This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
I am looking at the specs sheet of this phone, and I'm getting increasingly furious.
It's thin, almost as thin as an iPhone Air, and it weighs just 155 g, lighter than the Air, yet it has not one but three cameras on its back. It has stereo speakers. And best of all — it has a massive 5,500 mAh silicon-carbon battery, more than twice the size of the Air and nearly 50% larger than the one on the Galaxy S25 Edge.
And I have just one question: why couldn't Samsung and Apple make this phone?
So what's that mysterious super-phone and is it even real?
Yes, it is, and it's the Honor Magic 8 Pro Air, the first in the world "Pro Air" phones.
The first good small phone in a long while
There one more thing about this phone that stands out. It's not only thin and light, it's also more compact than its rivals.
While the Galaxy S25 Edge comes with a 6.7-inch screen and the iPhone Air features a 6.5-inch display, the screen on the Honor is just 6.3-inches, so it's also physically not as wide and not as tall. This makes it one of the best contenders for the title of the best small phone of 2026.
Recommended For You
In fact, it has the same display size as the regular iPhone 17, but weighs nearly 20 grams less, and it's nearly 30% thinner: 6.1mm vs 8mm on the iPhone.
Little details like the included case in the box are also very much appreciated. It's not just any case, it's a special one that doesn't wrap all around, leaving the sides exposed and not adding any extra thickness for a more airy feel.
And in terms of materials, it's not quite as premium as the iPhoe Air which has a titanium body, but you still have a very durable frame with a very thin glass panel on the back.
Naturally, one big question arises: but is it durable? And how strong is it? Well, Honor held a special launch event where the company had dancers perform on a stage, which was resting on... Honor Pro Air phones. And I think that is quite a good evidence for its durability.
The camera advantage
I also find it quite embarrassing for Apple and Samsung to see how Honor has managed to include three full cameras on the back of this phone, while those bigger players only manage to feature one or two.
With the Honor Magic 8 Pro Air, you have a wide, ultra-wide and even a telephoto camera on the back.
The main camera is not capsized either, it features a 1/1.3-inch sensor size, so basically the same as on an iPhone Pro Max or Galaxy Ultra. The telephoto camera also has a very usable 3.2X lens, perfect not only long-distance shots, but also portraits.
Plus, there is a camera button too, just like on the iPhone Air, and I've really grown to like this little addition.
The battery advantage
Judging by a few recent launches, making a phone thin and light is not all that hard, but doing so without any major battery compromises is the real challenge.
Well, not if you ask Honor. The company was able to include a massive for the size 5,500 mAh battery, 75% bigger than the one on the iPhone Air. And that is just a very sad number for Apple.
Model
Battery size
Honor Magic 8 Pro Air
5,500 mAh
iPhone Air
3,149 mAh
Galaxy S25 Edge
3,900 mAh
And all of this while there is still a physical SIM card slot inside. Remarkable!
Charging speeds, as you'd expect from a Chinese phone, are also excellent.
Despite the challenges of the extremely thin form factor, the Honor Magic 8 Pro Air still supports 80W fast wired charging and even 50W wireless.
Come to think of it, the only real downside of this phone is the slow USB 2.0 charging speed (but expectedly, the iPhone Air suffers from the same problem).
Final Words
Ultimately, the Honor Magic 8 Pro Air leaves me with a mix of awe and frustration.
Putting together an extremely slim phone with a 5,500 mAh battery and a triple camera system is an outstanding achievement. The frustration? Well, it exposes the limitations of the iPhone and Galaxy even more. Honor's phone is not just slightly better, its hardware seems years ahead.
Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: