HONOR Magic9 Pro Max First Look – ARRI Color Science at a Fraction of the Price

by Johnnie BehiriToday

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Imagine a world where anyone who cares about storytelling and picture aesthetics can carry an ARRI camera in their pocket and instantly shoot video. Would you opt in if such a device existed? Well, not so fast, but this is the place to share that the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max is about to be introduced internationally, and we, along with some other leading tech nerds, were invited to Los Angeles to hear firsthand about the company’s collaboration with ARRI, which aims to bring ARRI’s color science to a mobile device. Was I impressed with what I saw? Will it drive me to finally shoot professionally on such a mobile device? Let’s take a closer look.

It was towards the end of 2024 when Nino and I openly talked about mobile phone companies identifying the opportunity to conquer another market next to photography, and we predicted that 2025 would be that year. Well, we were wrong. It took one more year, and now the market is seeing a flood of mobile devices capable of taking high-quality videos. But to be honest, the route that so many companies took left me unconvinced. 8K video on such tiny sensors equals a marketing gimmick. Huge rigs and other solutions to mimic a “film look” are out of the question for me: simply grab a mirrorless camera, and you are in that upper category. AI? Well, if it can help enhance some technical elements, maybe, but replacing things and making artistic decisions for me? No way.

So when HONOR contacted us, why was I so excited to hear more? The reason was simple. For the second time, ARRI is contributing its years of experience to help HONOR, a privately owned Chinese company, create a phone that can (potentially) revolutionize our industry. After all, the possibility of using ARRI’s LogC3 LUTs while (or after) recording to create attractive-looking videos sounds promising.

Many world-class manufacturers, like ZEISS and Leica (to name a few), already contribute their expertise to phone makers to attract potential buyers, while ARRI, on the other hand, “opened the gate” for Panasonic LUMIX users to use its LUTs on selected mirrorless cameras. We covered the HONOR and ARRI partnership when it was announced, the HONOR Robot Phone as its first product, and the launch of the Magic9 Pro Max in China with the ARRI co-branding.

Is it more than a “sticker thing”?

Now, the first two questions I asked myself when I heard about this HONOR/ARRI partnership were: Why does ARRI need this? Aren’t they diluting their name by putting their logo on a device that will most likely cost more than $1,000? And is this collaboration for real, or is it simply a “sticker thing”? After visiting ARRI’s HQ in Burbank, Los Angeles, and talking to the people responsible, I’m better informed and can say clearly: it is a brilliant move for both companies, and the technical collaboration, while challenging, really was (and is) happening. I could witness firsthand that a lot of hours went into getting the best color fidelity out of the cameras in this phone.

HONOR gets recognition and promises that this is only the beginning of what’s to come, while ARRI confirmed that a sub-$15,000 camera will never see the light of day, as the company is too small to produce cameras in high quantities. So, in a way, the company is not “giving up” on us, the creators who wanted a small ARRI camera, by letting HONOR do the hardware and implement ARRI’s color workflow in pocket devices.

And yes, before I get crucified: I’m not trying to compare a $70,000 ARRI ALEXA 35 cinema camera to a $1,000 mobile phone, yet the color rendition and overall look of the two devices are certainly astonishingly similar! Remember my words: one day (not so far away), we will see larger sensors in these mobile devices, or reliable computational depth of field, and then, from the aspect of “look, feel, and general picture aesthetics”, the gap between mirrorless cameras and mobile devices will vanish completely.

Filming at the Griffith Observatory

Talking is one thing, but seeing footage is another. For the accompanying video, I made a quick edit with footage that I captured at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. I mostly used the native ISO of 160, the 24mm and 85mm cameras, autofocus, and ARRI LogC3, together with the SmallRig cage that HONOR provided and a variable ND filter. The phone records 10-bit 4:2:2 video, and while the phone itself runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the camera relies on HONOR’s own H1 imaging chip when filming.

Getting started is easy. When you first switch on the phone, you will be asked to update it to the latest available firmware. Then, look for the ARRI CINEMA mode and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with it, as it is an extremely easy-to-use feature. Filming resolution is set to 4K, and frame rates can be changed from 24p all the way up to 60p. There are other professional tools, like false color and peaking, but the main advantage of this camera is the ability to record in ARRI’s flat LogC3 picture profile, or with ARRI’s LUTs already embedded in the video. You can also record in LogC3 and get a real-time preview through an ARRI LUT. Depending on your shooting mode, up to 14 ARRI Looks are on the phone, and you are welcome to download 87 additional ones from either HONOR’s or ARRI’s websites. (Actually, those LUTs are free for anyone to download and use).

If you are looking for additional creativity, HONOR sells three accessories separately. The Teleconverter G200 is a 200mm add-on lens, 81mm / 3.2in long and 88g / 3.1oz light, and the Teleconverter G500 is a 500mm version. And of course, there is the HONOR SmallRig Mobile Video Kit, which I used for filming. This cage has standard mounting points, quick-release handles, a Bluetooth shutter release, a cooling fan, and swappable mounts for the teleconverter lenses or filters.

Cameras and the HONOR Imaging Chip H1

For those of you who want the technical background, here are the facts from HONOR’s documents. The rear camera module holds three cameras. The 200MP main camera uses a 1/1.28-inch sensor behind a 24mm-equivalent f/1.57 lens, with OIS and what HONOR calls 3-degree gimbal-level stabilization. The second 200MP camera is a telephoto with a 1/1.4-inch sensor and an 85mm-equivalent f/2.6 lens, also with OIS. A 50MP ultra-wide camera (12mm equivalent, f/2.0) completes the set, but it is not available in ARRI CINEMA mode. HONOR rates both 200MP cameras at CIPA 8.0 for stabilization, and it compares its 3-degree figure with the roughly 1-degree correction range that it says is typical for flagship phones. (Personally, I was not so impressed with the stabilization performance).

The HONOR Imaging Chip H1 is built on a 6nm process. According to HONOR, the chip runs noise reduction in the RAW domain in real time, raises the signal-to-noise ratio by 8dB and supports up to 14 stops of dynamic range. These are HONOR lab figures. ARRI does not publish a dynamic range number for the phone, and we have not measured it in our lab yet.

On the front, a 55MP f/2.0 camera uses a square 1:1 sensor. The idea is that you hold the phone vertically and crop the square frame to 16:9 or 9:16 later, without turning the phone.

LogC3, ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and the ARRI Looks

The ARRI part of the phone is color management, not optics. In ARRI CINEMA mode, the Magic9 Pro Max records 10-bit video with the ARRI LogC3 curve in the ARRI Wide Gamut 3 color space. This is the encoding of the ALEXA Mini and AMIRA generation, so standard LogC3 conversion LUTs and color management in DaVinci Resolve and other grading applications work directly with the footage. The main and telephoto cameras both follow the LogC3 curve of ARRI’s cinema cameras closely.

The 14 Looks on the phone are the two ARRI conversion Looks (ARRI – ALEXA, the classic LogC3 to Rec. 709 LUT, and ARRI – Video, a brighter and more saturated version) plus 12 stylized Looks. The 87 Looks of the ARRI Look Library are in nine groups: black-and-white, application (news, interviews, sports and fashion), film, tinted, environment, season, contrast, period and special. You can also import your own LogC3 LUTs. An optional ARRI watermark is only available when you record in SDR or HDR with a Look embedded.

ARRI CINEMA mode and the APV codec

The ARRI CINEMA status bar shows the color profile (LogC3, SDR or HDR), the aspect ratio (16:9 or 2.39:1), the active Look, exposure compensation and the remaining recording time. The control row below the image gives access to resolution and frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus mode (AF, AF-C or manual), audio presets, and camera selection.

For recording, like with HONOR’s Robot Phone, the Magic9 Pro Max supports APV 10-bit 4:2:2. APV (Advanced Professional Video) is an open intermediate codec that DaVinci Resolve supports. Mind you that Adobe Premiere does not natively support this codec! HONOR says that APV files are about 20% smaller than ProRes files at a similar quality target, depending on the recording settings.

Cinematic LiveVideo is a 3-second 4K clip (up to 60fps, 16:9 or 2.39:1) that starts when you long-press the record button in ARRI CINEMA, and it uses the active ARRI Look.

A directional microphone in a phone

For audio, HONOR uses one directional microphone and three omnidirectional microphones. The directional capsule works on the interference-tube principle of a shotgun microphone: sound from the front reaches the diaphragm through one short path, while off-axis sound enters through two openings with different path lengths and partially cancels before any digital processing. HONOR quotes a pickup distance of up to 20m / 66ft and rejection of sound outside a 120-degree frontal arc, based on its own tests against standard omnidirectional phone microphones. There are four audio presets (Long-Range Enhancement, Macro Enhancement, Vocal Enhancement and Vocal Clarity) and a custom mode with gain, frequency response and noise reduction settings.

Display

The 6.8-inch / 17.3cm LTPO OLED display has a resolution of 1320 x 2868 pixels (464 PPI), a refresh rate of 1 to 120Hz, 10-bit color and 100% DCI-P3 coverage. HONOR specifies 10,000 nits local peak brightness, 2,000 nits full-screen peak brightness and 1.5% screen reflectance, with PWM dimming at 4,320Hz. For a phone that is also its own monitor, the low reflectance is the more useful number for outdoor work.

What I would like to see improved

No phone or camera is perfect, so here is my wish list:

• Currently, only two cameras can be used in ARRI CINEMA mode, and hopefully, the company will consider adding the wide-angle camera too.
• The leveling indicator should be displayed more prominently, as otherwise it is not so easy to use when filming outdoors.
• Recorded audio levels cannot be controlled. Speaking of which, there are several audio presets, but some of them make the audio quality very thin, so I opted to use “standard” as my preferred audio preset.
• Even if the camera shows that stabilization is disabled, it cannot be switched off completely. So basically, you need to choose between mild stabilization and a stronger one at the expense of a greater crop. All in all, I think that HONOR’s competitors are doing a better job with their stabilization implementation, and I still have not found the mode that works best for me when filming handheld.

• When using wired external monitoring, footage cannot be watched horizontally.
• Hopefully, uncompressed video codecs can be implemented too.

• Playing back footage shows that the frame rate is not locked to 24p, as the camera occasionally records at 24.01 or 24.02fps. Obviously, this should be locked at 24p.
• It is also unfortunate that the ARRI Looks cannot be used for photos.
• Last but not least, maybe I’m asking a bit too much, but I wish that noise reduction levels could be better controlled for even more cinematic-looking footage.

Price and availability

Apart from China and Hong Kong, HONOR has not yet announced official pricing, and our estimate is that the phone will cost more than $1,000. It will be available in China, Europe and parts of Asia, but not in the USA. HONOR’s UK and French websites point to a European launch in January 2027. For more information, please visit the HONOR website.

To Summarize

The HONOR Magic9 Pro Max is truly an enjoyable device to use. I really want to explore filming with it more, and even try to do something with anamorphic adapters. And to be honest, I somehow get the feeling that this is not the last time we will hear about the collaboration between these two companies, so stay tuned.

Full Disclosure: CineD was a guest at the HONOR and ARRI L..A event. Flights and accommodation were paid by HONOR.

Would you shoot your next project with ARRI color science on a phone, or does a mirrorless camera still make more sense for you? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!