HONOR Magic6 Lite Review: Contender for Best Value Smartphone?

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The Honor 90 was my smartphone of the year for 2023, and Honor has kicked off 2024 immediately with something very interesting indeed.

I’m referring to the Honor Magic6 Lite, which is the device you see before you and my first Android smartphone review of the year. It costs just £349.99 in the UK, which places it squarely in the budget bracket – although, as you’re about to find out, that’s a slightly unfair label.

The Magic6 Lite has some interesting upgrades over the Magic5 Lite. The display is slightly larger. The chip is faster. It has more memory and more storage. The camera is better and now shoots 4K video. It also adds some interesting display technology and ‘whole device drop resistance’ (which I’ve tested – several times).

However, I’m less interested in those upgrades and far more interested in whether or not the Magic6 Lite can pull off the same unbelievable tricks that made the Honor 90 such a stonking phone in 2023.

Spoiler: it does.

Honor Magic6 Lite specs

The Magic6 Lite comes in three colours – Emerald Green, Midnight Black, and Sunrise Orange. My review unit came in the latter shade, which is also made from vegan leather.

The display is a 6.78-inch, 1.5K AMOLED panel that is curved and which benefits from P3 colour, 1,200 nits of peak brightness, and a 120Hz variable refresh rate.

Under the hood, the Magic6 Lite is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There are no other RAM or storage tiers to choose from.

On camera duties are a 108MP main camera, a 5MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. Selfies are taken care of via a 16MP front-facing camera.

Battery-wise, while the Magic6 Lite doesn’t support wireless charging, it is compatible with the 35w SuperCharge feature and has a 5,300mAh battery that promises two-day battery life. IP53 water and dust resistance caps off the spec sheet highlights.

The Magic6 Lite runs on MagicOS 7.2 and will be available from 10th January. If you’re quick, you’ll be able to jump on a generous launch offer of a free Pad X8 that’s worth £99.99.

Design and display

I’m a huge fan of Honor’s approach to smartphone design. True to form, the Magic6 Lite feels much more premium than its price tag suggests. The Sunrise Orange version I’ve been testing is particularly fancy without being garish, and it’s one of those phones that catches the eyes of those around you. “What’s that?” they’ll say, without a hint of disgust.

The brushed metal on the top and bottom edges of the device and shiny metallic sides further add to the feeling of a phone that knocks on the door of flagshipville. The camera housing aids this, which is typically Honor in its eye-catching design and a world away from the functional bumps we’re used to on other smartphones.

Let’s talk about the display. It’s a triumph. Again. I don’t know how Honor packs such a high-end-looking display into such a low-cost package, but they somehow manage it, consistently. The Magic6 Lite display is super bright, pin-sharp, and buttery smooth.

I’m not one to bemoan the presence of 60Hz displays on smartphones these days, but the more I use devices like those from Honor, the more I realise we should be in an era where every smartphone has a 120Hz variable refresh rate.

As noted earlier, the Magic6 Lite has a curved display. I know that’s not to everyone’s taste, but it’s never really bothered me. I like how it encourages the display to leap from the device and the fact that it’s incredibly comfortable to use when swiping from the edges of the screen.

This display also features 1920Hz PWM Dimming, designed to help with eye protection for anyone who uses their smartphone for extended periods (particularly useful for gamers and social media scrollers). Honor has also brought Dynamic Dimming and Circadian Night Display technology to the Magic6 Lite, which adjusts the screen temperature automatically based on the time of day. As someone who is increasingly valuing his sleep, it’s nice to see features like this at the budget end of the scale.

As for that certified drop resistance, it does stand up. I’d never recommend chucking your phone around for a laugh (it won’t be a laugh, eventually), but my tests with the Magic6 Lite resulted in impressive resistance to drops on a variety of surfaces. The only damage sustained was to the factor-applied screen protector – which is its job.

Performance

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip in the Magic6 Lite isn’t the latest Qualcomm chip on the block, but it’s a decent step up from the Snapdragon 695 that powers the Magic5 Lite.

A quick caveat: I’m not a gamer and I don’t push my smartphones to the limit (I’m genuinely not sure how to in 2024). However, when it comes to general usage and zipping around the operating system, the Magic6 Lite flies. You never feel hampered by that chip, and I rarely noticed instances of slow-down or stuttering.

Honor seems adept at squeezing maximum performance out of older chips, and if you’re not the sort of person to spec-peep or worry about the fact you’re not using the latest chip, you’d never know any different. It’s impressive stuff.

The performance of the Magic6 Lite is aided by MagicOS 7.2. This is Honor’s version of Android 13, and it’s one of the most considerate, smart adaptions of Google’s mobile OS you’ll find. There are some differences, including the absence of the app drawer (finding your apps is still super fast thanks to search and folder management), but MagicOS feels both unique and familiar at the same time.

As for battery life, that two-day claim is spot on. Stick on the battery-saver mode if needed, and you’ll sail into three days.

Honor Magic6 Lite camera examples

The 108MP main camera on the Magic6 Lite produces some great images.

This is such a divisive, personal topic, but Honor’s latest phone pulls off some great photography in the right conditions.

Images produced by the main camera are detailed, vibrant, and not too processed.

The presence of the wide angle and the macro mode is welcome at this price point, and the night mode delivers some very pleasing results.

It’s important to remember that this is a budget phone, therefore you can’t expect the same photo-taking prowess as the more expensive Honor phones and their competition, but I was consistently impressed with what the Magic6 Lite could do.

Video performance is impressive, too, as you can see in my YouTube review of this phone. The 4K footage from the rear camera is detailed and deals with dynamic range well, and the 1080p selfie shooter performs admirably in challenging conditions.

The camera system isn’t the Magic6 Lite’s best feature, but it holds its own at this price point.

Conclusion: who is the Magic6 Lite for?

I like simple conclusions, and there’s an ultra-simple one as far as the Magic6 Lite is concerned.

If you’re not bothered about the iPhone, have zero interest in iOS, and don’t care about specs but you want an Android phone that doesn’t make you feel shortchanged, the Magic6 Lite is a brilliant buy.

When spending as little as possible on a smartphone in 2024, you shouldn’t be dealt a rough hand. Honor has proven that, again, with the Magic6 Lite, and I’d love to see more of this from other brands this year.

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