After several months of rumors and leaks, Honor has finally launched its first foldable smartphone in China. The latest entrant in the foldable smartphone bandwagon, the Honor Magic V is the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered foldable on the market, and with its impressive new design and durable construction is going to give the existing best-sellers like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 a run for their money.
Foldable smartphones have come of age, the hinge creases have cleaned up; the cameras are better, and the inner displays are tablet-quality. The external screen is where there is major scope for improvement. And this is what Honor has kept as its main focus, not that the other factors are neglected.
Honor brings a regular smartphone-like external display to the Magic V. The cover screen is a 6.45-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, an interesting 21:9 aspect ratio, and 1000nits of peak brightness. The cover display – in comparison to Z Fold 3’s tall and narrow 25:9 screen – is much convenient to type and carry out everyday tasks without having to repeatedly open the foldable device to access the larger internal display.
On opening the Galaxy Z Fold 3-style Magic V, you are welcomed by a super-impressive 7.9-inch flexible OLED screen with 2272×1984 pixel resolution, 90Hz refresh rate. The display here offers 10.3:9 aspect ratio and 800nits peak brightness. According to Honor, the Magic V’s waterdrop is itself a highlight of the phone, it is the “slimmest” in foldables available currently.
Owning to the thinness of the hinge, the smartphone can fold completely close for additional protection against elements. And Honor is very confident about the Magic V’s durability. Company CEO Geroge Zhao, during the launch presentation of the phone, actually dropped the phone from a good height to display the fact.
The Honor Magic V becomes even more exciting at its optical prowess. There are two 42MP selfie cameras in hole-punch setting on the cover and inner screen. On the reverse side are the 50MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide, and another 50MP spectrum enhanced camera. The flagship Snapdragon processor powering the Magic V is paired to 12GB RAM (standard in all models) with 256 and 512GB internal storage.
Magic V runs Magic UI 6.0 based on Android 12. It comes with 4,750mAh battery which supports 66W wired fast charging that juices up the battery 50 percent in only 15 minutes. The phone will be available in Titanium Silver, Black, Burnt Orange colors from January 18 starting CNY 9,999 ($1,570).
