30 August 2018
Honor Magic 2: the Truly Bezeless Phone We've Waited For?
By Ajay Kumar / pcmag
BERLIN—The Honor Play was upstaged here today at IFA when Huawei's smartphone brand unexpectedly unveiled the Honor Magic 2.
The successor to a somewhat obscure phone that only ever launched in China, the Magic 2 will be the first Honor smartphone to have the new Kirin 980 processor with a dedicated AI core, which Huawei is expected to announce at its keynote. There's a full view display, meaning ultra-thin bezels and no infamous notch.
George Zhao, President of Honor, said the first-gen Honor Magic "reshaped smartphone design and become a benchmark for all smartphones. That's maybe overstating the case a little. Launched in 2016, the first Honor Magic preceded the AI-everything hype (machine learning was the big buzzword back then). It garnered some interest internationally and served as our first real look at what was to come as manufacturers started trying to maximize screen size, minimize bezels, and decided to call everything AI.
The Magic 2 has built on that. A new feature called Magic Slide is essentially a sliding bezel that lets the camera pop up from the top. Normally it's hidden from view, allowing the phone to have a seamless all-screen look. This spares you from a notch or any kind of software geared at hiding a notch. On the downside, it does add a moving part, which is always a concern when it comes to any electronics. The move toward eliminating physical buttons is partially inspired by removing points of failure.
Aside from the all-screen front and sliding camera, the Magic 2 has some miscellaneous AI features and 40W fast charging. Honor says the phone automatically identifies the battery, cable, and charger and only starts fast charging if they're identified as safe. That's something all phones do because that's just how fast charging works. Mark that one up as a marketing gimmick.
