Honor Magic 7 RSR Porsche Design Review

Introduction

Honor continues its longstanding Porsche Design collaboration with a special version of the Honor Magic 7 Pro, dubbed the Honor Magic 7 RSR. It’s more than just a fresh coat of paint that this model brings to the table, though, and if you can stomach the £1549 price tag, you might find it’s the model for you.

The global version of the Magic 7 RSR comes in only one configuration, with a whopping 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, which goes a long way towards explaining its price point. It also boasts camera improvements, including a LiDAR autofocus system and a 200MP f/1.9 3x telephoto – the largest aperture on a periscope zoom so far.

It also comes with a larger battery, a swanky Porsche Design case and two fast chargers in the box. It’s a lovely package, but is it worth the hefty sum? After using it for the past week, here’s what I think.

Design 

• 162.7×77.1×8.8 mm, 228g
• Provence and Agate Grey colour options
• IP68/IP69 rated

The Honor Magic 7 RSR doesn’t stray too far from the design of last year’s Magic 6 RSR. It still has the unique hexagonal camera island in the centre, and there’s still a Porsche-inspired aerodynamic flyline running down the centre of the rear panel.

It’s a slightly divisive design, I’ve heard others say that they’re not fond of it, but personally, I think it looks pretty cool. That’s especially true of the Agate Grey model that I have in for testing, whereas the purple/pink-ish Provence version doesn’t float my boat so much.

The phone has a quad micro-curve design on the front and rear, with flat side rails and smooth bevelled edges. It feels dense and high-quality, but it’s a substantial slab, and those with smaller hands and pockets might find it a little unwieldy.

The screen is covered with Honor’s Nano CrystalShield glass, which is supposedly 10 times more drop-resistant than regular glass screens. I haven’t dropped my sample so far, but I used the Honor Magic 6 RSR for months last year and it barely had a scratch on it, which is not something I can say about competing flagships.

It’s IP68/69 rated, so it can withstand jets of hot water, as well as all the usual dust and water proofing requirements. Not something that really matters to me, but if you often find yourself in a hot tub, it could be a great perk.

Just like last year, there’s a high quality Porsche Design case included in the box, and it’s a lovely addition. It’s made from a hard-shell plastic material and is covered with colour-matched vegan leather. There’s even a felt-like material on the inside; it’s the kind of case you’d expect to cost £50 or more.

Screen 

• 6.8-inch 120Hz 1280×2800 OLED
• Quad micro curves
• 5000 nits peak brightness

The Honor Magic 6 RSR had one of my favourite screens of 2024, so I had high hopes for this one, and at a glance, it certainly delivers. It can get extremely bright, the colours are vivid and accurate, and the quad curved design makes gestures feel smooth and seamless.

Interestingly, though, last year’s model utilised a dual-layer OLED design, and the 7 RSR reverts to a more traditional design. It’s not something you’re likely to notice in use, as it’s mainly designed to extend the lifespan of the panel, but it’s a downgrade in the long term, and that’s disappointing to see.

That said, this screen will not disappoint elsewhere, and it’s still easily among my favourites. HDR content, in particular, looks stunning on this display, with sparkling highlights and highly detailed dark areas.

As usual, Honor is leading the pack with its eye-care features. It features dynamic dimming at up to 4320Hz PWM, ensuring a flicker-free experience and, according to Honor, an 18% reduction in eye fatigue.

The display is also circular polarised and has an AI defocus feature to lower transient myopia. I’m not an optician, and to be honest, this is all a little beyond my understanding. What matters is that Honor seems to be putting more effort into eye care than anyone else, so if you’re concerned about the health of your peepers, this might be a good choice.

Cameras 

• 50MP f/1.4-2.0 main camera (1/1.3-inch sensor)
• 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide (1/2.88-inch)
• 200MP f/1.9 3x telephoto (1/1.4-inch sensor)
• 50MP f/2.0 selfie camera

Since the Honor Magic 7 RSR is essentially a special edition of the Magic 7 Pro, you might expect the two phones to have the same cameras. For the most part, they do, however, there are two very interesting changes with this model.

The first is the 3x telephoto. On paper, it has very similar specifications, just with a wider aperture, but looking at the hardware, it’s a very different design. The lens opening is much larger and square-shaped, looking more like the Vivo X200 Pro and Xiaomi 15 Ultra than the Magic 7 Pro.

This is because it’s using a traditional periscope design, rather than a triple-reflecting periscope (or tetraprism) that’s found on phones like the Magic 7 Pro, Oppo Find X8 and iPhone 16 Pro. The downside is that the camera bump is much larger, but the upside is that it should have better macro performance and image clarity.

The other big change is with the focusing system. The RSR uses a 1200-point LiDAR matrix, rather than the laser-based system on the Pro. Honor says this can increase focus accuracy by up to 90%. Honestly, the Magic 7 Pro already had great autofocus, and while this might be better, I struggled to notice a big difference.

Most of the time, I found that the photos I took with the Magic 7 RSR looked exactly like the ones I shot with the Magic 7 Pro, and more often than not, that’s a very good thing. The dynamic range is exceptional, and images have excellent sharpness levels with vibrant, realistic colours.

On the odd occasion, though, the cameras just miss the mark. This is especially true in low light, where I encountered more blurry shots than I do with competing systems. Every now and then, the colours come out looking a little off, too. It’s not a dealbreaker, but I feel like Honor needs to refine its image processing to secure the top spot.

I am nit picking, but at this price, that should be expected. Overall, I’ve been very pleased with the results, and the telephoto impressed me the most, it easily outclasses the 7 Pro. This lens can focus significantly closer, which results in lovely macro shots with creamy natural bokeh, and it holds its own in low light too.

Of course, this phone offers the same AI-enhanced zoom feature as its Pro sibling, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The tech is very impressive, but it requires an internet connection to function and it has a tendency to invent details that don’t exist in real life. 

The results look a lot better than they do without the AI enhancement, but at this point it’s equal parts generative painting and photo. You can always turn the feature off if it’s not for you, and I think that might be the case for me.

The Studio Harcourt portrait effects also make an appearance on this model, and they look as impressive as ever. If you love taking portraits with the rear cameras, this is easily one of the best phones for the job.

Performance 

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• 24GB RAM, 1TB storage
• Dual stereo speakers and subwoofer

The Honor Magic 7 RSR is powered by Qualcomm’s best, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. In the global market, it only comes in one configuration, which nets you a massive 24GB of RAM and a whopping 1TB of storage. It’s sure to satisfy even the most demanding power user.

In use, the phone feels as powerful and speedy as you’d expect. Everything happens in an instant, no matter if you’re multitasking, performing complex video edits or playing games.

Speaking of games, you’ll have a hard time finding a title that you can’t run at maximum graphical settings on this device. My usual test platforms of Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero posed no threat to the ultra-powerful 8 Elite platform.

The phone did get a little hot on the side rails during longer sessions, but it was never uncomfortable to hold, especially with the included case attached. 

Interestingly, when I tried to run 3DMark’s Wildlife Extreme Stress Test (a benchmark that tests sustained performance) the phone gave me an overheating warning and failed to complete the test. I don’t think I’ve seen that happen before, so there are clearly more optimisations to be made here. Still, it never happened in a real-life scenario, so whether it’s worth worrying about is debatable.

Honor has another trick up its sleeve when it comes to gaming performance. If you select certain options in the game-overlay, the phone will utilise it’s onboard NPU to improve performance. It works a bit like DLSS on a gaming PC, and uses AI to increase frame rates or resolution without increasing the load on the GPU.

It seems to work as advertised, but this phone is so powerful that I rarely felt the need to use these features. I suppose if it’s getting too hot for your liking, this could be a solution.

The Honor Magic 7 RSR features the same unique speaker arrangement as the Magic 7 Pro. It has a dedicated subwoofer, as well as an oversized speaker cavity, to create more bass than any other smartphone.

It’s great when you’re playing an action-packed game, and gives music an extra kick, too. The only downside is that it can affect the midrange, and I often felt vocals were a little boomier than I’d like.

Software 

• Magic OS 9.0, based on Android 15
• Some new AI features
• Circle to Search and Gemini

The Honor Magic 7 RSR runs Magic OS 9.0, Honor’s highly-customised version of Android 15. It’s a bit divisive, I’ve heard plenty of people complain about the interface, but I quite enjoy using it. At times, it feels closer to iOS than stock Android, and that could either be viewed as a good or a bad thing. 

What’s most important is that it feels very quick, the animations are super smooth and it’s highly customisable. All of Google’s latest features are present, too, including Circle to Search and the ability to set Gemini as your voice assistant.

Honor has a wealth of its own AI-powered features to offer on top. There are some that we’ve seen before, like Magic Portal and the AI object eraser for photos, as well as some new additions, and some that are teased to be in the works.

Magic Portal is still the feature I use the most, and the new “Knuckle to Portal” gesture makes it easier to access than before. You just circle an object on the screen with the knuckle of your finger, and the portal will appear, allowing you to drag information from one app to another.

Other new additions include AI translation, transcription and summarisations. All things that we’ve seen from other brands, but useful nonetheless. Soon, the Magic 7 RSR will benefit from AI deepfake protection for video calls, as well. To be honest, I don’t think this is an especially widespread issue, and it’s not one I have encountered, but it’s an extra reassurance that’s always nice to have.

Honor’s software only gets more compelling if you have other Honor devices in your arsenal. For instance, you can drag and drop files between an Honor phone, tablet and laptop, and even mirror your screen and control the devices remotely. The brand is building a very nice ecosystem, but that only matters if you’re willing to invest.

Battery life 

• 5850mAh battery
• 100W wired charging
• 80W wireless charging

The Honor Magic 7 Pro impressed me with its battery life, so I had very high hopes for this model, especially since it has a larger 5850mAh battery pack inside. In use, it certainly didn’t disappoint. I can easily manage two days of use on a charge, and get well into a third day if I use it sparingly.

Of course, battery life can vary massively depending on the apps you use, the amount of camera usage and more. So take my findings with a grain of salt, but for me, it’s one of the longest-lasting flagships around.

When it’s time to charge, the Honor Magic 7 RSR is just as impressive. You get not one, but two 100W fast chargers included in the box. One is for the UK and one for Europe, it’s very handy for frequent travellers.

The included charger was enough to take the phone from completely drained to fully charged in just over 40 minutes, meanwhile, a 50% charge can be achieved in under 20 minutes. Wireless charging is almost as quick, at up to 80W, but you’ll need to shell out for Honor’s Wireless Super Charger if you want to take advantage of the full speed.

Should you buy it?