Honor has revealed its upcoming Magic 8 series. While the company didn’t really stir up any last-minute surprises, it did go on to say that the new phones would be unveiled in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The actual suspense is about timing however. Will the Magic 8 get here before Huawei’s Mate 80 so the latter can be delayed, or will the two companies be right next to each other in a face-to-face flagship battle again?
The information that has leaked points to November as the date of the unveiling with indications that Honor will reveal it first before Huawei. That is the same plan as used for the unveiling of the Magic 7 last year, which happened on October 30, and the Porsche Design edition release date was in December. The latter move put Honor right at the camera comparison battles against the Huawei Mate 70 Pro+, and it seems like history is about to repeat itself again.
The head of marketing, Guo Rui, of Honor has also described the Magic 8 as a “native AI smartphone” and “the most beautiful flagship of Q4”. This is a signal that it is not just a refresh of the hardware series. In fact, it seems that Honor will be using artificial intelligence as the major factor to draw in consumer’s attention.
This time the Magic 8 will be a formidable competitor in a tightly packed field. In addition to Apple’s iPhone 17, Xiaomi’s 17 series, and Huawei’s Mate 80, it will have to convince that it is more than “just another stylish Android”.
The Point
It is quite obvious from the actions of Honor that it is their main objective to be in the top luxury category, and no less than that would do them. They need to step up the cameras and processors to the highest level. Making a AI driven device such as Magic 8 gives the brand an entirely new story to tell and therefore, a reason to go beyond being a mere upgrade. The real question, though, is about the way these AI features will be as per that they will be just a heap of software gimmicks or they will really be groundbreaking functions. This question will get a reply at the time of the unveiling – November.
