At a jam-packed, and sometimes overwhelmingly confusing, event in Bryanston, Johannesburg, Honor launched its new mid-range series, the HONOR 200. Consisting of the Honor 200 Lite (launched earlier in July), the 200 and the 200 Pro, the company has positioned these handsets as the ultimate “studio level portrait” phone thanks to a collaboration with Paris-based Studio Harcourt.
During the official launch event, the brand also announced partnerships and collaborations with local streetwear fashion brand GALXBOY and GQ Magazine South Africa.
Collaborations as partnerships aside, the 200 series looks set to be a winner in the local consumer market as Honor has ensured that each device, regardless of pricepoint, standardises certain ease of use features not found in handsets from other manufacturers and ensures that they are available across the range. This is a far rather thing in the Android world than it should as brands usually water down their lower tier devices so much that other than the branding, there’s nothing that ties together the entire series as cohesive, comprehensive range.
The Honor 200 Lite has a 108MP Main Camera with an f/1.75 aperture, 50MP selfie camera, 6.7-inch AMOLED display, 35W Honor SuperCharge and a 4500mAh battery.
Looking at the standard Honor 200, you’ll find a 6.7-inch AMOLED quad-curved display with 4 000 nits peak brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. It also sports a 5200mAh battery and Honor 100W SuperCharge.
The flagship device of the trio, the Honor 200 Pro, has a 50MP Portrait Main Camera with a Super Dynamic H9000 Sensor, 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, a 6.78-inch “Quad-Curved Floating Screen” with AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage and a 5200mAh battery 100W Honor SuperCharge and 66W wireless SuperCharge.
“HONOR developed the HONOR 200 Series to become the ultimate smartphone range for high-quality studio-level portrait photography. We want to make cutting-edge technology more accessible to the public and redefine the future of mobile photography, which is why partnering with Studio Harcourt was a significant milestone for the brand,” said CEO of HONOR South Africa, Fred Zhou.
What truly sets Honor apart is not the technology behind its products, despite being incredibly impressive, but rather the brand’s willingness to learn, grow and adapt to feedback and user needs. When compared to the Honor 90 series (and the Honor 70 series before that), the Honor 200 series is a significant step forward in design, usability and features. This commitment to constant improvement can also be seen in the company’s flagship Magic number series. The Honor Magic 4 series that launched in South Africa seemed great on paper but didn’t live up to its specs, while the Magic 5 series improved on many of these and showed the possibility of a brand that could one day hold its own against industry heavyweights like Samsung. When the Honor 6 series launched in South Africa just a few months ago, it felt like the first true flagship from the brand that could go toe-to-toe with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and in many ways it did and held its own. Now, focusing on more affordable devices, Honor has brought that same philosophy of innovation (which sadly has been lacking from industry leader, Samsung, for a few years) and refinement to devices that will reach more people.
From a hardware perspective, across the board from entry-level to mid-range to premium and ultra-premium, Honor is refining its offerings at a pace I’ve never seen before in the industry. This is a brand that is clearly determined to shake up the industry and bring innovation back into the Android world, something that’s been missing since Huawei had been sanctioned. What the brand needs to do is bring the same focus and refinement to its software and expand its ecosystem in the country. With such focus, determination and refinement, it’s merely a matter of time before Honor takes the Android crown from Samsung and becomes the new ruler of the Android world, however, to do that, Google needs to stop sidelining its Chinese partners in favour of Samsung.
The HONOR 200 Pro 5G and HONOR 200 5G will be available from Thursday, 1 August 2024, at the recommended retail price of R19 999.00 and R15 999.00, respectively, from the nearest retailer or network provider. The HONOR 200 Lite is already on shelves across the country for the exciting retail price of R9 999.00.
The purchase of the HONOR 200 and HONOR 200 Pro will include free gifts to the value of R6 999, including an HONOR SuperCharger plus the cable, a screen protector, free postal repair with pickup and delivery service, a 3-year battery health protection warranty, and a 180-day screen accident warranty, which excludes labour fees.
For more information, please visit HONOR at https://www.honor.com/za/phones/honor-200/.