We had the opportunity to review the latest in the Honor series, the Honor 600 (which comes in Standard and Pro versions). We received the standard model in a flashy orange colour. The first thing I noticed was that the interface was not the usual Android interface I am used to; it felt more like I was using an Apple product. This is a good thing to get Apple users to the Android platform, a bit frustrating for current Android users, I would say(or maybe I am getting too old). After fiddling a bit in the settings, I got to the interface I know best. But I digress, the user interface of the Honor MagicOS is snappy and scrolling in and through the menus is a breeze.

Now, in my original quick post, I mentioned that I was doing the wife test. Now you ask yourself what the wife test is? Well, my wife has been using a phone since late 2018/2019(from the original sister company of Honor and still regarded as an excellent phone). She uses it to read her Kindle books and play some Genshin Impact(and all the other tasks that we use our small PC’s for). She was amazed by the improvement in the game time in Genshin compared to her older trusty phone. What helped here is that the Honor 600 has Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7(our home system is still on Wi-Fi 6), which means better battery management and better network usage.

The other part I mentioned is that she is an avid Kindle reader; the Honor 600 actually has an E-Book reader mode. What this does is change the screen to display everything in a black-and-white mode (or Greyscale). This is excellent for late-night reading and cuts out most of the Blue light that phone screens display(bad for sleeping and eyes).

The Honor 600 also have a very long battery life, and we got just over a day and a half’s worth out of the device(I actually got two days myself…but that was due to not using it so intensely). This is also thanks to the Honor 600 having a 7000mAh battery; we did miss the Wireless charging mode, which you can only get on the Honor 600Pro. Charging itself didn’t take very long to charge up to full, taking about 45- 60 minutes till full. This is thanks to the 80W wired charging feature and, for a change, a high-end phone that actually comes with a charger! This is a massive bonus for me and adds to the premium price of the Honor 600 series.

What I was looking forward to testing on the phone is the camera system. I was not let down at all. The Honor 600 has a great set of lenses and image sensors on it. The Honor 600 features two main cameras: a 200MP 24mm wide with optical image stabilisation, and an ultrawide 16mm 12MP. The Honor 600 Pro has a third sensor, a 50MP 80mm Telephoto lens. Seeing as my day job is running a photolab and printing pictures, I tested out the RAW capability of the 200MP sensor. I can safely say that you can do a very nice A1/A0 print from the RAW image. Honor has really made some good strides in their colour science for their camera systems. The one thing that I found a bit lacking was the Film emulation modes. Here, I would suggest that they go and have a look at real scanned films, as the presets that came in the camera app are nowhere near the right colors/saturation/vibrancy. It’s a small thing, but processing these films every day (my day job) makes me a bit of a purist when it comes to these looks.

Overall, I was very happy with the Honor 600. The Honor 600 comes with 256 GB of storage, which I think is fine for now, whereas the Honor 600 Pro comes with 512 GB. It has more than enough legroom to play games and watch your favourite movies. The Honor 600 also has a great camera setup(needs some work on their film emulation modes). The Honor 600 also charges very quickly and has a very long usage period, and at R14999 for the Honor 600, it’s not a bad phone at all. If you want to spend a bit more(wireless charging, third Optical 50MP lens and more storage), then you can get the Honor 600 Pro for R19999.

HONOR 600 vs. HONOR 600 Pro: Which should you buy?

If you are torn between the two models, here is a quick breakdown of what you get for your money to help you decide:

HONOR 600 (Standard) – R14,999

• Storage: 256GB (Plenty of room for games like Genshin Impact and daily apps).
• Cameras: Dual Setup (200MP 24mm Main with OIS + 12MP 16mm Ultrawide).
• Charging: 80W Wired Fast Charging (Charger included in the box!).
• The Verdict: The sweet spot for gamers, readers, and everyday users who want a massive 7000mAh battery and a stellar main camera without breaking the bank.

HONOR 600 Pro – R19,999

• Storage: 512GB (Double the space for massive media libraries and heavy gamers).
• Cameras: Triple Setup (Adds a dedicated 50MP 80mm Optical Telephoto Lens to the standard array).
• Charging: 80W Wired Fast Charging + Wireless Charging Capability.
• The Verdict: Perfect for photography enthusiasts who need that extra optical zoom, power users who need maximum storage, and anyone who loves the convenience of wireless charging.