Honor renews its Magic series with the Magic 7, two models that are polar opposites of each other. But the Lite version benefits from advantages that the much more expensive Pro can seriously envy.

Honor renews its Magic series with the Magic 7, two models that are polar opposites of each other. But the Lite version benefits from advantages that the much more expensive Pro can seriously envy.

Honor is off to a strong start this year 2025. The Chinese manufacturer’s catalog has just been enriched with two new smartphones with different ambitions.

On the one hand we find the Magic7 Pro which falls into the category of high-end models with a lot of powerful photo sensors and useful and efficient artificial intelligence. The price matches the performance with a price of 1299 euros (1100 euros for its launch).

On the other we find the Magic7 Lite, a mid-range model with a much lower price. It replaces the Magic 6 Lite released last year with which we were able to hammer in nails to prove its solidity.

For this new vintage, Honor maintains the same intentions, namely, almost foolproof solidity and equally solid endurance. Sufficient in the face of aggressive competition in this segment to say the least? We were able to try and abuse the Honor Magic7 Lite for several weeks. Here is our verdict.

Honor Magic7 Lite: a foolproof design

It looks like many other current smartphones with its thin edges, its large round photo module on the back and its beautiful Amoled screen on the front. But don’t be fooled by its “classic” appearance and its neat finishes that you would tend to want to immediately protect with a case. The Magic7 Lite turns out to be particularly robust. Falls and brutal conditions of use do not scare it. We roughed it up by dropping it several times and scraping its screen against a rough floor. Result ? Not a scratch. The screen didn’t even show any scratches. Be careful though. Unlike many other smartphones, the Magic7 Lite benefits from an “only” IP64 waterproof rating. It is therefore resistant to dust but not to immersion. It’s a shame that Honor hasn’t pushed the robustness of its device to this level.

Honor Magic7 Lite: a good screen in all conditions

To equip this new model, Honor did not look far for its components. Starting with the screen which is none other than the one used in the Honor 200 Pro released last summer. We therefore benefit from a 6.78-inch curved Amoled panel with a definition of 2700 x 1224 pixels for a resolution of 436 ppi. Unsurprisingly, the display is precise and very bright, whatever the ambient light conditions. The refresh rate climbs to 120 Hz like most competitors today. The colors are a bit too flattering by default. A small detour in the settings allows you to correct the situation if desired.

Honor Magic7 Lite:: too fair performance

Technical sheet

For the SoC, Honor drew from last year’s model, the Magic6 Lite. On board, we therefore find a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 from Qualcomm. A mid-range processor, far from being a racing beast, but sufficient for most daily uses. It is supported here by 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space. The SoC is starting to show its age and only offers Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1.

Performance-wise, there are no surprises. The scores of the different benchmarks testify to its price level. If the device appears comfortable and smooth in most cases, it may experience some slowdowns with more demanding applications (video manipulation for example). In game, you shouldn’t be too greedy either. However, the Magic7 Lite can boast of controlling heating, even when it is heavily used. A good point.

Good surprise: the Chinese now promises extended update monitoring. For this model, we will be entitled to 6 years of Android versions and security patches. Previously, you had to settle for 2 years and 3 years.

Honor Magic7 Lite: a lack of versatility in photos

We take the same ones and start again. Or almost. The Magic7 Lite uses the photo modules of its predecessor with one exception. Where the Magic6 Lite had three sensors including a macro, the new model relies only on two modules: a wide angle of 108 Mpx (f/1.75) and an ultra wide angle of 5 Mpx (f/2.2 ). Exit the macro module. On the front, the 16 Mpx (f/2.45) selfie camera remains. The frame seems a bit light for a device at this price today. And it partly is.

During the day, the wide-angle offers very honorable results. The photos benefit from a good level of detail. The sharpness is good, the focus is fast enough and the colors are well rendered.

No optical zoom here but magnification by cropping up to 3x. It appears to be quite effective. The device can go up to 10x digital zoom with traditional defaults.

The ultra-wide-angle, for its part, is less festive. The small 5 Mpx sensor does what it can but it is struggling. The sharpness is not always there and the colors can appear washed out.

In low light, the results are less satisfactory. The focus becomes more capricious. Blurry shots are legion. The smoothing is also more pronounced. The Magic7 Lite is clearly not the best in this exercise.

Honor Magic7 Lite: top battery life

Along with robustness, autonomy is the other major strong point of the Magic7 Lite. It must be said that Honor did not go there with the back of the spoon. Under the hood we find a 6600 mAh battery! That’s around 1600 mAh more than the vast majority of current smartphones. And yet, the smartphone absolutely does not look like a brick. Great feat. Thus equipped, the Magic7 Lite lasted more than 18 hours with the PC Mark benchmark where most other mobiles in this category throw in the towel after around fifteen hours in the best case. With typical use, the device can run for more than two days, and even a little more, without going through the recharge box. Not bad at all.

For recharging, the Magic7 Lite supports a power of 66W… provided you use an appropriate charger. With our Anker 100W model, we recovered 34% battery in 30 minutes. It ultimately took 105 minutes to refuel to 100%.

Honor Magic7 Lite and Honor Magic7 Pro: what are the differences?

You are unlikely to hesitate between the Magic7 Lite and its big brother the Magic7 Pro, the brand’s new flagship. The significant price difference (more than 900 euros) sets the tone. As we were able to see, the photo quality has absolutely nothing to do with it.

With the Pro, missing a shot becomes difficult. We were also able to try out generative AI functions for images since it is possible to benefit from a boost as soon as you exceed 30x zoom (provided you are connected to the Internet). The results are stunning since the shot is reworked to make it more realistic. However, this does not always work since the AI ​​can allow itself to “invent” details that do not exist. Nevertheless, this first brick laid by Honor is very encouraging. I can’t wait for the work to be done locally and not in the cloud.

In addition to the successful photo part, the Magic7 Pro benefits from a much more efficient SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Elite from Qualcomm. But, as with the other mobiles that we have tested which use this new processor, beware of overheating. However, this model, although more expensive, benefits from a less generous battery (5270 mAh). This results in a much lower battery life (15 hours with PC Mark). A result lower even than last year’s Magic6 Pro. Furthermore, update tracking differs. It amounts to 5 years for Android versions and 6 years for security patches. Fewer points which make it lose a little of its aura, especially at this price.

Honor Magic7 Lite: the right smartphone for backpackers?

With the Magic7 Lite, Honor has created a mobile that hides its game well. Its two main advantages are invisible to the naked eye. We first appreciated its great robustness, which it does not share with its big brother the much more expensive Magic7 Pro. Enough to finally appreciate the well-finished design of a smartphone without having to bury it in a protective shell. Its autonomy then proves exemplary, allowing you to move away without fear from an electrical outlet for more than two days. A mobile that will therefore interest those who are a little airheaded and clumsy… provided they accept a few sacrifices. Its aging processor has some nice leftovers but you shouldn’t push it to its limits. Its photo shutter disappoints when night falls but still allows you to take good shots in broad daylight. There remains the price. Sold at the official price of 380 euros, it can be found around 300 euros, which should be its true price.