Honor introduces the Magic5 Lite 5G, an affordable mid-range smartphone with an ultra-thin design. Indeed, compared to the Magic4 Lite, it loses 14 grams on the scale at 175 g and one millimeter in thickness, at 7.9 mm. It runs on Android 12, embellished with the homemade Magic UI 6.1 software overlay.
When reviewing the Magic4 Lite 5G, we pointed out that while this phone ticks all the boxes when it comes to performance and photography at a good price, it didn’t have a real edge. With the Magic5 Lite 5G, Honor makes necessary improvements and welcome while respecting the codes that made the success of his ancestor. Although it competes in the lands of the Realme 9 4G, it has a more premium design going for it, as evidenced by its very nice curved screen.
If, by far, the design of the Magic5 Lite 5G is more or less the same as that of its predecessor, it still benefits from several notable changes. We note first of all that the circular photo module borrowed from the Honor Magic4 Pro – which itself draws on Huawei’s Mate 40 specifications – is always present. Honor even ups the ante with this “signature”, since it is even more imposing on the Honor Magic5 Lite. The telephone earpiece has disappeared from the upper edge of the device, which gives the handset a sleeker design.
The Magic5 Lite has an ultra wide-angle sensor and fills a gap in the Magic4 Lite Pro
Honor has heard the critics. The Magic5 Lite now sports an ultra wide-angle, with a 16 MP definition for an aperture of f/2.2. The absence of this module on the Honor Magic4 Lite 5G handicapped it and even an excellent night mode could not make people forget this culpable oversight. The 64 MP main sensor (f/1.8 aperture) and a 2 MP macro (f/2.4 aperture) complete the photo module plug on the back.
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Only a circular notch housing a 16 MP photo sensor opening at f / 2.45 is visible on the large AMOLED FHD + panel (1080 x 2400 px) which wraps around the chassis of the device. With an advertised brightness of 800 nits, the Magic5 Lite 5G’s screen should be very easy to view in direct sunlightespecially since it can display up to 1.07 billion colors for a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The fingerprint reader has disappeared from the side edge and is now located under the screen. So many new cosmetic touches that give a harmonious and curvaceous design to Honor’s new device, while remaining faithful to its parentage.
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The Magic5 Lite 5G is more enduring. Its battery gains in capacity from 4800 mAh to 5100 mAh. According to the manufacturer, this gain will offer two days of autonomy in standard use. Recharging the Magic5 Lite 5G will however take longer. The charger has lost powergoing from 66 W for the Magic4 Lite to 40W on the Magic5 Lite. The manufacturer is betting on the long term rather than following fashion: in fact, fast charging subjects the battery to stress that is harmful to its lifespan. Honor certifies as well as that of the Magic5 Lite 5G will retain 80% capacity after 3 years of use.
The Magic5 Lite should offer very good performance for less than 400 €
The Magic5 Lite is powered by a Snapdragon 695 2 processor Etched at 6nm with 2 ARM Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and 6 A55 cores at 1.8GHz. This high-performance mid-range chip comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage. In terms of connectivity, Honor’s affordable smartphone boasts a USB-C port, NFC compatibility. He supports two nanoSIM cards and does not offer an audio jack.
Note that the Magic5 Lite 5G is only offered in one configuration. It is already available at some retailers in France. Orange offers it without subscription for 379 €, for example, but stay tuned for offers that are sure to pop up on the web in the coming days. It is available in Midnight Black (black), Emerald Green (green) and iridescent white. This last dress will be exclusive to the Honor store, and therefore will not be marketed only from February 20, 2023.
