Joe Maring / Digital Trends
There ’s no doubt that 2024 has already been an exciting year forAndroid phones . Samsung wow us with the Galaxy S24 serial publication at the beginning of the year , the OnePlus 12 and 12R are two of the best phones available right now , and Google is expected to impress subsequently this calendar month with the Google Pixel 8a .
But for the last few week , I have n’t been thinking about any of those phones . Why ? Because I ’ve been using the Honor Magic 6 RSR . After launch in China this retiring March , the Magic 6 RSR is now usable in the EU , and that ’s appropriate more folk than ever to get their hands on the phone . And that ’s heavy , because the Honor Magic 6 RSR has quickly become my Modern favorite Android phone of 2024 .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
It has some of 2024’s best smartphone hardware
declare that the telephone has some of 2024 ’s best computer hardware is a bold claim to make , I roll in the hay . But it ’s true — and it all starts with the Magic 6 RSR ’s hardware . The Honor Magic 6 RSR is essentially the same phone as theHonor Magic 6 Pro , with one of the expectant differences being its design . The Magic 6 RSR was create in collaboration with Porsche Design , which is observable in a twain of arena .
Not only does the atomic number 22 body look and find incredible , but the little melodic phrase down the middle mimics excogitation element get in Porsche cars — and it also just feels nice to feed your finger’s breadth over . The tv camera hump is equally striking , with the hexangular design looking unlike anything else on the market . It ’s big and make a financial statement , and I frankly love it . It ’s also utterly positioned so that the bottom border catch one’s breath on my index finger’s breadth when I ’m halt the phone , adding some extra stability that I really treasure . And , of path , there ’s the Porsche Design logo right below the camera .
I could in person care less about the Porsche collaboration , but what I love so much about the Honor Magic 6 RSR is howdifferentit look from all of the other smartphones I ’ve used over the last year . There ’s no mistaking the Magic 6 RSR for a Galaxy S24 Ultra or an iPhone 15 Pro Max . It very much has its own unique individuality , and that ’s something I really appreciate .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Combine the standout design with the unbelievable fit and eat up throughout the earphone ’s construction — from the excellent in - helping hand feel to the wonderfully clicky button — and this is everything I want in a 2024 flagship .
A jaw-dropping camera
Even more than the hardware , the Magic 6 RSR ’s tv camera is what has really tolerate out to me . The hexagonal prominence on the back of the headphone is nursing home to three sensors : a 50 - megapixel main photographic camera , a 180MP telephotograph photographic camera , and a 50MP ultrawide camera . Yes , you read that correctly — a180MPtelephoto camera . It ’s technically a 2.5x optical zoom , which does n’t sound all that telling , but the teemingness of megapixels think of you may zoom in much further than that and still get great results .
Over the last few weeks , I ’ve used the Magic 6 RSR ’s cameras to enamour all sorts of vista — including insouciant pictures of my pets at home , a nearby nature trail , the first blooming plants of spring , and a agile slip to business district Detroit . No matter what I ’ve been photographing , I ’ve been overwhelmingly thrilled with the photos I crack with this phone .
Like any flagship sound today , the Magic 6 RSR capture sharp , detailed , and pleasing - looking images . But what has really been telling to me is the versatility of the camera . The 50MP primary camera presents a strong foundation . It delivers terrific colors and excellent item , and it handles motion exceptionally well . honour includes a feature article call “ Motion Sensing Capture , ” which basically apply AI to mechanically take a pic of a moving subject for you . It go gimmicky , but it ’s actually try quite handy when trying to take a photo of my fidgety khat .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
My favourite part , though , has been the 180MP telephoto photographic camera . purity provides two zoom shortcuts in the camera app : 2.5x and 5x . you could go up to 100x zoom if you need , but I ’ve in the first place stayed with the two default options .
Like the main television camera , the telephotograph sensor handles moving subjects unbelievably well . aggregate that with the gorgeous bokeh event and the same lovely people of color as the main camera , and this has quickly become one of my favorite telephotograph television camera I ’ve ever used . From leave on a windy spring twenty-four hour period to active butterflies and more , the Magic 6 RSR has trance images I do n’t think I would have been able to take with any of my other smartphones .
Is the camera perfect ? It is not . The Magic 6 RSR is n’t the stiff performer in terminus of lowlight photography , and its colors can sometimes be a bittoomuch ( particularly when using any of the include filter in the camera app ) . But those thing do n’t really nettle me . The Magic 6 RSR doesn’talwaystake an awe-inspiring photo , but when it does , it ’s genuinely jaw - dropping at time . I ’ll break off there and countenance the exposure speak for themselves .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Flagship specs across the board
So far we have a outstanding design and a gem of a camera . What more could you ask for ? Quite a lot , actually — let in a arresting video display , outstanding performance , and excellent stamp battery life .
On the front of the Magic 6 RSR is a 6.8 - inch OLED panel . It has a 2800 x 1280 resolution , 453 pixels per inch , up to a 120Hz refresh charge per unit , and 5,000 nit of peak brightness . It ’s essentially everything you could want in a mod smartphone display , and it looks phenomenal .
Colors are bright and vibrant , everything is razor - sharp , and there are sempiternal preferences to pick off the screen to your exact liking — include centre comfort option , a Circadian Night Display mode , and even an eBook mode that turns the entire display monochrome . The phone also has an always - on display , and just like the iPhone 15 Pro , it can show a dimmed version of your wallpaper if you want .
The Honor Magic 6 RSR is alsofast . A Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 exponent the headphone , which is the same cow chip you ’ll find in other 2024 flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra . Combined with 24 GB ( ! ! ) of RAM and 1 TB of memory board , there ’s almost nothing that can stop it . Apps spread instantly , navigate the user port is as smooth as can be , and games go beautifully . Marvel Snaphas crashed a fistful of times , but otherwise , the Magic 6 RSR ’s performance has been unflawed .
Also great is the battery liveliness . There ’s a 5,600 mAh battery inside the Magic 6 RSR , and in my examination , it ’s more than capable of getting through two twenty-four hour period of solid use per charge . It ’s also incredibly quick to reload , plunk for 80 - W wire charging and 66W wireless charging .
There are a bunch of piddling things , too . The stereo speakers voice great , the IR blaster on the top build is a skillful treat , and the in - screen fingerprint sensor work very well . There ’s even a Face ID - like facial identification system that you may use anywhere you ’d apply the fingermark sensor .
The Magic 6 RSR’s one big caveat
Like any smartphone , the Honor Magic 6 RSR is n’t complete . Honor ’s MagicOS 8.0 software isheavilyinfluenced by iOS . I finally got used to its quirks ( like pilfer on the left side of my screen to see notifications and filch on the right to see my prompt configurations ) , but it assume meter to adjust . You also ca n’t double - press the power push to open up the camera app . twice - exhort the volume down button does this , but only when the screen is off . There are a good deal of small thing like this , but again , nothing deal - breaking .
If the Honor Magic 6 RSR is so heavy , why are n’t I recommending you cannonball along out and buy it right now ? There ’s just one belittled problem with the phone , and that ’s its availability .
If you ’re read this , chances are you ca n’t corrupt the Magic 6 RSR . The phone was entirely available in China earlier this class , and while it ’s since expanded to the EU and U.K. , there are zero plans for a U.S. release . And even if you do live in an surface area where the Magic 6 RSR is useable for leverage , it ’s obnoxiously expensive . In the U.K. , the earphone will set you back 1,500 British pounds — or a small over $ 1,800 .
My new go-to Android phone
Objectively speaking , the Honor Magic 6 RSRprobablyshouldn’t be your next smartphone purchase . TheSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — arguably one of the most technically telling Android telephone uncommitted today — looks like a bargain next to the Magic 6 RSR atonly$1,300 . TheOnePlus 12costs less than one-half of the Magic 6 RSR ’s pricker damage and check virtually every corner . Not to cite , the Honor Magic 6 Pro is virtually the same phone as the Magic 6 RSR , just with someslightlytweaked photographic camera / showing spectacles and a different design — and it be one C less .
The Honor Magic 6 RSR is not a sensitive smartphone . Even if you populate in a food market where it ’s sold , you should realistically admire it from afar . But ingest system of logic out of the equation for a moment and just reckon at the Magic 6 RSR on its own — not think about how much it costs or where it ’s sold — this is an special piece of tech . I ’ve had an absolute blast living with the Magic 6 RSR over the last few week , and until I need to put my SIM in another headphone for review , it ’s go to happily stay in this one .
