Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarHonor Magic5 Lite 5G Review: Thin smartphone with thick battery
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 % | 05/2023 | Honor Magic5 Lite 5G SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 175 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 84.9 % | 04/2023 | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Dimensity 1080, Mali-G68 MP4 | 199 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.60" | 2340x1080 | |
| 85.4 % | 04/2023 | Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro SD 778G 5G, Adreno 642L | 181 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 82.8 % | 05/2023 | Motorola Moto G73 5G Dimensity 930, IMG BXM-8-256 | 181 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" | 2400x1080 |
Case and features: Magic5 Lite comes with a chic look
One highlight of the Magic5 Lite 5G is its very thin casing, which looks even slimmer due to the rounded edges. The Honor smartphone is available in Midnight Black, Emerald Green, and Titanium Silver color options. The latter is our test device, whose actual color is not easy to determine because it changes with the incidence of light.
Honor optionally offers so-called Surprise Cases (€20), which not only protect the smartphone but also have very fancy designs. Even the surface in the camera ring can be adapted to the case's look with an included sticker.
The workmanship seems to be of a very high quality, and the matte plastic on the back is insensitive to fingerprints. The gaps are tight and even, but Honor did not put much effort into the cover of the card slot. It is slightly recessed in the aluminum frame and also has a different color.
The hardware includes Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and an IR blaster which can be used to control home multimedia devices, air conditioners, cameras, and more. An audio jack is not available nor are microSD cards supported. In return, two storage versions are offered: 6 GB RAM with 128 GB internal storage (RRP: €370) as well as a variant with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage (RRP: €400).
Unlike the Magic4 Lite, a power adapter is no longer included although the packaging is unchanged in size. However, this is not so bad for the buyer because the fast charging technology is fully compatible with older power adapters from Huawei and Honor. Those who do not have a power adapter or would still like to have a new one can buy one for €1 in the Honor store.
Communication, software, and operation: Most 5G bands covered but no eSIM
The Honor Magic5 Lite 5G supports the most important mobile bands for all current standards, including 5G Sub-6. Therefore, all countries are covered within Europe but users planning a long-distance trip should check whether the smartphone meets local requirements beforehand.
Wi-Fi 5 is supported in the WLAN, and the Magic5 Lite works both stably and with expected speeds within this standard.
The Honor smartphone can accept up to two nano-SIM cards, but it does not support an eSIM. VoLTE and WLAN calls are supported, however. There is no integrated SIP account management. The voice quality is good when held to the ear and minor noises are suppressed. However, the user sounds quite tinny in speaker mode.
The operating system is the outdated Google Android 12, over which Honor runs its Magic UI 6.1. There will be an update to Android 13, but that will arrive later. In addition, Honor provides security patches for a total of three years.
A reinforced glass is used on the front, which is supposed to be particularly robust against drops. Additionally, Honor protects the display with a protective film. The gliding properties are good, and the touchscreen works with a sampling rate of up to 300 Hz, so inputs are recognized very quickly and precisely.
For biometric security, an optical fingerprint sensor has been integrated into the panel which has high recognition rates and unlocks the Magic5 Lite quickly. Additionally, or alternatively, a less secure facial recognition via the front camera is available. An ERM motor is responsible for the vibrations, which is very quiet and provides comparatively accurate feedback.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G73 5G | |
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G73 5G | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
Cameras: Magic5 Lite comes with a 64 MP sensor
The cameras are considerably improved in all respects compared to the Magic4 Lite. The front-facing camera is almost identical on the spec sheet, but it takes much better photos. The bokeh could be softer in portrait mode, but there are no hard edges to the subject.
The triple camera on the back has a new 64 MP sensor, which takes much better pictures. Just before the completion of the testing period, the Magic5 Lite 5G received an update that visibly improved the photo quality again; the pictures shown here were taken before that.
Although an ultra-wide-angle lens is finally available, it is quite poor in detail due to the low resolution. The macro lens looks similar. The Honor smartphone can record videos on both sides in Full HD with 30 fps at best.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
HauptkameraHauptkameraUltraweitwinkel5-facher ZoomLow-Light
Display: Honor relies on a bright OLED panel with PWM dimming
Last year's Magic4 Lite still used an LCD screen, but the Magic5 Lite 5G now relies on a modern OLED display that is about 300 cd/m² brighter and reaches up to 1,052 cd/m² with an even distribution of bright and dark picture content (APL18). The refresh rate can either be fixed at 60 Hz, 120 Hz, or dynamically switch between the two values.
Only HLG and HDR10 are supported for HDR. Due to its high-frequency PWM dimming at 1,920 Hz, OLED flickering as such is actually not a problem — this is the same technology used in the Magic5 Pro. Nevertheless, we measured a constant frequency of 60 Hz with the oscilloscope, which could be a burn-in protection.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 846 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.3 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 1.7 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
94.6% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.19
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.67 | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.60 | Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.67 | Motorola Moto G73 5G IPS LCD, 2400x1080, 6.50 | Honor Magic4 Lite TFT-LCD, 2388x1080, 6.81 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | 96% | 12% | -2899% | -1951% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.2 | 1.33 ? -11% | 1.57 ? -31% | 33.7 ? -2708% | 31.23 ? -2503% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1 ? | 1.22 ? -22% | 1.32 ? -32% | 31.9 ? -3090% | 14.99 ? -1399% |
| PWM Frequency | 60 | 253 322% | 120 100% | ||
| Screen | -26% | -14% | -50% | -63% | |
| Brightness middle | 846 | 922 9% | 770 -9% | 516 -39% | 552 -35% |
| Brightness | 853 | 930 9% | 778 -9% | 498 -42% | 512 -40% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 98 11% | 97 10% | 89 1% | 84 -5% |
| Black Level * | 0.43 | 0.82 | |||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.3 | 2.5 -92% | 1.6 -23% | 2.08 -60% | 2.2 -69% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 2.7 | 3.6 -33% | 3.3 -22% | 5.94 -120% | 6 -122% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.7 | 2.7 -59% | 2.2 -29% | 2.4 -41% | 3.5 -106% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.09 105% | 2.23 99% | 2.283 96% | 2.14 103% |
| CCT | 6570 99% | 6661 98% | 6882 94% | 7006 93% | 6410 101% |
| Contrast | 1200 | 673 | |||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 35% /
15% | -1% /
-5% | -1475% /
-762% | -1007% /
-535% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.5055 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.4965 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 1 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ ms rise |  |
| ↘ ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 60 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 60 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17909 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings
Performance, emissions, and battery life: Mono speakers in the Magic5 Lite
The Honor Magic5 Lite 5G is powered by a lower mid-range SoC — the Snapdragon 695 5G. The chip provides decent system performance, but those who like to play demanding games will have to make some compromises in terms of details and frame rates. However, the performance is easily sufficient for everyday tasks.
Since we now use Burnout benchmark to determine the surface temperatures, the temperatures are much higher than in other tested smartphones, but they remain within a harmless range, especially since such a high load of the smartphone will hardly happen in everyday use. The Honor smartphone did not reveal any problems in the 3DMark Wild Life (Extreme) stress test and can always call up its performance without restrictions.
The mono speaker of the Magic5 Lite is less convincing. The mids are too flat, which results in a tinny sound. Wired headphones can be connected via USB-C, and Bluetooth is available for wireless audio transmission.
The smartphone's battery runtimes are really good due to its 5,100 mAh battery, but they could certainly be even better with a slightly better efficiency.
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro | Motorola Moto G73 5G | Honor Magic4 Lite | Average 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 42% | 85% | 68% | -5% | 25% | 125% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 486.17 | 887.41 83% | 1008.77 107% | 963.54 98% | 488.66 1% | 708 ? 46% | 1505 ? 210% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 420.44 | 494.67 18% | 878.9 109% | 808.95 92% | 385.52 -8% | 517 ? 23% | 1112 ? 164% |
| Random Read 4KB | 171.13 | 216.75 27% | 244.85 43% | 231.38 35% | 155.16 -9% | 188 ? 10% | 247 ? 44% |
| Random Write 4KB | 149.12 | 206.14 38% | 267.41 79% | 220.46 48% | 143.61 -4% | 182.5 ? 22% | 271 ? 82% |
Temperature
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 44.3 °C / 112 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41.8 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.7 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G73 5G | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
| Honor Magic4 Lite | |
| Honor Magic5 Lite 5G | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro | |
| Motorola Moto G73 5G | |
Loudspeaker
Honor Magic5 Lite 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 29.1% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.1% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 29% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 62% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 50% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 42% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A34 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.3% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 7.3% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (2.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 11% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 81% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 33% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 59% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Honor improves its mid-range
We like the Honor Magic5 Lite 5G much better than its predecessor, particularly because the display and the main camera are much improved this time around. The OLED panel is not only about 53% brighter but also offers a more life-like color reproduction. Furthermore, the 1,920 Hz PWM dimming is also a premium feature that was previously seen in the Magic5 Pro.
The camera has received a new 64 MP sensor, which enables better pictures than the 48 MP optics from the Magic4 Lite. However, it is still not a high-flyer. The ultra-wide-angle lens was long overdue, but its pictures are only suitable for social media at best.
The Honor Magic5 Lite 5G is a slim smartphone with strong runtimes and a bright display, but it has shortcomings in terms of the camera.
The update supply is expandable — the current Android 13 is supposed to follow, but other phones are already in line to get Android 14. Plus, there is a total of three years of security patches. Samsung does a better job in this price range, since the Galaxy A34 is slated to get even Android 17.
Nevertheless, Honor offers a nice overall package. We were positively surprised by the slim build, and the comparatively low weight in particular, given that it contains a 5,100 mAh strong battery. An IR blaster is also on board.
Fast charging does not have to be dispensed with, but a suitable power adapter is no longer included. Instead, buyers can purchase it optionally for a symbolic Euro. Honor also counters a missing microSD slot with quite inexpensive surcharges for the larger storage variant.
Besides the Galaxy A34, the Poco X5 Pro is a good alternative to the Magic5 Lite 5G but both have more flickering displays. If you are sensitive in this respect, you might also want to consider the Moto G73 5G which uses an IPS panel.
Price and availability
Honor Magic5 Lite 5G
-
05/19/2023 v7
Daniel Schmidt
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
Pricecompare
