HONOR Magic V3: Diving Deeper Into HONOR AI and MagicOS 8

We recently reviewed the HONOR Magic V3 and as good as it is, there are many skeptics out there. The main concerns are the software and the AI features on it. We figured that we didn’t go deep enough for the review but now that we have the time for it, let’s see if the HONOR AI and MagicOS 8 are worth using or not.

HONOR Magic V3, Powered by MagicOS 8.0.1

The HONOR Magic V3 delivers an enhanced software experience with its combination of Android 14 and MagicOS 8.0.1, offering users a smooth, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing interface. Following in the footsteps of the Magic6 Pro, the Magic V3 takes this winning formula and adds some new AI-based features to elevate the user experience further.

Right out of the box, the HONOR Magic V3 impresses with its polished visuals, rounded icons, and responsive animations. The interface is highly intuitive, making everyday interactions feel seamless. One of the standout features is the Magic Capsule, which, while reminiscent of iOS’s pill-shaped notifications, brings its own set of functionalities. Although the pill shape is purely aesthetic, it serves a practical purpose, offering quick access to background music, video playback, and timers, making multitasking a breeze.

One major improvement is the long-requested ‘App Info’ button. In previous iterations of MagicOS, accessing app information required navigating through settings, but now, a simple long-press on the app icon offers the option instantly. This minor but significant tweak streamlines the user experience, making it more in line with what users expect from modern smartphones.

The Magic V3’s foldable design makes it ideal for multitasking, and MagicOS doesn’t disappoint. The multi-window feature is particularly robust, allowing for both horizontal and vertical splits with a wide range of ratio adjustments. This flexibility, coupled with the option for floating windows, ensures that you can easily manage multiple tasks on the expansive display, boosting productivity. No longer are we bounded the HONOR of old with the software being unoptimized for larger screens.

A Boatload of AI Features

HONOR introduces AI enhancements in the Magic V3, headlined by Magic Portal. This feature allows users to perform a variety of tasks simply by long-pressing on an image. A side bar appears with pre-selected apps and actions, offering quick options to search online, email, or take notes about the highlighted item. For example, if you spot a product on a shopping site, Magic Portal enables a seamless search for that item on platforms like eBay.

Additionally, the front-facing camera enables air gestures, allowing users to interact with their device without touching the screen. This feature, inherited from previous models, adds another layer of convenience for hands-free control.

One of the more exciting new features is the face-to-face translation function. HONOR’s collaboration with Google has enabled this AI-driven feature, which supports translations between 10 languages. What makes it particularly innovative is its use of both displays, allowing you and the other person to see the translations on separate screens. Whether it’s a business meeting or a casual chat, this feature is incredibly practical, especially when the phone is positioned on a table, half-folded for easy viewing. Best of all, this functionality operates on Google Cloud, ensuring privacy by stripping out personally identifiable information.

MagicOS includes large folders and cards, essentially custom widgets for in-house apps that provide quick access to essential functions. This attention to detail makes the Magic V3 a pleasure to use, whether you’re navigating apps or managing notifications. What makes it nice is that it has AI App Sorting, so that you don’t have to worry about managing the clutter and let HONOR AI keep the UI clean while making it easy to find the apps that you want.

Arguably one of the best applications of AI in recent times that many make use of is generative editing. The HONOR Magic V3 has that in the form of AI Eraser. By simply circling around elements in a picture, you can polish it or remove it altogether. Upon removal, HONOR AI will regenerate the empty portion to make it look as natural as possible. Say for example you have an unwanted object in the background, you can erase it and it will be as if that object was never there. Sometimes it requires multiple tries to get it right but the better the picture quality, the easier it is for AI to do the work.

For those of you who often needed to take down notes during meeting or classes, the AI-powered HONOR Notes can make your life a whole lot easier. It supports audio-to-text conversion, and it can even recognize if there are multiple speakers and identify them accordingly for easier understanding. To take it a step further, it can even recognize multiple languages at once so you don’t have to worry about anything being lost in translation. This can be especially important for us Malaysians where our use of language tends to blend together.

Lastly, we have AI Privacy Call 3.0, which intelligently recognizes ambient sounds and ensure call clarity with minimal sound leakage. They’ve even added two-way AI noise cancellation for clearer dialogue on both ends of the call. This is especially important as you can take phone calls, no matter how important, and keep it away from prying ears to maintain privacy while enhancing call quality.

Conclusion

HONOR’s MagicOS 8.0.1 layered over Android 14 delivers an enhanced user experience, blending sleek design with thoughtful functionality. From AI features like Magic Portal and face-to-face translation to the refined multi-window support, the HONOR Magic V3 is an impressive device that offers users the tools they need for both productivity and play. With its improved usability and innovative features, the Magic V3 continues HONOR’s tradition of delivering cutting-edge technology in a premium package.

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