Honor Magic9 Pro Max Smartphone Is Inspired By Legendary Arriflex Cameras

“Pro Max” is all the rage these days, and Honor is the latest smartphone company to get in on the trendy name. Honor’s new Magic9 Pro Max also brings in another big name: Arri.

The Honor Magic9 Pro Max smartphone, launched today in China, features an “end-to-end professional cinema workflow” co-engineered with legendary cinema brand Arri. Best known for its cinema colors and color science, Arri is bringing its cinematic expertise to yet another Honor smartphone, following the AI-powered, gimbal-equipped Robot Phone earlier this year.

The Honor Magic9 Pro Max sports a dual 200-megapixel camera system. It has a self-developed Honor Imaging Chip H1 that powers Arri Image Science and enables Arri LogC3 Curve recording with 10-bit color depth and 14 preset Arri Looks. It also includes Cinematic LiveVideo, a Cinematic Directional Microphone, an Honor Teleconverter G200, an Honor Teleconverter G500, and a SmallRig-made Mobile Video Kit.

Honor’s new phone is all-in on mobile video. Nearly everything about the phone has been built with imaging in mind, including its “all-new design inspired by cinema-camera engineering.” The camera’s design is inspired by Arri’s “iconic three-lens turret Arriflex cameras dating back to 1937,” per Honor.

Honor says the Magic9 Pro Max is inspired by the look of old Arriflex cameras, like the Arriflex 35 from 1937 seen here. | Credits: Left photo by Janke, right photo by Biswarup Ganguly. Both photos licensed via CC BY-SA 3.0.

Inside the Honor Magic9 Pro Max is Qualcomm’s brand-new Snapdragon 9 Elite Extreme Gen 6 Mobile Platform, announced last week at Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. While the new sensor enables 8Kp60 recording, it doesn’t seem that’s on offer here. Honor mentions 4Kp60 and doesn’t mention 8K at all.

Up close, the Magic9 Pro Max has a 200-megapixel main camera with a Type 1/1.28 image sensor and a fast f/1.6 lens. The 85mm-equivalent periscope telephoto camera also has a large image sensor, a Type 1/1.4 module. The main and telephoto cameras promise CIPA-rated stabilization of up to eight stops, which is “gimbal-level,” per Honor. A third rear camera is a 50-megapixel ultrawide with a 12mm equivalent focal length.

A range of accessories promises to expand the Magic9 Pro Max’s imaging capabilities. A pair of add-on teleconverter lenses offers up to 500mm equivalent focal lengths, plus a SmallRig cage with grips and attachment points for add-ons like mics and lights.

The phone has a 6.8-inch display with up to 2,000 nits of typical brightness. However, its HDR peak brightness is an astonishing 10,000 nits. As expected, this is limited to very narrow ranges during HDR playback. The device has IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings against water and dust ingress.

“The Honor Magic Series was born for creation, using technology to nurture and empower the creativity within each of us,” says James Li, Honor’s CEO.

“With Honor Magic9 Pro Max, Honor AI helps turn inspiration into action, supporting creators from ideation and scriptwriting through to editing. Through our Cinematic Imaging Partnership with Arri, we are integrating the Honor AIMAGE engine with Arri century of cinematic expertise, helping everyone become the director of their own life,” Li continues.

The Honor Magic9 Pro Max is shipping in China now, starting at RMB 6,499, which is about $970 at current exchange rates. Honor says its new phone will arrive in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Southeast Asia, and other “key international markets” shortly.

Image creditsHonor