Honor is launching new smartphones that borrow heavily from the iPhone 17 Pro’s distinctive look but top Apple where it really counts: battery size. The Honor 600 and 600 Pro mirror the iPhone 17 Pro’s elevated camera plateau and overall silhouette so closely they might fool casual observers. Yet under the hood, they feature specs that push well beyond Apple’s numbers, especially in battery capacity.
The Honor 600 series sports a 6.57-inch OLED display with a 1.5K resolution and a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, powered by a Snapdragon 8-series chip – details Apple has not matched exactly on its Pro models. Camera-wise, both Honor variants offer a 200 MP main sensor, with the Pro model including additional telephoto and ultra-wide lenses, while the standard 600 is limited to an ultra-wide backup camera, contrasting with the iPhone’s triple-camera setup.
Where Honor truly overwhelms the iPhone 17 Pro is battery capacity. Both new phones pack enormous 9000 mAh cells, eclipsing the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max’s 3998 mAh and 4823 mAh batteries, respectively. Apple still leans heavily on its A-series chip efficiency and software fine-tuning to squeeze great endurance from smaller batteries, but Honor’s aggressive capacity figures – nearly double in some cases – signal a different strategy attractive to power users wary of daily charging.
Apple’s battery sizes have largely remained conservative across the iPhone lineup, with rumors of the upcoming iPhone Fold pushing capacity slightly higher to around 5,500 mAh. Meanwhile, manufacturers like Samsung are already experimenting with super-sized cells in the 20,000 mAh range, indicating a broader push toward extended battery life in the smartphone industry.
Honor is no stranger to replicating iPhone aesthetics; their recent Honor Power 2 also sported an iPhone 17 Pro-like design but delivered a massive 10,080 mAh battery. Likewise, Chinese competitors like Xiaomi have produced phones heavily inspired by Apple’s design direction – the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is a noted example praised by tech reviewers for its striking likeness.
While Apple’s design influence remains pervasive, the brand has not prioritized battery capacity in recent iPhone iterations. Honor and others appear to be addressing this gap head-on, potentially challenging Apple to innovate beyond the sleek chassis toward longevity. With the Honor 600 series expected in Europe soon, Apple may face renewed pressure to rethink battery performance alongside design.