Honor Magic8 Mini could set a new standard for small phones
Honor may try a different spin on the ultra-slim smartphone idea with the Magic8 Mini. According to a Weibo post (source in Chinese) by prolific leaker Digital Chat Station, the device is likely to be under 6 mm thick and feature a 6.3-inch flat display with 1.5K resolution and an LTPO panel.The leaker says that it could be the first ultra-slim small-screen flagship smartphone on the market. Despite the small size, the device may pack a 5,500 mAh battery, which is a much larger capacity than both the iPhone Air and the Galaxy S25 Edge.
In fact, that’s 10% more than the rumored capacity of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Despite packing a relatively gigantic 6.9-inch display, Samsung’s ultra-flagship is likely to feature a 5,000 mAh battery. In all fairness, the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Pixel 10 Pro XL also feature batteries that are only slightly larger than 5,000 mAh.
Of course, there are compromises
Honor won’t be the only Chinese company to launch a relatively smaller flagship device. OnePlus is rumored to launch the OnePlus 15T, which might be known as OnePlus 15s outside of China, with a 6.3-inch display and a large battery. That device is unlikely to be as thin as the rumored Magic8 Mini, though.
What does “mini” even mean?
Compared to the 6.9-inch ultra flagships, a 6.3-inch device may feel small. However, calling a 6.3-inch smartphone “mini” feels wrong to me. I am glad that we can have such a device with a large battery and a thin body, but I’ll be even happier if we can shrink those displays further.
