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Honor Magic4 Ultimate Display test

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

Brand-new to the market in March 2022, the Honor Magic4 Ultimate comes packed with features befitting a device in our Ultra-Premium segment ($800 and higher). In this review, we take a look at how it performed in our comprehensive array of Display tests.

Key display specifications:

  • 6.8-inch OLED screen
  • Resolution: 2848 x 1312 pixels (460 ppi)
  • Refresh rate: 120 Hz
  • Maximum brightness: 1000 cd/m2

About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective and perceptual tests under controlled lab and real-life conditions. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. Note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and its still image (gallery) and video apps at their default settings. (For in-depth information about how we evaluate smartphone and other displays, check out our articles, “How DXOMARK tests display quality” and “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”)

Test summary

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
display
136

164

141

165

142

165

126

164

Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.

Pros

  • Very good color rendering
  • Brightness well suited for low-light and indoor conditions
  • Smooth reaction to ambient lighting changes
  • Nearly flicker-free OLED screen

Cons

  • Lack of touch smoothness in every use case
  • Strong aliasing visible when playing video games
  • Many frame drops visible when starting videos

With an overall score of 95, the Honor Magic4 Ultimate puts in a strong performance for many Display protocol attributes, with especially good color rendering that puts it at the top of the charts as of this writing. Its only real drawback is for touch, where it doesn’t feel smooth in any of DXOMARK’s use cases.

Analyses and comparisons

The DXOMARK Display overall score of 95 for the Honor Magic4 Ultimate is derived from its scores across six attributes: readability, color, video, motion, touch, and artifacts. In this section, we’ll take a closer look at these display quality sub-scores and explain what they mean for the user, and we will compare the Honor Magic4 Ultimate’s performance in several areas against two of its competitors, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Readability

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

72

76

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Best: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (76)

DXOMARK uses the device’s gallery app to show static (still image) content when measuring the device’s display for brightness, contrast, gamma, and blue light impact, etc.

The comparison charts below show the Honor’s performance vs. the competition at 0 lux (low light) and at 30,000 lux (broad daylight):
Brightness vs Contrast comparison (0 Lux)

Brightness vs Contrast comparison (30 000 Lux)

The brightness of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate is well suited for low-light conditions:

Readability in low light, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

Further, the Honor device is readable in indoor conditions, and is brighter than both the S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max in the examples below:

Readability indoors, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

However, it is less readable in shady outdoor conditions than the competition…

Readability outdoors in shade, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.
…and is hard to read under sunlight.
Readability under sunlight, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.
The Honor Magic4 Ultimate’s brightness adaptation is smooth when the ambient light changes. The device is almost uniform, with just some slight non-uniformities visible around the notch. The Honor is comfortable to read with the blue light filter on.

Color

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

91

92

Sony Xperia 5 IV
Best: Sony Xperia 5 IV (92)

DXOMARK uses the device’s gallery app to show static (still image) content when measuring the device’s display for white point, gamut, uniformity, color fidelity, and blue light filter impact, etc. 

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate’s very good rendering makes it the current leader for DXOMARK’s color attribute, with pleasant colors under most viewing conditions, including low light:

Color rendering in low light, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

In indoor conditions, a slight blue cast is often visible. But when looking at its competitors’ renderings, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) is more blue and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max shows a yellow cast.

Color rendering indoors, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

In outdoor conditions, the Honor device remains faithful with controlled colors. When looking at its competitors, the S22 Ultra is way oversaturated and the iPhone continues to display a yellow cast.

Color rendering under sunlight, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

The charts below show the measured color faithfulness of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate in both the RGB and P3 color spaces at 1000 lux. The further the tip of an arrow is outside the circle, the more noticeable the difference between the device’s color rendering and the original source material. The Honor shows good color fidelity in both color spaces.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate, color fidelity in sRGB color space at 1000 lux
Honor Magic4 Ultimate, color fidelity in P3 color space at 1000 lux

The charts below show the Honor’s color tendencies when held at an angle. Each dot represents a measurement taken at a discrete angle and distance from the device. Dots inside the inner circle exhibit no color shift in angle; those between the inner and outer circle have shifts that only trained experts will see; but those falling outside the outer circle are readily noticeable. The Honor Magic4 Ultimate maintains its color when viewed at an angle, especially when compared to its rivals. Its color shift is difficult to perceive to an untrained eye.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate, color shift on angle
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), color shift on angle
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, color shift on angle

The Honor device is mostly uniform in color. It shifts to a yellow cast when the BLF is on, but the resulting cast is not disturbing.

Video

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

84

91

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
Best: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) (91)

DXOMARK uses the device’s video (or gallery) app to show dynamic content when measuring the device’s display for brightness, contrast, gamma, and color.

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate’s maximum brightness is well suited for HDR10 content. However, midtones appear darker than they should, and dark tones are missing some details. Colors, including skin tones, are well rendered overall.

Video brightness, clockwise from top left: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: DXOMARK. For illustration only.

Motion

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

81

87

Huawei P40 Pro
Best: Huawei P40 Pro (87)

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate shows some frame mismatches for 30 fps and 60 fps content, as you can see in the 60 fps SDR video examples below, but no frame drops are visible when playing video games.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The device manages motion blur well, but it stutters when resuming video playback.

Touch

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

73

85

OnePlus 9
Best: OnePlus 9 (85)

The Honor device is accurate and has good reactivity when playing video games (<65 ms). However, the device lacks smoothness in every use case.

Artifacts

Honor Magic4 Ultimate

84

86

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Best: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (86)

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate shows almost noflicker, with a PWM frequency of 1920 Hz. This is the highest PWM frequency we have seen on an OLED display so far.

The video below is shot at 2000 fps and displayed at 5 fps (400 times slower than reality). We can see that to minimize the flickering effect, the Magic4 Ultimate increases the number of bright and dark bands. In comparison, the S22 Ultra (Exynos) has very few bands and an important luminance amplitude, making the flickering more noticeable. The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max’s flickering is not as minimal as the Honor’s, but not as noticeable as the Samsung’s.

Flicker comparison, from left: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Moreover, the device does not respond to ghost touches. Judder is well managed, but there are frame mismatches at 24 and 30 fps, though none are visible at 60 fps. Strong aliasing is noticeable when playing video games.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate, aliasing
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), aliasing
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, aliasing

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