Honor Magic8 Pro Brings 200MP Night Zoom and 5.5G to the UAE

Honor Magic8 Pro launches in the UAE with a 200MP night telephoto camera, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 5.5G-ready connectivity and a 7100mAh battery from AED 3,999.

The Honor Magic8 Pro is now official in the UAE and wider GCC, and it’s clearly built for people who care way more about night photos and battery life than just checking specs off a list. Honor is pushing a 200MP AI Ultra Night Telephoto camera, a massive 7100mAh silicon–carbon battery and “first 5.5G-ready smartphone in the UAE” as its big talking points, backed by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a bunch of AI tools on top.

If you’ve been eyeing Honor’s recent phones or comparing flagships in the UAE, this one is aimed squarely at creators, night shooters and anyone who doesn’t want to live next to a charger.

Honor Magic8 Pro launches across the GCC, with a Dubai event highlighting camera, AI and 5.5G-ready features.
200MP AI Ultra Night Telephoto and new AI Ultra Night Portrait mode focus on low-light and long-distance photography.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a 7100mAh silicon–carbon battery target heavy users who need all-day performance.
Honor calls it the UAE’s first 5.5G-ready smartphone, launched with Etisalat by e& as a key partner.
UAE pre-orders start 11 December 2025 from AED 3,999 with colour options and a premium gift bundle worth AED 2,299.

Night photography is the main character

Honor is very obviously selling the Magic8 Pro as a night photography phone first, everything else second.

200MP AI Ultra Night Telephoto camera
AI Ultra Night Portrait mode for faces in low light
AI Magic Colour system for real-time colour tuning
AI Editor for quick on-device edits and adjustments

Instead of just shouting “200MP” and calling it a day, HONOR is pairing the big number with AI modes designed to fix what usually ruins low-light photos: weird colours, blown-out highlights and faces that either vanish into the background or look like they’ve been hit by a beauty filter from 2015. The AI Ultra Night Portrait mode is meant to keep skin tones sensible and exposure balanced, even in harsh lighting like Dubai’s neon and mixed indoor lighting.

The AI Magic Colour system and AI Editor then sit on top as “finishers”, letting you tweak the look of your shot and make quick cuts and edits on the phone, without jumping into a heavy editing app. For more camera-focused phone comparisons in the UAE, it’s worth checking our running guide to the best phones of 2025 in the UAE.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a 7100mAh battery tag-team

Under the camera hype, the Magic8 Pro is still a proper flagship, built around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. Honor is pairing that with a huge 7100mAh silicon–carbon battery, which is the part that will matter more to most people than any benchmark chart.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform
Focus on higher processing speed and better thermal performance
7100mAh HONOR Silicon–Carbon Battery
AI features like AI Button, AI Search and AI Documents baked in

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 should keep the phone smooth under heavy loads like 4K video recording, gaming or hopping between multiple social apps at once. Honor is also calling out improved thermal performance, which is a nice way of saying “we’re trying very hard not to let this thing turn into a hand warmer during summer in Dubai”.

The silicon–carbon battery tech is there to stretch battery life further than a typical cell of the same size, which should be handy if you spend evenings shooting long-exposure night photos or recording at events.

Honor’s recent devices like the Honor X9d already leaned heavily into battery and durability. The Magic8 Pro pushes that idea into flagship territory.

UAE’s first 5.5G-ready smartphone (according to HONOR)

One of the bigger talking points from the Dubai launch is connectivity. Honor is calling the Magic8 Pro the UAE’s first 5.5G-ready smartphone, launched with operator support from Etisalat by e&.

Marketed as UAE’s first 5.5G-ready phone
Launch event hosted in Dubai with Etisalat by e& present
Tied to the UAE’s broader “next-gen connectivity” push

5.5G (often referred to globally as 5G-Advanced) is the next step for mobile networks, promising faster speeds, better reliability and more stable performance in crowded areas once operators fully roll it out.

Honor positioning the Magic8 Pro as ready for that future means you’re not buying a phone that feels capped by today’s 5G networks the minute new standards arrive. For a brand that’s been trying to grow share in the Middle East’s fast-moving phone market, this is exactly the kind of headline that plays well with early adopters.

If you’ve been following Honor’s regional push with devices like the Magic V5 foldable, Magic8 Pro looks like the next step in that same “AI + battery + camera + connectivity” formula.

Colours, configurations and UAE pricing

For the GCC, Honor is keeping the Magic8 Pro lineup pretty clean: two storage options, three colours, and a clear price split for the UAE.

Pre-orders in the UAE start 11 December 2025
Colours: Sunrise Gold, Sky Cyan, Black
12GB + 512GB model at AED 3,999
16GB + 1TB model at AED 4,699
Pre-order bundle worth AED 2,299, including:
- HONOR VIP Care+
- Three-month Google AI Pro trial
- HONOR Watch5 Ultra

The memory options should suit both typical users and heavy creators. 512GB will be fine for most people shooting lots of photos and video, while the 1TB model is the one to look at if you’re planning to use the Magic8 Pro as your main camera for work or content creation.

The pre-order gift bundle is also a decent sweetener: VIP Care+ for peace of mind, three months of Google’s AI Pro tools, and a full Honor Watch5 Ultra thrown in.

Honor’s pitch to Middle East creators

During the Dubai launch, Honor positioned the Magic8 Pro as a tool built for creators and storytellers in the region, not just another spec-bumped flagship.

Focus on AI imaging and night photography
AI tools aimed at smarter search and document handling
Messaging around “purposeful innovation” for Middle East users

The idea is simple: give people a camera system that works in tough lighting, give them AI tools that cut busywork, and pack it all into hardware that can last a long day without a panic charge. For anyone trying to cover late-night events, shoot reels around the city or just capture better low-light photos during winter outdoor season, that’s a very direct pitch.

If you want a broader view of where Honor sits among 2025’s flagships, our round-up of the best phones in the UAE is a good place to see how Magic8 Pro might stack up once it hits shelves.

FAQ: Honor Magic8 Pro in the UAE

What is the Honor Magic8 Pro?

The Honor Magic8 Pro is HONOR’s latest flagship smartphone for the GCC, launched in Dubai. It focuses on a 200MP AI Ultra Night Telephoto camera, AI-powered photo tools, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance and a 7100mAh silicon–carbon battery.

Is the Honor Magic8 Pro 5.5G-ready in the UAE?

Yes. Honor is positioning the Magic8 Pro as the UAE’s first 5.5G-ready smartphone, launched with Etisalat by e& as a key partner. That means it’s built to support upcoming 5.5G networks once local operators switch them on.

What’s special about the Magic8 Pro camera?

The phone’s main headline feature is a 200MP AI Ultra Night Telephoto camera designed to capture detailed shots in low light and at long distances. It’s backed by AI Ultra Night Portrait mode, AI Magic Colour and AI Editor, all working together to keep colours accurate and exposure balanced while making editing faster on the device.

How much does the Honor Magic8 Pro cost in the UAE?

In the UAE, the Magic8 Pro is priced at AED 3,999 for the 12GB + 512GB model and AED 4,699 for the 16GB + 1TB model. Pre-orders include a bundle worth AED 2,299 with Honor VIP Care+, a three-month Google AI Pro trial and the HONOR Watch5 Ultra.