Newsletter
We have seen quite a few great camera smartphones this year, and the two we’ll talk about here are amongst the best. In this article, we’ll compare the Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro. Both of these smartphones arrived to global markets in the first quarter of the year. Both of them are immensely powerful, and both have outstanding camera hardware and performance.
We’ve reviewed both of these devices not long ago, so we can attest to their photography prowess. As per usual, we’ll first list the specifications of both smartphones and will then move to compare them across a number of other categories. We’ll compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio performance. This will hopefully help you make a purchasing decision.
Specs
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro, respectively
– Screen size:
6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED display (curved, adaptive 120Hz, 3,000 nits max brightness)
6.8-inch LTPO OLED display (curved, 120Hz LTPO, HDR, 5,000 nits)
– Display resolution:
3200 x 1440
2800 x 1280
– SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
– RAM:
16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
50MP (wide, f/1.6-f/4.0 variable aperture, OIS, multi-directional PDAF, 1.6um pixel size), 50MP (ultrawide, f/1.8 aperture, 122-degree FoV, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF), 50MP (telephoto, f/1.8 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3.2x optical zoom), 50MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.5 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom)
50MP (wide, f/1.4-f/2.0 aperture, OIS, PDAF, Laser AF, 23mm lens), 50MP (ultrawide, f/2.0 aperture, 122-degree FoV, 13mm lens), 180MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.6 aperture, 2.5x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF)
– Front cameras:
32MP (wide, f/2.0 aperture, 0.7um pixel size)
50MP (f/2.0 aperture, 22mm lens), ToF 3D camera
– Battery:
5,000mAh
5,600mAh
– Charging:
90W wired, 80W wireless,, 10W reverse wireless (charger included)
80W wired, 66W wireless, reverse wireless, reverse wired (charger not included)
– Dimensions:
161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm
162.5 x 75.8 x 8.9mm
– Weight:
219.8 grams
225/229 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.4/5.3
– Security:
In-display fingerprint scanner & facial scanning
In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) & 3D facial scanning
– OS:
Android 14 with HyperOS
Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0
– Price:
€1,499
€1,299+
– Buy:
Xiaomi 14 Ultra (Amazon)
HONOR Magic6 Pro (HONOR)
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Design
These two handsets do look quite different in comparison. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a curved display with a centered display camera hole. The display on the HONOR Magic6 Pro is also curved, but the phone includes a pill-shaped camera hole. The bezels are very thin on both smartphones. The global variant of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra combines an aluminum frame with a vegan leather backplate. The HONOR Magic6 Pro is available in both glass back and vegan leather back models, while its frame is also made out of aluminum.
If we flip the two phones to the back, you’ll notice that they both feature backplates that curve towards the edges. They also have rather noticeable camera islands on the back, which are centered. The one on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is circular, and it includes four cameras. The HONOR Magic6 Pro has a camera island with a rather interesting shape, and it includes three cameras in there.
Both of these phones are quite large. The HONOR Magic6 Pro is ever so slightly taller, wider, and thinner than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. The global variant of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is, however, slightly lighter than the HONOR Magic6 Pro. In China, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra does come with a glass back, so that’s a completely different story. Both smartphones are IP68-rated for water and dust resistance. They both feel great in the hand, like premium offerings, as they should. We did prefer the feel of the HONOR Magic6 Pro, as it felt thinner even though it’s not, due to its design. We used both models with vegan leather backplates, and both were grippy enough.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Display
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra includes a 6.73-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) LTPO AMOLED display. That display is curved, and it offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It supports Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ content too. The maximum brightness this panel can offer is 3,000 nits. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, while the screen-to-body ratio is around 89%. The Xiaomi Shield Glass protects this display.
On the flip side, the HONOR Magic6 Pro has a 6.8-inch 2800 x 1280 LTPO OLED display. This panel is also curved, and it also offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It supports HDR content and can project up to 1 billion colors. The maximum brightness, technically, is 5,000 nits, though you’ll never be able to go that high. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9, and the screen-to-body ratio is around 91%. The Jurhino glass protects the HONOR Magic6 Pro’s display.
Both of these displays are simply outstanding and tick all the boxes. Not only are they big and sharp, but they’re also quite vivid. The viewing angles are great, the inky blacks are also present, and they’re quite responsive too. On top of all that, they get extremely bright, for any condition you can think of, and they also offer high PWM dimming to protect your eyes. You’ll have a great time regardless of the display you end up choosing.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Performance
When it comes to performance, both smartphones are outstanding. You’ll find the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip inside both of these phones. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM (in its global variant). It also uses UFS 4.0 flash storage. The HONOR Magic6 Pro, on the flip side, comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM (in its global variant), and it also uses UFS 4.0 flash storage.
Those specs, in combination with their software builds, do translate into great performance. Both of these phones launch apps very fast, they can jump between them with ease, and every intense task that you can think of… they can do. The same goes for gaming, actually. We’ve played a handful of games on each during our review period, and that included the benchmark… Genshin Impact.
After about an hour of gaming, both smartphones were warm, but the performance did not suffer, nor did either phone overheat. We did not spare either device during our review period, and both passed the performance test with flying colors. There’s really nothing we can object to in terms of sheer performance. They do great in that regard, and chances are that will be the case for the foreseeable future.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Battery
A 5,000mAh battery sits inside the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, while a 5,600mAh unit is included inside the HONOR Magic6 Pro. HONOR used a silicon-carbon battery inside its flagship, which made it possible to squeeze such a huge capacity in there. Do note that the Chinese variant of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra does include a 5,300mAh unit. For some reason, Xiaomi opted to go with a 5,000mAh battery inside the global model.
You’ll be glad to hear that both of these phones offer outstanding battery life, however. We managed to cross the 8-hour screen-on-time mark on both. The HONOR Magic6 Pro did usually offer a bit more in the battery life department, but both were excellent in that regard. Do note that we did not play games on days that we crossed the 8-hour screen-on-time mark. Plenty of usage was included, though, ranging from browsing and emails to image processing and taking pictures.
If you end up needing to charge either device in the middle of the day, don’t fret. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra supports 90W wired, 80W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The HONOR Magic6 Pro, on the other hand, supports 80W wired, 66W wireless, 10W reverse wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging. Do note that only the Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with a charger in the box, however.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs HONOR Magic6 Pro: Cameras
When it comes to cameras, Xiaomi’s flagship has four on the back, while HONOR’s has three. Both smartphones do offer outstanding camera hardware and performance. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 50-megapixel main camera (variable aperture), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (122-degree FoV), a 50-megapixel telephoto camera (3.2x optical zoom), and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto unit (5x optical zoom). All cameras have Leica’s lenses on them.
The HONOR Magic6 Pro includes a 50-megapixel main camera which also supports variable aperture. Its ultrawide camera is a 50-megapixel unit (122-degree FoV), and the third shooter is a 180-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (2.5x optical zoom). The hardware is somewhat different, and so are the pictures that come from these phones. The thing is, both of them do an amazing job.
Both smartphones have great main, ultrawide, and telephoto/periscope camera functionality. The images from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra tend to look a bit closer to real life, though. The ones from the HONOR Magic6 Pro do have the tendency to be a bit warmer. I personally liked both variations. The images do end up looking sharp and well-exposed, and both phones handle HDR situations with ease. The color science of their main cameras is well in line with the main ones, and the periscope telephoto shooters also do their best in that regard.
Low light performance is also great, but different. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra tends to leave images closer to real life in such situations too, making them look great, but also realistic. The HONOR Magic6 Pro is no stranger to brightening up such shots, pulling more light from the shadows. It’s all a matter of preference, really. They’re also great in terms of macro photography, amongst the top 5 (maybe even top 3) macro photo shooters we’ve used, pretty much.
Audio
You will find a set of stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. They’re basically equally loud, at least to our ears. They also provide quality output which is well-balanced, and the distortion is basically not noticeable. There’s even some bass here.
There is no audio jack on either phone, but they both have Type-C ports. You can easily connect your headphones that way. Alternatively, you can use Bluetooth 5.4 and 5.3, which these two smartphones have, respectively.