Last year, HONOR made a big push in making the HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro stand out for their AI prowess. This year, the brand is doubling down on the AI features while also bringing some hardware upgrades with the HONOR 600 Series. Starting at P28,999 (or P25,999 if you preorder), do the upgrades make the HONOR 600 worth getting? Find out in my full review.
Disclaimer: HONOR Philippines sent over the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage variant of the HONOR 600 5G in Orange. It arrived on April 30, 2026, and I’ve been using it as my main Android phone for almost 2 weeks now.
Inside the Box
We get the usual stuff in the box, including the 80W HONOR SuperCharge power adapter. It’s nuts that even the included jelly case conforms to what I think a lot of people are thinking when they see this phone.
Design and Build
There’s no getting around it: the HONOR 600 5G really looks like a certain Pro phone from a certain fruit company. From the distinct glass camera module to the shade of Orange used, you can’t help but look at this phone that way.
Besides the design, this phone is well-built. It has an aluminum frame with antenna lines for wireless signals to get through, and a matte back to combat fingerprints. This phone does have flat sides with a slight curve at the back for better hand feel. If HONOR’s goal was to capture the feel of that fruit phone, then they pretty much nailed it.
The buttons are clicky enough, particularly the “AI button” below the power/lock button. We get a dual SIM slot tray, dual speakers, and a USB-C port that supports USB 2.0 speeds.
Display and Speakers
The HONOR 600 5G has a 6.57-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2728 x 1264 and a 120Hz refresh rate. HONOR says it has an HDR peak brightness of 8000 nits, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t reach that high in most cases. I do appreciate how bright the display is outdoors. The fact that I don’t have much to say on the display department says volumes as to how good I think this display is.
The dual speakers on this phone are good enough for casual use. It does get loud, but I find the need to increase the volume more often than I’d like.
Performance and Software
The HONOR 600 5G finally gets an upgrade compared to the 400 in the processor department. We now get a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, coupled with either 8 or 12 GB of RAM and either 256 or 512 GB of storage. It pretty much handles anything you can throw at it. From the essential apps to even some graphics-intensive games if you don’t mind not playing at max settings.
If you’re someone who needs to check benchmark results, here you go:
This phone runs MagicOS 10 based on Android 16 out of the box. I was never a fan of prior versions of MagicOS. It always looked outdated and reminded me of its past. Good thing HONOR really made a change with this version. The phone never felt slow at all for me. I also appreciate the double click of the AI button to get to the camera. (This felt like another feature inspired by the fruit phone though.)
Besides being amazed by the AI Image to Video 2.0 feature, all the other HONOR AI features feel derivative or are ones that I also find in Google’s offering or in other phone brands. It also doesn’t help that generating videos from images is only free for a limited time.
Battery Experience
The HONOR 600 5G has a 7000 mAh silicon-carbon battery with support for 80W HONOR SuperCharge fast charging and 27W reverse wired charging. That last feature is really useful in a pinch when a friend needs a quick top-up to his or her phone’s battery.
I’m really happy with the overall battery experience of this phone. Getting through a full day of use is easy! Even with multiple hours of mobile hotspot usage, I can still get through the day with mixed use of social media and watching YouTube.
This phone gets around 16 hours in the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test. While this isn’t the most impressive result, I think the idle consumption on this phone makes up for it.
Cameras
Like its predecessor, the HONOR 600 5G has two rear cameras: a 200MP main camera, and an 8MP ultrawide camera. It also has a 50MP front camera for taking nice selfies. Despite not having a lot of changes, does this phone bring on the goods with its photos? Let’s find out together.
Click on the photos for full-resolution versions!
What mainly impressed me with the 200MP main camera is the zoom photos. Even at 4x zoom, we get enough detail in the building without much color shifting since it’s the same camera used.
Given enough light, you can take detailed photos with good contrast and color reproduction. The photos below really captured how appetizing the food was at Pukot Kitchen.
When it comes to faces, the 200MP main camera does a good job in getting the detail right without looking too processed.
Front Camera
The 50MP front camera of the HONOR 600 5G carries the same quality as its predecessor, which was already good enough for taking selfies. Whether solo or in a group, each face in the photo is detailed enough that you can share on social media.
Should You Buy the HONOR 600 5G?
The HONOR 600 5G improves on the smartphone essentials very well. Its 7000 mAh battery makes using this phone for a full day more common. The photos coming out of the 200MP main camera are really good, even the zoom photos. Say what you will about the design: it brings a more premium feel than even its predecessor.
That said, I can’t help but bring up the price. At the P28,999 SRP for the 8GB + 256GB variant, the phone seems to offer enough but isn’t as “sulit” as its predecessor. I suggest to get the HONOR 600 during the pre-order period as it brings down the price of the 8GB + 256GB variant to P25,999. I commend HONOR for making that pre-order price possible.
As for the higher variants, I find it difficult to recommend. I can see some people getting the 12GB + 256GB variant, but the 12GB + 512GB variant I have is too expensive with a P15,000 difference compared to the HONOR 400 last year.
Pros
- Love the premium feel of the aluminum frame and the glass back
- Good quality and very bright AMOLED display
- Really good performance thanks to Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 + enough RAM
- MagicOS 10 is the smoothest version of HONOR’s Android skin
- Great battery life thanks to 7000 mAh battery + 80W fast charging
- Good 200MP main camera and 32MP front camera
Cons
- Design has a “big” inspiration behind it
- Speakers could use more volume
- Many AI features still feel gimmicky to me
- Why even bother with the 8MP ultrawide camera?
- Only supports up to 4K video at 30 fps
The HONOR 600 5G is available for preorder from May 14 to 29 at HONOR Concept Stores and authorized retailers nationwide in three variants:
- 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- SRP: P28,999
- Preorder Price: P25,999
- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage – P32,999
- 12GB RAM + 512GB storage – P37,999
If you preorder on those dates, you get a FREE HONOR Gift Box worth P1,499. You also get a FREE HONOR Choice Earbuds Clip worth P4,999 when you claim on May 30, 2026. There’s also a HUGE Pre-order Raffle Giveaway where you can get a chance to win a brand-new Mercedes-Benz EQA 250!
You can also preorder the HONOR 600 via e-commerce platforms: Lazada, Shopee, TikTok Shop.