News JVTech I got to grips with the new Honor smartphone with two days of battery life for less than €400
While waiting for the Magic5 Pro, which will be Honor’s main attraction for the MWC show in Barcelona at the end of February, we were treated to a preview of the Magic5 Lite, the cheapest option in the new range, and which promises mountains and wonders in terms of autonomy.
The Honor Magic5 Lite technical sheet
2023 is the year of the “5” range at Honor, and the Magic5 Lite is the latest to arrive. Officially announced by Honor this Monday, February 13, it is available for sale from February 21, spearheading an autonomy that would reach two days in normal use, accompanied by a surprising finesse.
Let’s get into the hard part with the processor, which makes this smartphone entry-level: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 5G, the same as on the Magic4 Lite. It remains satisfactory but clearly below the latest versions currently on the market. Like any smartphone under 400 euros, do not expect to get incredible performance. Same thing for RAM: 6 GB is the union minimum for self-respecting Android smartphones, even if the RAM Turbo function can dig into storage to make it virtual RAM. The Magic5 Lite should work like a charm if you don’t have very extensive use based on intensive gaming.
Inside, we find a 5100 mAh battery. That’s a lot, and Honor tells us that this is the largest battery capacity that exists for such a thin smartphone: 7.9 mm. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 is 7.6mm thick, but has a battery of just 3900mAh. Of course, autonomy is also a question of software optimization. Honor promises 24 hours of YouTube viewing on a single charge.
The 6.7-inch curved screen has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. AMOLED technology allows infinite contrasts, and this is what really changes on this Magic5 Lite compared to the previous version. OLED on smartphones does a world of good. We are still entitled to an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate, for excellent fluidity without loss of autonomy. The maximum brightness of 800 nits is good for the price range, with Samsung’s Galaxy A33 being capped at 700 nits.
On the photo side, the Magic5 Lite has:
- 64MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture with Night mode
- 5MP ultra wide-angle f/2.2 aperture
- 2MP macro sensor with F/2.4 aperture
How do I feel about the Honor Magic5 Lite?
Obviously not having been able to test the autonomy during my few minutes of handling, I can nevertheless share some information and my personal feelings with you.
First of all, I really appreciate the ring design on the back, especially compared to the Magic4 Lite. It’s more refined, and impossible to guess that this smartphone only costs 379€. And if you don’t like to wear protective shells, the shape of the photo module allows the smartphone not to rattle when placed on a table. I was able to see the two colors you see here, with a big up to the clear version, which really changes color depending on how tilted it is.
For the front side, much less risk is taken. Fine borders and a punch for the selfie camera, we know well. I’ve always struggled with curved edges, although Honor ensures that the Magic5 Lite detects and avoids accidental touches. The advantage of having a fingerprint sensor under the screen is that you don’t have to put it on the power button, which tends to make the button much less clickable and depressed in the device , a choice that bothers me a lot.
In an increasingly competitive entry-level smartphone market, we will see if this Honor Magic5 Lite manages to stand out, autonomy and the screen being two of its strengths and two points dear to users.
