Smartphones with price tags soaring over ten thousand Yuan are still selling like hotcakes—a phenomenon that, in the past, seemed to be exclusive to Apple’s iPhones. However, Huawei broke this trend by launching the luxurious Huawei Mate RS series. Initially developed in collaboration with Porsche Design, the Mate RS boasted an ultra-cool appearance, achieving impressive sales despite its hefty price tag. As Huawei’s fame continued to grow, demand for this luxury flagship rose even higher, often resulting in supply shortages during initial sales, sparking envy among its competitors.
Most competitors could only look on with envy as despite the straightforward concept of creating a luxury custom phone—outfitting a flagship model with the best possible specifications and a luxurious business-style design—any attempt to emulate Huawei’s approach was likely to be criticized. There was one exception, though: Honor. As a former sub-brand established by Huawei, Honor’s adoption of a similar strategy was widely accepted as legitimate. Their Honor Magic5 Ultimate Edition is a testament to the success of this approach.
The Honor Magic5 Ultimate Edition is essentially Honor’s version of the Mate RS Porsche Design, and to this day, it remains at the top of Honor’s line-up, serving as the brand’s crown jewel. Not only does it pack powerful hardware, but its appearance is also styled with luxury business aesthetics, immediately signaling its extravagant price tag. Acknowledging the brand’s value as still lower than Huawei’s, Honor set the price of this lavish flagship at 6,699 Yuan.
Priced at 6,699 Yuan for the standard configuration of 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, the Honor Magic5 Ultimate Edition’s price tag seems reasonable, especially compared to other brands’ similarly specced Ultra flagships that reach this price point. As such, the Honor Magic5 Ultimate Edition has seen successful sales. However, its price has since decreased since the arrival of the new Honor Magic6 series, marking the beginning of the phase-out for this magnificent device.
Even by today’s standards, this flagship remains impressive. It is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, more than capable for most tasks. The display is a premium floating stream curved screen, complemented by super-curved nanocrystal glass, which significantly increases its resistance to drops. With top-of-the-line IP68 waterproofing, the device also includes a 5450mAh battery from Qinghai Lake, supporting 66W fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. Photography enthusiasts can delight in a rear camera setup featuring a 50MP triple primary camera system capable of 100x zoom.
Besides these highlights, the smartphone boasts several other noteworthy features, such as its quadruple-chip composition that elevates the user experience and its sumptuous design that scores additional points. With the arrival of a new generation of flagships, Honor has finally conceded to reducing the price of this luxury device. Its price has dropped by 1,200 Yuan, with a new price of around 5,499 Yuan, making it even more appealing compared to the new flagship models. Holding this device conveys a sense of luxury and class, making it appear as one belonging to the ten-thousand Yuan category.