Honor is launching its new Magic 9 flagship phones in China today, and the 9 Pro Max features a design overhaul, a capable camera, and a colossal battery.
This is Honor’s first flagship launch – Robot Phone aside – since announcing its collaboration with camera company Arri. The initial impact is twofold. The new camera island is Arri-inspired, taking inspiration from the “tri-lens turret” design first introduced in the 1937 Arriflex 35, complete with a knurled texture around the main lens.
Arri played a role in the camera itself, contributing to the ability to shoot in Arri LogC3, with 14 preset Arri Look LUTs, access to Arri’s wider library of official and third-party LUTs, and support for the 10-bit 4:2:2 APV codec. The cameras themselves include a 200-megapixel main lens using a 1/1.28-inch type sensor, a 3.5x telephoto lens using the same resolution and a 1/1.4-inch sensor, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide – although the latter lens doesn’t support all of the Arri Cinema Mode features. A “theater-quality” directional microphone should also make video recording easier. Less technically impressive, but just as useful, will be the square format selfie camera, which, like Apple’s Center Stage, will be able to capture in landscape or portrait mode.
Honor claims the wider camera island is more space efficient, leaving extra space for a massive 8,800mAh battery, now containing up to 40% silicon. The 9 Pro Max is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. I asked Honor why it chose the Extreme version, given that the 9 Pro Max doesn’t support the 8K60 or 4K240 video recording enabled by the chip, and was told it was “about delivering a complete and consistent flagship experience, rather than chasing a single benchmark.”
The Magic 9 series launches today in China. Honor has confirmed that an international launch is planned, but we’re still waiting to hear when.
Gn tech
