Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Which is better

Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Samsung has been making some of the best android smartphones for many years. But, many companies have come to challenge this claim and Honor is one of them. The new Honor Magic 5 Pro appears to be just as good as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, between the Magic 5 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra, which is better?

Well, from my experience using both phones, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is better than the Honor Magic 5 Pro but not by a very big margin. You see, the Honor Magic 5 Pro is bigger than the Galaxy S23 Ultra in almost every metric but when it comes to usability and productivity, that’s where the Galaxy S23 Ultra wins. In this Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra article, I’ll share with you the details of why I feel the Galaxy S23 Ultra is better than the Honor Magic 5 Pro.

See Also: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Google Pixel 7 Pro: Which is better?

Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Specs	Magic 5 Pro	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display	6.81-inches, 120Hz	6.8-inches, 120Hz
Display Panel	LTPO OLED	Dynamic AMOLED 2X
RAM	up to 16GB	up to 12GB
Storage	up to 512GB	up to 1TB
MicroSD Card	NO	NO
Back Camera	50MP + 50MP + 50MP	200MP + 10MP + 10MP + 12MP
Front Camera	12MP + TOF 3D	12MP
Chipset	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Software	Android 13	Android 13
Battery	5,100mAh (66W)	5,000mAh (45W)
Water & DustProof	YES(IP68)	YES (IP68)
Wireless charging	YES (50W)	YES (15W)
Stylus Support	NO	YES (S PEN)

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a Better Performance

You might expect the performance of both smartphones to be the same because it’s the same chipset that powers them. But after spending some time with both phones, I notice subtle differences in the performance of both phones that favors the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

For those who don’t know, the performance of the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Honor Magic 5 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is smoother when processing data, faster when rendering high graphics, and offers more consistent performance. Rendering an 8K file on the Galaxy S23 Ultra took less time to complete compared to the Magic 5 Pro.

When also playing games, I noticed that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is able to maintain a consistent frame rate over a longer period of time than the Magic 5 Pro. These subtle upgrades in performance are because the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset in the S23 Ultra is custom-made. The chipset in the S23 Ultra has a 3.26GHz performance core which is faster than the 3.2GHz performance core in the Magic 5 Pro.

See Also: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max: Which should you buy

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a better design

At first look, the design of the Galaxy S23 Ultra looks more elegant and pretty than that of the Magic 5 Pro. I mean, the Honor Magic 5 Pro looks really good but when you place it side-by-side with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, it does not look as good.

This is mostly because the big punch hole on the front screen is not as neat as the single punch hole in the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Another reason is that the circular rear camera module is also not as neat as the simple rear camera module of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Of course, choosing between both designs comes to user preference but for me, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a better design.

See Also: Tecno Phantom V Fold vs Honor Magic Vs: Which is better

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has Better Cameras

Honor did some real magic with the cameras of the Magic 5 Pro but as good as these cameras are, they’re not as good as the cameras of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Honor Magic 5 Pro has a 50MP main camera, 50MP telephoto camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, 12MP front camera, and TOF 3D depth/biometrics sensor. In contrast, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200MP main camera, a 10MP periscope camera, 10MP telephoto camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP front camera.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has two telephoto cameras whereas the Magic 5 Pro has one. The 50MP periscope telephoto camera of the Magic 5 Pro can take photos up to 90mm whereas the 10MP periscope telephoto camera of the Galaxy S23 Ultra can the photos up to 230mm. The cameras of both phones support multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, gyro-EIS, and OIS features. But there are significant differences too.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can record videos in 8K resolution, but the Honor Magic 5 Pro can not (only record videos in 4K resolution). The ultra-wide camera of the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a super steady video mode, but the Magic 5 Pro only has an AF feature. The front camera of the Galaxy S23 Ultra supports dual video but the Magic 5 Pro does not.

These are some of the useful camera features I noticed that are available in the S23 Ultra that is not available in the Magic 5 Pro. But this does not mean that the Magic 5 Pro doesn’t have useful camera features.

See Also: Tecno Phantom V Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Fold 4: Which is better

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is more Durable

The Galaxy S23 Ultra and Honor Magic 5 Pro are certified to be IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min). However, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the more durable device because it offers extra protection and durability features.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra features an Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance. This makes it a stronger phone than the Magic 5 Pro. It’s important to note that both smartphones survived my bend test but the build quality of the Galaxy S23 Ultra is solid. Also note that if either of these phones falls on a hard surface from a table height, there might be cracks on the screen and glass back panel.

See Also: Xiaomi 13 Lite vs vivo V27 Pro: Which is better

Honor Magic 5 Pro has a Bigger Battery & Faster Charging

The Honor Magic 5 Pro is powered by a 5,100mAh battery while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is powered by a 5,000mAh battery. Honor Magic 5 Pro supports 66W wired fast charging while the Galaxy S23 Ultra supports 45W wired fast charging. Honor Magic 5 Pro supports 50W wireless charging while the Galaxy S23 Ultra supports 15W wireless charging.

The Honor Magic 5 Pro has a bigger battery and also supports faster wired and wireless charging. It’ll take you less time to juice up the battery of the Magic 5 Pro using wired or wireless charging. Both smartphones support reverse wireless charging.

Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Galaxy S23 Ultra: Software

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra boots One UI 5.1 based on Android 13 out of the box and will get up to four years of software updates while the Honor Magic 5 Pro boots MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13 out of the box and will get up to three years of software updates.

See Also: Xiaomi 13 Lite vs OnePlus 11R: Which is better

Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Price

The Honor Magic 5 Pro is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The price of the Honor Magic 5 Pro (8 + 256GB) is about $999 while the price of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (8 + 256GB) is $1,199.

Buy Honor Magic 5 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra

Magic 5 Pro	Price
Buy on Giztop	$999.00

Galaxy S23 Ultra	Price
Buy on Amazon	$1,199.99
Buy on Amazon(EUR)	€1,399.00
Buy on Amazon(UK)	£1,249.99

Verdict: Honor Magic 5 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The Honor Magic 5 Pro is no doubt a great phone and one of the best phones of the year but it’s still not as good as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is better than the Magic 5 Pro because of its better performance, better camera system, better durability features, better design, and its support for S PEN.

The Honor Magic 5 Pro offers a bigger battery and faster charging but if you need a phone for intensive use and more productivity, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the phone here.