Everyone’s attention is on the HONOR 200 Pro. Its little brother deserves some, too, especially for people who want a smaller, more compact, and affordable device without a substantial compromise in specs.
In our HONOR 200 full review, we’ll see if it’s a good cheaper alternative for the Pro model. Or, if you’re better off looking for something else to spend your money on. Let’s begin.
HONOR 200 Specs
- Android 14, MagicOS 8
- Dual SIM, Dual standby
- 6.78-inch FHD+ OLED display, 2664 x 1200 pixel resolution, ~436ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate
- HDR, 4000 nits peak brightness
- 2.63GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core processor
- 12GB RAM
- Adreno 720 GPU
- 512GB internal storage, non-expandable
- 50-megapixel front cameras
- 50-megapixel (1/1.56-inch, PDAF, OIS) + 50-megapixel (2.5x telephoto, f/2.4, PDAF, OIS) + 12-megapixel (ultra-wide/macro) rear cameras, dual-LED flash
- Under-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- Stereo speakers
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFi 6, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.3
- GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
- NFC
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 161.5 x 74.6 x 7.7mm
- Weight: 187g
- Colors: Black, Emerald Green, Moonlight White
- 5,200mAh non-removable battery, 100W wired, 5W reverse wired charging
Design and Build Quality
The HONOR 200 is thinner, lighter, and marginally shorter than the already compact HONOR 200 Pro. It is the right size for users tired of big, heavy phones and want something that’s easy to fit in the pocket and carry around.
It has a screen and rear panel that are curved to make it even more comfortable for the hands. Plus, it seems to have a metal frame, unlike the Pro which uses plastic. It made the non-Pro variant feel more rigid.
The phone is also IP65-rated for dust and water-resistance. For some reason, HONOR didn’t mention what glass they used on the front, but they have pre-applied a screen protector. There’s also a free clear case in the box that does a decent job of protecting the large camera island and the curved display.
You can get the HONOR 200 in three colors. There’s Moonlight White and Emerald Green, which are the hero colors of the device. The review unit I have is the Black colorway that looks clean and subtle to some, but personally, I prefer any of the first two as they look more stylish. For those who want a minimalistic look, though, this is a good one.
HONOR explained that the white variant looks like the bright moon in the night sky, the green one has a design that looks like rippling waves of crystal-clear water, while the black one has a shimmering accent that makes it less boring.
In addition, it stays clean from fingerprint marks and smudges, which I really like. The design of the camera island looks like a large gemstone and gives an elegant feel with the shiny silver bezel surrounding it.
To be honest, I feel like the HONOR 200 is a well-designed and well-built phone, even better than the Pro model.
Taking a tour, we have the curved 6.78-inch OLED screen on the front with noticeably thin bezels. You can easily tell the HONOR 200 and 200 Pro apart by the punch-hole.
There’s an extra 2-megapixel camera on the Pro, hence the pill-shaped punch-hole, while the non-Pro only has a single 50-megapixel selfie camera, which is why it has a smaller cutout.
The top has an IR blaster, a noise-isolating microphone, and a secondary speaker.
Left side is clean, while the right has the volume controls and the lock/power switch. The physical buttons feel well-made and give tactile and clicky feedback when pressed.
The bottom has the SIM tray, which can house two nano SIMs back-to-back. We also have the primary microphone, USB-C port, and the primary loudspeaker.
Display and Audio
The HONOR 200 comes with a bunch of display features. It’s a 6.7-inch OLED FHD+ screen with a 2664 x 1200 pixel resolution, ~436ppi, 120Hz refresh rate, DCI-P3 gamut, with eye-safety features like 3840Hz PWM dimming, AI Circadian Night Display, and hardware-level low blue light emission.
Display quality was great and I have no complaints. The sharp resolution and eye-friendly hues make night reading enjoyable and the high brightness makes it easy to use outdoors.
Streaming content is also great thanks to its vibrant colors and deep contrast. It is also Netflix HDR and Prime Video HDR certified, which makes watching content on these platforms more immersive.
Unfortunately, unlike most of its competition, it lacks Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Good thing the physical stereo speakers still provide amazing performance with loud volume, noticeable stereo separation, with balanced sound that have crisp highs — great for vocals and dialogue — and potent bass for a fuller, punchy sound.
Hardware and Performance
One of the main differences between the HONOR 200 and its Pro brother is the processor. While the former enjoys a sub-flagship Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, this one has a less powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 CPU. It also lacks the dedicated HONOR C1 RF chipset that improves internet connectivity, but it gets to have the same 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Graphics is handled by the Adreno 735 GPU.
HONOR 200 Pro Benchmark Scores
Synthetic benchmark test shows impressive scores (as seen above). There was a slight drop in performance towards the end of 3DMark’s 20-minute Wild Life Extreme Stress test, which could possibly reflect on gaming performance. I’ll discuss it later.
Day-to-day performance passed our expectations, and the combination of the processor, display, and efficient processor may have something to do with it. It feels smoother than some of its competitors in its price range. The whole interface feels like butter.
Now, let’s talk about gaming. After doing quests in Genshin Impact for about 50 minutes under Low (default) settings, I didn’t experience any overheating or frame drops. The game ran smoothly and it should be able to handle Medium to High settings if you want to dial it up.
PUBG Mobile had no issues under HD/High, so I cranked up the frame rate to Extreme. The same goes for Call of Duty Mobile on Very High/Max and Farlight84 with HD/Very High. Mobile Legends was smooth under Super/Ultra as well. Asphalt Legends Unite feels buggy, but I blame it to the game being new.
After playing games for about two hours, it didn’t really heat up too much. Plus, the large display and stereo speakers made the gaming experience more immersive.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Very High • Frame Rate: Max |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: HD • Frame Rate: Very High |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: HD • Frame Rate: Extreme |
| Genshin Impact | • Graphics Quality: Low (Default) |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Super • Frame Rate: Ultra • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: Default |
Software and User Interface
The HONOR 200 ships with Android 14-based MagicOS 8.0. You can read the software section of our HONOR 200 Pro review for a more detailed look at the interface. But if you just want the gist: It’s great. The Magic Capsule and Magic Portal were a nice inclusion, the UI feels smooth, both the in-display fingerprint scanner and face unlock were snappy and accurate, and the transition from the lock screen wallpaper to AOD is smooth.
However, it lacks the AI features (AI Writer, AI Summarize, AI Voice Reader, etc.) that other brands have. Also, the Air Gesture in the HONOR 200 Pro didn’t make it here. But other than that, I’m satisfied with the interface.
You can check out more screenshots below to see MagicOS in action.
Cameras
The HONOR 200 and 200 Pro have a similar set of cameras. For the non-Pro, we have a 50-megapixel 1/1.56-inch IMX906 sensor with an f/1.95 aperture, while the Pro enjoys a larger and more advanced 1/1.3-inch H9000 sensor.
Both devices have the same 50-megapixel IMX856 sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and OIS that provides 2.5x optical and up to 50x digital zoom. There’s also the 12-megapixel ultra-wide that doubles as a macro lens. A 50-megapixel camera is on the front for selfies.
It also has HONOR’s camera software features, especially the Studio Harcourt portraits. Sadly, features like AI Eraser and other AI-backed photo editing tools we already see in other brands are yet to arrive on HONOR devices.
Let’s start with the daytime shots from the 50-megapixel main camera. The sample photos below have natural-looking colors and a slightly deep contrast to make shots expressive while still realistic. It also did a good job of handling the dynamic range. Details and sharpness were also great.
Low-light shots held up pretty well, but this is where you can easily tell that the Pro is better. Night shots from the Pro just look sharper and more detailed and with better colors. Still, a decent performance from the HONOR 200.
Instead of having a dedicated sensor for the 2x zoom, it only crops in using the main 1x camera. It has a 54mm lens equivalent, which is great for portraits. You won’t get to the dedicated telephoto camera until the 2.5x zoom, which has a 68mm equivalent.
The image quality still looks nice, but with a noticeable drop in sharpness. It tried to post-process the images heavily to make it look better, but instead made it look overly done.
Studio Harcourt filters make portrait shots look better. As I’ve already explained in our review of the HONOR 200 Pro, Studio Harcourt is a Paris-based studio that specializes in using lighting techniques to take unique-looking and artistic photos.
There are three Harcourt filters built-in, which you can only access in portrait mode. According to HONOR, the device analyzes the image to apply the right amount of filter. The Harcourt Classic has a black-and-white look, and the Harcourt Vibrant is self-explanatory, while our favorite, Harcourt colour, applies a warmer but muted tone for a dramatic appeal.
Let’s move to the next camera. We have the 50-megapixel IMX856 telephoto lens that offers 2.5x optical zoom with a 68mm equivalent. If you can bear the extra crop, use this one instead of the 2x button when taking portraits, so they look more detailed with noticeably better colors and contrast.
One cool party trick of the telephoto camera is the zoom slider, which lets you go all the way to 50x. It’s like having a telescope in your pocket.
Image quality under 50x, which has a 1350mm equivalent, still looks visible as long as the subject is within reasonable distance. You can also see how the software tried its best to sharpen the images under 50x.
Colors from the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera were toned-down a little, but the contrast is still expressive. Barrel distortion is there but barely noticeable. However, due to the the low-resolution sensor, you can see it struggle in low light.
The ultra-wide is also a cable of macro shots with a good 2.5cm minimum focusing distance, so you can get very close to your subject.
Finally, we have the 50-megapixel selfie camera that takes well-detailed pictures with natural skin tones. Portrait mode also works well. However, there’s a noticeable drop in quality in low light.
While it’s not as good as the HONOR 200 Pro, the shots I got from the HONOR 200 look better than most of the devices in its category.
Battery and Charging
The HONOR 200 boasts a 5,200mAh battery. It has the same 100W wired charging as the Pro, but lacks the 66W wireless support.
It scored 11 hours and 33 minutes in PCMark’s battery loop test, which is below the average score I get of around 13-14 hours. However, it did perform better in our 1080p YouTube Video Loop test as it lasted for 19 hours and 27 minutes before dropping down from 100% to 1%, compared to the usual score I get of about 17 hours.
In the real world, heavy users can still get an entire day of use out of this but be prepared to charge it every night. However, if you only use your phone for web browsing, watching TikToks, and replying to messages, you may be able to use it for a day and a half to two days on a single charge.
In case you run out of juice fast, the 100W adapter can top you up quickly as a full charge only takes less than 45 minutes. See our full charging test below:
- 15mins: 0-43%
- 30mins: 77%
- 43mins: FULL
Verdict
So, is the HONOR 200 a good alternative to the HONOR 200 Pro? The answer is an easy yes. For Php5,000 less, you’re getting a device that looks and feels almost the same. Both devices also share identical displays, cameras, battery, and even charging speed.
It may have a midrange chip, but it was still able to provide smooth and snappy performance. I also didn’t miss the fast wireless charging of the Pro as the 100W wired adapter of the HONOR 200 was able to fill it up in no time.
More than an alternative to the HONOR 200 Pro, it is also a better option than most of its competition in its price point. It has better cameras, faster charging, a sleek build, and a smoother interface.
The HONOR 200 is a good, reliable, lightweight, and stylish smartphone that’s easy to carry around. Without a doubt, HONOR has a winner here.
HONOR 200 pricing and availability in the Philippines
The HONOR 200 has an SRP of Php24,999 in the Philippines, while the HONOR 200 Pro comes in at Php29,999. It is available for pre-order from July 17 to 26 with a free JBL Soundgear Frames worth Php9,499.
Pros
- Sturdy, compact, stylish build
- Feature-packed display
- Good gaming experience
- Nice photos from all three cameras
- Above average battery life, 100W fast charging
Cons
- Lacks AI features that other brands have
- No dedicated sensor for 2x camera
- Unknown glass used