No matter how many folding phones there are on the market, Samsung —and more specifically its Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4— continue to reign. It may be because of its specifications or because of its software features. Or maybe because in the global market, beyond Asia, there is no other real competitor. In fact, all the alternatives that we have been looking at in recent months, such as Oppo’s Find N or the Vivo X Fold, are only available in China. The situation, however, could change very soon with the arrival on the European market of Honor Magic Vsthe latest Honor foldable that, in addition, we have been able to briefly test in hypertextual.
The truth is that in terms of specifications and appearance -and, at least, from what I have been able to verify during my first contact with this device- the Honor Magic Vs It does not stand out from the rest of the folding smartphones with a “book-type” format. That is, it does not have a revolutionary hinge system, or a completely different look than today’s folding.
Nevertheless, It does offer improvements in some features compared to, for example, the Samsung foldable. The Honor Magic Vs has a 5,000 mAh battery, while the Z Fold 4 has 4,400 mAh. The thickness of the Honor foldable is also less, with 12.9 mm when fully folded, compared to 15.8 mm for the Z Fold 4.
The rest of the specifications are very similar to the Samsung mobile. This, however, it’s not a problem. In fact, the fact that they have very similar characteristics gives us an idea of how Magic Vs can work on a day-to-day basis.
The Honor Magic Vs boasts screens, processor and cameras
The Honor mobile, specifically, has an exterior screen of 6.45 inches. It is an OLED panel, with a resolution of 1080 x 2560 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The internal screen, which is the flexible one, has 7.9 inches. In this case, with a resolution of 1984 x 2272 pixels and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. Inside, on the other hand, we find the First-generation Snapdragon 8+ SoCand with RAM and storage configurations that start from 8 + 256 GB to 12 + 512 GB, although, for the moment, it is unknown which variants will arrive in Europe.
We know, yes, that it will be available in two colors: a light blue tone that stands out for having a matte finish on the back; and a black color, which makes the back brighter. These shades are also applied to the hinge, which allows up to 400,000 folds and it also means that the Honor Magic Vs does not present any gap between the two halves when it is completely folded. This, in addition, should also contribute to a better resistance compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 or other similar foldables – no dirt or elements enter through those holes that we do find in other products in this same category.
The hinge, however, does not make the wrinkle that occurs when the mobile is fully unfolded disappear. This is noticeable both visually and by touch, and it also gives rise to that reflection effect that we have seen so much in many foldables. We must take into account, yes, that we have not been able to verify how the panel behaves in different light conditions.
Another important point of the Honor Magic Vs is its cameras. The smartphone has a triple lens that is composed of a 54 megapixel main sensora 50 megapixel ultra wide angle cameraand a telephoto sensor of 8 megapixels that allows you to take pictures with an optical zoom of up to 3x. Additionally, a selfie camera is also included on the outer screen, and another on the flexible inner panel.
Is it really an alternative to the Galaxy Z Flip 4?
At the moment, we can only categorize the Honor Magic Vs as a probable alternative to Samsung’s folding mobile in Europe, since there are still some very important aspects that remain to be known that in a first contact it is not possible to verify. For example, the operation of your cameras in different conditions, how is your screen outdoors or how is your battery. honor, moreover, hasn’t detailed any software-related features yet; one of the main key points of folding mobiles.
Its price is also unknown. Therefore, we cannot classify it as a cheaper option either. We will have to wait until the first weeks of 2023, at which time he will arrive in Spain, to find out all these details and see if it really is an option to take into account. Even so, the Honor Magic Vs aims to be what we’ve been waiting for for years: a real alternative – and commercially available in Europe – to Samsung’s foldables.