The battle for the best camera phone has been raging ever since phones got cameras. Honor threw down the gauntlet with its latest Magic 9 Pro Max teaser, showing off some stunning pictures of the autumn moon. But there's a catch.
The official global launch of the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max is scheduled for September 28, but the company showcased the flagship's camera accessory set with a bold question: "Who else can do that?"
Well, apart from the many photography sets we've seen over the past couple of years, I guess... no one? Sarcastic comments aside, the pictures look quite good. The "Photography Master Kit" in question includes two telephoto converter lenses that you can attach to the main camera of the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max.
There's a portable 200mm "Honor Thumb" lens and a massive 500mm "Honor Giant Cannon" attachment. You can see the images from both lenses below.
Images taken with the Honor Photography Master Kit. | Images by Honor
Honor Magic 9 Pro Max specs and features
Leaked unboxing video showed the upcoming Honor Magic 9 Pro Max from all angles. | Image by Huawei Central
Honor is preparing to unveil its next ultra-flagship, the Magic 9 Pro Max, on September 28—and the leaked specs point to a total powerhouse. The first Honor phone to hop on the "Pro Max" train features a massive 8,800 mAh silicon-carbon battery, a dual 200MP camera setup tuned with ARRI cinema optics, and an integrated active fan to keep the 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipset cool.
Recommended For You
Honor teased the Magic 9 Pro Max on Weibo. | Image by Weibo
Further down the spec sheet, we find a 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 1320 x 2868 pixels, paired with 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage options ranging from 256GB up to 1TB.
What do you think about smartphone "photography kits?"
3 Votes
Smartphone camera kits — a gimmick or the next step in smartphone photography?
The Vivo X500 is the latest to hop on the camera kit train. | Image by PhoneArena
It seems that we've reached a physical threshold when it comes to smartphone sensors, and companies are starting to deal with the other obvious bottleneck: lenses. Even with 1-inch 200MP sensors, the lens of a smartphone remains the limiting factor when it comes to light gathering and optical image quality.
These new photography kits that we're starting to see are a band-aid to fix the issue, but they come with several disadvantages. First, they're quite expensive. Dishing out $200–$400 more for a smartphone accessory is a deterrent for many people.
Secondly, they're bulky and require additional space, carrying bags, and extra prep. Smartphones become borderline ridiculous-looking and difficult to use with these accessories attached. The jury's still out on whether these camera kits will stick around or be forgotten soon.
Read more about smartphone camera kits and other photography gimmicks here:
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: