News

Honor Magic shows off beauty and brains

Published

December 17, 2016

Marvin Velasco

Magic is real — actually, make that the Honor Magic.

After numerous teasers and leaks, we now have a definitive look at the latest addition to Huawei’s sub-brand, and it was well worth the wait.

It’s an absolutely gorgeous device, from its curved 5-inch Quad HD AMOLED display to the rounded edges and slim 7.8mm profile. There are two colors to choose from: golden black and porcelain white.

And that’s just the start. What awaits inside the operating system better justifies the Magic name.

On top of its Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, there’s something called Honor Magic Live, which is an intelligent system that can read your moves and predict what you’d need next. It’s a lot like Google Assistant, if you think about it, but there’s supposedly smarter predictions behind this implementation.

Instances include movie recommendations while bringing up the topic in an online conversation, automatic switching to driving mode when the phone notices you’re on the road, and providing useful information for a webpage after holding the home button.

Another interesting feature is WiseScreen. Using a combination of sensors on the phone’s frame and the infrared camera in front, the Honor Magic can detect when it’s in your hands and turn on automatically. The same applies to pocketing the handset, wherein it’ll go to sleep the moment it feels your pocket.

Even cooler is this function called FaceCode, which uses facial recognition to figure out who’s allowed to view message notifications. It sounds like more trouble than it’s worth, but we have to see some real-life tests before we can judge.

Powering all these features is Huawei’s in-house Kirin 950 processor — the same one found in the Honor 8 launched last July. The chipset is assisted by 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage.

In front, you’ll find a physical home button, but it’s unlike anything you’d find on most Androids. You can tap and swipe on it to navigate around the interface, effectively removing any need for the usual Back and Apps Overview buttons. It also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

On the back you have a 12-megapixel dual-camera setup, just like the one found on the Honor 8. It works the same way: One camera utilizes a color sensor while the other is monochrome. Put together, outputs are a lot sharper, and colors much brighter.

Finally, the Honor Magic makes use of truly fast charging for its 2900mAh battery. It can go from zero to 40 percent in 10 minutes, up to 70 percent in 20 minutes, and as much as 90 percent in only 30 minutes.

Pretty cool, huh? Hold on, because there are a couple of drawbacks. The Honor Magic is only available in China for the time being, and it retails for CNY 3,699, which translates to a premium $530 price tag.

[irp posts=”7005″ name=”Honor 6X offers dual-camera setup for $150″]

Source: Android Authority

News

Smart showcases cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut

Play over 1,000 titles straight on your smartphones

Published

August 14, 2026

GadgetMatch

Philippines mobile service provider Smart showcased the country’s first cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut at the recent Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) 2026.

As the event’s main presenter, Smart highlighted its collaboration with the cloud gaming subscription service. Together with its value-packed Power All offers, the network provider is highlighting what the future of gaming can look like.

Smart and TNT subscribers can conveniently access Blacknut Cloud Gaming through a dedicated site. Here, they can play more than 1,000 premium console and PC-quality games on their smartphones.

That’s without the need for expensive gaming hardware or lengthy downloads. Weekly subscriptions start at just PhP 145 and can be conveniently charged to prepaid load following a simple OTP verification process.

To make the experience better, Smart also has Power All offers, which provide generous open-access data for today’s digital lifestyles. There’s a package for cloud and mobile gaming, streaming, content sharing, and productivity.

Gaming

Ghost of Yotei gets a story expansion in October

The Complete Edition comes with the expansion and a roguelike mode.

Published

August 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Ghost of Yotei is a classic RPG experience set in the same universe as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. In my opinion, Atsu’s journey of revenge feels a lot more fun than Jin’s battle to save his homeland. If you’re in the same boat, Ghost of Yotei is coming back on October 1 with brand-new content.

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, Ghost of Yotei has a conclusive ending. Rather than shoehorning a forced epilogue, Echoes of Sekigahara, the title of the upcoming story expansion, explores Atsu’s past.

As with Tsushima’s expansion, Echoes of Sekigahara features a new map with new enemies, weapons, and collectibles. It will be set in two different time periods.

Besides the story expansion, the upcoming update also has a new mode called Most Wanted, which Sucker Punch Production describes as their “spin on a roguelike.” The mode explores Atsu’s experience as a headhunter, feeding her with bounties and earnable perks.

The two new content expansions will come with in the upcoming Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition. The new edition, coming on October 1, will also come with the co-op Legends mode. It also has a few perks and customization options. The edition will sell for US$ 70.

If you already have the base edition, you can grab an upgrade for only US$ 15. If you don’t want to pay for the upgrade, the game is still getting a few minor tweaks.

News

HONOR isn’t taking the Robot Phone global — yet

The hardware is ready. The AI isn’t.

Published

August 13, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

The HONOR Robot Phone may have officially launched, but don’t expect this version to immediately make its way to global markets.

HONOR told media in Shenzhen that it currently has no plans to bring the current Robot Phone outside China. The main hurdle isn’t the hardware. It’s the phone’s AI experience, which is currently optimized for the Chinese market.

HONOR believes a future generation of the Robot Phone would be better positioned for a true global rollout once its AI experience is ready for markets outside China.

That doesn’t mean HONOR is abandoning the idea. Quite the opposite.

More than a phone with a moving camera

The Robot Phone is HONOR’s attempt to introduce a new idea to the smartphone market. It combines a smartphone with a 4DoF mechanical gimbal, allowing its camera to physically move.

Its AI features take that concept further. YOYO Robot Mode can use voice commands, gestures, and AI tracking to control the camera. It can also automatically pan and tilt to keep a person in frame during vlogs, livestreams, and video calls.

The phone also brings selected elements of ARRI Image Science and professional cinema workflows to its camera system. Its 200MP gimbal main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording, while ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks give creators more control over their footage.

But HONOR isn’t treating the Robot Phone primarily as a volume-driving product.

The company says its bigger goal is to introduce a new concept to the smartphone market and see what kind of effect it can have.

That makes the Robot Phone an interesting experiment for HONOR. The hardware is already here. The company now wants to learn what happens when a smartphone can physically move, respond to its surroundings, and use AI to help operate itself.

For now, though, China is where that experiment begins.