Apple introduced the square selfie camera on the iPhone 17, and now Honor wants to be the first Android maker to copy it. That’s not a dig. It’s just the reality of how smartphone design works in 2026, and if the leaks are right, Honor might actually pull it off before anyone else does.
According to Gagadget, Chinese insider Digital Chat Station claims the Honor Magic 9 Pro will feature a square selfie module, making it the first Android phone to adopt the format Apple popularized. Honor CEO Li Jian has confirmed a September 28, 2026 launch in Beijing, so this isn’t some distant rumor. The date is locked in, and the leaks are stacking up fast.
But here’s the catch. OPPO and Huawei are reportedly testing square front sensors too. Honor might beat them to market, but only just. The square selfie camera is less of a differentiator now and more of an industry shift. What actually separates the Magic 9 Pro from the pack could be something else entirely.
That something else is ARRI. Yes, the Austrian cinema camera company behind a huge chunk of Hollywood’s high-end production gear has partnered with Honor on this phone. It’s the first time ARRI has worked with a smartphone maker, and it’s a bigger deal than it might sound. The Magic 9 Pro will get ARRI LogC3 color science, professional Look presets, and a dedicated movie mode. For video shooters, that’s legitimately exciting. LogC3 is the same color profile cinematographers use on ARRI’s Alexa cameras, which means serious flexibility in post-production. This isn’t a filter pack slapped on top of auto mode. It’s a real workflow tool for people who actually edit their footage.
On the rear, the phone is rumored to carry dual 200MP sensors, and it’ll run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, which puts it firmly in flagship territory. The September 28 launch also places it right in the same window as the expected iPhone 18 Pro reveal, so Honor is clearly angling for some attention during one of the biggest weeks in smartphone news.
Here’s what the Magic 9 Pro is shaping up to include:
- Square selfie camera module, a first for Android
- Dual 200MP rear sensors
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 processor
- ARRI LogC3 color science and professional movie mode
- ARRI Look presets for video
Pricing is still unconfirmed, but there’s a reasonable baseline to work from. The Magic 8 Pro launched in the UK at £1,099 and hit European shelves around January 2026, about three months after its China debut. If the same pattern holds, European buyers could be waiting until early 2027, with a price somewhere in the £1,100 to £1,300 range. That’s premium territory, and Honor will need to deliver on every spec to justify it.
So is the square camera the story here? Not really. Every major Android brand is heading in that direction anyway. The ARRI partnership is what makes this phone worth watching. If Honor can back it up with real image quality and not just marketing language, the Magic 9 Pro could be one of the more interesting camera phones of the year.