HONOR launched the 600 series in Malaysia recently and in Europe as well. In this review we will be looking at the 600 Pro which is the premium offering. Although the design seems heavily inspired by the iPhone’s aesthetic, the device is a highly impressive attempt from HONOR at making a compact smartphone that doesn’t compromise on battery capacity or flagship performance.
HONOR 600 Pro — Key Specifications
Display & Design
- Screen: 6.57-inch 1.5K OLED display
- Resolution & Smoothness: 1264 x 2728 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate
- Brightness & Color: Up to 8,000 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut
- Eye Comfort: 3840Hz high-frequency PWM dimming
- Durability: IP68, IP69, and IP69K dust and water resistance
- Dimensions & Weight: 156 × 74.7 × 7.8 mm | 200g
Performance & Software
- Processor: Octa-Core Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm Mobile Platform)
- GPU: Adreno 830
- Memory (RAM): 12GB / 16GB
- Storage: 256GB / 512GB
- OS: MagicOS 10.0 (Based on Android 16)
Camera System
| Camera Type | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Primary (Rear) | 200MP, 1/1.4″ sensor, f/1.9 aperture, OIS |
| Ultra-Wide | 12MP (112° FoV), f/2.2 aperture, Autofocus, 2.5cm Macro mode |
| Telephoto | 50MP Portrait Lens, 3.5x optical zoom, f/2.8 aperture, OIS |
| Front (Selfie) | 50MP, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video recording |
| Video Capabilities | Up to 4K video recording on both front and rear arrays |
Battery & Charging
- Battery Capacity: 7000mAh (6400mAh EU)
- Wired Charging: 80W SuperCharge fast charging
- Wireless Charging: 50W SuperCharge wireless charging
- Reverse Charging: 27W reverse charging
Connectivity & Audio
- Network: 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Dual SIM (Nano + Nano) + eSIM
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4 / 6.0, NFC
- Navigation: GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC
- Audio: Stereo speakers, USB Type-C audio
- Biometrics: In-display fingerprint sensor
- Sensors: Infrared (IR) blaster, USB Type-C 2.0 port
Box Contents
- Phone
- Type-C Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- SIM Eject Tool
- Warranty Card
- Protective film is pre-installed
Display and Design
The front is dominated by a 6.57-inch 120Hz display with ultra-thin 0.98mm bezels, giving it an exceptionally screen-dominant front profile. Outdoor visibility is a non-issue here; the screen claims an extreme peak brightness of 8,000 nits in targeted scenarios and handles direct daylight easily via a dedicated Sunlight Mode that maintains 4,000 nits at a 20% Average Picture Level. For those sensitive to screen flicker in dark environments, it includes 3,840Hz high-frequency PWM dimming to reduce eye strain during nighttime use. Beneath the display sits a neat fingerprint sensor.
From a design standpoint, the 600 and 600 Pro are nearly identical, utilizing a modern flat-edged “glass sandwich” design built around a matte aluminum frame. Rather than premium glass, the back panels are crafted from a matte “ultra-durable composite fiber”—a fancy industry term for a high-quality plastic composite that mimics frosted glass quite well and does an excellent job of resisting fingerprints.
Both phones measure an impressively slim 7.8mm, feature a prominent corner radius, and come with top-tier IP68/IP69K water and dust resistance alongside robust drop certification. The visual differences are found entirely on the back camera island, which heavily borrows its massive rectangular layout and distinctive hero-orange color scheme from Apple’s 17 Pro iPhones. On this island, the Pro version houses three sensors to accommodate its 3.5x periscope telephoto lens, while the vanilla 600 drops the telephoto and sticks to a two-camera arrangement.
Weighing in at 195 grams, the HONOR 600 Pro feels well-balanced in the hand. It features a new physical, clicky “AI Button” on the side frame that also conveniently doubles as a dedicated hardware shutter key for the camera module.
Camera
On paper, the HONOR 600 Pro’s camera setup is a sophisticated arrangement that clearly aims for the top tier. Star of the rear module is a massive 200MP main sensor (1/1.4-inch). It is flanked by a highly capable 50MP periscope telephoto lens offering a native 3.5x optical zoom and pulling all the way up to 120x digital zoom via AI assistance. Rounded out by an ultra-wide shooter and a 50MP selfie camera on the front, this setup skips the usual “filler” sensors to offer a robust, highly versatile layout built for everything from wide landscape captures to long-range zoom.
In real-world testing, the HONOR 600 Pro’s camera setup effortlessly handles pretty much anything you throw at it. The massive 200MP main sensor captures an incredible amount of detail and does an excellent job of cleaning up grainy noise in tricky low-light situations. If you need to shoot from afar, the 50MP periscope lens gives you clean 3.5x optical zoom and retains surprising clarity even when you push the digital zoom further. Crucially, both lenses have heavy-duty optical stabilization, meaning your shots stay perfectly crisp and video stays steady even if your hands shake. On the software side, it skips the artificial over-saturation common in mid-rangers, using an AI color engine that keeps tones looking natural and true to what your eyes actually see.
Here are some camera samples shot on the 600 Pro.
Performance and Software
The HONOR 600 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, built on a 3nm architecture. In daily operations, the chip easily handles resource-heavy applications, multi-tasking, and intensive on-device AI tasks without stuttering. To manage the heat generated under sustained loads, HONOR has implemented a large 5,219 mm² vapor chamber cooling system, which keeps thermal throttling at bay during gaming or video rendering sessions.
As you can see in the benchmarks below the 600 Pro is no slouch and on par with several devices and better than mid-range devices but loses out to some of the latest phones based on newer chipsets with better performance.
The device ships with MagicOS 10 based on Android 16, and its long-term viability is strongly supported by a commitment to 6 major Android OS upgrades, ensuring future-proofing. I do like the current version of Magic OS compared to previous generations but still feels like it can be polished a bit more.
The interface includes a physical, multi-functional AI Button designed to quickly pull up context-aware screen suggestions, trigger a dedicated AI Settings Agent, or instantly load productivity tasks without forcing you to dig through sub-menus.
On the AI front, the software leans heavily into creative and contextual automation. The standout addition is AI Image to Video 2.0, which lets you select up to three still images from your gallery and combine them with a natural language prompt to generate high-quality 3–8 second animated video clips. For everyday utilities, the device integrates Google Gemini and Google Lens alongside its own proprietary suite, featuring tools like an AI Photos Agent, AI Outpainting for extending image borders, and an intelligent Booking Agent.
Connectivity
The device features excellent connectivity thanks to the Snapdragon X80 modem. I had no trouble while travelling extensively with the device. It supports eSIMs as well. There is a handy legacy Infrared blaster at the top for controlling TVs and appliances.
Call quality was good too. It supports WiFi 7 networks and Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC and aptX Lossless support. HONOR offers cross-platform integration, allowing quick AirDrop-like media transfers and notification syncing with iPhones and Macs. It even lets you manage phone notes natively on macOS and sync incoming messages directly to an Apple Watch. The HONOR Connect app is required for this feature to work.
Battery Life and Charging
The device packs a massive 7,000 mAh battery in multiple markets, but the European variant we tested packs a 6,400 mAh battery. Both use the newer Silicon-Carbon (Si-C) battery technology. An AI Battery Scheduling Engine helps dynamically optimizes power to deliver a genuine two-day usage.
Built for extreme conditions, it remains fully functional down to -20°C even with just 20% charge left, while its long-term health design promises it retains over 80% capacity after 5 years or 1,600 charge cycles.
When it comes to charging, the phone supports 80W wired SuperCharge, 50W wireless SuperCharge, and up to 27W wired reverse charging that is fully compatible with iPhones.
Battery life is solid: it easily clears a full day under heavy media and travel usage, and it hits a genuine two days with normal use. However, considering the sheer size of the battery and the display, I expected even better endurance; the slightly dated chipset appears to be the main bottleneck here.
Conclusion
Overall, the HONOR 600 Pro stands out as one of the best compact flagship smartphones I’ve used in a while, striking a rare balance between a comfortable form factor, great cameras, and reliable multi-day battery life. It’s a fantastic device on its own merits, and I just wish the exterior styling didn’t lean so heavily on iPhone design cues.
Competition
The HONOR 600 Pro competes directly with mainstream flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S26, Apple iPhone 17, and Google Pixel 10 Pro, as well as spec-heavy rivals like the Oppo Find X9 Pro and OnePlus 15. HONOR gains a massive edge in hardware density. The best example of this is the battery capacity. While the iPhone 17 and Galaxy S26 stick to much smaller batteries to keep their designs thin, HONOR has managed to pack a massive 7,000mAh battery (6400mAh in Europe) into a slim 7.8mm chassis, giving it significantly better battery life than the competition without adding any extra bulk.
Pricing and Availability
The HONOR 600 Pro is available in three distinct colors: orange, Golden White, Black. In terms of global market availability, the lineup rolled out internationally following its official late April announcement, hitting shelves across Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and various Asian markets. Depending on the region, it can be found in 256GB and 512GB storage tiers paired with 12GB/16GB of RAM.
United Kingdom: £899.99 (12GB + 512GB)
Europe: €999.90 (12GB + 512GB)
Malaysia: RM 3,099 (~USD 783 / ~ EUR 670) for 12GB + 256GB
RM 3,299 (~USD 834 / ~EUR 710) for 12GB + 512GB
Pros
- Attractive design and premium in-hand feel
- Snappy performance packing Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Excellent camera
- Good battery life
- 6 years of software updates and security patches
- Durability
Cons
- UI still needs some optimization