Life in the fast brain

Honor’s latest hero phone promises never to miss a moment thanks to its quick-thinking cameras… and the rest of the package is pretty zippy too

R21 900 (import) / hihonor.com/uk

No offence, Honor, but last year’s Magic4 Pro was a shock to the system. Here was a one-time budget phone brand suddenly competing with the big boys in true flagship territory – and in several respects beating them, courtesy of an excellent set of cameras and incredibly quick charging of both the wired and wireless varieties. Its successor has a lot to live up to, then.

Things are looking good for the Magic5 Pro right off the bat, with the sort of top-tier internals we’d expect from any great high-end handset in 2023, along with the stand-out styling to match. It’s also packing an overhauled trio of snappers, with fast focusing and fast subject-tracking via its bespoke Falcon algorithm.

But the competition has never been hotter: there are now rivals that go even higher on camera pixel counts, or find room inside for huge 1in sensors. Has Honor done enough here to make it two smash hits in a row?

Smart ache tonight