Honor Magic4 Ultimate Display test

Brand new to the market in March 2022, the Honor Magic4 Ultimate is packed with features suitable for a device in ours Ultra-Premium segment ($ 800 and up). In this review, we take a look at how it fared across our full range of display tests.

Main display specifications:

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

Learn about SBMARK visualization tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone and other display reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective and perceptual tests in controlled laboratory and under real-life conditions. This article highlights the most important results of our tests. Please note that we evaluate display attributes using only the device’s built-in display hardware and related still image (gallery) and video apps with default settings. (For in-depth information on how we rate smartphones and other displays, check out our articles, “How SBMARK tests the visualization quality ” And “A closer look at the SBMARK display test. “)

Test summary

Pros

Very good color rendering
Brightness suitable for indoor and low light conditions
Fluid reaction to changes in ambient lighting
Nearly flicker-free OLED screen

Cons

Lack of softness to the touch in each case of use
Strong aliasing visible when playing video games
Many dropped frames are visible when starting video

With an overall score of 95, the Honor Magic4 Ultimate delivers great performance for many Display protocol attributes, with particularly good color rendering placing it at the top of the charts at the time of this writing. Its only real drawback is for touch, where it doesn’t feel fluid in any of SBMARK’s use cases.

Analysis and comparisons

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

SBMARK uses the device gallery app to show static content (still image) while measuring the device display for brightness, contrast, gamma and impact of blue light, etc.

The comparison charts below show the Honor’s performance Cons the competition at 0 lux (low light) and 30,000 lux (wide daylight):

The brightness of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate is suitable for low light conditions:

Low-light readability, left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

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

Readability inside, left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

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

Outdoor readability in the shade, left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

… and it’s hard to read in sunlight.

Sunlight readability, left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate’s brightness adjustment is smooth when the ambient light changes. The device is almost uniform, with only some slight inhomogeneities visible around the notch. The Honor is comfortable to read with the blue light filter activated.

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

The great rendering of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate makes it the current leader for SBMARK’s chromatic attribute, with pleasing colors in most viewing conditions, including low light:

Low light color rendering, left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

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

Color rendering inside, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

In outdoor conditions, the Honor device remains faithful with controlled colors. If you look at its competitors, the S22 Ultra is very saturated and the iPhone continues to show a yellow cast.

Color rendering in sunlight, from left to right: Honor Magic4 Ultimate, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

The graphs below show the measured color fidelity of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate in both the RGB and P3 color spaces at 1000 lux. The farther the tip of an arrow is outside the circle, the more noticeable is the difference between the color rendering of the device and the original material. The Honor exhibits good color fidelity in both color spaces.

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

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

The graphs below show the color trends of the Honor when held at an angle. Each point represents a measurement taken at a discrete angle and distance from the device. The points inside the inner circle show no color change in the corner; those between the inner and outer circle have shifts that only trained experts will see; but those that fall outside the outer circle are easily seen. The Honor Magic4 Ultimate retains its color when viewed at an angle, especially when compared to its rivals. Its color change is difficult to perceive to an untrained eye.

Honor Magic4 Ultimate, color change on the corner

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos), color change on the corner

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, color change on the corner

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

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

The maximum brightness of the Honor Magic4 Ultimate is suitable for HDR10 content. However, the midtones appear darker than they should and the dark tones lack some detail. Colors, including skin tones, are overall well rendered.

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

Photo credit: SBMARK. For illustrative purposes only.

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

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)

The device handles motion blur well, but stutters when video playback resumes.

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

The Honor Magic4 Ultimate shows almost noflickerwith a PWM frequency of 1920 Hz. This is the highest PWM frequency we’ve seen so far on an OLED display.

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, 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 flicker more noticeable. The flickering of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is not as minimal as that of the Honor, but it is not as noticeable as that of the Samsung.

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

Also, the device does not respond to ghost touches. Judder is well handled, but there are mismatched frames at 24 and 30fps, though none are visible at 60fps. There is strong aliasing when playing video games.