6.4-inch AMOLED could be brighter, is accurate sometimes
The Magic 2 is equipped with a 6.39-inch AMOLED display that covers almost the entire front of the device. It's in a 19.5:9 aspect ratio with a 2340x1080px resolution resulting in a pixel density of 403ppi.
In our brightness test, the Magic 2 posted results typical of AMOLEDs - a maximum value of 433nits is to be expected. However, there was no boost in Auto brightness mode, where a lot of other phones can pump out more than 600nits when the ambient light calls for it. We measured a minimum brightness of 2nits - great for viewing in very dark surroundings without putting a strain on the eyes.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Honor Magic 2
0
433
∞
Huawei Honor View 10
0.278
453
1629
Huawei Honor View 10 (Max Auto)
0.311
507
1629
Honor 10 (Vivid)
0.326
508
1558
Honor Play
0.414
470
1135
Xiaomi Mi 8
0
458
∞
Xiaomi Mi 8 (Max Auto)
0.002
624
312000
Xiaomi Pocophone F1
0.314
461
1468
vivo V11
0
418
∞
Oppo F9
0.29
526
1814
Nokia 7.1
0.377
490
1300
Nokia 7.1 (Max Auto)
0.465
600
1290
OnePlus 6T
0
453
∞
OnePlus 6T (Max Auto)
0
455
∞
Huawei Mate 20
0.347
491
1415
Huawei Mate 20 (Max Auto)
0.554
778
1404
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
0
402
∞
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) (Max Auto)
0
602
∞
In our sunlight legibility test, the Magic 2 posted a respectable score for contrast, towards the top for its class. It actually fares better than the Mate 20 non-Pro, but that's to be expected given the inherent advantages of the AMOLED tech over LCD.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Apple iPhone XS 5.171
Apple iPhone X 5.013
Huawei Mate 20 Pro 4.965
OnePlus 5T 4.789
Samsung Galaxy S8 4.768
Samsung Galaxy S8+ 4.658
Samsung Galaxy S9 4.63
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Samsung Galaxy S9+ 4.537
Samsung Galaxy Note9 4.531
Apple iPhone XS Max 4.516
Sony Xperia XZ3 4.502
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 4.459
Oppo R11 4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 4.439
OnePlus 3 4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7 4.376
Google Pixel 3 4.35
OnePlus 6 4.321
HTC One A9 4.274
LG V40 ThinQ 4.256
Oppo R15 Pro 4.251
Samsung Galaxy Note7 4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Nokia 8 4.239
Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update) 4.234
OnePlus 3T 4.232
Google Pixel XL 4.164
ZTE Axon 7 4.154
Samsung Galaxy Note8 4.148
Meizu Pro 7 Plus 4.147
OnePlus 6T 4.138
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) 4.124
vivo V11 4.113
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal) 4.096
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Huawei P20 Pro 4.087
Xiaomi Mi 8 4.086
Meizu 15 4.082
Nokia 6 (2018) 4.052
Google Pixel 2 (pre-update) 4.023
LG V30 4.022
Huawei Nexus 6P 4.019
vivo NEX S 4.012
Honor Magic 2 4.010
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro 3.998
OnePlus X 3.983
Vivo Xplay5 Elite 3.983
LG G7 ThinQ (outdoor) 3.978
Oppo R7s 3.964
Apple iPhone 7 3.964
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone) 3.957
Huawei P9 Plus 3.956
Oppo Find X 3.954
Meizu Pro 6 Plus 3.935
Lenovo Moto Z 3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 3.918
OnePlus 5 3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5 3.911
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE 3.901
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor 3.873
Motorola Moto G6 Plus 3.865
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) 3.842
Apple iPhone 6 3.838
Microsoft Lumia 950XL 3.837
Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018) 3.834
Sony Xperia XZs 3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) 3.812
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) 3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode 3.802
Xiaomi Redmi Pro 3.798
LG V20 Max auto 3.798
Sony Xperia XZ 3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) 3.789
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Meizu Pro 5 3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650 3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6 3.767
Sony Xperia XZ1 3.765
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) 3.756
Nokia 8 Sirocco 3.745
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact 3.729
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone) 3.725
Oppo F1 Plus 3.709
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) 3.688
Huawei P20 3.683
Apple iPhone SE 3.681
Huawei Mate 9 3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact 3.675
Meizu PRO 6 3.659
BlackBerry Priv 3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3.588
Sony Xperia XZ2 3.58
LG G6 3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) 3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode 3.523
Acer Jade Primo 3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950 3.512
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
Nokia 7 plus 3.479
nubia Z11 3.466
Huawei P10 Plus 3.456
HTC U Ultra 3.453
Motorola Moto G6 3.448
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra 3.445
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus 3.445
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Motorola Moto G6 Play 3.419
Meizu MX5 3.416
LG V20 3.402
Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) 3.397
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera 3.393
LG G7 ThinQ 3.39
Huawei P10 3.379
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) 3.378
Oppo R9s 3.352
Honor Play 3.349
Honor 8 Pro 3.341
Oppo F7 3.333
Oppo R7 3.32
Lenovo P2 3.316
Archos Diamond Omega 3.305
Honor 9 3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s 3.276
Nokia 5 3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version) 3.244
Nokia 6 (Global version) 3.238
Samsung Galaxy J2 3.235
Oppo Realme 2 Pro 3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance 3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 3.228
Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
Oppo F3 Plus 3.218
BlackBerry KEY2 3.212
Huawei Mate 9 Pro 3.206
Huawei P9 3.195
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 3.19
ZTE Nubia Z17 3.159
Oppo R11s 3.153
Lenovo Vibe Shot 3.113
Honor 8X 3.113
HTC U11 Life 3.108
Motorola Moto X Force 3.105
LG Nexus 5X 3.092
HTC U11 3.089
Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite 3.087
HTC U12+ 3.085
Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Y2) 3.077
Huawei Mate S 3.073
Oppo F9 3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 3.061
Xiaomi Pocophone F1 3.059
Huawei Mate 20 3.052
Huawei Mate 20 Lite 3.051
Motorola One (P30 Play) 3.026
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 3.023
Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL 3.019
Sony Xperia XA1 3.012
Motorola Moto X4 3.012
Oppo Realme 2 3.006
Sony Xperia L1 2.994
Sony Xperia X 2.989
LG Q6 2.987
Huawei P10 Lite 2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro 2.966
Huawei P20 Lite 2.952
Xiaomi Redmi 5 2.951
Huawei Mate 8 2.949
Sony Xperia XA2 2.938
Oppo Realme 1 2.932
Razer Phone 2 2.932
Xiaomi Redmi 4 2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 3S 2.913
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus 2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra 2.906
LG G5 2.905
Huawei Honor View 10 2.896
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime 2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB) 2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2.877
Sony Xperia Z5 2.876
Nokia 3 2.871
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium 2.867
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite 2.862
Microsoft Lumia 550 2.851
Nokia 3.1 2.837
Realme U1 2.815
Lenovo Moto M 2.813
Nokia 7.1 2.804
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro 2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact 2.784
Honor 10 (Vivid) 2.757
Nokia 2 2.752
Meizu MX6 2.751
LG V10 2.744
Huawei Mate 10 (normal) 2.742
Motorola Moto G5S Plus 2.737
Xiaomi Redmi 3 2.735
Huawei Honor 7X 2.734
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 2.714
Meizu M5 2.71
Xiaomi Mi A2 2.696
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Xiaomi Mi A1 2.689
Huawei P9 Lite 2.679
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime 2.679
vivo V7+ 2.671
Vivo V3Max 2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2.658
Huawei Mate 10 Lite 2.654
Oppo F5 2.653
Doogee Mix 2.642
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a 2.635
Sony Xperia Z3 2.618
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard) 2.616
Sony Xperia XA 2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus 2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto) 2.582
Meizu M5s 2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c 2.574
LeEco Le Max 2 2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL 2.563
Huawei P Smart 2.563
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 2.561
HTC U11+ 2.556
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1) 2.556
Lenovo Moto G4 2.544
Lenovo K6 Note 2.544
Oppo F1 2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c 2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
BlackBerry Motion 2.494
Oppo F1s 2.481
Motorola Moto G 2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus 2.473
Huawei G8 2.471
Huawei nova 2.467
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5 2.459
Meizu m3 max 2.447
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto) 2.417
HTC 10 evo 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
Vivo V7 2.404
Sony Xperia E5 2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo 2.382
HTC 10 2.378
Oppo F3 2.376
vivo V5 Plus 2.371
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Color rendition is a very odd affair with the Magic 2. It can reproduce the sRGB color space with a high level of fidelity - we measured a stellar average DeltaE of 1.6 and a maximum of 2.6. Only to get there, you need to select the Normal color mode, and fiddle with the custom temperature wheel and have a colorimeter to give you feedback along the way. We achieved these numbers with the settings as follows:
Display settings for most accurate rendition of the sRGB color space (that we achieved)
The Normal/Default preset does yield a respectably accurate rendition of the sRGB color space with an average DeltaE of 2.4, but the greenish whites (DeltaE of 5.4) spoil the look a bit. The rest of the Color/Temperature combos aren't accurate to any color space, and the out-of-the-box setting of Vivid/Default produces an average DeltaE of 6.0 against an sRGB target and 5.0 when trying for DCI-P3.
Honor Magic 2 battery life
The Honor Magic 2 packs a 3,500mAh battery, a smaller capacity than the Mate 20 (4,000mAh) and 20 Pro (4,200mAh). That said, the Magic's power pack is a bit bigger than the other high-end slider on the market, the Mi Mix 3 (3,200mAh), and 3,500mAh isn't too bad to begin with.
Indeed, battery life turned out more than good enough - close to 16 hours of looping videos is an excellent result and the 13:45 hours on the web is plenty as well, while a full 24-hour day of voice calls on a charge is more than some of us have clocked in during the last quarter. Factoring in the standby time, we got an overall endurance rating of 89 hours.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSer App. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Honor Magic 2 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
The Huawei SuperCharge proprietary fast charging tech is another checkbox on the Magic 2's specsheet - the Mate 20 Pro has it too, but the plain Mate 20 doesn't, so Magic 2 > Mate 20 in this respect. With the bundled charger and cable the Magic 2 will go from 0% to 100% in 1:02h, while a 30-minute charging stint will leave you at 70% if you're starting from flat. Impressive stuff, if not quite Oppo's SuperVOOC level of impressive.
Loudspeaker
The Magic 2 has a single loudspeaker - a bottom-firing one. Even though the earpiece has a pass-through port on the display part of the slider, it's not being used to output sound when playing music or videos.
It may be just one, but it's plenty loud as it is, easily making it to the 'Excellent' bracket in our three-pronged test. It also sounds deeper and boomier than the majority of phones out there.
Speakerphone test
Voice, dB
Pink noise/ Music, dB
Ringing phone, dB
Overall score
Realme U1
68.6
73.4
72.4
Good
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium
68.1
73.2
73.7
Good
Honor Play
68.3
73.8
75.8
Good
BlackBerry KEY2
66.5
72.0
79.8
Good
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
69.4
70.9
79.9
Very Good
Honor 8X
67.1
72.9
81.6
Very Good
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
67.8
70.0
84.2
Very Good
Oppo RX17 Pro
68.3
72.7
81.8
Very Good
OnePlus 6T
67.2
72.5
84.5
Very Good
vivo V11
70.7
73.8
80.7
Very Good
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
70.3
73.4
83.8
Very Good
Oppo F9
71.7
74.4
81.6
Very Good
Sony Xperia XZ3
71.0
75.4
82.9
Excellent
Apple iPhone XR
76.9
74.8
79.3
Excellent
Honor Magic 2
72.5
73.6
85.2
Excellent
Nokia 7.1
75.6
76.0
81.1
Excellent
Audio quality
The Honor Magic 2's output proved to be of decent clarity - its stereo crosstalk reading was somewhat high with an active external amplifier, but the good news is that it barely dropped any further when headphones came into play, so it's actually decent for the case.
Headphones also caused some minor intermodulation distortion and dropped the volume from high to just above average, but all in all, few people will be unhappy with the output. Still, we've seen better from some competing flagships - particularly in the loudness department.
Test
Frequency
response
Noise
level
Dynamic
range
THD
IMD
+ Noise
Stereo
crosstalk
Honor Magic 2
+0.05,
-0.01
-93.4
93.4
0.0022
0.0078
-61.3
Honor Magic 2
(headphones)
+0.27,
-0.10
-82.9
92.1
0.0084
0.340
-56.0
Huawei Mate 20
+0.02,
-0.16
-92.1
92.0
0.0017
0.013
-85.6
Huawei Mate 20
(headphones)
+0.07,
-0.07
-92.1
92.4
0.0021
0.106
-66.5
OnePlus
6T
+0.03,
-0.05
-93.4
93.3
0.0010
0.0070
-93.8
OnePlus 6T
(headphones)
+0.17,
-0.15
-93.2
93.1
0.0056
0.245
-61.1
Sony Xperia
XZ3
+0.01,
-0.02
-91.2
93.2
0.0024
0.0080
-88.7
Sony Xperia XZ3
(headphones)
+0.38,
-0.21
-93.1
92.5
0.0049
0.233
-61.7
Samsung Galaxy
Note9
+0.01,
-0.03
-93.7
93.7
0.0017
0.0074
-94.1
Samsung Galaxy Note9
(headphones)
+0.03,
-0.02
-93.6
93.5
0.0033
0.046
-93.2
HTC
U12+
+0.02,
-0.15
-94.3
94.3
0.0021
0.0069
-94.3
HTC U12+
(headphones)
+0.18,
-0.13
-93.7
93.6
0.0024
0.104
-52.7
Honor Magic 2 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing
process here.
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