Honor’s Porsche Design Magic 6 RSR is the luxury smartphone for your midlife crisis
It’s a well-known clichΓ© that men of a certain age turn to the thrill of a Porsche 911 when their youthful mojo starts to fade, and while not everyone can afford to spend the money on a six-figure sports car, Honor’s recently released (and equally beautiful) Porsche Design smartphone could offer similar sensations for a fraction of the price.
Designed in collaboration with the design studio of the same name, the Porsche Design Honor Magic 6 RSR is essentially a souped-up version of the Honor Magic 6 Pro, and the second Porsche Design collaboration to emerge from Honor’s R&D labs, after the Porsche Design Honor Magic V2 RSR (check Ny Breaking TikTok channel for a look at that device).
As far as specs go, the Magic 6 RSR is almost the same phone as the Magic 6 Pro, but there are some key differences between the two. Both devices share an identical Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and a 5,600mAh battery, but the 6.8-inch OLED display on the Magic 6 RSR is actually two, stacked OLED panels, rather than one (which is supposedly minimizes brightness degradation). The Magic 6 RSR also gets the same three rear cameras as the Magic 6 Pro, although the former benefits from a fancy new LiDAR autofocus system, making it sound suitably futuristic.
Under the hood, the Magic 6 RSR’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is aided by a whopping 24GB of RAM and a whopping 1TB of storage (where its standard sibling comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage), making even the most specced versions of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max to shame (more on these phones later).
German technology for your telephone
However, the biggest differences between the Magic 6 RSR and the Magic 6 Pro lie in the area of ββdesign. Being a Porsche Design phone, it’s no surprise that the back panel of the Magic 6 RSR looks a lot sportier than its standard sibling; in reality, the Agate Gray model wouldn’t look out of place on Batman’s belt (the phone also comes in Frozen Berry: a pink color that doesn’t scream ‘Caped Crusader’ in the same way).
As with the foldable Magic V2, Honor says this rear panel design is a nod to the iconic flight line of Porsche cars β this time the all-electric Porsche Taycan (midlife crisis alert!) β and that the Magic 6 RSR’s camera module is too has been brightened up with a neat looking hexagonal module. I’m a big fan of the unique design of the Magic 6 Pro, but I have to admit that the raised contour of the Magic 6 RSR feels better and better in the hand.
On the front, the Magic 6 RSR features a thin layer of Honor’s super-durable NanoCrystal Shield, made using silicon nitride. In other words, this phone’s display is a lot sturdier than that of the standard Magic 6 Pro, which is handy considering the price.
And now the price: the Porsche Design Honor Magic 6 RSR costs Β£1,599, and is available at Honor’s website or directly Porsche Design. The phone is unlikely to ship in the US or Australia, but will be available for purchase in other European regions soon.
Now I know what you’re thinking: βΒ£1,599 for a phone? You’ve got to be kidding me!” And yes, that’s a lot of money for a 6.8-inch pocket computer. But wait! The Magic 6 RSR is actually no more expensive than the 1TB variants of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Β£1,549) and iPhone Pro Max (Β£1,599), and neither of these phones offer anywhere near as much RAM.
You also get a nice looking Porsche-branded leather case in the box with the Magic 6 RSR, as well as Honor’s 100W SuperCharge fast charger. Neither Samsung nor Apple offer such luxury with their respective latest flagships.
So while I wouldn’t exactly describe the Magic 6 RSR as good value for money, it’s certainly not the worst proposition on the mobile market at the moment. It’s essentially an even better version of the best Honor phone, so if you want to invest in a standout smartphone that will make you feel like you own a Porsche, then the Honor Magic 6 RSR might be for you.