Honor Magic9 Pro Max undercuts $1,000 flagships with SD 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, 10,000 nits, 8,800 mAh battery, square selfie cam, and Arri cinema chops
Honor has been content being the underdog of the smartphone world for quite some time now, but the recent Robot Phone did make heads turn. Now, the company is outing its most ambitious flagship yet in the form of the Magic9 Pro Max.
The Magic9 Pro Max throws the best of current smartphone technologies into one aspirational device. For starters, the Magic9 Pro Max is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 that is complemented by the Honor H1 Imaging chip and the C3 network chip.
The smartphone will be available in 12 GB / 256 GB, 12 GB / 512 GB, 16 GB / 512 GB, and 16 GB / 1 TB options. Honor said that the 12 GB base variant should still be sufficient to provide flagship performance in video creation, on-device AI, and multitasking.
200 MP Arri triple-camera setup and 55 MP square selfie camera
The Magic9 Pro Max's main camera features a 200 MP f/1.57, 1/1.28-inch main camera with a 3-degree gimbal-level stabilization and a CIPA 8.0 certification. This is supplemented by a 200 MP telephoto f/2.6, 1/1.4-inch, and a 50 MP ultra-wide f/2.0 lens.
Honor said that the 200 MP main and telephoto cameras support the complete Arri image processing pipeline. This includes Arri LogC3, Arri Wide Gamut 3, Arri Looks, directional audio, and post-production features.
This puts the Magic9 Pro Max on the same pedestal as the competition from Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi that all feature collaborations with top-tier camera and lens vendors.
The main sensor in the Magic9 Pro Max is similar to the one in the Robot Phone, but Honor said that the Magic9 Pro Max's implementation is more mature and built for an everyday flagship experience.
However, there's no 8K60 video capture even though the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 supports this feature. The Magic9 Pro Max can shoot LogC3, HDR, and SDR videos at 4K60 while standard video mode can go up to 4K 120 fps.
Honor also offers optional Creator Kit accessories like the G200 and G500 telephoto extenders as well as the SmallRig mobile video kit for more a professional videography setup.
The 55 MP f/2.0 front camera leverages a square sensor like the iPhone 17's (curr. $850 on Amazon Renewed) Center Stage selfie camera and allows for 3D depth sensing for face recognition.
10,000-nit display and 8,800 mAh battery
Apart from the Arri-co-developed camera, there's a lot more to like with the Honor Magic9 Pro Max. The phone supports a quad-SIM setup with two nano-SIMs and two eSIMs. The 6.8-inch 1.5K LTPO display can peak at a blistering 10,000 nits of brightness (2,000 nits of global peak brightness) and supports 4,320 Hz PWM dimming.
The Magic9 Pro Max is IP68, IP69, and IP69K-rated for dust and water resistance. An 8,800 mAh battery helps power the phone through multiple use days, and this can be topped up quickly with 80 W wireless or 100 W wired fast charging.
China-only launch for now
The Magic9 Pro Max is only available in China for now in Shadow Black, Glacier Silver, and Moss Green colors alongside the Magic9 and Magic9 Super Edition, both featuring Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chips. Honor is being pretty tight-lipped about the Magic9 Pro Max's global availability.
Prices for the Magic9 Pro Max start from ¥6,500 ($970) for the 12 GB / 256 GB variant, with the 12 GB / 512 GB going for ¥7,000 ($1,044), and the 16 GB / 512 GB for ¥7,500 ($1,119). The top spec 16 GB / 1 TB verion retails for ¥8,500 ($1,268).
Additionally, the Honor Telephoto Extender G200 can be had for ¥999 (or ¥1,499 with professional grip) while the Extender G500 goes for ¥1,999 (or ¥2,499 with professional grip). The SmallRig mobile video kit retails for ¥1,699.
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Honor
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