HONOR Philippines just launched its latest midrange smartphone series, the HONOR 200 Series 5G, dubbed as the AI Portrait Master. Luckily, we had a chance to test the HONOR 200, the base variant in the series.
I have been using the HONOR 200 as my main driver for over a month already. Today, I will share my review of this device, and let’s see if it is worth buying.
Camera
Let’s first talk about the main highlight of the HONOR 200: the camera. Its image quality is impressive, and the AI Portrait Master lives up to its name, producing portraits with a professional touch.
HONOR’s partnership with Studio Harcourt has significantly enhanced its portrait capabilities. There are three professional-quality Harcourt Portrait modes available: Harcourt Vibrant, Harcourt Color, and Harcourt Classic. My favorite is Harcourt Classic, which gave my portraits a cinematic vibe when I did some self-shoot at home.
By the way, the rear camera setup comprises a 50MP Sony IMX906 main camera with OIS, a 50MP Sony IMX856 telephoto camera with OIS and EIS, and a 12MP ultra-wide/macro camera. The 50MP portrait selfie camera on the front also ensures superb selfies.
The overall image quality and color reproduction in photos are impressive. Besides portraits, the other photos captured in normal mode are stunning. I also tried the Super Macro mode and was amazed by the quality. It’s the first time I’ve used a phone with such capable macro photography, and I plan to explore it further.
As for the video, the quality is also good and it has stabilization for both the main camera and its telephoto lens. If you enjoy shooting videos, the HONOR 200 is a great choice.
The available camera modes on the HONOR 200 are aperture, night mode, portrait, photo, video, multi-video, pro mode, slow-mo, panorama, time-lapse, watermark, super macro, high-res, solo cut, stories, and scanned documents.
Here are our HONOR 200 sample photos:
Design and Build Quality
One of my favorite features of this phone is the design. I really appreciate its slim and lightweight body, making it easy and comfortable to hold. According to HONOR’s website, it only has 7.7mm thickness and approximately 187g weight.
The HONOR 200 is available in Moonlight White, Emerald Green, and Black colorways, and of course, we have the black one. But I prefer Moonlight White because it looks more premium due to its Elegant Coastline design, while the black colorway looks very plain. But all the colorways have a matte finish so avoid fingerprints or smudges.
Besides, I’m glad that the HONOR 200 is thin and light even though it has a 5,200mAh battery that we’ll talk about later.
For the input and output, the volume rockers and power button are on the right side of the device while the left side is empty. We can see the dual nano SIM card tray, microphone, USB-C port, and main stereo speaker at the bottom, while the secondary speaker, IR blaster, and another microphone are at the top.
The build quality is good and the HONOR 200 looks robust. Although I’m not sure if the frame is aluminum, the back is definitely plastic. I still advise using a protective case due to its slim profile and Quad-Curved screen.
Display and Multimedia Experience
Speaking of the screen, the HONOR 200 has a 6.7-inch Equal-Depth Quad-Curved AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution. Its display supports a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 4000nits max brightness. It also has 3840Hz Risk-free PWM dimming which is now a very essential feature for me.
The display is very vivid for me, text or other objects are also very sharp maybe because of its 435PPI. Thanks to the AMOLED screen on the HONOR 200, watching videos and viewing photos is a pleasure due to the stunning colors. Combined with top-notch dual stereo spatial speakers, it significantly enhances our multimedia enjoyment
So far, I have nothing to complain about its display because the high refresh rate is also stable and it is also very bright when I use it outdoors.
Actually, its display has other useful features like AI Circadian Night Display and Dynamic Dimming Display that will benefit our eyes and sleep quality.
Performance
Performance-wise, the HONOR 200 won’t let you down with its 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core chipset and Adreno 720 GPU. In my experience, it delivers sufficient power for both gaming and casual productivity.
You can also store a bunch of photos, videos, and apps because it arrives with a large 512GB internal storage. Besides, there’s also a large 12GB RAM plus 12GB HONOR RAM turbo that allows seamless multitasking.
It’s worth mentioning that MagicOS 8.0, based on Android 14, is optimized for the HONOR 200. Comparing it to MagicOS 7.2, I noticed significant enhancements in performance and features. My usage has been seamless and without issues.
For gaming, it can run Genshin Impact smoothly at medium to high settings. The frame drops I experienced were minimal, maybe just tweak the settings so you can enjoy it even more. Call of Duty: Warzone is somewhat optimized with the chipset but still lacks in some areas. Nevertheless, it runs smoothly on medium-high settings and maintains good quality even at high settings.
HONOR 200 Benchmark results:
I also tried other common games like Mobile Legends and CODM, and they were also smooth to play as expected.
During gaming sessions, the phone tends to get warm, probably because of its slim design, which is understandable.
Battery
I was highly impressed by the HONOR 200’s battery, it is very long-lasting. Its 5,200mAh silicon-carbon battery easily supports a full day of casual use with some gaming. In my experience, it lasts until the next day before needing a charge. This is my first time using a phone with a silicon-carbon battery, and it offers numerous benefits.
It’s quite surprising that the HONOR 200 is light even with its substantial battery capacity. In PCMark’s battery benchmark, it lasted 14 hours and 20 minutes, which is notably long.
Even having a 5,200mAh battery capacity, the HONOR 200 supports 100W wired fast charging, allowing it to fully charge quickly. It took approximately 40 minutes to charge from 20% to 100%.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the pricing of the HONOR 200 is quite fair, considering its well-balanced hardware and features. With an excellent camera, display, durable battery, ample memory, and solid performance, it’s easy to recommend this device. It’s ideal for serious gamers, photography enthusiasts, and those seeking a long-lasting phone. If you’re currently looking for a midrange device, the HONOR 200 is very worth buying.
HONOR 200 Unboxing:
HONOR 200 Specifications
- Display: 6.77-inch AMOLED Quad-curved display, fHD+ 2664 x 1200 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 4000nits eak brightness
- CPU: 2.63GHz 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core processor
- GPU: Adreno 720
- RAM: 12GB + 12GB HONOR RAM Turbo
- ROM: 512GB
- Rear Camera: 50MP Sony IMX906 main camera (OIS), 50MP Sony IMX856 telephoto camera (OIS + EIS), 12MP ultra-wide and macro camera
- Front Camera: 50MP Portrait Selfie camera
- Battery: 5,200mAh, 100W HONOR SuperCharge (wired)
- Software: MagicOS 8.0, Android 14
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi, 5G, 4G, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, dual SIM (nano)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
- Colors: Black, Moonlight White, Emerald Green
- Others: in-display fingerprint scanner, IR blaster, Magic Capsule, Magic Portal, dual stereo spatial speakers,
Price and availability
HONOR 200 – PHP 24,999 | Shopee link | Lazada link
The new HONOR 200 is now available for pre-order for only PHP 24,999 until July 26 and you can get a FREE JBL Soundgear Frames worth PHP 9,499 in this period.
