HONOR has elevated its numbered N series to flagship status, starting with the upcoming 600 lineup. Of course, with this new designation comes a selection of upgrades, or so the brand promises. At the forefront of this shift is the fanciest model of the bunch, the HONOR 600 Pro.
At first glance, one may mistake the device for one of the latest iPhone models. While HONOR may not be the only company to take design cues from Apple, this particular phone does borrow quite a few visual elements, resulting in a striking similarity.
The camera bar is the most obvious here, though the brand does put its own spin on the idea. The third lens lives in a more oval-shaped housing, so it stands out from the other two. This does break up the monotony a bit, but the lack of uniformity may bother the more particular people.
HONOR’s favourite colour this time around seems to be orange, since the phone comes in the hue. It’s a bright, almost neon shade that one may describe as blinding. There are more neutral options like black and white for those who prefer subtlety, because this specific model certainly screams for attention. Your eyes keep getting drawn to the device, and not necessarily in a good way. For what it’s worth, though, you’re unlikely to lose the phone as you can easily pick it out from your other gadgets.
Other than that, smudges don’t stick to the device as easily, and the ones that do appear aren’t as obvious. This is mostly due to the matte finish, but the bright colour does play a part too. The camera bar has a smooth texture, and that’s where most of the fingerprints will accumulate.
Regardless, the phone is comfortable enough to hold and handle. It feels sturdy and solid, but not too heavy. It’s also pretty stable once you lay it on a flat surface, only really wobbling with aggressive typing. The day-to-day swiping and scrolling go by without a hitch, though this is to be expected. You also get a bright enough screen for use on sunny afternoons.
Moving a little beyond just browsing and typing, the phone’s imaging system isn’t half bad either. The brand has equipped the device with a set of capable cameras, paired with AI algorithms to enhance the photos. Overall, you get clear and sharp photographs with vibrant colours. Like the company’s other phones, the 600 Pro favours vivid tones, delivering shots that look pretty intense even at night.
On the subject of AI, the device gets some notable additions. The HONOR 600 Pro’s claim to fame is its improved AI Image to Video feature. As the name says, it uses images to generate short video clips. According to the brand, you can upload up to three pictures, but this depends on the chosen template. The “Embrace” template, for instance, limits you to two.
Either way, the tool lets you determine the aspect ratio and duration of the generated clip, though there are limits based on the template. Based on some testing, the output from these presets can get repetitive, as they aren’t very flexible. That said, you can opt for custom prompts instead, so you can come up with your own. It is worth noting that there are some constraints. You can’t use the feature with images depicting prominent individuals, for one. And of course, the AI still struggles when it comes to animals. They still come out stylised and artificial-looking in that uncanny, unsettling way.
All in all, the HONOR 600 Pro is a phone that aims to turn heads, one way or another. It has a loud and proud exterior that’s not easy to ignore. Of course, the real question is whether it can actually live up to the premium status bestowed upon it. I wouldn’t exactly call it top tier, but it certainly feels fancy. At the very least, it looks the part.
