Although it’s currently only available for purchase in Malaysia, we’re eager to see how the flagship Honor 600 Pro compares to the Samsung Galaxy S26.
Before our review, we compared the specifications of the two Android phones and highlighted all the notable differences between them below. Read on to learn more about what sets the Honor 600 Pro apart from the Samsung Galaxy S26.
Not sold on any handset? Our best Android phones and best mid-range phones should have you covered.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the Honor 600 Pro is only available for purchase in Malaysia although it will see a global launch in the coming weeks.
The Galaxy S26 is part of Samsung’s 2026 flagship S-series. With a starting RRP of £899/$899, the S26 is the most affordable in the range.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Exynos 2600
Samsung caused quite a stir when the S26 series was first launched, as it was revealed that while US customers were seeing the Galaxy’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 across the line, elsewhere the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus were equipped with the Exynos 2600.
Nevertheless, Samsung promises that there should be no difference in performance between the Exynos 2600 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In fact, we found that the phone is strongly marked against the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-equipped Ultra variant.
Otherwise, and as expected, the S26 performs well in everything from scrolling and taking photos to even intense gaming sessions. So, while it may not boast a Qualcomm chip, it’s still a solid player.
Instead, the Honor 600 Pro runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite – the brand’s flagship for 2025. With this in mind, while it may be hard to top the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Exynos 2600, it’s still a great chip that powered many of the best Android phones of the past year.
The Honor 600 Pro has a bigger battery
Samsung is known for equipping their phones with powerful batteries, and the Galaxy S26 is no exception. In fact, with a 4300mAh cell, it’s actually on the small side. That said, we still found the S26 to be a solid all-day phone, especially for those who average three to four hours of screen time per day.
In comparison, the Honor 600 Pro sports a larger 7000mAh cell. We’ll have to wait until we review the Honor 600 Pro to see how its battery life compares, however we can hope that such a large cell will result in at least a full day, or even two days of charging.
The Honor 600 Pro is rated IP68, IP69 and IP69K
Durability should be a key consideration when buying a new phone, and it’s fair to say that Honor doesn’t want you to take any chances with the 600 Pro. In fact, with IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, the handset is not only dustproof but can survive immersion in water and even exposure to high pressure and high temperature water jets.
That certainly sounds impressive on paper, but we’d argue that maybe the IP69 and IP69K ratings aren’t there. that what is needed. After all, how often will your phone be exposed to water jets?
Samsung takes a more practical approach, as the Galaxy S26 is equipped with a simple IP68 rating instead. That means it is dustproof and can survive immersion in water.
The Honor 600 Pro has a 200MP primary lens
Both phones are equipped with three rear lenses, including main, ultrawide and telephoto, however they differ in their resolution and offerings.
The Galaxy S26’s camera hardware may seem familiar, as Samsung hasn’t made any major changes over the past few series. This is a shame as, although the camera hardware is generally solid, it is starting to show its age – especially as it needs to compete with the likes of the best cameras.
While the 50MP main lens is the strongest of the three, and can handle most lighting conditions, the ultrawide is the weakest of the crowd. It’s good in bright conditions, but image quality drops quickly in harsh lighting conditions, with images that look green and ugly. Finally, the 3x telephoto works well in certain situations, but it can be difficult to lock focus completely on an object.
The Honor 600 Pro is instead equipped with a 200MP main camera supported by 50MP 3.5x zoom and 12MP ultrawide. As we are yet to review the Honor 600 Pro, we will have to wait and see how the hardware actually performs. However, Honor promises that the camera setup should offer true-to-life color reproduction, impressive stability and the best images taken at night.
Honor AI vs Galaxy AI
Is it a smartphone in 2026 if there is no sprinkling of AI features? Both the Honor 600 Pro and the Galaxy S26 are equipped with plenty of AI tools, including access to Google Gemini.
You’ve probably heard of Galaxy AI, as the toolkit is undoubtedly one of the most readily available tools, with some really useful features including lots of photo editing capabilities, Live Translate and more.
In comparison, the Honor 600 Pro has its own dedicated AI button that activates Honor’s arguably flagship feature: AI Photo to Video 2.0. This tool allows you to turn up to three photos into a short video, with just a few commands.
Otherwise, like the Galaxy AI, there are photo editing features to remove unwanted objects from photos, and the Honor 600 Pro features AI fraud and deepfake detection.
Preliminary Decision
It’s hard to properly compare the Honor 600 Pro to the Samsung Galaxy S26, as we don’t know how much the former will cost in the UK. Having said that, if you want a phone with a bigger battery, the latest Qualcomm chip and an impressive camera setup, then the Honor 600 Pro could be for you.
On the other hand, if you want to play with a more established set of AI features, want a reliable camera setup and are in the Samsung ecosystem, then the Galaxy S26 remains hard to beat.
We’ll be sure to review this in comparison once we review the Honor 600 Pro.