Honor 200 Pro, The portrait master, does it meet the hype? – Review

Honor has come in strong with their new devices in the Honor 200 series. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to use the Honor 200 Pro for the past few weeks and it is now time to start the Review process so without further ado let’s get right into it.
I have already covered a hardware tor and comparison in my Unboxing post.

Hardware
before we get into the individual specs for the device it is time that we pull up a specs list for the phone,

Specs

It is a pretty impressive specs list for a non-flagship tier device. I do however want to single out a few key points on the hardware for further review.

Battery

This is the first thing I wanted to highlight as what Honor is currently doing with its battery technology is incredible. They are managing to squeeze bigger batteries into smaller spaces through the use of their first-generation 5200mAh Silicon-carbon. Not only will this be enough to get you through a full days usage, but it is also capable of recharging very quickly when used with the 100W wired charger. If you are not a fan of wired charging then you are still covered as the Honor 200 Pro can also be charged wirelessly at up to 66W again with the correct wireless charging stand.

I have been able to get through at least a full day of using the phone without the need to charge it up but I have to emphasise this is now the case for most phones I use as a daily device as I am very light on phone use during the day due to the demands of my day job.

Display

The next section I wanted to discuss was the display. Honer seems to be one of the few mainstream OEMs that are still using the curved style display on the edges of the screen. This practice has now been dropped by Google Samsung and OnePlus (at least they have with their Nord 4 devices anyway). I am a fan of the flattened screen edges as it means that you can use it right up to the edge of the display without having to worry about your finger not registering your tap. It also makes fitting a screen protector on the display easier. The screen does come fitted with a screen protector out of the factory and while I would normally remove this in favour of a glass one, that has not been the case here due to the curved edges. It is very hard to find a good quality glass screen protector for curved displays.

Before I leave the display I do want to give a nod to the dual camera array and the associated cut-out that this creates. It has been once again very carefully used for the Magic Capsule function we first saw on the Magic 6 Pro. I know this is a rip-off of Apple’s similar tech but I like it and the fact that it is still offering some limited functions such as media playback info etc.

Back Panel

The next one is a bit strange but I am just loving the back panel for this Honor 200 Pro. I have the Moonlight White variant here and it is glorious to look at however I was lucky enough to see the Ocean Cyan one in person and that is the one I would personally buy with my own money were I going to buy one. I love the texture of the back panel as it gives just the right amount of roughness to provide grip without feeling like sandpaper. The way it catches the light at various different angles, it almost has a mother-of-pearl sheen to it. Added to the fact that the materials used are conducive to allowing wireless charging through the panel, you can see that a lot of engineering has gone into the development of the back panels and this is something I appreciate.

Rear Camera

I am not going to go into the camera software here but I do quickly want to talk about the hardware and more importantly the layout of the cameras within the module. The three cameras used on the Honor 200 Pro are all high-end cameras in their own right. However, when they have been combined in the array in just the correct way allowing for the focal lengths to meet up correctly is one of the key aspects being utilised in the Studio Harcourt software algorithms to allow this phone to produce some stunning portrait shots.

What Honor has had to do is arrange the cameras in a very specific pattern to allow them all to work in harmony. Starting at the top camera we have a 50MP Portrait Main Camera with the following specs:

-1/1.3-inch H9000 ultra-large sensor
-OIS
-4-in-1 with equivalent 2.4 μm large pixel
-2-in-1 motor with 8-wire SMA AF + OIS
-f/1.9 aperture
-7P Lens

Below this is the 50MP Telephoto Camera
-HONOR x Sony IMX856 ultra-large sensor
-2.5x optical zoom
-up to 50x digital zoom
-OIS
-f/2.4 aperture

Finally on the bottom is the 12MP Ultra Wide and Macro Camera
-2-in-1 with wide angle & macro lens
-112° ultra-wide angle
-2.5cm ultra-short focus

All of these cameras work harmoniously with the AI-based algorithms learnt by Honor analysing Studio Harcourt photos in their thousands. using machine learning the AI then learned how to use the individual cameras to create the perfect portraits for three distinct camera modes Harcourt Vibrant, Harcourt Colour and Harcourt Classic.

Each mode has its character and subtlety about the produced image. I will delve into these images further in the camera section of the review though.

Air Gesture

Another camera-driven function is one that I had skimmed over initially but having now set it up I can genuinely see how it would be useful for me. The ability to use your phone via air gesture for basic navigation is very cool albeit a bit gimmicky. This uses the front-facing cameras (yes there are two) to construct a rough 3D image of your hand and the phone can then interpret certain gestures to allow tasks like scrolling up or down or switching a page in an ebook. You can also use it to go through your images in the Honor Gallery app if you use this.

An elegant feature to have but not an everyday one I think.

The above things are the key highlights for me in terms of the hardware that you can see and interact with however I do also want to quickly mention the Chip that is being used to power this portrait shooting phone. Inside the phone we have a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, this is the first time I have had the chance to use one of these chips and I am impressed. To the average user, you would not know that this is any different from the flagship chip in the form of the 8 Gen 3. I myself would have struggled to tell you of any significant differences. The key difference between the two chips is that the 8s is dialled back a bit from the 8 and that it uses a slightly slower CPU clock speed of 3000Mhz in the 8s Gen 3 vs 3300Mhz in the 8 Gen 3.

What this means in reality is that the phone is slightly slower across the board and if you are using it for graphically intensive activities such as gaming or video rendering then you will notice a slight drop in performance over its more powerful brethren. In the testing i performed i saw no such issue but hen i am also not the biggest gamer in the world so it is hardly surprising that I didn’t notice anything. (ED Note I have also used the latest SD 7 Gen 3 in the OnePlus Nord 4 and saw no significant issues there either).

In summary, unless you are trying to edit hours worth of 4K video and doing hours of AAA gaming without taking any breaks then you will not have any problem with this phone in terms of processing power at all. That takes me nicely to the next section which is the performance

Performance

Measuring the performance of a phone means many different things to different people. For me, I like to gauge it by a few metrics. How long can I use it before I have to charge? How warm does it get in normal usage? Are my calls clear and crisp? Can I use the phone on my normal day without compromising on anything?

As you can see these are quite subjective, particularly the last one. A typical day for me means that the phone comes off an overnight charge and will then be used for a combination of email and social media. I will normally also add in a bit of light web browsing. I then head out for work and for the most part, the phone will be sat in the van and unused save for notifications that are pushed through to whatever smart watch I am using (currently a Garmin Epix 2). At lunch there will normally be about a half hour of light YouTube use in a layby or car park in the middle of nowhere so the mobile signal is sometimes sketchy.

In the afternoon it goes back into its dormant state while I finish the rest of the day off. During the main parts of the day, it is rare for me to get or indeed make any calls but it can occasionally happen. I also sometimes use the phone for SatNav but this will be via wired Android Auto so it is charging anyway. In the evening it will be again used for surfing the web more social scrolling and YouTube (over Wifi). It is not unusual for me to end the day with more than 50% battery in most phones these days. I will then rinse and repeat this cycle for the next day until at the end of that day I will then need to charge my device up.

The TLDR version is I am a light user 99% of the time. When I attend a press event that changes to an intensive user I can normally chew through a full charge before dinner time!!

So with that in mind am I able to use the Honor 200 Pro without compromising my normal day, Absolutely yes I am, the phone will get me through a normal day of use with plenty left in the tank and I have been known to stretch this out to two full days especially when working. I was recently on holiday and even then I was able to get a full day’s usage out of it and that was whilst using it for a lot of photos, videos and sat nav use even with the ambient temps being in the 30 deg+ ranges.

That brings me to the next performance concern. Will it overheat and become too hot to handle? I am pleased to say that even whilst using it as a sat nav and roaming the phone was never a temperature where I would call it uncomfortable. Slippy yes, but not uncomfortable! I was able to capture the photographic delights of the Lindos Acropolis in Rhodes without any issue which is more than can be said for my son who gave up once we had climbed to the top and missed the best view of the pillars.

In answer to my final question as I have already mentioned I have been able to get through a normal day with the phone lasting over 16 hrs sometimes with no real issues. If you wish to find out more about the battery drain and how it compares to other devices then please watch this video by Ben from Lover of Tech as he is best at what he does for battery testing vids. Also if you like this sort of testing then give Ben a Like and Subscribe as I am sure he would appreciate it.

That concludes my performance assessment of the Honor 200 Pro. This is a phone that will perform perfectly adequately in all but the most extreme of conditions. I am hardly surprised given the components that have been utilised on the device as they are all sitting just below the flagship tier and they are certainly premium components.

Camera
What Honor has done with the 200 Pro is truly an exemplary example of what can be done when AI and machine learning are applied correctly. The use of machine learning to analyse the Studio Harcourt process. Capturing unique and classical style portraiture has taken what is capable of AI to another level
As a result, the end user is now able to utilise, the three Studio Harcourt photography modes available, by the toggle in the camera settings. To emulate what can be done by a DSLR camera.

How you enable this mode is extremely simple. Enter the camera, select portrait and then select the Studio Harcourt mode that you require You then point and shoot and the AI will work its magic in the background to help create a unique style of portrait shots that previously would have taken some real skill to create.

I am extremely impressed with the portrait shots that this camera has been able to catch.

However, This camera is more than just a portrait shooter. For close-up photos, the macro mode works to a satisfactory level. And for anything under 10 times zoom you can get good photographs. With good colour representation and accuracy.

Unfortunately, once you go beyond 10 times, things get messy and the digital cropping. Unfortunately, as a negative effect. The further away zoomed shots. This is shown in the photograph of the cathedral here in Milan where I have tried to zoom in on the Statute at the very top and all I was able to get was a bit of a blurry mess.

In terms of video quality, I have captured a few shots of video. You can see the results for yourself these were unusual for me to capture in portrait as opposed to landscape. But I think, I guess the message across Overall, I have been pretty pleased with the camera performance.

And, I think this will serve as a good camera for the intended Market which is in my opinion is 20 to 30 somethings. Who are interested in using their photography for the likes of social media and some vlogging capabilities. This is again, showcased by the fact that you have the Dual video functionality built into the camera as has been the case with every Honor number series device since the Honor 70 was released a few years ago.

Here are some shots that I have taken with the camera over the last few weeks on my travel both to Milan and Rhodes.

Software
In terms of software. The Honor 200 Pro is very similar to what we have seen before from the likes of the Honor Magic 6 Pro S and also the previous, the preceding Honor devices, Honor Magic UI is a middling skin, it isn’t too aggressive but it also does add certain functionalities.
One thing I do, find slightly annoying that it does add is there is a lot of app duplication here which, Creates an unnecessary deluge of apps.

I have enclosed a screenshot below showing the amount of pre-installed apps that come from the factory. These can all be deleted, but it is annoying that you have to do that.

In terms of AI Honor has enabled some AI functionality. However, there is a distinct lack of Google’s inbuilt AI functions.

On this phone. For example, there is no Circle to Search which is something that I do tend to use when I’m using my Pixel devices most days and The recording to notes function of Google’s recorder app on Pixel devices is another function that I am missing. However, that being said, If you are comfortable using Honors UI, then there will be no drastic changes here.

Some people have criticised Honor in the past for having a cartoon-like element to their user interface. But, That is something that I think is just being super critical. The interface is pleasing to the eye and it can be themed via the owner theme store. And there is a good selection of free themes in there if you don’t want to pay for them.

For the most part, Honor has improved their UI over the years. But, I would still like to see less bloatware and app duplication than we are seeing here. I think that will create a much cleaner and more user-friendly experience overall.

Conclusion

The Honor 200 Pro is a great device that has focused heavily on it’s camera skills, which is a good thing as it does work very well as. Camera particularly in close quarters. That being said it is by no means a one trick pony as it is a component phone for gaming and never let me down on the performance side of things. Whilst it is not quite flagship tier, it is so close that it is actually difficult to class it’s position in the brands lineup.

I see it this way, if you want the top of the line flagship specs then you have the Honor Magic 6 Pro which is a great phone from the limited time I had with it. However if you don’t need the top of the line in terms of specs and want to focus on the camera and particularly portraits then the Honor 200 Pro is a solid buy.

Just remember that the Ocean Cyan one looks the best!

You can buy the Honor 200 Pro from the Honor store right now for £599 but make sure to check for discounts as these appear regularly.