Honor Magic4 Pro review

Design and handling

The circular camera module on the back is hard to miss. There aren't many phones adopting this look, and the Magic4 Pro itself is reminiscent of the good old Huawei Mate 40 series. The device also comes in quite a few color options - Black, White, Cyan, Gold and Orange. We have the Cyan paint job, which looks pretty sleek without going overboard.

Unfortunately, like most surfaces, this one also attracts fingerprints. Honor cites "glass shield" in the material section, an "aluminosilicate glass" protects the front, and as for the side frame, we assume it's metal. At least it feels like one.

Anyway, it's fairly comfortable to hold, as far as big phones go, the curvature of the back panel is just right and seamlessly transitions into the side frame and the front glass panel. There are no sharp protruding ridges and the whole body feels somewhat smooth. Perhaps it's not a big surprise that the camera module on the back tips the scale towards the top. It's a top-heavy smartphone, although the overall weight of 209 grams is exactly what you'd expect from a 6.81-inch handset.

Interestingly, thickness measures at around 9.1 mm, and we were quite surprised when we first saw the specs because it doesn't feel thick at all. Perhaps the curvatures of the front and back panel, along with the thin middle frame, contribute to a slimmer feel. In other words, don't feel threatened by the 9.1 mm profile.

The camera module is quite bulky but doesn't cause the phone to wobble on a flat surface. The periscope camera is in the middle, probably because it requires more space, and the rest are positioned around it symmetrically. The fourth and fifth cutouts are for the 3D ToF sensor and the flicker sensor.

When it comes to button placements, the Magic4 Pro has it right. The power button on the right is within thumb's reach, while the volume rocker requires just a little stretch. We believe this is inevitable as it's a tall phone and some compromise had to be made. The fingerprint reader's placement is ideal as well. It's not too high, nor it's too close to the bottom side of the frame as we often see on other handsets.

Honor Magic4 Pro

The left frame is free of any buttons or cutouts, while the bottom houses the USB-C connector, loudspeaker grille and the SIM card tray, which takes only SIM cards, no microSD. The top one leaves room for the secondary loudspeaker and a small cutout for the IR blaster right next to the microphone.

Honor is really proud of the slim bezels around the screen, and we can see why. The top and bottom bezels are almost identical in size and are 50% thinner than on the Magic3 Pro. Of course, the bottom one is a tad thicker, but the top one is just as impressive, measuring at just 0.94 mm. Honor isn't explicit about the side ones, but they do seem pretty symmetrical to the top side of the frame, and that's not because of the curvatures. Speaking of which, the display is curved on all four sides, with the left and right edges featuring more aggressive curvature. All those bends contribute toward a more slick, premium feel.

Regarding the cutout on the front, it's a big one no matter how you put it. The pill-shaped punch-hole is long but narrow because it houses an ultrawide selfie camera and a 3D ToF sensor for advanced facial recognition. Also, due to the curve, the cutout is moved closer to the center of the display, creating an even larger unusable space. It's not that big of an issue, though, and there's a software setting to hide the cutout.

All in all, the Honor Magic4 Pro has design features intrinsic to a proper flagship handset. There's no advanced Gorilla Glass protection sheets, though, and the cutout on the front might put off some of you, but for a 6.81-inch device, it's comfortable to hold and it's not overly hefty either.