Honor Magic4 Pro: I'm SO Happy Honor is Back!

TEAM SGG PATREON / somegadgetguy Honor Magic4 Pro review! I thought this brand might have been lost forever, but they're back! Honor phones have always been pretty powerhouse devices. The Magic4 Pro is now a proper premium tier device. While there are still some clumsy bits, are the quirks "charming" or are they deal breakers? Let's take look!
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[@silverfox4113]

Had my Honor magic 4 pro in the UK now for just over 2 months . It's an amazing phone 👌. Camera is amazing, the charging speed is insane and I love this curved screen 😍

[@AT-tx7gb]

@@abcdef7660 got the phone today. Honestly, the bloatware is less than in Samsungs. I live in Germany. The UI is also decent. Really nothing to critique

[@tvsamsontalkshow5005]

One KZbin reviewer said that there is No WiFi calling

[@silverfox4113]

@@tvsamsontalkshow5005 yes it does have WiFi calling

[@chillingwithshillam]

I'm upgrading from a respectable P30 Pro and have had my eye on the Magic 4 Pro - mind if I ask if you think it's worth waiting for the Magic 5 Pro, not only considering I've been absolutely fine in the P30 Pro until now and it's (Mag'5) a new release in the UK, still due, so might have some initial issues? Whereas the Mag'4 has been out long enough now to iron out its main issues... think I'd be missing much from the 5 or probably not? Many thanks

[@BrianGlaze]

The charger in the box is a W everytime. Thank you Honor 🎖

[@yazidknopfler8640]

glad you tested honor, when people say it's same value as s22+ i dont get it, this phone come with 100W charger a case and a screen protector in the box it's just better value from the box, About the software yeah you'll find it sometimes glitchy cause it's like a harmonyOS of Huawei on android 12, about the cameras, to have a shot that is not bright turn AI off and down the exposure and do not touch the screen again if you touched it will bright your shot again ( i know it's annoying but it is what it is) and for night mode it's 90% useless if you want the best bright shot use HDR at all scenes you can get spectacular shots.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Yeah. I would understand folks talking about competition, but folks acting like Samsung is "winning" somehow is just silly. It's a GREAT fight, and Honor delivers some fantastic features at this price.

[@megadeth8592]

I can find many many things about one ui that I can't stand. Samsung is far from perfect.

[@yazidknopfler8640]

@@megadeth8592 yeah i tried both systems, they're equivalents but in term of hardware it's not even close chinese phones are supreme

[@bmuhamad]

Nice. What about the audio? Thanks.

[@nicojimenez9614]

I will say I am really fond of your style of reviewing, in being unapologetically _genuine_ and independent and approach things taking and talking absolutely no bullshit; a total disruptor in a (all tea all shade) landscape chock-full of cookie-cutter minded reviewers more heavily focused on cutesy Matrix-knockoff shots and flimsy whiny opinions who are always swept away by the current and scared to differentiate themselves from others and the "general consensus" (that's rather thrusted then sold to us), whilst you are always severely and vehemently unafraid to swim, swarm and conquer such tainted currents and voice out and speak up to (and for) the real tech enthusiasts. Hats off to you, Juan. I would also have written this in a richer (and shadier) way in spanish instead as it's my native language but I'm not going to skydrop into mental acrobatics and assume you speak spanish solely judging by your name.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I'm NEW Mexican, so we speak a really whiny "nor-tan-yo" Spanglish. I try never to subject folks to that accent...

[@blackpurple9163]

ALWAYS CHECK for these features in every Phone you review: 1. Direct Power to the phone, similar to HS control in Sony Xperia Mark 2 and onwards and some gaming phones, I recently found out it's supported in many phones, like my realme x2pro, oneplus 9pro (called idle charge), as a heavy user, my battery has degraded quite fast in just under 1.5 years, even though I haven't played too much games on it, I use my phone during work hours and it's often connected to power supply because I need to use my phone, but with direct power, I can do all my things while connected to the charger and not charge battery, thus reducing battery degradation in the long term

[@blackpurple9163]

@ozayevable don't know, check if it goes

[@chubbyjohnson5480]

I'd LOVE to have some of these import phones that will be fully functional on T-Mobile. I need wifi calling calling and VoLTE. They are musts and I can't compromise on those.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

No joke man. We had it SO good on LTE. 5G is just a scam.

[@Danny...]

Unfortunately no 4G bands 14, 29, 30 or 36 on AT&T. No 4G bands 66 or 71 or 5G band n71 on T-Mobile so it's badly crippled on U.S. networks.

[@thedrunkengardener9367]

Yeah you can't use it in the United States but it sure can charge pretty darn fast different strokes for different folks 🙄

[@ralphwijland]

After owning a Huawei mate 20 pro which unfortunatly half-died. I got a Huawei 11T Pro...... But since i do not like the device that much i'll reconsider going to Honor.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I really like the Honor game right now too 👍

[@laurine9061]

Honor midranged last model which realy good was H20. New honor with gms/snapdragon not really powerful anymore.. I mean.. Kirin was more powerful for me

[@Dan-u1l]

Generally, it's sad to see how tech has progressed where early adopters have an underbaked and buggy experience, with further polishing coming after the product has been released. This can be seen especially in the gaming industry where day 1 and week 1 patches are extremely large. Just some thoughts and algorithm comment.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I get it, but this stuff is also SIGNIFICANTLY more complex than it used to be. And even then, it wasn't like older products and games were always bug free either.

[@Dan-u1l]

@@SomeGadgetGuy That's true, but most of the time you'd get a far better experience out of the box than you usually do nowadays. I would sympathise with tech companies having to rush products out if they weren't the ones that create and hype up the demand in the first place. For example, Oneplus. As they've evolved into a more lifestyle brand (which isn't a bad thing. I'm not a oneplus hater), the end user experience has gotten more buggy. There was that LTT video recently about the issues linus and people he knew had with various oneplus devices. Initially, I thought it was blown out of proportion, until I hopped into the oneplus subreddit and saw people complaining about bugs on devices from various generations. I would love to see a company go to releasing a phone every two years and focus on optimizing the experience, rather than adding new phones and features every year, but with more bugs.

[@robertclarkguitar]

Man I love your reviews. I keep repeating this. I know.

[@Infamouskillah]

There software updates are horrible

[@1mezion]

I hope you to get your hands on the Xiaomi 12S ultra and the ZTE axon 40 ultra I'm eager to see what u think of their general performance and cameras

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I'm working HARD to get a legit import on that Xiaomi right now. I NEED that phone...

[@nikytamayo]

@@SomeGadgetGuy we ALL need that phone. Lol.

[@1mezion]

@@SomeGadgetGuy And if they would extend the security updates to match Samsung that would be totally awesome

[@1mezion]

@@SomeGadgetGuy 😁👍

[@dorin497]

I am really digging the big circle camera hardware at the back phones. This one and the Vivo X80 phones too. I loved the Lumia 1020 and 1520 back then too. Awesome that we get reviews like you who discuss more about the differentiating feature of these phones.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

YUP! I really like the design. And it's less wobbly on a table.

[@marcofava]

A Shootout is required between this new crop of Cameraphones, the X80 Pro, Honor Magic 4 Pro, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra

[@PepperButt]

@@marcofava second this!

[@JoeCastellon]

Thrilled to see Honor making a comeback!

[@paltrax]

Yea I miss Saab too...😭

[@GtheJuggler]

Forgot to mention the secure 3D face 🔓

[@DarkArcharon]

Just ordered it! Glad to see there's still people digging honor and subsequently kind of huawei

[@DerrickBest]

Oh my God. The Honor 8 was so damn good for it's price. There's still features I wish was on other phones. I wonder if Honor would still have them. I may just get it to find out

[@waelhussien6528]

Excellent review sir 👌 On huawei quick open camera just double click on volume button low... Maybe it works here.. By the way what's software number updated when shooting this video ? Because i see the video smooth not glitch like on beginning of releasing this device !!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Yeah I looked there first, but it's not EXACTLY like Huawei EMUI. I can't remember exactly what update it was on, but it had gone through two patches at the point I shot this.

[@RobertHorvat]

how to disable random mac for my home wifi?

[@1mezion]

Seems like honor did a pretty decent job. Interesting that the more expensive some phones get the less accessories we get in the box, damn Apple for starting this damn you to hell 😠 One day apple will just send us the phone in a paper bag.

[@dorin497]

don't worry. the paper bag is 100% recycled materials and apple will assure and make you feel that you are helping against climate change. lol

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Honestly, I'd be willing to cut Apple some slack on the environment claims if their accessories, cables, and dongles came in simple brown paper bags. I'd be cool with that. Instead we know they save money on phone shipping, and then create just as much packaging waste with accessories, and spend even more on shipping.

[@1mezion]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I don't disagree just ment They might as well send it in a paper bag because they have taken out all the accessories from the box

[@SeptienPatterson]

The OnePlus 3. I miss it.

[@SuperStareGry]

Sorry ut that notch at the front and the look of the back is a killer. This thing just looks atrocious from the front and the back!

[@zerocool1722]

Lost me when I saw the curved screen

[@leonardodavinci7425]

Did you ever review the Magic 5 pro? I've just ordered a second hand Magic 5 pro.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I never did get my hands on it. Looked like a MONSTER phone tho.

[@leonardodavinci7425]

@@SomeGadgetGuy I think TK got it but as far as I I'm aware he didn't do any long term review for it

[@SimonSaysHypno]

I have my validation so now I can officially like this review! I'm loving mine but tapping to focus really blows out colour at times. Other than that, tis glorious

[@thatdude7170]

I know it's a very niche feature, but I wish stacked raw options like Raw+, Pixel's HDR+, Super Raw, etc. were adopted more universally among different manufacturers. I mean, you can get it in many phones by installing GCam, but still, it's interesting what each manufacturer can come up with (as long it's not a demosaiced linear DNG presented as RAW like ProRaw and Expert Raw). They're pretty much the best stills output phones can deliver in most conditions.

[@SpaceLion949]

Honor phones are starting to appear in my country (Costa Rica in Central America) so that's pretty nice. I really like to have options with different value propositions.

[@charlgeldenhuys]

Watching this with my S22plus that doesn't include a charger in the box. So jealous.

[@TechSpaceYT]

One of the best Android phones for the year :))

[@jakesyoutubezone9808]

Car discourse is very similar to phone discourse cuz they're commodity items that you engage with every day. It's just that everyone's more broke so your 700 dollar phone is your most conspicuous consumption and not a 40,000 dollar car

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I mean in the USA right now, we KNOW folks sporting iPhone Pros and Samsung Ultras aren't buying them outright...

[@rathinid4069]

Honor magic 4pro Vs Samsung s22plus which one will be the best pick? I am really confused....

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Well lets break it down. The Honor has a higher resolution screen, a much nicer telephoto camera, SIGNIFICANTLY faster wired and wireless charging, an IR blaster, and its starting price includes double the storage of the S22+, with a higher cost option for 50% more RAM. They both have similar main cameras and ultrawides. They both have IP68. They both have desktop modes. The S22+ has a brighter screen, and will likely get more operating system updates, but suffers poorer overall performance from inadequate thermal management. Also, you know, Exynos...

[@rathinid4069]

@@SomeGadgetGuy thank you so so much for replying. I truly appreciate it.If pick one, what would be your choice? I want a phone with a best camera, smooth performance, no lagging and good battery life. In the honour I noticed some photos coming out dark or blur.. Is it true?

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I really wouldn't base your purchasing on what tech reviewers do. Our needs are likely VERY different than yours. Since you asked though, I prefer the Honor. It performs SIGNIFICANTLY better in the tasks that I like to accomplish with my phone, the overall camera experience is nicer, and I like the darker and contrastier look of Honor photos over the fake-bright, fake-colorful look of samsung processing. If you're considering the S22+ though, I might recommend looking up sales on an S21+ just to see if you can get a good deal. Samsung really cut corners on the S22 this year, and the phone is kind of a dog, especially if you have the Exynos version. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poDYn2OPitmnn5I

[@rathinid4069]

@@SomeGadgetGuy thank you so much for the reply. I ordered my Honor Magic 4 Pro... I find It the phone looks super cool and refreshing design!

[@markcaiger-watson1104]

@@rathinid4069 how you getting on with the magic 4 pro? Are you impressed? I'm concidering it too.

[@lany_07gaming]

Honor have a great camera for me, great review as always.👍

[@omarjalil]

i bought honor 50 just cuz of huawei

[@cristi724]

Wife had an Honor 8 for almost 5 years. I replaced the battery once and the phone was going strong. Only replaced it because of no software updates, which meant the banking app would no longer work. I guess 5 years is good for a phone these days, but shame because the hardware was still fine and you can't find small phones with good hardware anymore (unless you buy from the rotten fruit company).

[@stevepogue1124]

Asus has their Zemfone 9, but that might be a bit too expensive for most people...

[@oneminutewonder77]

You say these phones are available in the US market. If you go to the Honor site it says that a global variant exists but you can't buy them.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

I did not say they were available in the us market. I said they were back for western audiences, and showed the UK product page. Only about 30% of my audience lives in North America.

[@abesh1284]

Going To Buy This Beast! From UK! Also Zenfone 9! Wish me 🤞!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Congrats on the new phone! Good luck!

[@megadeth8592]

double press volume down for camera....or at least that's how it used to be on my p30

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Nerp.

[@farishanafiah8461]

2:22 Oh I miss Honor's Desktop Mode. Haven't seen it since the View 20.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

RIGHT! It's so good...

[@loonation2185]

great phone but man... that camera pill on the front triggers my ocd, id rather have a centered notch than that.

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's... a bit much yeah...

[@TechMikkel]

Changing lenses when getting too close to an object has changed a lot, at least with Samsung s22u. P30 Pro changed from 5x to 1x at about 7 meters (23 feet). S22u changes from 10x to 3x at about 80 cm (2.6 feet). 3x to 1x at about 25 cm (0.8 feet). I just measured this in good lighting conditions. Open camera: They might have disable it, but this how Honor used to do it: Take a snapshot & open camera: double press the volume down button to take a photo when the screen is off or locked. this can be disabled or used to open the camera app instead. To activate this Go to Settings > Accessibility features > shortcuts & gestures > Ultra Snapshot

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

The test for true minimum focusing distance of a specific lens should be done in the manual mode, where you can select each camera and lock down exactly where it's focusing. The Honor's tele lens can close in under 2 meters, but the software handles that transition in auto mode with a much wider buffer. I'd be curious to see which lens on a Note 22 can close in better than 80cm. The accessibility section was the second place I looked. It's not there on this Honor.

[@TechMikkel]

@@SomeGadgetGuy If you use IVCam Webcam to do to stuff such as OBS live streaming with the P30 Pro and you switch to front camera and you do it one multiple times, you will access the ultra wide and the 5x. This is not possible with other brands (maybe Honor?) and also very unique: 5x optical is possible with the facebook app. Doing so with IVCam makes 5x locked and it does not switch lenses when you get close to objects and here you can see that Huawei switches lenses too aggressively, because in good lighting you can get much closer to the object without losing quality.

[@davidburns8113]

Oh man, I want that phone!

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

It's real pretty. 😊

[@you_can_be_my_wingman_anytime]

I miss Saab 😢

[@SomeGadgetGuy]

Yeah... Oh yeah... Sigh...