The best phone camera ever? Unexpected Android flagship claims top spot

At Mobile World Congress 2023, which is the largest mobile technology show in Europe, there was an unexpected product announcement that claims to deliver the best camera phone, well, ever.

I'm talking about the brand new Honor Magic 5 Pro, which isn't just a case of Honor touting its new flagship as the new all-round camera winner - it's got the backup from DxOMark, an independent testing outfit based out of Paris, France.

I'm often sceptical about results that use numerical data only to emphasise a point, but I've been to DxOMark's testing facilities some years ago, so have seen how many different methodologies and real-world assessments are employed to derive their results. So the Magic 5 Pro landing at the number one spot is backed by science rather than just self-assuredness. 

I have an Honor Magic Pro 5 for testing and look forward to exploring its triple rear camera system, which comprises three 50-megapixel sensors to cater for main, ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. That sounds mighty similar to the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which I recently reviewed and was blown-away by how accomplished those cameras are.

In addition to Honor's big camera claims, the Magic 5 Pro presents a massive 6.81-inch OLED display, top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, significant 5100mAh battery, and reasonably speedy 66W charging.

So is this new Android flagship going to be your next camera phone? The Honor Magic 5 Pro is set to be priced at €1099 when it launches in early May this year (UK pricing is TBC), making it a potentially appealing prospect. 

The Honor Magic 5 Pro will be available in Black or Meadow Green, the latter of which you can see in my photo above. No fancy orange finish for the European launch, which is a shame, but as I've already theorised before: 2023 does seem to be the year of sombre colours.