No need to wait for Xiaomi 18 anymore! The compact Honor Magic9 is a photo beast with two 200 Mpx sensors, a 8000 mAh battery, and a surprisingly good price
Who wants a small phone with top-notch cameras and was waiting for the basic Xiaomi 18, will have to wait until December according to leaks and nobody knows the price yet. Honor Magic9 is already on sale in the meantime and has a display with a 6.37″ diagonal, three rear cameras—two of which are 200 Mpx—and an 8 000 mAh battery in a body only 8.5 mm thick.
The Chinese version is now listed in the offer of our partner Gshopper. Although it’s meant for the home market, it also has Slovak in the system and supports our bands 4G and 5G networks. We compared the phone with what we know about Xiaomi 18, and below you’ll find where Magic9 beats Xiaomi 18, where it falls behind, and what to expect with the Chinese version.
A compact flagship from Hong Kong without paying extra at customs
You can find Honor Magic9 at our long-time partner Gshopper, who ships smartphones from Hong Kong. Delivery to Slovakia takes roughly 9 to 16 days, shipping is free, and the seller already includes customs duty (clo) and VAT in the price, so you don’t pay anything extra when you receive the package. This also applies after the July change in customs rules, which Gshopper confirmed for us and which we also verified in orders from our readers.
Xiaomi Planet shopping tip: GShopper has now launched direct bank transfer payments, so you can save another 4.5 % off the product price! Compared to card / Google Pay payment, you can get this product much cheaper. We described the full bank transfer payment process in our article.
Is it your first time shopping on GShopper?See the guide!
Updated 30. 10. 2026 on 08:37
TIPWith Standard Shipping via GShopper, you pay no extra fees—everything is already included!
With the GShopper seller, we recommend choosing Standard Shipping, where you won’t pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT are handled by the seller. You can select the shipping method in the cart only, after entering your delivery address. Delivery with this option usually takes about 15 business days from dispatch from the warehouse, but it may take longer.
Is it your first time shopping on GShopper?See the guide!
Updated 30. 10. 2026 on 08:37
TIPWith Standard Shipping via GShopper, you pay no extra fees—everything is already included!
With the GShopper seller, we recommend choosing Standard Shipping, where you won’t pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT are handled by the seller. You can select the shipping method in the cart only, after entering your delivery address. Delivery with this option usually takes about 15 business days from dispatch from the warehouse, but it may take longer.
Is it your first time shopping on GShopper?See the guide!
Updated 30. 10. 2026 on 08:37
TIPWith Standard Shipping via GShopper, you pay no extra fees—everything is already included!
With the GShopper seller, we recommend choosing Standard Shipping, where you won’t pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT are handled by the seller. You can select the shipping method in the cart only, after entering your delivery address. Delivery with this option usually takes about 15 business days from dispatch from the warehouse, but it may take longer.
Is it your first time shopping on GShopper?See the guide!
Updated 30. 10. 2026 on 08:37
TIPWith Standard Shipping via GShopper, you pay no extra fees—everything is already included!
With the GShopper seller, we recommend choosing Standard Shipping, where you won’t pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT are handled by the seller. You can select the shipping method in the cart only, after entering your delivery address. Delivery with this option usually takes about 15 business days from dispatch from the warehouse, but it may take longer.
Our extra service with VIP support — we’ll handle the order on Gshopper for you and ship it straight to your address.
If you don’t have experience buying on Gshopper, payments don’t go through, or coupon use doesn’t work for you, we offer an order handling service directly to your address for our readers and customers. You transfer the money to our account and we place the order directly to your address. This way, you won’t have to worry about a failed payment or applying the coupon, and you can be sure the entire order will go through correctly 100 %. In addition, you automatically get our VIP support — if any issues arise with the shipment, we handle them for you and assist with filing a claim. The fee for this service is €15 extra of the product price. You can contact us by email at info(@)xiaomiplanet.sk or on Messenger, where we’re constantly active.
What to expect with the Chinese version?
Gshopper sells the Chinese version with MagicOS 11 built on Android 17. In the languages list, the seller states Slovak and Czech, and the phone supports bands B20, n28, and n78, on which networks of our operators run. For the Chinese Magic9 Pro Max, we wrote on China Planet that Google apps, NFC payments, and automatic updates work—and the basic Magic9 runs on the same system. However, you’ll find lots of Chinese apps in it that you’ll mostly uninstall or disable after the first launch.
The basic model lacks eSIM, which Honor mentions only for the Chinese Magic9 Pro Max. You won’t find it in the official Magic9 specs, and the phone has only two nano SIM slots. You handle a complaint through the seller with our VIP support. According to current reports, only the Magic9 Pro Max should arrive in Europe in January, and there’s no mention yet of a global base model from Honor.
Three cameras, two with 200 Mpx
The main camera has a 200 Mpx sensor with a size of 1/1.4″, an aperture of f/1.9, and optical stabilization. The periscope telephoto also got the same resolution and optical stabilization, with 3.5x optical zoom; it digitally zooms the image up to 120x. The trio is completed by a 50 Mpx ultra-wide lens. On the front, there’s a 55 Mpx camera with a square sensor, so you can take selfies in portrait and landscape without rotating the phone.
The colors were tuned by the German film-camera manufacturer ARRI. With the rear cameras, you can shoot 4K footage only at 120 frames per second, and the phone can also record video in the LogC3 curve. It offers 87 ARRI Looks film profiles and a Movie Live mode in the format 2,39:1. A G200 teleconverter can be attached to the telephoto lens to extend the focal length to an equivalent of 200 mm, but it’s sold separately.
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A 6,37″ display for those who think today’s phones are too big
An OLED display with a 6.37″ diagonal has a resolution of 1 236 × 2 664 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and full-screen brightness of 2 000 nits. For HDR video, the brightness in a small part of the image can jump up to 10 000 nits. PWM dimming at 3 840 Hz should also suit people whose eyes get tired from screen flicker, and Honor has a TÜV Rheinland eye protection certificate for it.
The phone measures 151 × 72,3 mm, is 8,49 mm thick, and weighs 209 g. The body handles water and dust according to IP68, IP69, and IP69K, so it won’t be harmed even by a jet of hot water under high pressure. Honor sells it in yellow, white, black, and mint green, but on Gshopper you’ll only find black, white, and green.
Battery 8 000 mAh and a charger included right in the box
A battery with a typical capacity of 8 000 mAh (rated is 7 820 mAh) is charged via a cable with an 80 W output or wirelessly with 50 W. Through the cable, the phone can also charge the earbuds or a watch with up to 27 W. You’ll find the 80 W charger, the cable, and the case right in the box, and the protective film is already applied to the display at the factory.
With Xiaomi 18, the capacity in leaks is still changing. In September, it was said to be 7 200 mAh, in early October a prototype with 8 000 mAh was mentioned, and the latest leak from the end of October claims 7 000 mAh. If that last figure is correct, Magic9 has 1 000 mAh more, and you can buy it before Xiaomi even presents its model.
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Honor Magic9 vs Xiaomi 18: What we know from leaks
The base Xiaomi 18 according to the latest leaks should get a flat 6.4″ display, a metal body, and a photo setup very similar to the one on Magic9: a 200 Mpx main camera, a 200 Mpx telephoto with roughly triple zoom, and a 50 Mpx ultrawide lens. The main sensor size of 1/1.28″ is supposed to be slightly larger than in Honor, and the phone should charge faster with a 100 W output. Xiaomi hasn’t confirmed any of this yet, and we’re expecting the premiere in December.
Xiaomi 18’s biggest advantage will be in the chipset. It will get the 2 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while Magic9 is powered by the “foreign” Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which was already used in the predecessor Magic8. In benchmarks, the difference will be noticeable, but the “foreign” chip is still among the fastest chipsets for Android. Plus, you can order Magic9 now, not only after the premiere and arrival in stores.
With Honor, we already know the price. The 12 + 256 GB version costs 4 999 yuan in China (roughly 674 €), but without our tax, and with VAT 23 % it would come to approximately 829 €. On Gshopper, you can buy the phone for more than 50 € cheaper at the time of writing—even with delivery included.
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Honor Magic9 (CN version)
Display
6.37″ OLED / 1 236 × 2 664 / 120 Hz
Brightness
2 000 nits / local 10 000 nits
Chip
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Main camera
200 Mpx / 1/1.4″ / f/1.9 / OIS
Telephoto
200 Mpx periscope / 3.5× / f/2.6 / OIS
Ultra-wide angle
50 MP / f/2.0
Front camera
55 Mpx / quad sensor
Video
4K / 120 fps / ARRI LogC3
Battery
8 000 mAh (typical) / 7 820 mAh (rated)
Charging
80 W cable / 50 W wireless / 27 W reverse
Durability
IP68 / IP69 / IP69K
Dimensions and weight
151 × 72.3 × 8.49 mm / 209 g
System
MagicOS 11 / Android 17
SIM
2× nano SIM / no eSIM
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 6.0 / NFC / IR port
Memory
12 + 256 GB up to 16 GB + 1 TB
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