Best Honor phones 2024: the top Honor handsets you should consider
They’re all honorable mentions (we'll see ourselves out)
The best Honor phones have the credentials to rival top devices from Samsung, Apple and other more established mobile brands, but Honor's restricted international presence means its phones are often (wrongly) overlooked by those in the market for some serious pocket hardware.
In fact, since Huawei sold the Honor sub-brand in 2020, Honor's flagship handsets have often proven some of the best phones, period. For instance, the company's latest premium offering, the Honor Magic 6 Pro, boasts some of the best display and camera credentials money can buy in 2024, while the foldable Honor Magic V2 is thinner and lighter than its comparatively priced rivals.
In this guide, then, we walk you through our favorite Honor devices, with all manner of needs and budgets catered for in the list of options below. So, whether you're a price-conscious buyer or someone who's willing to splash the cash, our pick of the best Honor phones should feature something for you.
Best Honor phones 2024
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Honor's 2024 flagship, the Honor Magic 6 Pro, is every bit as premium as its predecessor, the Honor Magic 5 Pro, but brings to the table an even more adventurous rear design, a slightly better camera system and all-new AI smarts.
That camera upgrade comes by way of an almighty 180MP periscope telephoto lens, which sits alongside a 50MP wide lens and a 50MP ultra-wide lens in the phone's luxury watch-inspired ‘Star Wheel’ camera notch. Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset keeps things ticking along nicely under the hood, and the Magic 6 Pro's gorgeous 6.8-inch curved OLED display is made even better by Honor's proprietary eye-friendly screen tech.
You'll pay handsomely for the privilege of owning one, and Honor's AI tools can't yet hold a candle to those offered by the likes of Samsung and Google, but the Magic 6 Pro is indisputably the best Honor phone available right now, and a worthy investment for smartphone fans who prefer to stand out from the crowd.
Incidentally, the Magic 6 Pro launched alongside the Porsche Design Magic 6 Pro RSR, which is essentially a souped up, sportier version of the same phone. It's a tad more expensive, but the upgrades on offer are definitely worth checking out.
Read our full Honor Magic 6 Pro review
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Honor's first globally available foldable, the Honor Magic VS, was pitched as an affordable alternative to the mainstream foldables on offer from the likes of Samsung and Google, but its successor, the Honor Magic V2, is as premium as foldables come.
At the time of writing, the Magic V2 is the thinnest and lightest inward-folding phone on the market, measuring just 156.7 x 74.1 x 9.9mm when folded and 156.7 x 145.4 x 4.7mm when unfolded. The Magic V2 trumps the competition at its thickest, too, measuring just 9.9mm when folded (versus 13.4mm for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and 12.1mm for the Pixel Fold).
The Magic V2 also utilizes Honor's proprietary eye-friendly display technology to deliver two of the most impressive foldable screens yet, while its long-lasting 5,000mAh cell should abate any worries surrounding foldable longevity.
There's no IP rating, no wireless charging, and Honor's Magic OS software occasionally lacks polish, but despite that, the Honor Magic V2 ranks among the best foldable phones of 2024.
Read our full Honor Magic V2 review
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The Honor 90 has a downright fantastic display, and its cameras are among the best on this list. The phone retails for a not-so-cheap £449.99, but given the price of comparable Samsung and Apple devices these days, we'd still deem it an affordable option in 2024. Think of it as the 'best alternative cheap phone'.
The Honor 90 sports a 6.7-inch quad-curved AMOLED display with a resolution of 2664 x 1200 and an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It’s big, bright and more than suitable for gaming and watching movies, thanks to HDR10+ support and HDR certifications from streamers, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
On the back, you're getting a triple-camera system that comprises a 200MP main lens (with a 1/1.4-inch sensor), a 12MP ultra-wide lens (with a 112° field of view) and a 2MP depth sensor that helps the camera accurately gauge distance.
Less impressive is Honor’s software and security support commitment to the Honor 90. You’ll get two years of Android updates and three years of security updates with this phone. That’s markedly fewer than, say, Samsung is committing to its Galaxy A54 device. But then again, the Honor 90 offers more base storage, faster charging and better display credentials than almost all of its mid-range rivals.
Read our full Honor 90 review
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The Honor Magic 5 Pro rivals the best of Apple and Samsung's 2023 flagships in almost every department, and at £949.99 / €1,199, it's a touch cheaper than the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, too (though you'll likely find it even cheaper than that in 2024).
The phone's 6.81-inch OLED display is exceptionally bright and certified eye-friendly, its three 50MP cameras are some of the most impressive we've ever tested and its large 5,100mAh battery ensures you get at least 12 hours of heavy use before needing to reach for a charger.
The only obvious drawbacks we came across when testing the Magic 5 Pro were a handful of photography hiccups and the need to get used to the phone's unique rear camera protrusion. All in all, though, this is a great option for Android fans unbothered by the clout of brand names.
Read our full Honor Magic 5 Pro review
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Reasons to buy
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The Honor Magic 4 Lite is respectable device for its price. It offers a sizeable 6.81-inch display that boasts a 120Hz refresh rate. It's a typical LCD display with some poor viewing angles at times, but other than that, it looks good.
In a similar vein, its cameras are quite impressive with a circular arrangement offering a main 48MP sensor, 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro lens. A 16MP selfie front is ideal for selfie lovers. Photos are clear but not always accurate when it comes to colors, but it's still good for the price.
Strong battery life and fast performance from the Snapdragon 695 5G rounds off the Honor Magic 4 package, making this a decent purchase for many.
Read our full Honor Magic 4 Lite review
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Axel is TechRadar's UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site's Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion. Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
- Alex Walker-ToddSenior Phones Editor