Foldable flagship
Honor Magic V5
from £1,349.99
Screen
7.95" foldable
Chip
Snapdragon 8 Elite
A book-fold rival to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. Pick this if you want a tablet that folds, not just a phone.
Updated May 2026 . Magic8 Pro current
Honor: the UK phone brand most buyers still confuse with Huawei
Huawei sold Honor on 17 November 2020. Five and a half years later, Honor is fully independent, ships every UK phone with the Google Play Store, and runs from a 6.56" sub-£120 entry model up to a £1,349.99 foldable. This page explains what changed, the 2026 UK lineup, and helps you pick a model.
2020
Year Honor split from Huawei
Sold to Shenzhen Zhixin on 17 Nov
£120
Cheapest Honor UK price
Honor X6c, AMOLED entry level
7 yrs
Update promise on flagships
Matches Apple, Samsung and Google
Yes
Google apps work normally
Unlike Huawei, full Play Store access
The fact most reviews skip
Honor and Huawei are not the same company anymore
For years, Honor was Huawei's budget sub-brand. That changed on 17 November 2020. Hit by US sanctions and unable to source the chips and software it needed, Huawei announced it had sold the entire Honor business to a consortium called Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. The buyer is led by the Shenzhen city government's investment arm and includes more than 30 of Honor's own distributors and dealers as shareholders.
Huawei holds zero shares in the new Honor. It also has no seats on the board and no influence over Honor's strategy, chip choices or software stack. Honor now signs its own deals with Qualcomm, Samsung Display and, crucially, Google.
That last point is the practical one. Because Honor is no longer covered by US Huawei restrictions, every Honor phone sold in the UK in 2026 ships with the full Google Mobile Services stack: Play Store, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Google Pay, Chrome and (on newer Magic models) the Gemini AI app pre-installed.
Every Honor on UK shelves
Honor's UK lineup in May 2026
Filter by price tier. All prices are Honor UK's own SIM-free RRP.
Flagship
Honor Magic8 Pro
from £1,099.99
Screen
6.8" LTPO OLED
Chip
Snapdragon 8 Elite
Honor's top non-folding phone. Three rear cameras, 100W charging, IP69 water resistance. Direct rival to the Galaxy S Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro at a lower price.
Last year flagship
Honor Magic7 Pro
from £849.99
Screen
6.8" LTPO OLED
Chip
Snapdragon 8 Elite
The 2024 flagship, now discounted. The same chip and camera bar as the Magic8 Pro for less money. The smart buyer's pick.
Upper mid-range
Honor 600 Pro
from £899.99
Screen
6.7" OLED
Chip
Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
Flagship features without the Magic price. Strong camera, fast charging, 7 years of updates promised.
Mainstream pick
Honor 600
from £599.99
Screen
6.7" OLED
Chip
Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
The standard Honor 600. A bigger battery than most rivals at this price and the same 7-year update promise.
Mid-range premium feel
Honor Magic8 Lite
from £449.99
Screen
6.78" AMOLED
Chip
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
A Magic-branded mid-ranger. Big screen, big battery, premium glass back at sub-£500.
Budget AMOLED
Honor 400
from £449.99
Screen
6.55" AMOLED
Chip
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
The single best UK Android under £500 for screen quality. AI photo features and a clean shell.
Entry-level
Honor 400 Lite
from £299.99
Screen
6.7" AMOLED
Chip
MediaTek Dimensity 6080
AMOLED at sub-£300. Plenty of phone for a teenager, parent or backup handset.
Cheapest
Honor X6c
from £119.99
Screen
6.56" LCD
Chip
MediaTek Helio G36
Honor's lowest UK price. Basic specs, but reliable for calls, messaging and light social media.
Prices verified May 2026 via honor.com/uk/shop. Network and third-party retailer prices often beat the SIM-free RRP.
Interactive tool
Find your Honor in 3 questions
Answer three questions, get a recommended model and a runner-up. The picker matches your answers to one of nine UK buyer archetypes and pulls the right Honor from the full 2026 lineup. No contact details needed.
Question 1 of 3
Honor sells phones from £120 to £1,350. Pick your ceiling.
£100
£1,400
Question 2 of 3
This decides whether you need flagship cameras, a foldable screen, or just basics.
Question 3 of 3
Honor's 7-year update promise applies only to the Magic and 400/600 series.
Your Honor archetype
Also worth a look
Honor UK SIM-free RRPs verified May 2026. Buying direct from Honor UK, Argos, Currys or Amazon often beats these prices.
Insider angle
Why a flagship Honor costs hundreds less than a flagship Galaxy
The Honor Magic8 Pro uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the OnePlus 13. Its camera sensors are made by the same handful of factories (Sony, Samsung, OmniVision). On paper, Honor's flagship is matched up with phones that cost £200 to £400 more.
Honor undercuts them anyway. The reason is in the cap table. After the 2020 spin-off, more than 30 Honor distributors and dealers became shareholders alongside the Shenzhen city investment arm. Those shareholders care about volume and shelf space, not the premium margins Apple and Samsung defend.
Add a weaker brand recognition in the UK (Honor still ranks behind Apple, Samsung, Google and OnePlus in awareness surveys) and Honor has to price aggressively to win the sale. That is the buyer's window.
Trade-off, in plain words
You save serious money on the buy. But Honor's UK resale value is weaker than Samsung's or Apple's, repair networks are smaller, and you do not get the Samsung One UI ecosystem or the Apple-tier accessory choice. If you keep your phone the full 7 years and never resell, the deal is excellent. If you upgrade every 2 years and trade in, the gap narrows.
Side by side
Honor Magic8 Pro vs the obvious rivals
A flagship-to-flagship comparison at SIM-free UK RRP.
| Spec | Honor Magic8 Pro | iPhone 17 Pro | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK RRP from | £1,099 | £1,099 | £1,249 |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Apple A19 Pro | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Display | 6.8" LTPO OLED 120Hz | 6.3" ProMotion 120Hz | 6.9" Dynamic AMOLED 120Hz |
| Update promise | 7 years | ~7 years (typical) | 7 years |
| Google services | Yes (full GMS + Gemini) | N/A (iOS) | Yes (full GMS + Gemini) |
| 2-year UK resale | ~35% | ~55% | ~42% |
Resale percentages are indicative two-year retention based on Music Magpie, CeX and eBay UK averages, May 2026. Update promises are vendor-published commitments.
Honor FAQs
The Selectra expert answers your questions
No. Huawei sold the Honor business in full on 17 November 2020 to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd, a consortium led by a Shenzhen-government-owned company and over 30 Honor dealers. Huawei holds no shares and no management role in Honor today.
Yes. Because Honor was sold off in late 2020, the US restrictions on Huawei no longer apply to it. Every Honor phone sold in the UK ships with the Google Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and the full Google Mobile Services stack. Newer models (Magic7 Pro and later) also have Google Gemini pre-installed.
Honor promises 7 years of Android version updates and security patches on the Magic7 Pro, Magic8 series, Honor 400 and Honor 600 series. That matches Apple, Samsung and Google's top tiers. Older and cheaper Honor models get a shorter window of 2 to 4 years.
Honor's UK shareholders include over 30 of its own distributors and dealers, on top of a Shenzhen state-owned holding. That ownership structure pushes Honor toward volume sales and aggressive pricing rather than the high margins Apple and Samsung charge. You get flagship hardware at lower prices, with the trade-off being weaker brand recognition and lower resale value.
Direct from honor.com/uk, through Argos, Currys, Amazon UK, and on contract via Three UK (Honor's strongest UK network partner) plus iD Mobile and Mobile Phones Direct. SIM-free is usually the cheapest route, especially during Honor's frequent direct-store sales.
If you actively want a folding phone, yes - it is hundreds less than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and uses the same Snapdragon chip. If you just want a flagship that doesn't fold, the Honor Magic8 Pro at £1,099 gives you the same chip, the same camera bar and the same updates without paying the folding-screen premium.
At flagship level (Magic7 Pro, Magic8 Pro) Honor is competitive with the iPhone Pro and Galaxy S Ultra for stills, with slightly weaker video. The selling point is the AI-driven photo editing built into the camera app (background blur, object removal, sky replacement) which is more polished than Samsung's and on par with Google's Pixel. Mid-range Honor cameras are good for the price but a step below the flagship tier.
Keep exploring
Honor's rivals and how to pair the phone
Sister brand
Huawei phones in the UK
Why Huawei phones in the UK still don't have Google services, and how to decide if HarmonyOS works for you.
Read the guideRival
Samsung Galaxy guide
The closest Android comparison: pricing, ranges, contract maths and the One UI ecosystem.
Read the guideNetwork
UK mobile networks compared
Three is Honor's strongest UK network partner, but EE, Vodafone and O2 also stock the range. Compare SIM-only deals.
Read the guideHonor chosen? Now find the cheapest SIM
Buy your Honor SIM-free and pair it with a 30-day SIM-only
Buying SIM-free direct from Honor UK and adding a SIM-only deal is almost always cheaper than a 24-month Pay Monthly bundle. Compare every UK network in one place.