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Honor has unveiled its latest Honor 200 series, featuring the Honor 200 Pro as the inaugural Pro model to debut in the UK.
Priced at £699, it embodies a premium offering boasting high-end specifications, including a stunning 6.7-inch OLED display and impressive battery longevity. However, it’s the standout feature of the camera, especially its Portrait mode, that distinguishes this model.
The Honor 200 Pro boasts an impressive camera setup, featuring a 50MP main camera with a 1/1.3-inch Super Dynamic H9000 sensor and a wide f/1.9 aperture. Accompanying it are a 50MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultrawide lens. While the main camera is pivotal, the standout for me is the telephoto lens.
Honor boldly claims that the telephoto lens delivers ‘studio-level portrait camera performance,’ a statement often made by manufacturers but rarely substantiated. Yet, the Honor 200 Pro sets itself apart with evidence to support this claim.
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Honor has partnered with renowned French photography studio Harcourt, leveraging AI trained on the studio’s distinctive photography styles. This AI enables the Honor 200 Pro to replicate Harcourt’s signature look without requiring high-end camera equipment.
This goes beyond mere filters applied to portrait photos; the camera AI intelligently analyzes each element of the photo, adjusting lighting and colors independently to achieve impressive results.
Impressed by the initial results, I decided to conduct a direct comparison with the premium Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Despite the significant price difference – the S24 Ultra costs £550 more than the Honor 200 Pro – the comparison was compelling.
Using the AI-powered Harcourt Portrait effects, the Honor 200 Pro consistently outperformed the Galaxy S24 Ultra in portrait photography, excelling in both detail and style.
For example, the photo below, taken in Harcourt Vibrant mode, highlights the Honor 200 Pro’s vibrant colors, which stand out compared to the more saturated tones of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
That’s because Honor has teamed up with famous French photography studio Harcourt, and by using AI that has been trained on the various styles of photography the studio is known for, the phone can replicate the look without the high-end camera equipment.
This is far more than just a filter that’s added to portrait photos too; the camera AI is smart enough to understand individual elements of the photo and how to light and colour them independently, with impressive results.
In fact, I was so impressed by the first few snaps I took that I decided to see how it’d fare in a head-to-head shootout with the top-end Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. You might say that it’s an unfair comparison – the S24 Ultra costs £550 more than the Honor 200 Pro, after all – but reader, it doesn’t matter.
That’s because the Honor 200 Pro, using the AI-powered Harcourt Portrait effects, consistently delivered better-looking portrait shots than the competing Galaxy S24 Ultra, both in terms of overall detail and style.
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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
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Honor 200 Pro
Both devices excel in edge detection, but it’s the framing that sets them apart. Despite both using a 2x zoom, the Honor 200 Pro’s slightly tighter field of view results in superior portrait shots compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Moving beyond standard options, the Honor 200 Pro introduces Harcourt Colour and Harcourt Classic modes. Harcourt Colour offers a warmer aesthetic than the Vibrant mode, mimicking the timeless Harcourt portrait style. This adds a distinct look and style that surpasses what the Galaxy S24 Ultra can achieve without extensive post-processing.
Now, don’t misunderstand me; the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra remains an exceptional camera phone with impressive zoom capabilities and a robust main camera. However, it doesn’t necessarily dominate in every photo mode compared to its competitors.
In contrast to the Honor 200 Pro, the Portrait mode on the S24 Ultra feels somewhat basic, lacking significant stylization options beyond adjusting bokeh or using a somewhat aggressive portrait mode. It resembles Apple’s portrait mode effects, but in direct comparison, I find the Honor 200 Pro’s shots to be more appealing.
Overall, this positions the Honor 200 Pro as the superior choice for portrait photography—a statement I didn’t anticipate when initially testing the device. Honor has truly delivered with this model, exceeding expectations in this regard.