The Honor 200 and 200 Pro smartphones have been unveiled with a portrait photography focus and collaborations with Rankin and Studio Harcourt. The phones are the follow up to the Honor 90, which was an impressive, albeit slightly underpowered camera phone. The Honor 200 Series remedies its predecessor’s shortcomings by bringing the powerful Pro edition to global markets for the first time. While US availability isn’t likely, the phone will be available across Europe and in the UK.
What are the Honor 200 and 200 Pro?
Dubbed The Portrait Master by Honor, the Honor 200 and 200 Pro are upper mid-range phones with similar styling, but different screens, internals and primary camera hardware.
Both phones have up to 512GB storage, ample 5200mAh batteries, and sport glass and plastic designs with quad-curved displays. They also charge rapidly at 100W, though the Honor 200 Pro adds 66W wireless charging to the mix.
So while the Honor 200 is going head to head with phones like the Google Pixel 8a, the Honor 200 Pro takes on the pricier Pixel 8.
When it comes to the cameras, while the Honor 200 has a competitive 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX906 sensor matched with an f/1.95 aperture and a 50MP resolution, the Honor 200 Pro’s main camera ups the spec with a large, nearly iPhone 15 Pro Max-sized 1/1.3-inch sensor and a slightly wider f/1.9 aperture.
Both phones share identical secondary camera setups, with a 50MP telephoto cameras with OIS, an f/2.4 aperture, and a Sony IMX856 sensor matched with a 2.5x optical zoom equivalent lens. The phones’ ultra-wide cameras combine 12MP resolution with autofocus and macro focus, as well as an f/2.2 aperture and a 112º field of view.
Honor’s partnership with the Paris-based Studio Harcourt is credited for its updated AI Portrait Engine debuted on the Honor 200 Series - which introduces AI Shadow and Light, Optical Effects and Artistic Style Enhancement. Founded in 1933, Studio Harcourt has become world-renown for its stylized black-and-white portraits of celebrities.
The collaboration with Rankin will involve the photographer working with the Honor 200 Series ahead of an upcoming London event. Rankin even went so far as to cred advancements in AI computational photography for shifting the dial when it comes to smartphone imaging in recent times.
Honor 200 Pro additional specs
In addition to an interesting camera mix, the Honor 200 Pro is a bit of a powerhouse with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and 12GB RAM. Out of the two, therefore, it will definitely be the gamers’ choice.
The large 6.78-inch AMOLED display gets incredibly bright at up to 4000 nits in HDR mode, and with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, content should flow as you swipe and scroll. The Honor 200 Pro is also TÜV Rheinland flicker free certified and supports 3840Hz PWM dimming as well as IP65 splash resistance, adding a touch more durability when compared to the Honor 200.
Honor 200 additional specs
The Honor 200 is slightly smaller than the Pro with its 6.7-inch display. This is still feature-packed with the same 4000 nit peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate and 3840Hz PWM dimming, so should make for a great viewing experience. While the 200 Pro sports 512GB storage and 12GB RAM as standard, the vanilla Honor 200 starts with 256GB storage and 8GB RAM.
With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, demanding tasks like gaming or editing 4K video may grind the Honor 200 to a stutter, and the phone’s lack of wireless charging may put some off. For anyone after a slightly lighter, more compact option, however, the Honor 200 edges ahead at 187g and it should be nippy enough for day-to-day tasks.
Honor 200 price and availability
Available on Honor’s official site from today, but if you prefer picking up one of the phones from a third-party retailer, you can pre-order it from June 21 with the phones being shipped on June 28.
As for pricing, the Honor 200 Pro costs a punchy midrange £699.99/ $960/AU$1,320, while the Honor 200 costs £499.99, approximately $640/AU$880. While we wouldn’t call either a steal on first impression, pricing seems fair given both phones’ impressive displays, batteries, and camera systems.
We have the Honor 200 Pro in for review, so check back for our in-depth impressions in the coming weeks.