Honor Magic 7 Lite Review: Budget Battery King

The Honor Magic 7 Lite is a budget phone that excels in battery life, durability, and solid camera performance for the price.

However, it struggles to keep pace with competitors in terms of design, performance, and software updates. While its curved design might appeal to some, it feels dated in a market dominated by flat-sided devices.

If you need a phone that lasts for days and prioritises reliability, the Magic 7 Lite deserves your attention. Here’s our full review.

Design & Build

• Slim and durable at 7.98mm thick and 189g
• Curved-edge glass feels outdated
• Enhanced drop protection and IP64 resistance

The Honor Magic 7 Lite has a distinctive design, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The curved-edge glass, while once a premium hallmark, now feels like a relic of older phone trends. Competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Nothing Phone (2a) have embraced flat-sided designs that are more contemporary and ergonomic.

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Safe to say that I’m not a fan of curved glass edges, and I don’t think there are many other redeeming design qualities. While the Titanium Purple finish is initially striking, catching the light with a Porsche-esque frozen berry hue that adds a touch of flair, most of the time it looks like a faux marble replica.

In all honesty, I find it a little tacky. This is very much a love-it-or-hate-it kind of design, though, so you may well be a fan.

In terms of build quality, however, Honor has outdone itself. Despite its sleek profile, the Magic 7 Lite boasts impressive durability, surviving 2m drops onto hard surfaces without damage.

While I haven’t dropped one myself, Honor has been keen to show examples of the phone being dropped. This is thanks to its enhanced corner protection and rugged materials, which make it an excellent choice for accident-prone users.

It also boasts an IP64 rating, meaning it’s fully protected against dust and can survive splashes of water from any direction – think getting caught in a rain shower.

Screen & Speakers

• Bright 6.78-inch AMOLED display
• Adaptive 120Hz ensures smooth scrolling
• Improved audio balance and clarity

The 6.78-inch AMOLED display is one of the Magic 7 Lite’s standout features. The 2700×1224 resolution ensures crisp visuals, while the dynamic refresh rate seamlessly switches to 120Hz for fluid scrolling and gaming.

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Watching videos or browsing photos is an enjoyable experience, thanks to the panel’s rich contrast and vibrant colours, which will certainly capture your attention. That said, it doesn’t quite match the brightness or colour accuracy of pricier competitors like the Pixel 8a.

Audio has seen a marked improvement compared to the Magic 6 Lite. The dual speakers produce a more balanced sound profile, delivering clear vocals and acceptable volume levels.

While bass is lacking, that’s expected at this price point, the speakers are more than adequate for casual media consumption. Of course, I’d always suggest that you use a set of headphones for serious listening – you’ll almost always get better sound.

Specs & Performance

• Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 struggles to keep up with modern rivals
• 8GB RAM ensures smooth app-switching
• Falls behind competitors like the Galaxy A54 and Pixel 8a

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset powers the Magic 7 Lite, offering reliable but unremarkable performance. For basic tasks like messaging, web browsing, and streaming, the device performs well.

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However, more demanding applications and multitasking reveal its limitations. Apps load slower compared to competitors, and heavy gaming pushes the chipset to its limits. When trying to multitask with multiple apps, I really felt the device begin to slow down and run out of steam.

Meanwhile, the Adreno GPU handles simpler games with ease but struggles with graphic-intensive titles. This is not the phone to buy if you want a top-tier gaming experience.

Honor Magic 7 Lite benchmarks

The only configuration of the Magic 7 Lite available offers 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. The latter will be plenty for most people, though it’s worth noting that there’s no support for expandable storage via Micro-SD.

Cameras

• 108Mp sensor with OIS delivers detailed shots
• Weak ultrawide lens struggles with detail
• 16Mp front camera provides decent selfies

The 108Mp main camera on the Magic 7 Lite is a highlight, delivering detailed images in good lighting. Optical image stabilisation ensures sharper low-light shots, making it a reliable performer for night photography.

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But I must say, I’m quite disappointed by the cameras overall. While images are detailed, they lack a certain sharpness. They feel flat, like you’re looking at a photo from a smartphone camera from a decade ago. Colours and tones feel muted, with the image processing opting for a cool tone.

The ultrawide lens leaves much to be desired. Its 5Mp resolution results in softer details and inconsistent colour reproduction, limiting its usefulness. Similarly, portrait mode is pretty useless on both the front and rear cameras. With no dedicated depth sensor, this can only be down to the software-based image processing.

Selfies taken with the 16Mp front camera are more than adequate for social media. In fact, I’d say they’re close to flagship phone level. However, the lack of advanced processing features means results can be hit or miss in challenging lighting conditions.

Battery Life & Charging

• 6600mAh battery easily lasts 2-3 days
• 66W charging restores 50% in under 30 minutes
• No wireless charging

The Magic 7 Lite’s battery is its most impressive feature. With a 6600mAh capacity, it outlasts almost every competitor in its price range, making it ideal for users who need a phone that won’t quit halfway through the day.

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During testing, the device consistently delivered two full days of use with moderate activity. Light users could even stretch that to three days.

It was actually rather helpful over the past few weeks across a number of flights, meaning I could forget about a cable or power bank for in-flight charging. Even on my heaviest days of usage, I don’t think I ended up below 10%.

The device consistently delivered two full days of use with moderate activity. Light users could even stretch that to three days

Charging speeds are equally commendable, with the 66W wired charging restoring 50% in just 30 minutes.

However, the lack of wireless charging feels like a missed opportunity, especially as competitors are starting to include the feature even in budget models. There’s no physical reason wireless charging couldn’t make an appearance from the device’s materials, so this was likely down to budget.

Software & Features

• Ships with Android 14 instead of the latest Android 15
• Pre-loaded bloatware requires cleanup out of the box
• MagicOS offers some useful features

Honor’s MagicOS 8.0 feels functional but unremarkable. The outdated Android 14 base is a drawback, especially when many rivals ship with Android 15 and promise better long-term support.

Software support is strong, with Honor offering five years of both OS and security updates on the Magic 7 Lite. At this price, you won’t find many companies which can match that.

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As someone who hates bloatware on phones, I wasn’t happy to see a number of pre-loaded apps on the device. It took a little bit of time to clear them off when setting up the Magic 7 Lite out of the box. That said, I have seen more egregious examples recently, so I won’t complain too much here.

Of course, in 2025, you’re going to find some gimmicky features on a handset, even at this price. Magic Capsule and Magic Portal are intriguing features, but their limited functionality means they won’t be essential tools for most people.

Plenty of other features are given AI branding, but these generally don’t make any meaningful difference in day-to-day usage.

Price & Availability

The Honor Magic 7 Lite is priced at £399 in the UK and comes in two colour options: Titanium Purple and Titanium Black. Both offer 8GB of RAM and 512GB of on-device storage.

You can buy the phone outright, directly from Honor or via Very. No providers are offering the phone on contract, so you’ll have to pair it with a SIM-only deal instead. See the best options below:

Like all Honor devices, the Magic 7 Lite isn’t available in the US.

However, there are plenty of great rivals around this price point, including the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G and Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. And while the Pixel 8a usually starts at £499, there are often deals around.

Should you buy the Honor Magic 7 Lite?

Connor Jewiss/Foundry

The Honor Magic 7 Lite excels in areas like battery life, durability, and main camera performance, making it a reliable choice for users who value longevity and practicality.

However, its dated design, average performance, and limited software support leave it trailing behind competitors in the fiercely competitive mid-range market.

If battery life is your top priority, the Magic 7 Lite is a clear winner. But for those seeking a more well-rounded device, there are better options available.

Specs

• Screen: 6.78-inch AMOLED, 2700×1224 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
• Memory: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 512GB
• Rear Cameras: 108Mp (f/1.8, OIS) + 5Mp ultrawide (f/2.2)
• Front Camera: 16Mp (f/2.5)
• Battery: 6600mAh, 66W wired charging
• Software: Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0
• Dimensions: 163 x 76 x 8mm, 189g