The Honor 200 Pro is the first Pro device under the Honor N series to be available in Malaysia. Compared to its decidedly more mid-range sibling, the Honor 200, the Pro model is quite a bit more impressive. Not only is it powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, it has a reasonably capable triple camera system as well, raising the bar on what we can expect from a mid-range phone.

However, priced at RM2,699, the Honor 200 Pro also costs quite a bit more than the RM1,899 Honor 200 base model, so its value for money isn’t particularly great. At this price point, it also has to contend with more refined and capable phones, though the 200 Pro does have its own winning qualities here and there.

What It Is

Compared to Qualcomm’s older chipsets, the Honor 200 Pro’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is actually quite capable. Against last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, for example, it offers a slight advantage in CPU performance, though the 8s Gen 3’s Adreno 735 GPU isn’t quite as powerful as the 8 Gen 2’s Adreno 740 graphics.

Nonetheless, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 still feels fast and zippy, so you can expect almost flagship-like performance out of the Honor 200 Pro. Aside from its raw performance, the triple camera system of the phone is also quite good, which I’ll elaborate further down the review.

The Good Stuff

Let’s talk a bit more on the performance level of the Honor 200 Pro. Gaming is the best way to test how capable a particular chip is, and in the case of the phone’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, it can actually run Honkai: Star Rail with maxed out graphics settings at relatively consistent 60fps. The frame rate does drop in more intense gameplay, but overall, it can still provide a pleasant gaming experience.

While the Honor 200 Pro is not quite as fast as a full-fledged 2024 flagship smartphone running on the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, I’m impressed that it can still offer solid performance that is very close to, say, 2023 flagship smartphones. That’s great for a device that’s positioned as a mid-ranger, though the asking price of the Honor 200 Pro also approaches the more premium segment.

Next, we have the display of the Honor 200 Pro. As expected, the 6.78-inch 2700 x 1224 OLED screen is a vibrant panel with bright colours, wide viewing angles, and deep, true blacks. The 120Hz refresh rate also lends to good motion clarity, though I do wish the display doesn’t curve on either sides – it’s just not as ergonomically-friendly as a flat display.

And then we have the battery life of the Honor 200 Pro, which is very respectable. On average, I can easily get through a typical workday with the phone’s generous 5,200mAh battery. In fact, there are days where I got about three hours of screen on time with the battery still sitting at 50% at the end of the day.

With that in mind, if you’re not a particularly heavy smartphone user, there’s a good chance you can get two days worth of use out of this phone.

Last but not least is the camera performance of the Honor 200 Pro. The triple camera system is made up of a 50MP main shooter with a custom H9000 sensor – similar to the one found on the Honor Magic 6 Pro – a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens, and a 50MP telephoto camera. Collectively, these sensors can take some great-looking shots, especially the 50MP primary camera.

That being said, the 12MP ultra-wide does struggle in low light conditions as you can see above, though I’d still consider it acceptable for a phone at this price point. I’m also happy to report that the camera interface remains responsive in all kinds of lighting conditions, and I can reliably quick launch the camera app with a double tap of the volume down button.

The Bad Stuff

As I’ve mentioned before, the asking price of the Honor 200 Pro is really its biggest drawback. For RM2,699, it has to contend with a number of 2023 flagship smartphones that are more affordable now. While the Honor 200 Pro can compete with these high-end devices on (relatively) equal grounds when it comes to processing power, they are still flagship phones that are more feature-packed and premium.

There is also one other thing that I don’t quite like about the Honor 200 Pro: it’s…a slippery phone. While the back panel looks nice and unique, the matte texture makes it slippery too, making it a tad difficult to get a good grip on the phone. Because of this, I use the phone almost exclusively with the casing that is bundled with the phone.

Is It Worth It?

While value for money isn’t the Honor 200 Pro’s strong suit, I still think it’s a phone worth considering, especially if you like its design (albeit slippery) and camera performance. Plus, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a reasonably fast chipset too that approaches the performance level of a proper flagship smartphone.

If the Honor 200 Pro was more affordable, it would’ve been a much more enticing phone. Taking this into account, perhaps it’s worth keeping an eye for any noteworthy deals on the phone during big sales. Alternatively, the current pre-order promo until 27 June also offers reasonably attractive RM1,078 worth of freebies, including up to RM200 rebate, a Honor Earbuds X6, and a 365-day front and back crack replacement.