Admit it: Most of the time, you think you look better in selfies than in pictures taken by others. Totally understandable. But what if there’s a smartphone that promises to bring out your best and capture them exactly right every time?
Now that we have your attention, you might want to check out the HONOR 200 Pro. Launched alongside the vanilla HONOR 200, these phones promise to give you stunning photos with their camera-centric features.
Between the two, you can expect more vibrant photos with the Pro variant thanks to its Sony IMX856 telephoto sensor and 50MP selfie shooter setup. As the more advanced model in the series, the HONOR 200 Pro has a display that’s a bit bigger by .08 inches, a beefier Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, and a faster Adreno 735 GPU.
All these and more can make the HONOR 200 Pro a hot pick for shutterbugs or those looking for a competitive daily driver. And if you’re curious about how it fares in real life, read on for our review of this new device.
Design & construction
It’s clear from the get-go: The HONOR 200 Pro is built not only as a smartphone but as a piece of art. The device has a luxurious design headlined by a back cover that has both a matte and glossy finish.
It stands out because of its mother-of-pearl design that becomes more visible when light hits the surface at different angles. Enhancing its aesthetic appeal is its large pebble-shaped camera island, which houses the triple camera setup and LED flash.
Our test unit comes in the Ocean Cyan colorway, which is a refreshing and cool take on the rest of the HONOR 200 Pro’s color options: black, white, and pink.
Apart from serving looks, the device provides comfort for prolonged use. Its plastic frame has curved edges for easy grip, and it’s fairly lightweight at 199g. It’s not exceptionally thin but not thick either, with a thickness that measures 8.2mm. And did we mention that it’s fingerprint-proof?
The HONOR 200 Pro is pretty straightforward with its buttons and ports. On the right edge are the power switch and volume rocker that both fall comfortably under the right thumb. The left side is clean as a whistle.
Over at the top are the upward-firing speaker grille, IR blaster, and pinhole microphone while the bottom has another pinhole mic, downward-firing speaker, plus a USB Type-C port for charging. Completing the setup is the 6.78-inch display at the front, which has a pill-shaped notch for the selfie camera.
Display & multimedia
The HONOR 200 Pro will appeal to those who want big screen estate as its OLED curved panel spans 6.78 inches. It boasts a 2700 x 1224px QHD resolution with 1 billion colors and a pixel density of 437ppi.
All these, along with its refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz, make binge-watching or scrolling through social media truly immersive. It produces sharp and bright images, vibrant colors, and deep blacks.
Expect to get the same pleasurable experience when using the phone under sunlight, thanks to its 4000nits HDR peak brightness. It is also equipped with Natural Tone 2.0 and Dynamic Dimming technologies that adjust the screen’s brightness based on light conditions.
The HONOR 200 Pro’s touch sampling rate is 360Hz, which makes the screen receptive to clicks and swipes but not something to write home about. The device also has wet touch enhancement. Alas, it could barely recognize my wet finger when I tried to unlock the device using the under-display fingerprint sensor.
HONOR 200 Pro has an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, which means it’s not waterproof, but it can run just fine despite water spilling on it.
As for the audio output, the device’s dual stereo speakers are a mixed bag. The speakers on top and at the bottom work well together, with sound coming from left and right when you’re holding the phone horizontally while binge-watching shows or playing games. Volume is high, too, and peaks at 200 percent.
One minor hiccup is that the bass, highs, and vocals are loud, but the midtones are quite low. Still, the speakers have a wide soundstage and the sound turns out clear and crisp without noise. If you want to make the most of your listening experience, try using earphones instead.
Camera
Now here comes HONOR 200 Pro’s star attraction: its studio-level portrait camera. It boasts a 50MP 7P sensor with a large f/1.9 aperture, as well as OIS and EIS.
The Super Dynamic H9000 shooter is equipped with HONOR’s AI Portrait Engine, which uses artificial intelligence to capture every side of its subject. It promises perfectly balanced images with excellent light-sensing capabilities and HDR support.
True enough, the portraits we took using standard photo and Portrait modes have sharp details, vibrant colors, enhanced lighting, and true-to-life skin tones. The latter also has seamless subject separation that doesn’t make the photo look heavily filtered. Autofocus is likewise consistent and reliable throughout.
But what makes the HONOR 200 Pro’s portrait camera a cut above the rest is its filters created in collaboration with Studio Harcourt. The legendary Paris-based photography studio is renowned for taking portraits of celebrities then and now using artistic lighting.
Its expertise is integrated into the HONOR 200 Pro’s AI Portrait Engine and can be utilized through the device’s portrait filters: Harcourt Vibrant, Harcourt Color, and Harcourt Classic. Below is what you can expect from each filter, based on our test.
Harcourt Vibrant: Colors and vibrancy are elevated while contrast is reduced for more vivid results.
Harcourt Color: Richer colors, lesser highlights, and darker shadows that all together create a dramatic look.
Harcourt Classic: A rendition of Studio Harcourt’s signature French cinema-style black-and-white photos taken using controlled tungsten lighting.
As promised, images captured using the filters are tack sharp, more detailed, and have a professional feel to them.
Boosting HONOR 200 Pro’s powerful portrait shooter is a 50MP Sony IMX856 telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture, 2.5x optical zoom, and up to 50x digital zoom. Meanwhile, a 12MP 2-in-1 ultrawide and macro lens completes the device’s triple camera setup.
These two shooters likewise produce photos that are livened up with clear and distinct details, as well as true-to-life colors, when taken during daytime. We must say, the images look more natural than those of other mid-range phones that increase the vividness significantly.
The case is different. though, with photos taken at night. Images captured using the standard photo mode get blown-out highlights and highly saturated colors. It’s best to use the AI-enhanced night mode instead, which provides good contrast and great sharpness with moderately increased brightness both indoors and outdoors.
HONOR 200 Pro’s rear camera system is paired with a 50MP portrait front camera with f/2.1 aperture. It did not disappoint as well, with selfies having good detail, life-like skin tone, and dynamic range both in standard photo and portrait modes. The latter likewise has good subject separation with believable-looking blur.
As for videos, the HONOR 200 Pro can record in up to 4K resolution and has an option for capturing clips using the front and back cameras at the same time. Videos have great detail, vibrant colors, and dynamic range in good lighting conditions, but they turn out noisy in low-light scenarios. OIS is impressive, though, as it is consistent in removing shakes from every video we’ve recorded.
Performance & battery
HONOR 200 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 4nm processor boosted by an Adreno 735 GPU. The octa-core chipset is backed by 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage. It supports 5G connectivity and the use of dual SIMs.
As per our test, the Pro delivers capable performance with everything in its platform. It runs at moderate speed when browsing social media and is impressively speedy while playing graphic-intensive games like Asphalt 9.
The HONOR 200 Pro doesn’t heat up either, thanks to the All-range Cooling System 2.0 built into the device for thermal management. And because the processor has 5G connectivity, binge-watching shows on Netflix even using cellular data is seamless.
There were a few lags while we were setting up the phone and scrolling through the home screen, though, but they are fairly acceptable for an upper mid-range phone.
According to Qualcomm, the HONOR 200 Pro’s chipset is engineered with the brand’s AI Engine that not only captures stunning portraits but also enables you to create content via simple text, voice, and image prompts. It also personalizes suggestions based on your activities.
These features are available with the device’s proprietary MagicOS 8.0 OS based on Android 14. It includes AI App Suggestions that places our frequently used apps on the home screen for easy access.
There’s also the Magic Portal, which allows you to select items from the screen and drag them to the left side so you can easily share them on social media, search them on the web, and more. We used it to share a photo on our gallery on Facebook, and it was fast and convenient.
Magic Capsule, meanwhile, is a pill-shaped notification on the front camera notch that lets you control music, videos, and more right on the home screen.
Other features include Air Gestures that allows you to control the screen without touching it, as well as IR blaster that turns the smartphone into a remote control for other IR-compatible devices.
HONOR promises four major system updates and five years of security patches on the 200 Pro, which goes to show that the device is all geared up for the long run.
The HONOR 200 Pro packs a 5200mAh battery that kept our unit running for two and a half days after taking pictures for one whole afternoon, consistently using Messenger, and occasionally browsing social media, YouTube, and Netflix.
It charges using a hefty 100W power brick that proved to be fast after juicing up our phone from 8% to 25% in just seven minutes and to a full 100% in 56 minutes. Besides that, the HONOR 200 Pro supports 66W wireless charging which, the brand says, can increase the battery to 64% in just 34 minutes.
Speed says
With many camera-centric smartphones being released, it sure is hard to choose the one that’s right for you. But if you’re particularly looking for one that can up your portrait photography game, then the HONOR 200 Pro could be your best bet.
Its 50MP main camera is boosted by HONOR’s AI Portrait Engine and can shoot studio-quality portraits with the use of the Studio Harcourt filters exclusively found on this device.
Expect to get equally stunning selfies with its 50MP selfie camera, plus other breathtaking shots with its 50MP telephoto and 2MP ultrawide and macro shooters.
While its video recording and audio features can be improved, it’s still a good match for on-the-go photography enthusiasts for its sleek build, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset with AI Engine, 5200mAh battery, and even artful nature-inspired design.
All these and more make the HONOR 200 Pro a true portrait master. This phone is priced at P29,999 and is now available for pre-order until July 26, wherein you’ll get a pair of JBL Soundgear Frames worth P9,499 for free.
Drop by at any HONOR Experience and Partner Stores, or online via Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop.
Words and photos Justine Punzalan
.jpg)
