Honor unveiled its first flagship since its split from former parent Huawei, the Magic 3 series, as the newly independent company attempts to make inroads into the global smartphone market.

Having been sold and separated from Huawei in late 2020, Honor is able to source components from companies currently restricted from supplying its former parent with certain products due to US sanctions.

As a result, Honor’s flagship uses the latest Qualcomm 5G chipset. Its statement does not mention Google specifically, but the devices will be initially launched in the Chinese market with the Magic UI 5.0 operating system which is based on Android 11.

The Magic 3 series comprises three devices: the standard Magic 3; a Pro version; and a Pro+. All three come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G chipset, 4600mAh battery, 6.76-inch display and a quad camera set-up with the main module on each 64MP.

All three contain Honor’s in-house AI imaging engine and various other pieces of software developed by the challenger manufacturer. Its higher-spec model comes with an upgraded camera set-up, improved screen technology and various other upgrades.

The standard and pro devices have similar specifications, though the latter comes with higher internal memory. Honor Magic 3 starts at €899, the Pro costs €1,099 and the Pro+ is priced from €1,499.

Business update
During the event Honor also provided an update on its progress since the split from Huawei.

Honor noted its share had increased to almost 15 per cent in the Chinese market with the company looking to press on with global ambitions for the brand.

It has 10,000 employees and claims to have “invested heavily” in R&D, with four full research centres and 100 laboratories across the globe. It has also filed 5,500 new patent applications and said it was “quickly re-establishing strategic partnerships with some of the world’s top suppliers.”