It took a bit longer than expected but we have finally managed to get hold of the new release from Honor in the form of the new Honor 200 Pro. This is the flagship product of the range and as such comes with all the bells and whistles you would expect including the previously announced Studio Harcourt mode. I was lucky enough to experience this first-hand at a recent media event in Paris, I was fortunate enough to experience the Studio Harcourt process that creates the classic image that they are known for.
Honor has worked alongside Studio Harcourt utilising the power of AI to analyse thousands of photographs to “learn” how to use some of the pillars of of the Studio Harcourt process to allow your phone to capture the very best portrait images with ease. Having experienced this in a relatively controlled environment, I was very keen to get the phone into a normal atmosphere to allow me to really use it in anger.
So without further ado let’s look at the phone in all its glory.
Hands-on video
Display
The display measures 6.78″ and is a Quad-Curved Floating AMOLED display covered in Aluminosilicate glass for protection. This screen is purportedly as tough as Gorilla Glass and Honor is claiming that the glass is extremely scratch-resistant. The screen has a resolution of FHD+ 2700×1224 and an aspect ratio of 19.85:9. The screen will also output up to 4000 nits during peak brightness whilst watching HDR content. It has a colour gamut of DCI-P3 and its Delta E is 0.27. Lastly, it has a refresh rate of 120Hz and is DXI Gold mark certified.
Before I move away from the screen one last thing for those of you who are sensitive to PWM. The 200 Pro screen has a PWM frequency of 3840Hz which has been flicker-free certified by TUV Rheinland
On the top of the phone, we can find a couple of different things. The most prominent thing here is the upward-firing speaker grill which allows the sound to be pushed out to the side when you are using the phone for gaming, music or video viewing. The good news is it does really help and is not just a gimmick. Next to this, we have a a good old Honor favourite in the form of the IR blaster allowing you to control various IR compatible kit. Next to this is one of the various pinhole mics around the phone.
On the right-hand side of the phone is where we find the power/sleep/wake button, which as is the norm now can be doubled up as an assistant button. The volume rocker sits above this. The buttons are positioned in a way that they fall under the right-hand thumb nicely, it is a bit more awkward if you are left-handed though but this is quite normal in the phone world unfortunately.
On the bottom of the phone, we have got the USB Type-C port which will support USB 2.0 and more importantly up to HONOR 100W SuperCharge with a compatible charger (not included in the box, but currently being included as a gift when you buy the phone from Honor direct). We also have the downward firing speaker which like the one on the top of the phone works well. on the other side, we find another pinhole microphone and the Micro SD card slot which has a waterproof gasket on the inside to aid with the IP rating of the phone.
The left-hand side is void of anything at all not even an antenna break line. An interesting note here is that there are no visible antenna lines on the frame exterior which is nice to see and a nice nod to design simplicity.
On the back, we have a very pretty design which is inspired by the moonlight on the Moonlight White version we have here. On the Ocean Blue version, the phone has a wavelike pattern which resembles a meandering coastline. The final colour version is simple called Black to represent simple serenity. We have also got the camera module which contains three camera elements including a 50MP Portrait Main Camera, a 50MP Telephoto Camera, a 50MP Portrait Selfie Camera. net tot his is a dual-lens flash module. The camera module’s shape has been inspired by Guadi’s Cass Mila of Barcelona.
In terms of the profile below is the Honor 200 Pro being compared to the Google Pixel 8 Pro. You can see that the phone is very slim (8.2mm excluding camera bump) This is accentuated by the use of the curved screen and it makes for a comfortable feel in the hand. However, this curved edge screen does also have its downside mainly in that it can make the phone feel like it is going to slip out your hand. There is a reason why we are seeing a trend back towards flat screens again.
Again another comparison here with my Pixel 8 Pro which is on the right. you can see that the Honor 200 Pro is marginally narrower. It is also interesting to see the scaling of the displays at work here both these phones have their scaling and font size at their lowest settings. More on this in the main review though.
I have also added a Samsung device here in the form of the Galaxy A 34 to give a bit more of an idea of sizing.
So that covers my hand-on and unboxing of the phone. I have not included any of the in-box items as this is a review device and typically they don’t come with included accessories however I can confirm that the following items will be included in the box.
1. Phone (Built-in battery) x 1
2. Type-C Cable x 1 (Europe is C2C, other regions are A2C)
3. Quick Start Guide x 1
4. Eject Tool x 1
5. Warranty Card x 1*
6. TP protective film (Attached on the phone before delivery) x 1
The Honor 200 Pro is currently available to buy from the Honor Store. If you want to pick one of these devices up then you can currently get one for £599.99 (down from £699.99) and this will include the HONOR Earbuds X6 and HONOR SuperCharge Power Adapter (Max 100W) for free. Honor will also stand by their screen quality by offering a free 1-year screen replacement policy with a one-time use.