Honor Magic 8 Pro Air vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Verdict
Honor Magic 8 Pro Air and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra tie on the OH Rank at a score of 74. Honor Magic 8 Pro Air wins on Performance and Battery; Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra wins on Screen and Selfie. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is 7.1mm wider than Honor Magic 8 Pro Air. Honor Magic 8 Pro Air is the more recent release, from Jan 23, 2026.
Score Breakdown
Performance /15
Battery /15
Screen /15
IP Protection /15
Main Camera /15
Selfie /5
Video /5
SD Memory /5
Software /5
Desktop Replacement /5
TOTAL
74
74
Honor Magic 8 Pro Air
71.9mm (2.83in) · Jan 23, 2026 · Rank #44
13+11+13+12+12+4+4+0+5+0 = 74
EDITORIAL: (this is a pre-test listing based on reasonable expectations of battery endurance, charging speed and imaging performance) Following Samsung, Apple and Motorola, Honor is putting out a 6mm thin phone. But this one is also a compact measuring less then 72mm in width (competition is all >74mm). The 8 Pro Air comes with a bigger battery, faster charging and a smaller screen. It has a full set of 3 back cameras instead of 2 on Samsung and Motorola and just 1 on iPhone. The battery life should last over 30 hours under moderate load – much longer then competition.
PROs
thin and compact, just 155g, excellent build, fast Dimensity 9500 performance, >30hr endurance of 5500mAh Si-C battery with sub-60min fast 80W (and 50W wireless) charging. >1600nits bright 450ppi LTPO AMOLED screen with Dolby Vision and >4000Hz PWM dimming, IP69 protection, great photos from a 50MP 23mm OIS PDAF main + 64MP 74mm OIS PDAF periscope telephoto + 50MP 16mm ultrawide (no AF), very good 50MP 21mm (no AF) selfie, very good video recording and up to 7 years of OS updates
CONs
limited market availability, no AF on ultrawide and selfie, no expandable memory, no desktop replacement functionality, slow USBC 2.0 with no Video Out, China only
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
79mm (3.11in) · Jan 24, 2024 · Rank #47
9+6+15+12+12+5+5+0+5+5 = 74
* BEST Phone Spring Summer 2024* TOP Screen* TOP Selfie* TOP Video Recording* TOP Software* TOP Desktop Replacement
EDITORIAL: This 2024 phone is that good. Samsung fit everything in there, a stylus, 6 cameras (!), the best screen in the industry and (almost) 24 hours of battery life. In 2024, this was the best phone ever made by the world's biggest phone making corporation. It had the most features too, by far. Samsung also included seven years (!) of OS updates as well as amazing desktop replacement (DeX) software. Consider that at 79 mm wide, this is a "two hands and a bag" phone.
PROs
SnapDragon 8 Gen 3 processor fast performance, 1400+nits 500+ppi LTPO AMOLED with HDR10+, 200MP OIS main + 10MP OIS tele + 50MP OIS tele and a 12MP ultrawide (all with PDAF), 12MP PDAF Selfie, top AI features trickling down with software updates, 7 years of OS updates, stylus with Bluetooth and of course: the DeX feature that may save you from buying a new computer
CONs
size, barely a day of battery endurance with slow charging, lack of expandable SDmemory storage
Both phones here were scored by me, using the same ten categories, with no ads, sponsorships, or manufacturer relationships — this comparison is as objective and honest as it gets.
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