The Magic Vs is Honor’s second folding phone, with a 7.9in internal display and a design reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series.
That’s a comparison made for almost every foldable thanks to Samsung being first to market, but the Magic Vs could end up impressing thanks to remarkably thin design and competitive price.
The original Honor Magic V launched in January 2022 but was confined to the Chinese market. The new and upgraded Vs is going global however.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Honor Magic Vs including a full specs rundown – or find out why we think it might have the hardware to hold off Samsung.
Where is the Honor Magic Vs available?
Honor announced the Magic Vs in China on 23 November 2022, and it went on sale there that month.
The phone launched internationally at the MWC trade show on 27 February alongside the Magic 5 Pro, and it’s on sale in the UK and Europe now.
A launch in North America is unlikely to ever happen.
How much does the Honor Magic Vs cost?
The Magic Vs costs £1,399/€1,599, and can be bought direct from Honor or from Amazon.
That’s expensive, but competitive considering the cheapest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 costs $1,799/£1,649/€1,799, while the Pixel Fold starts from $1,799/£1,749/€1,899.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
What are the Honor Magic Vs specs and features?
The phone has been in development for a while now, hence it uses the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset rather than the more recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
In the global version of the phone, that’s paired with 12GB of RAM and a fixed 512GB storage.
The 7.9in internal screen pips the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s 7.6in one, though Honor’s is capped at 90Hz compared to the 120Hz on Samsung’s.
Honor has also managed to make a thinner foldable with its 6.1mm thickness when open beating out the 6.3mm Z Fold 4. That doesn’t sound a lot, but it all makes a difference with the in-hand feel of a phone, especially when closed.
Possibly the best one-up the Magic Vs has over rival folding phones in the West is that it closes completely flat. Samsung’s Flip and Fold phones still close in a wedge shape.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
It’s available in a choice of black, or the slick cyan blue colour we’ve been testing.
Around the back are an impressive array of cameras led by a 54Mp, f/1.9 lens using the Sony IMX800 sensor. Add to that a 50Mp ultrawide and things are looking good, with an 8Mp 3x optical zoom to round out the set.
In China the foldable launched on Android 12 using Honor’s new MagicOS 7.0 software skin, but its international release runs Android 13 and the updated MagicOS 7.1.
By launching the Magic Vs internationally, it could prove to be fine foil for Samsung, who has seen little real competition so far. The Huawei Mate Xs 2 is impressive, but the usual Huawei pitfalls combined with the outside display design are off-putting.
Xiaomi’s book-like foldable the Mi Mix Fold 2 looks razor thin and powerful, as does the Oppo Find N2, but both are still confined to the Chinese market. Foldables could be the future but we need companies like Honor to step up.
Here are the full specs for the Honor Magic Vs:
- 7.9in 90Hz foldable OLED, 2272 x 1984p
- 6.45in 120Hz exterior OLED, 2560 x 1080p
- Android 13 (MagicOS 7.1)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset
- 12GB RAM
- 512GB storage
- Camera:
- 54Mp IMX800 main camera (f/1.9)
- 50Mp ultrawide & macro camera (f/2.0)
- 8Mp 3x optical zoom camera (f/2.4)
- 16Mp front camera (f/2.45)
- Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
- WiFi 6
- Bluetooth 5.2
- NFC
- 5G
- 4,900mAh battery
- 66W wired charging
- Dual-SIM
- Height
- 160.3mm
- Width
- Unfolded: 141.5mm, folded: 72.6mm
- Depth
- Unfolded: 6.1mm, folded: 12.9mm
Author: Henry Burrell, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, Henry covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.