Review of smartphones Honor Play4 Pro and Honor Play4 with pros and cons

Summer 2024 began with great news - the release of two new products from Honor at once! Each time, among hundreds of models, it becomes more and more difficult to choose the best of the best, and it seems that very soon Chinese brands will forever erase the line between the ordinary version and the mysterious Pro.

The Honor Play 4 Pro and Honor Play 4 smartphones included in this review are in no way inferior to each other in terms of characteristics and beauty of design. How to choose the perfect option and not be disappointed in the purchase? Let's find out!

Appearance and dimensions

The novelties Honor Play 4 Pro and Honor Play 4 have taken a confident position in the mid-price category and at first glance attract attention.

Already here Honor Play 4 takes the lead, outrunning the Pro version in dimensions - 170 x 78.5 x 8.9 mm and 162.7 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm. At the same time, the weight of the models is identical - 213 g. It should be noted that in small palms both phones, without exception, will look huge and uncomfortable. A slippery and fairly easily soiled coating will also add complexity. The body and display are covered with tempered glass, and the side edges are made of aluminum.

Note: The Honor Play 4 smartphone is IP5X protected (industrial dust and sand).

The design of both new products is quite extraordinary. The back of the Honor Play 4 has vertical reflections and a silver brand logo. In the Honor Play 4 Pro version, the developers added geometry, somewhat reminiscent of the props of the "Transformers" franchise, as well as an additional inscription "Kirin 990" framed by an iridescent sphere.

The phones are free from budget “chins” with touch buttons and “bangs” with a long speaker. The unlock button, volume swing and an additional fingerprint cutout are located on the right side, the speaker is on the bottom.

Important note! The Honor Play 4 Pro lacks a headphone jack.

In both new products, the block of the main cameras is placed in the upper left corner of the case. Honor Play 4 boasts 4 sensors at once, while Play 4 Pro received (so rare in 2024) 2 sensors with LED flash. There are differences in the front cameras as well. In the ordinary model, the selfie camera is presented with a spherical cutout in the upper left corner and is practically invisible during use. In the improved model, the camera is shaped like a capsule and has 2 sensors, which means more possibilities.

Equipment

In addition to the smartphone itself, users will receive a standard set of lotions. Unfortunately, the bounty ride with silicone cases, and some brands even put headphones in the box, ended as quickly as it began. Inside:

• Coupon with a guarantee, certificates;
• Clip to the SIM card slot;
• USB cable;
• Charging adapter.

Available in three colors: black, blue and blue. A good solution, because neutral shades never get out of the way and are always relevant.

Specifications

Display

No definition fits the display of the Honor Play 4 more than "powerful." Just imagine, the screen diagonal is 6.8 inches! Such a large size allows users to fully enjoy a good movie or game. The Play 4 Pro is also not far behind, with a 6.5-inch clear bezel-less screen. In addition, both gadgets are based on a productive IPS matrix. The picture is bright enough, the colors are saturated. When you tilt the smartphone, however, the image fades slightly.

Foreign users were skeptical about this idea. The liquid crystal screen has a number of advantages, but when it comes to saving energy, then with such a huge screen, the marathon of serials will not last long.

The maximum screen resolution for phones is 1080 x 2400, respectively, Full HD quality. The pixel density in Honor Play 4 Pro is an order of magnitude higher than in the basic version - 401 vs 386 ppi.

Operating system and Google

The Honor Play 4 Pro and Honor Play smartphones have received the final version of Android 10. This means that users will have an amazing arsenal of various functions at their disposal. For example:

• Gesture system. For large screens in Honor's new products, the "mini display" function will be especially relevant, because you can't cope here with one hand.
• Focusing attention. Android has provided the ability to temporarily block applications that distract from work.
• Parental control. An important innovation that allows you to keep track of the child's pastime on the Internet.

But, unfortunately, after a large-scale conflict between China and America, Honor has lost support for Google services. Therefore, users will not be able to authorize a Google account, work with mail and cloud storage. The app store will also be unavailable, but it can easily find an alternative among the Chinese platforms.

The firmware was supplemented by the updated Magic UI 3.1 shell. Together with it, the photo and video editor is being improved, the voice assistant Celia also appears, as well as quick connection to laptops, projectors and other gadgets.

Processor and memory

The performance of the Honor Play 4 Pro has in many ways surpassed the regular version of the Honor Play 4 and fully lives up to the "gaming" name. The phone is powered by the nimble Kirin 990 engine. The chipset is developed using a 7-nanometer process technology and has eight active cores.They are divided into three clusters, the highest clock speed reaches 2.86 GHz (in the Cortex-A76 cores), the middle link is 2.09 GHz and the last one is 1.86 GHz (Cortex-A55). With such numbers, the Play 4 Pro smartphone will easily run even the heaviest games at maximum graphics settings and will hardly heat up.

The built-in MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G, although inferior to Kirin in capabilities, also can withstand overheating and more than 6 running applications without failures. It is equipped with big.LITTLE to save energy by balancing heavy and light processes. The maximum clock speed reaches 2 GHz. As you can see, this smartphone, although it will run demanding games, is more likely intended for everyday activities than gaming.

The main and most noticeable difference between processors is related to memory. The internal memory in both smartphones is 8 GB (some computers only dream of such RAM), and the external memory is 128 GB. What's the difference? Honor Play 4 Pro has a unique “memory error recovery code” function, thanks to which files damaged for various reasons can be restored.

Autonomy

Energy consumption is a nightmare of Chinese brands, because it would seem that good smartphones do not hold a charge even for a day.

In the new Honor products, the batteries are standard, at 4200-4300 mAh. At the same time, users complained about the Honor Play 4 version, because with a screen of almost 7 inches, the battery capacity must be at least 5500 mAh, which is why the model cannot withstand even a day without recharging. In this case, the developers have provided both phones with fast charging. Based on tests, they charge up to 70% in 30 minutes. The Pro model is complemented by the rare luxury reverse charging feature.

Camera and photo quality

The main camera of the Honor Play 4, as expected, received good performance and a maximum set of 4 lenses.

• The first is 64 MP, with an aperture of f / 1.8, and a wide lens of 26 mm. Photos come out rich and clear. The zoom is not pixelated, and a high-quality aperture allows you to bring any photo idea to life, even at dusk.
• The second is 8 MP, with an aperture of f / 2.2 (rather weak), as well as a super wide angle. Added for shooting widescreen videos. Maximum 4K quality at 30fps.
• The third and fourth lenses specifically for macro photography and framing are 2 MP, with an aperture of f / 2.4.

Front camera - 16 MP.

In the Honor Play 4 Pro, the camera is not a priority. The 2-module selfie camera is definitely a nice bonus though. The first lens is 32 MP, the additional one is 8 MP. The image is clear, there are no dead pixels. A good option for blogging or employees who often use video calling.

As for the main camera, the values ​​are an order of magnitude lower than in the base model.

• The first lens is 40 MP, with an aperture of f / 1.8 and a 27mm zoom. The photo is of the same quality both in the daytime and at night. The zoom does not ripple. You can correct the image with an eraser or apply an interesting effect in the built-in editor. There is also a new "live photo" function.
• The second lens is 8 MP, f / 2.4 aperture, 80mm (telephoto) and 3x zoom. Also suitable for 9:16 video. The quality of shooting in Pro has reached 4K.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Large, bright screen;
• Universal colors;
• Powerful processors;
• Good quality photos and videos;
• Lots of features + latest Android OS 10;
• Durable materials;
• Fast charging;
• Shooting in 4K.

• Weak battery (lasts no more than a day);
• No NFC;
• Honor Play 4 does not have a headphone jack;
• Soiled and slippery body;
• Honor Play 4 Pro does not have an additional memory card slot;
• There is no support for Google Services.

Outcome

Real user feedback on the new Honor:

“If these phones had Google support, they would surely become strong competitors for SE 2. Just think! A flagship chip inside a budget phone, plus 4K with 30 FPS. They have great hardware, a large battery, and powerful hardware. In fact, if it weren't for Google, they could easily be compared to some flagships! Unfortunately, this is not the case, so smartphones may not be sold out at all in the European part.

Bitter truth! No matter how hard Honor tries to recreate interesting models at a price of 250-310 euros (within 20-25 thousand rubles), which also satisfy all the needs of whimsical youth and avid gamers, and the conflict of states noticeably affects sales.

These smartphones are versatile and will adapt well to the rhythm of people of various professions and ages. At the same time, high-quality equipment promises a long and loyal service!