Honor Magic 8 Pro Air vs Samsung Galaxy S25
Verdict
Honor Magic 8 Pro Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 tie on the OH Rank at a score of 74. Honor Magic 8 Pro Air wins on Performance and Battery; Samsung Galaxy S25 wins on Selfie and Desktop Replacement. Honor Magic 8 Pro Air is 1.4mm wider than Samsung Galaxy S25. 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 S25
70.5mm (2.78in) · Feb 3, 2025 · Rank #46
11+7+13+12+12+5+4+0+5+5 = 74
FLY* TOP Selfie* TOP Software* TOP Desktop Replacement
EDITORIAL: S25 is taking on other flagship phones with excellent (very pocketable) build, great screen, good cameras, excellent selfie and of course: DeX -the best desktop replacement software there is. This year, Samsung is focusing on the software side, adding tons of features meant to set it apart. The battery tests confirmed our expectations: S25 offers no improvement over S24's mediocre battery life and charging performance. S25 is not bad but what a shame to have to worry about topping up your phone before going out in the evening.
PROs
just 70mm wide, fast SnapDragon 8 Elite performance, 1400+nits bright >410ppi 120Hz LTPO AMOLED screen with HDR10+, very good 50MP 24mm OIS AF main + 10MP 67mm OIS AF tele + 12MP 13mm ultrawide setup, excellent 12MP 26mm PDAF Selfie, leading AI features, 7 years of OS updates and DeX software that can save you so much money, fast USB-C 3.2 with Display Port and OTG, global availability and service
CONs
less-than-a-day battery endurance, fixed focus ultrawide is it's imaging weakness, no expandable 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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