For a long time, my phone was just a digital scrapbook; an uncurated repository for messy, unfiltered memories.

The moment I decided to embrace the life of a “creator,” my relationship with my gear had to undergo a fundamental, almost spiritual, shift.

I didn’t just need a tool that could take quality photos. I needed a creative partner that could help me weave a cohesive, aesthetic narrative on the go.

As I navigated this change, the HONOR 600 Pro landed on my desk like a fresh copy of Runway. And honestly, I was obsessed before I even turned it on.

On paper, it’s a spec-heavy powerhouse with a slim body housing a staggering 7,000mAh battery and a 200-megapixel camera system with pro-grade stabilization.

But in practice? It’s the assistant catches the shots I almost missed. It corrects the mistakes I inevitably make when I’m too caught up in the moment.

Orange is The New Black, literally

I recently found myself at Club Punta Fuego for a much-needed weekday reprieve, finally “trying” to appreciate the Mediterranean-inspired scenery I usually take for granted.

I took the new HONOR 600 Pro in Orange, and let me tell you, it fits the look of an exclusive enclave perfectly. It’s vibrant, bold, and undeniably luxe.

I used to live in a Spanish-inspired village atop a mountain ridge, which made me forget how much I adore the view of villas terraced masterfully into a cliffside with their sun-drenched stucco walls and terracotta roof tiles.

The craftsmanship of the phone reflects that same level of thought. Its unibody cold-carving process gives it a clean, unified appearance that feels curated rather than manufactured.

Held without a case — because slapping a plastic shell on this would be a fashion crime — it feels soft and ergonomic with a matte metal frame.

It makes it feel significantly more expensive than its price tag suggests.

But what’s truly shocking is that something this sophisticated possesses rugged-level protection. With IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings and an SGS 5-stars certification for drop and crush resistance, I don’t have to baby this phone when I’m throwing it into my classic local-made leather handbag.

My very own assistant button

Coming from an iPhone, the transition was surprisingly painless.

The size, ergonomics, and button placements are so similar to what I’m used to that I didn’t have the usual “tech-tantrum” trying to find the volume rocker.

But while my iPhone 16 Pro has that dedicated Camera Control, the HONOR 600 Pro counters with a dedicated AI Button that is, frankly, much more versatile.

It’s HONOR’s response to the need for instant access, allowing you to choose exactly how you want to use it with short, double, or long presses.

For my own sanity, I set the short press to “no action” because I tend to click things for fun while I’m talking with my hands.

For the Double Press, I assigned the Camera option. It’s essential for when your fingers are wet from the pool and you simply cannot be bothered to swipe a screen.

The Long Press is where it gets truly editorial. You can choose from a suite of “Emily Charlton-level” efficiency features: AI Screen Suggestions, AI Settings Agent, AI Photos Agent, HONOR AI, AI Memories, or Google Lens.

I chose Google Lens ’cause I am an insatiably inquisitive person who needs to know exactly what species of exotic flower or obscure architectural style I’m looking at.

200-megapixel blueprint

As I transition from a journalist who observes to a creator who defines the aesthetic, “serviceable” gear is a firing offense.

When you are jet-skiing out to a yacht, hauling a trunk of professional lenses is not only impractical. It’s tacky.

You need one tool that performs with the precision of a seasoned editor under pressure.

It was while capturing sun-drenched stucco and terracotta of those terraced villas that I realized the HONOR 600 Pro makes photography feel like an indulgence again.

To the hardcore tech purists currently salivating over sensor charts: yes, it features a massive 200-megapixel main camera sitting on a 1/1.4-inch sensor.

But let’s be clear: this is for the artist who understands that the real magic lies in the 16-in-1 pixel binning, which creates a 2.24µm super pixel.

It ensures that every travel shot looks “expensive” and crisp, rather than the grainy, “budget” output we’ve come to expect from anything below the premium price bracket.

Aesthetically-pleasing story

What truly piqued my interest, however, is how this device effectively removes the indignity of tedious post-processing.

The AI-Color Engine steps in as a bespoke digital colorist. It eliminates those amateur yellowish or reddish casts that plague conventional smartphones.

For those of us who have spent far too many hours in Adobe Lightroom, the Magic Color feature is a total obsession.

It offers one-tap emulations from iconic brands like Kodak and Fujifilm. As someone whose favorite travel memories are usually defined by a specific Fujifilm recipe, seeing that fusion of professional color science in a device that fits in my clutch was… groundbreaking.

Unshakeable composure

Most of the time, I am quite literally in transit — flitting between velvet-roped lobbies and airport tarmacs — and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the world doesn’t pause for a pretty shot.

I may have inadvertently cultivated that frantic image of an “old person” desperately chasing a subject out of a moving car window. But in this industry, speed is a requirement, not a choice.

Surprisingly, the HONOR 600 Pro possesses a level of composure that most humans lack under pressure. It features a Dual-OIS system — the only one in its segment — that has achieved a CIPA 6.0 professional certification on the main camera. It’s got an even more impressive CIPA 6.5 for the periscope telephoto.

To the hardcore tech crowd currently hyperventilating over a specsheet: this isn’t about benchmarks or raw processing data.

It’s about the fact that I can take handheld night shots at 10x zoom and maintain a crystalline sharpness that usually requires a tripod and a very patient assistant.

For the artist who wants that premium flagship stability without the expensive price tag, this 50-megapixel periscope telephoto is your secret weapon, hitting an industry-leading 120x digital reach.

The real magic happens at 7x, where the AI Super Zoom 2.0 kicks in to refine architectural lines and textures that lesser phones would simply blur into oblivion.

Curating the perfect moment

Being out and about most of the time means I occasionally forget to “capture the moment” in full motion.

Or, more frequently, I fail to get the shot I want because the composition is ruined by a stray tourist in the background.

While my biggest flaw is a Miranda Priestly-level obsession with perfection when it comes to composition, I’ve found my own Andy Sachs in the Moving Photo Eraser.

It allows me to remove unwanted people from my shots with a single, elegant tap, ensuring the focus remains solely on me or the intended aesthetic.

But the feature that truly gave me pause is the AI Image to Video 2.0. Last year, generating image-to-video content felt a bit like wearing a lumpy, cerulean sweater: utilitarian, but lacking soul.

This time around, the experience is different. Using simple text prompts, you can create cinematic 3-8 second video sequences from still photos. While social media is currently drowning in “AI slop,” my colleagues and I have come to realize that AI only gets sloppy when the user is mediocre.

When I took this feature for a spin, I utilized the first-and-last frame mode to shape my story instead of letting the machine generate random clips.

My human touch enabled me to take two images captured during a sunset at a cliffside restaurant in Punta Fuego and turn them into a sophisticated narrative.

Instead of a digital mess, I produced a video of me looking into the camera before turning back to the sun-drenched horizon.

This feature is a literal lifesaver for creators who get so caught in the moment that they only take photos. It allows you to “stitch” those memories into high-gloss reels and stories after the fact.

A diplomatic relationship

I’m going to be real with you: even though I’m a multi-device person, my life is essentially lived inside my iPhone 16 Pro.

The upgraded OneHop technology made my career pivot much smoother because it enables seamless connectivity with my existing gear.

All the high-resolution photos and videos I take on the HONOR 600 Pro can be transferred to my iPhone or MacBook with a single tap.

It means I don’t have to adjust the workflow I’ve spent years perfecting. You just download the HONOR Connect App, activate OneTap, and suddenly your Android and your Apple gear are speaking the same language.

Uninterrupted workflow

In the world of media and publishing, there is no such thing as a “definitive end time.”

You are either on, or you are irrelevant. To survive the pace, I require a workflow that refuses to stutter. I need my own, high-functioning Emily Charlton.

The HONOR 600 Pro delivers this through the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which provides the massive computational headroom required for real-time AI video generation.

Powering this relentless hustle is a 7,000mAh battery — the most substantial in the history of HONOR’s Number Series — miraculously tucked into that razor-thin 7.8mm profile.

It offers a genuine two-day endurance that feels like a literal lifesaver, especially in the tropics where the heat usually saps a battery’s will to live before lunch.

When I do find a spare moment to top up, the 80W Wired and 50W Wireless SuperCharge get me back to 50% faster than it takes for me to apply my BLK Radiant Glow Filter.

And because I’m often the only one in the room with my life together, the 27W Wired Reverse Charging means I can even bail out a colleague whose iPhone has inevitably died mid-interview.

Now Playing: Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes” (Live from The MOBO Awards 2026)

With the sudden, bold resurgence of Orange dominating the pop culture, all my summer-exclusive citrus items suddenly felt relevant again.

Watching Olivia Dean’s performance at the MOBO Awards 2026 — bathed in that mesmerizing, warm orange stage lighting — was a vibe-check.

The screen hits an astronomical 8,000 nits of peak brightness, but its true editorial utility lies in Sunlight Mode. It sustains 4,000 nits even in the most unforgiving outdoor glare.

I was able to quite literally “tune” in and enjoy those ‘a couple minutes’ of soul — pun absolutely intended — on this 6.57-inch display while lounging at the Lower Beach Club at Punta Fuego.

This level of luminance also allowed me to curate my Instagram edits while completely sun-drenched, without the indignity of squinting or removing my sunglasses.

For its segment, the HONOR 600 Pro’s display is the highest visual standard in its class. It possesses a 3,840Hz dimming frequency to keep your eyes fresh and a 120Hz refresh rate that makes every frame of content look as vibrant and fluid as the real thing.

Price of perfection

The HONOR 600 Pro comes in Orange, Golden White, and Black. In Europe, the 12GB/512GB model is priced at EUR 999.99, while in the UK, it retails for GBP 899.99.

In the Philippines, this same variant retails for PhP 49,999 — a sweet spot for those who remember when flagships didn’t cost a literal fortune. Meanwhile, Malaysia offers a 12GB/256GB variant for MYR 3,099 and a 12GB/512GB variant for MYR 3,299.

Is the HONOR 600 Pro your GadgetMatch?

I have little to say regarding the hardware of the HONOR 600 Pro, simply because excellence rarely requires an apology.

Even the software — an area often cluttered with the “AI slop” of less refined brands — is executed with a level of intentionality that feels more like a seasoned intern than a buggy beta.

While it rivals the sleekest competitors in its class, the HONOR 600 Pro wins on sheer pedigree, specifically through its Magic Color and AI-Color Engine.

The photographer in me is relieved to finally have a tool that eliminates the need for a grueling color-grading suite.

In a way, the HONOR 600 Pro is the best choice for the creator who refuses to choose between a powerhouse and prêt-à-porter.

If you are someone who finds joy in soulless benchmarks and overclocking a processor until it screams, let me be clear: Swipe Left and move along. This isn’t for you.

For the artist, visionary, and creators who has a premium taste but knows that a professional-grade experience shouldn’t cost the price of a vintage Vespa, Swipe Right. At its price range, it offers the flagship soul we all miss from the days before prices spiraled.

For me, it’s a Super Swipe. Even though you’re getting a device that sits at the highest end of its bracket, it delivers the nuance of a well-lit portrait, the stability of a high-speed chase, and a battery that survives even the most double-booked day.

And for that, we are giving it the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval. It’s for the visionaries who know that “that’s all” is never actually enough.

The recently-launched Infinix NOTE 60 series has secured multiple prestigious design honors for 2026. This includes distinctions from Red Dot and the iF Design Awards.

The series was developed in partnership with the legendary Italian design house Pininfarina. The Infinix NOTE 60 Ultra, in particular, shines with a a subdued carbon fiber pattern design and Uni-Chassis camera module for a seamless, fluid silhouette.

Quite fittingly, the top-tier smartphone under the series bagged three wins:

• Red Dot Award for Product Design
• iF Design Award in Communication Devices
• 2026 A’Design Award (Golden Winner in Digital and Electronic Device Design)

The flagship model also features a 6.78-inch 144Hz AMOLED display, and is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultimate processor.

It is the first smartphone in Pininfarina’s 95-year history to feature its direct design involvement. The phone incorporates various elements, from the car design firm’s logo to a “floating taillight” LED system.

Meanwhile, the NOTE 60 Pro earned a Platinum MUSE Design Award for Digital and Electronic Devices.

A handset that balances high-end performance with value, the NOTE 60 Pro comes with an “Active Matrix” hidden LED interface on the back.

It has a capable Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset on its own, as well as a 6,550mAh battery.

Sony has unveiled the new flagship Xperia 1 VIII, bringing upgraded camera hardware, AI-powered photography tools, and improved audio performance to its premium smartphone lineup.

Leading the update is the new AI Camera Assistant powered by Xperia Intelligence. The feature automatically analyzes scenes, subjects, and even weather conditions to suggest camera settings such as color tones, lens selection, and bokeh effects. Sony says the recommendations are based on its “Creative Look” imaging philosophy developed through its Alpha camera division.

Sharper zoom

The Xperia 1 VIII also gets a major telephoto camera upgrade. Sony equipped the device with a new 1/1.56-inch sensor that is around four times larger than the one used in the previous generation. According to the company, the larger sensor improves detail retention and low-light photography performance, especially for distant subjects.

Sony says all three rear cameras — 16mm, 24mm, and 70mm — now support RAW multi-frame processing. This allows the phone to simultaneously expand dynamic range while reducing noise in darker scenes. The company claims the system minimizes highlight clipping and crushed shadows while preserving fine details and improving color accuracy.

Design, audio, performance

The Xperia 1 VIII introduces a refreshed ORE-inspired design with four color options: Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red, and Native Gold. Sony also retained signature hardware features including the dedicated camera shutter button and the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Audio also sees improvements through newly developed full-stage stereo speakers. Sony says the updated speaker system delivers deeper bass, clearer vocals, and a wider soundstage for music and video playback.

Powering the device is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform, which Sony claims improves processing performance by 20 percent compared to its predecessor. The company also says battery optimizations can deliver up to two days of battery life under typical usage conditions.

Price and availability

Sony will open orders for the Xperia 1 VIII starting May 13, 2026. Early buyers from May 13 to June 30 will receive free WF-1000XM6 noise-canceling headphones and a first-party case while supplies last.