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Honor became independent of the Chinese concern Huawei in December 2020 due to embargoes imposed on the concern, celebrating its first anniversary at the end of last year. In the first year, the brand did not manage that much, in fact, it mainly prepared the ground for a larger offensive, which begins this spring. Already in February at the MWC trade fair in Barcelona, Honor presented the new Magic 4 model line, the first swallow of which is just beginning to enter the Czech market.
Magic 4 Lite is a device that should appeal to a wide audience, mainly due to the price of 6,990 crowns and solid equipment. There is a need to support 5G networks, which would still not be a matter of course in this segment, but Honor wants to make it clear, among other things, that he got out of US sanctions, which, for example, his original owner Huawei forbids the use of 5G chips. But 5G will not be the main attraction for the target group of customers who are looking for a solid phone for solid money.
Fast charging with charger included
Honor, for example, bet on fast charging, which has a power of 66 watts, and the manufacturer promises that the phone will be 50 percent charged in just 15 minutes. Or that in five minutes of charging, the device gains power for three hours of video playback. It should be added that the user will find the required charger with the phone in the package, so unlike some competitors, they do not have to look for the right charger and pay extra for it (the package also includes a silicone cover for the phone as a bonus).
The phone also has a battery with a capacity of 4,800 mAh, which is quite standard in its class, but in combination with fast charging, it ensures good endurance and a solid “radius of action” of the phone. It’s good to know that despite fast charging, Honor didn’t compromise on battery capacity.
In our opinion, Magic 4 Lite makes them where users won’t mind too much. For example, the display is of the IPS type, which means that it cannot have an integrated fingerprint reader – it is instead in the side power button. In our opinion, this is actually a more practical solution than a “fashion” display reader. The display then has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and can change it dynamically. And that’s a far nicer detail than any reader. Let’s add that the display has a resolution of 2,388 x 1,080 pixels and a diagonal of 6.81 inches. But we also have one complaint – the maximum brightness of the display is not exactly stellar and the display itself shines a lot, so readability in the sun is not exactly the best.
Older Android and two lenses just for show
The operating system is also a bit of an unnecessary compromise: Honor Magic 4 Lite uses the older Android 11 instead of the current Android 12 and it is not very clear about the updates. The graphical extension of Honor Magic UI in version 4.2 continues in a slightly strange mix of “flat” graphics of pure Android and a bit more distinctive custom elements in the form of some icons. But again, it usually won’t matter. The phone has just the power, it uses the Snapdragon 695 processor, the RAM has a capacity of 6 GB and the phone can expand it with another 2 GB of virtual RAM.
We also made some concessions with the camera: Honor, however, actually sensibly bet that it made no sense to chase after any number of lenses if it would still not benefit the user. And we say that with the full knowledge that there are three lenses on the back of the phone. But two are really up, and Honor knows that: a two-megapixel macro camera and a two-megapixel depth-of-field data sensor are likely to be a side issue for most users.
But the important thing is that the main sensor has a good resolution of 48 megapixels, it works with pixel coupling and the optics have an aperture of f / 1.8. This means that the images are quite solid and do not have any serious shortcomings at first glance. Yes, we notice a bit of an exaggerated effort to reduce noise, which blurs the details a bit, but the camera looks promising for the given price category.
The design of the Honor Magic 4 Lite also looks promising, although on the other hand we find it a bit “universal”. In terms of appearance, Honor tries to impress by arranging the camera elements in a large black circle, otherwise the glossy body in blue is quite standard. The frames around the display are pleasantly thin, except for the bottom one, which is a tax for using an IPS display.
Pre-sale masks the introductory discount
So the only thing that can spoil the overall positive impressions from the phone is a certain effort by Honor to make it a “hot commodity.” The Chinese brand (like its other Chinese competitors, especially Oppo and Vivo), serves the phone somehow “on stages”. In fact, quite a while has passed since the performance in Barcelona, then the brand released the phone for “pre-sale”, which took place until May 1, but it was not a pre-sale, but a sale at a discount. Now the phone is 500 crowns more expensive and costs 7,490 crowns.
It will still be an interesting alternative to competing devices, but Honor should focus on gaining long-term customer confidence rather than short-term lure.
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