HONOR Magic7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Comparison Review

The HONOR Magic7 Pro is one of the most relatively fresh flagship devices released that’s powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite. What makes it stand out is its excellent cameras, fluid multimedia experience, and its price under 60,000 pesos.

Now, why is this a big deal? At the start of the year, we got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It offers a lot of what the Magic7 Pro offers, even longevity with software support.

Of course, people could argue that One UI 7 and Galaxy AI is a key part of the S25 Ultra. But no, HONOR also integrated their own AI features for the Magic7 Pro as well.

That being said, the issue here is that the S25 Ultra is a tad more expensive. And that is why we’re here today! We’re here to help viewers find the best value for money, so without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Design and Build

Kicking things off with design, the HONOR Magic7 Pro has minor changes from last year’s model. Instead of its pyramid-like sensor layout, it now has a more symmetrical feel with what appears to be four sensors.

Keeping it a buck, it’s a bit reminiscent of what last year’s realme 13 Pro Series line looked like. They kept the shape and changed the sensor positioning. Adversely, realme did the opposite with the 14 Pro Series and took what the Magic6 Pro looked like.

We got our unit in Black with a flat metal frame, glossy finish, and curved edges. Despite how sleek it looks at 8.8mm thin, it’s fairly weighty at 223 grams.

For protection, it has what HONOR calls NanoCrystal Shield glass and a pre-installed screen protector. It also comes with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance.

As for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it retains its signature look with subtle changes with our unit in Titanium Silverblue. The sharp, bookish corners are now gone and have been replaced by rounded edges and a flat titanium frame.

Compared to the Magic7 Pro, they’re roughly the same with the Ultra being 8.2mm thin and weighing 218 grams.

As per Samsung, they’ve leveraged Grade 5 titanium for the frame. They’ve also paired this with Corning Gorilla Armor 2 at the front and back of the device. It also kept its IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

With that out of the way, both devices certainly give off a sleek and premium feel to themselves.

However, the Magic7 Pro does stand out with its ingress protection rating and free screen protector. Of course, there’s no doubt that the S25 Ultra boasts a ton of durability as well.

All things considered, this round has to go to the S25 Ultra. It’s generally durable from all sides and is worth the pretty penny.

Honestly, if this was based on looks, and maybe pricing, I’d lean towards the Magic7 Pro. It’s still a ton of value considering it costs 30,000 pesos less, but we’ll weigh everything else as we proceed.

Display & Audio

Alright, on to the screens. The Magic7 Pro has a 6.8-inch OLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz supporting FHD+ resolution.

Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra has a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. It comes with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a crisp QHD+ resolution.

Both devices run media smoothly with nods to color reproduction and contrast. Each device has thin bezels that appear slimmer than they are because of the curved or rounded edges.

Despite the S25 Ultra capping at a higher resolution, the Magic7 Pro’s screen is equally enjoyable. In other words, this is kind of tough to judge.

From a technical standpoint, Samsung leads. Subjectively though, a user could lean on the Magic7 Pro’s curved screen from preference and that’s alright.

For audio, we noted that the Magic7 Pro has one of the best audio setups we’ve ever reviewed, so far. It has dual stereo speakers that provide a rich, immersive sound stage. It balances highs and mids well with a notably deep, punchy bass.

Likewise, the S25 Ultra came with a speaker overhaul that delivers an improved experience for surround sound. Compared to its predecessor’s lacking sound profile, it now delivers fuller mids and deeper bass.

Weighing both devices, this round has to go to the Magic7 Pro. It was a bit dicey from display alone, but generally, we were quite impressed with its audio output. Both phones, however, are sure to offer great multimedia experiences.

Performance & Benchmarks

In terms of performance, we’re certain that no users will have issues with either device. Both pack a Snapdragon 8 Elite, so we’ll be working with numbers to see if there’s any points of contention.

As per our benchmarks, the Magic7 Pro was able to pump out a score of 2.3 million in Antutu. Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra yielded a score of 2.2 million. For storage, however, the Magic7 Pro has a lower read speed but a higher write speed.

In Geekbench 6, the S25 Ultra has a higher multi-core CPU score but a lower single-core CPU score. Other than that, the GPU scores for both devices are relatively close.

As both phones are powered by the same chipset, the scores are quite close. Users are certainly going to have a smooth experience piloting either device day-to-day. There shouldn’t be hiccups when opting for graphic-intensive gaming titles as well.

All in all, this round has to be a tie for both devices.

Cameras

For cameras, the Magic7 Pro has a triple-rear camera setup. This includes a 50-megapixel main, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 200-megapixel telephoto.

These are roughly the same specs from its predecessor save for more megapixels on the telephoto. Notably, the main camera now leverages a Sony IMX816 sensor as well.

Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main, 50-megapixel telephoto, 10-megapixel telephoto, and an upgraded 50-megapixel ultrawide.

The ultrawide was upgraded from 12-megapixels and now has a wider aperture and pixel-binning. This translates into improvements for low-light and macro.

For recording, the Magic7 Pro is capable of shooting up to 4K at 60 fps while the S25 Ultra caps at 8K at 30 fps.

For portraits, the Magic7 Pro has an advantage in subject separation, dynamic range, and color reproduction. We noticed that it offers more color vibrance while the S25 Ultra leans more on color accuracy.

With default settings, the Magic7 Pro’s image processing comes off more preferable. This means it’s less likely a user will feel the need to edit their shots after taking a snap.

For videos, the Magic7 Pro offers the same quality at all fronts. While recording from the main camera comes with notable detail, it dips and feels softer when using the telephoto and ultrawide.

For the S25 Ultra, it’s also roughly the same but offers better output for zooming, low-light, and ultrawide shots.

Overall, this segment has to go the way of the Magic7 Pro. While it isn’t necessarily better than the S25 Ultra, it offers a lot of space for casual, relaxed usage.

This means less time editing, less technical hoo-haa, and generally favorable results from image processing.

OS, Connectivity & Features

Next, the Magic7 Pro runs on MagicOS 9 out of the box. On the other hand, the S25 Ultra ships with One UI 7. Both are based on Android 15 and offer seven years of software support.

As mentioned in a previous video, we’re happy to see that HONOR has followed suit in committing to device longevity. Previously, Samsung and Google were the only ones to offer support for this long.

For users, both native and new, the UI design both phones offer are generally easy on the eyes and quick to pick up. For features, both also have their own take on Apple’s Dynamic Island and readily available AI-powered integrations. This includes Circle to Search, image editors, and more.

What’s noteworthy yet unfavorable between the two is that HONOR does offer more bloatware than they need to. It’s a bit of a turn-off considering this is a flagship device.

Another thing to mention here is that the S-Pen no longer supports Bluetooth. In other words, Samsung has axed their remote shutter and air gesture features.

Speaking of connectivity, both devices support Wi-Fi 7, NFC, and GPS. However, the Magic7 Pro does offer Bluetooth 5.4 over the S25 Ultra’s Bluetooth 5.3

Either way, call quality and internet connection works well on both phones either over Wi-Fi or cellular network.

With everything out of the way, this round has to go to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It hasn’t irked us with the presence of bloatware, and is generally more familiar and easier to use feature-wise.

Battery

Moving on, the Magic7 Pro packs a large 5,850mAh battery with support for 100W of fast charging. The S25 Ultra, on the other hand, has a 5,000mAh battery with support for 45W of fast charging instead.

While the S25 Ultra seems to be on the backfoot for this segment, our benchmark results say otherwise.

As per PCMark’s Work 3.0 Battery Test, the Magic7 Pro has an uptime of just 13 hours and 55 minutes. We inferred that this might be an issue with chipset efficiency. From experience, it’s capable of lasting a day with our usage patterns.

Meanwhile, the S25 Ultra was able to last 15 hours and 54 minutes. This isn’t that big of a lead, but suggests that it’s more power efficient regardless.

Again, this round has to be a tie. The results aren’t too conclusive relative to real-time use and the gap between the two devices aren’t that big either.

Pricing & Verdict

Wrapping up, it’s time to reveal which phone offers the most bang for your buck. So, let’s get the prices out of the way first.

The HONOR Magic7 Pro is priced at PHP 59,999 with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

For a more direct comparison, we’ll be using the same storage configuration for the S25 Ultra, which retails for PHP 93,990.

This is a 33,000 peso-swing, which should be very telling. After all, the HONOR Magic7 Pro isn’t far off from what the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra offers.

That being said, we’ll have to recommend that users check out the Magic7 Pro. Of course, the S25 Ultra isn’t a slouch either.

As mentioned at the start though, the Magic7 offers more than a handful of what the S25 Ultra does at a lower price.

If you prefer a more comprehensive take on durability, software familiarity, and cameras, the S25 Ultra is for you. However, if you’re looking to try something new with great cameras, display, and audio—then you should check out the Magic7 Pro.

HONOR Magic7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra specs: