Honor has unveiled the Magic V2, its brand new “Fold-like” foldable smartphone. Its main asset? Its finesse never before seen on such a format. Folded up, it is less than a centimeter thick. We were able to take it in hand for a long time.
Honor wants to hit hard in the field of foldable smartphones with the Honor Magic V2. It is a “Fold-like” terminal with a foldable interior screen and an exterior screen. Already official in China for several months, Honor took advantage of the Berlin IFA show to announce its European release. We were able to take it in hand.
| Honor Magic V2 | |
|---|---|
| Screens | Internal 7.9″ Foldable OLED FHD+ 120Hz External |
| Thickness | 4.7mm unfolded 9.9mm folded |
| chipsets | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| BONE | Android 13 |
| RAM | 12 GB |
| microSD | No |
| Photo sensors | Wide-angle: 50 megapixels (f/1.9) Ultra wide-angle: 50 megapixels (f/2.0) Telephoto: 20 megapixels (f/2.4) |
| Battery | 5000mAh |
| 5G | Yes |
| Biometrics | Edge fingerprint reader |
| Water resistance | No |
The first thing that strikes when taking the V2 is obviously its finesse. 4.7 mm thick unfolded, and only 9.9 mm folded. It’s the equivalent of a “classic” phone with a single screen. When opened, it almost looks like a thin sheet of metal with the image on it. Bluffing.
The Honor Magic V2, the foldable terminal ahead of the competition
This finesse contributes to making the terminal pleasant in the hand, helped by a very worked aluminum frame. On the back part, we salute the soft grainy texture under the fingers. We’re a little less fond of slightly rounded edges, but that’s a matter of taste. The icing on the cake, it is the weight of 231 grams. By handling it with your eyes closed, you don’t feel like you have a foldable terminal in your hands. We already had this feeling with the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, but it’s even more obvious here.
The terminal has a brand new hinge to adapt to this impressive finesse. Of course, no “day” is visible once the screen is closed. As on the Fold, the interior screen brings a certain resistance, that is to say that it is possible to leave it half open like a laptop or a book. Practical !
One of the criticisms regularly made of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold is its very elongated exterior screen, which is sometimes impractical. For its external panel (OLED, 6.4 inches, FHD +, 120 Hz), Honor has chosen a more classic 20:9 ratio, similar to a single screen terminal. For the interior panel (OLED, 7.9 inches, FHD+, 120 Hz), we have an almost square 5:4 format. This ratio is ideal because it is versatile, appreciable both for writing a message, browsing the Internet, playing games or even consuming videos. We also note a fold certainly still present, but which turns out to be so discreet that you really have to insist to see it. Technologically, Honor claims to be eight months ahead of the competition in the foldable field. Once the terminal in hand, we tend to believe the brand as the Magic V2 is convincing at first glance.
The big question relates to the software part. We know that was the big weak point of Magic Vs. Honor wants to improve on this point, with an overlay that better matches the particular format of the product. If there is better compared to before, we are still skeptical. On this point, the Samsung Fold remains the master, the interface being completely adapted, in particular with a taskbar. We are not there yet at Honor, but many applications (Photo, Messages, Video) react instantly once the screen is slightly bent.
A promising product, therefore, but it will have to be confirmed during the test. What about the quality of the screen, the camera and especially the autonomy? Data still unknown, just like the price and the European release date. Honor promises a vague “soon”, probably “before the end of 2023”, but nothing finalized for the moment. It would be a shame if the “eight months in advance” were wiped out by a late release.