This phone was amazing for Wimbledon in three ways, horrible in one way

For many tennis fans, the most important fortnight of the year has just begun.

In case you didn’t know, Wimbledon is underway, with the iconic tournament taking place from July 1st to 14th this year.

As a huge tennis fan living near London, I knew I wanted to be there on the first day to watch a top-class match and soak up the atmosphere.

But without registering beforehand, I knew the only way to get tickets was to join the queue. That meant a long day of waiting, followed by constant checking of scores and courts once inside the stadium.

This put a lot of demands on my smartphone, so I needed a device that was up to the task. I test phones for a living, so I was spoiled for choice, but I settled on the Honor 200 Pro that I had recently reviewed without much thought.

Overall, it turned out to be a good decision, but there was one aspect that almost made me regret my choice. Let’s start with the positive.

Capture the moment

Going to Wimbledon is not something you get to do very often, so being able to document it was important to me.

Whether it was selfies in the queue or the view from my seat, I needed a camera that was up to the task.

Luckily, the Honor 200 Pro was exactly what I needed. Shots taken with the main rear lens were consistently excellent in terms of detail and colour accuracy, while still managing to capture the atmosphere of moody skies.

The telephoto lens was a great alternative when I was a little further away from the action, with its 2.5x optical zoom ensuring high quality.

And while the ultra-wide camera represents a clear step back in terms of quality, I still appreciated the versatility it offered, particularly in showing the vastness of the environment.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

However, the front-facing lens was probably the most impressive of the bunch, producing detailed selfies that perfectly captured the moment.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The video wasn’t as good as it often is on Android phones, but the footage was still good enough to share with friends and family, which was my top priority.

The Honor 200 Pro might not quite measure up to the best camera phones you can buy, but for its £699.99 price tag, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better. And that’s without even considering the stunning portrait photos it can take.

Brighten up my day

The Honor 200 Pro has one of the best displays on the market: a 6.78-inch Full HD+ AMOLED panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

However, those premium specs don’t really matter if you’re squinting at your phone every time you use it outside. And at Wimbledon, that’s something you might end up doing a lot.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The most relevant feature here is peak brightness, which should automatically activate if you have auto-brightness enabled. The Honor 200 Pro’s 544 nits peak allowed me to easily see it outdoors, even during the rare moments of direct sunlight.

Pass through

At first glance, a day at Wimbledon shouldn’t be much of a challenge for a modern smartphone. For me, it involved taking lots of photos, texting friends and family, scrolling through social media, and checking the Wimbledon app for schedule and score updates.

However, you’d be surprised how many smartphones can struggle with this, especially when switching between them quickly or being exposed to higher than normal temperatures.

Not so with the Honor 200 Pro. Its Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and 12GB of RAM allowed it to last the entire day without any issues. As my full review showed, it can also handle much more demanding tasks.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

I can’t go all the way

However, as good as the Honor 200 Pro was for a day at Wimbledon, there was one key aspect that nearly ruined my experience: the poor battery life.

I have to admit that my preparation wasn’t exactly ideal. I was only able to charge my phone to 75% in the morning and I didn’t bring a portable charger with me.

But still, the 200 Pro’s 5,200mAh battery (one of the largest capacities on the market) should have been more than enough to last me through the 13-hour day. I didn’t even use my phone excessively: a total of 2 hours and 22 minutes of screen-on time is well below my daily average.

However, from around 4pm onwards I was often worried that the battery would die. Admittedly, this was mainly due to the fact that I had signed up for the Centre Court ticket resale (which would notify me by SMS when a ticket was available), but I also wanted to be able to contact my friend if we ever got separated.

There were charging stations dotted around the grounds, but I really didn’t want to pay £10 and wait next to my phone for it to charge. The Honor 200 Pro’s 100W fast charging speeds may be great most of the time, but they’re not much use when the charging station doesn’t support it.

I ended up keeping my phone until the end of the day, but only after turning off mobile data and GPS. This also added a significant amount of unnecessary stress to what was otherwise a brilliant day.

So, as good as the Honor 200 Pro is for a day at Wimbledon, the disappointing battery life means I can’t recommend it if you’re planning on spending a long day away from electricity.

Alternatively, you can be more sensible than me and carry a power bank.

Check out our dedicated guide to watching Wimbledon in 4K Ultra HD and HDR