portrait Engine. 

It says the new  photography mode uses AI technology to replicate Studio Harcourt’s signature lighting and shadow effects, “streamlining a two-hour photoshoot process into a few simple steps”.

Honor has already revealed its AI prowess on the Magic 6 Pro, its flagship smartphone, which introduced the Magic Portal for making it easier to share content across different apps, allowing greater personalisation and a smoother, more intuitive user experience​.

Now it is available in the Honor 200 Series, which is made up of the 200 Lite, 200, and 200 Pro.

Honor provided the following information on the 200 Pro and 200:

The Honor 200 Pro

The flagship model of the series has been equipped with advanced hardware and AI-powered software that can recognise the most subtle nuances of lighting. Featuring a 50MP Portrait Main Camera with a Super Dynamic H9000 Sensor, users can capture crystal-clear images with the perfect balance of light and shadows.

Additionally, the device features a 50MP Portrait Telephoto Camera and a customised Sony telephoto sensor to provide better light sensing capabilities to ensure even the tiniest details are captured on distant objects.

With 12GB of RAM and a 512GB storage drive, users can enjoy a seamless and hassle-free experience. Running on MagicOS 8.0, the Honor 200 Pro offers AI-powered smart functionalities like Magic Portal, Magic Capsule, and Magic Ring to enhance and streamline the user experience.

The Honor 200 Pro stands out with its Snapdragon 8 Series Mobile Platform, boasting a CPU clock speed of up to 3GHz for smooth graphics rendering and real-time responsiveness. Its 5 200mAh Silicon-Carbon Battery provides up to 61 hours of use on a single charge, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay.

The Honor 200

While not worlds apart from the Pro, the Honor 200 does sport a few differences. While both devices feature the same camera setup and features, the Honor 200 features a slightly smaller 6.7-inch AMOLED quad-curved display that offers a peak brightness of 4 000 nits and a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth and vibrant visuals.

Under the hood, the Honor 200 is equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, up to 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It is also powered by a 5 200mAh battery for hours of uninterrupted usage.

The Honor 200 comes in Moonlight White and Black, while the Pro is available in Ocean Cyan and Black.

Fred Zhou, CEO of Honor South Africa, said: “Honor developed the Honor 200 Series to become the ultimate smartphone range for high-quality studio-level portrait photography. We want to make cutting-edge technology more accessible to the public and redefine the future of mobile photography, which is why partnering with Studio Harcourt was a significant milestone for the brand.”

Pricing and Availability

The Honor 200 Pro 5G and Honor 200 5G are available from Thursday, 1 August 2024, at the recommended retail price of R19,999 and R15,999, respectively, from the nearest retailer or network provider. The Honor 200 Lite is already on shelves across the country for R9,999.

The purchase of the Honor 200 and Honor 200 Pro will include free gifts to the value of R6,999, including an Honor SuperCharger plus the cable, a screen protector, free postal repair with pickup and delivery service, a 3-year battery health protection warranty, and a 180-day screen accident warranty, which excludes labour fees.

For more information, please visit Honor at https://www.honor.com/za/phones/honor-200/.

*Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on social media on @art2gee.