Honor ups the Magic 7 Pro’s software support to seven years

I thought I was done talking about the Honor Magic 7 Pro for this year but Honor, as it turns out, isn’t planning on being finished with its latest flagship smartphone any time soon.

When I reviewed the Magic 7 Pro in February 2025, my overall impression was that the hardware was mostly fantastic but more was needed on the software front in order to compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL.

A big part of the appeal of these devices is that both Samsung and Google have committed to seven years of software support for their high-end phones for the past couple of generations now. Up until this point, no other brand has stepped up to this level, with most other flagships (Honor previously included) sitting around five years of software support.

Cut to Honor’s MWC showcase and we get the brand’s announcement of the Honor Alpha Plan – a multi-staged roadmap for transitioning the company into a global leader in the AI space. Included in the showcase was the reveal that the brand will be extending software support for its flagship phones to seven years, matching Google and Samsung.

Considering that I concluded my Magic 7 Pro review by saying “the one area in which it should be copying Samsung – namely, offering seven years of software support – continues to be overlooked”, this announcement is right up my alley. The yearly phone release cycle has never been particularly pro-consumer and it adds insult to injury when brands drop support for slightly older phones as a ploy to encourage consumers to buy the latest model.

So this is certainly a good start but, with Samsung recently announcing six years of software support for the Galaxy A36 and A56 and Google matching its seven-year pledge for the Google Pixel 8a (and, presumably, the upcoming Pixel 9a), I’d love to see Honor bring this commitment into the mid-range, too.

At the time of writing, the Honor Magic 7 Lite is still only set to receive three years of OS updates and four of security patches. That would be considered competitive a couple of years ago, but between Samsung’s A-series and Google’s a-series, the bar has been raised considerably for phones around this price.

There’s also the Honor Magic V3 to consider. The press release confirmed that, moving forward, the brand’s flagship foldable phone will be included in the new software support plan but it seems that this will only apply from the Magic V4 onwards.

It’s understandable that a big part of this update pledge is providing consumers with phones that can handle Honor’s upcoming AI plans, and maybe the Magic V3 simply doesn’t have the necessary hardware, but it’s still a bit of a kick to the teeth for anyone who sunk nearly £2,000 on the foldable mere months ago.

Still, that’s not to take away from the overall positive message here. More brands should be extending their software support, especially for phones that cost four figures. Not only does it give consumers the confidence to hang on to their phone for longer without feeling forced into upgrades by outdated software, it also extends the phone’s second life.

With phones becoming more and more expensive and generational updates feeling less and less momentous, there’s never been a better time to consider getting a second-hand phone when you need an upgrade. You can save hundreds by shopping in last year’s collection while still enjoying excellent performance and quality cameras. And now, with this pledge, future refurbished Honor flagships will also benefit from the latest features and up-to-date security for years to come, just like their Google and Samsung counterparts.