Hands-on with the new HONOR Magic V2 foldable that’s just 4.7mm thin
Foldables the new form factor du jour and every major phone brand is in an arms race to create the next flagship foldable to top the rest. Fresh after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, HONOR is throwing their hat into the ring with their latest flagship foldable, the HONOR Magic V2 that takes the definition of slim to new heights. Officially unveiled to the world at IFA 2023 in Berlin, the HONOR Magic V2 weighs just 231g while arguably being the one of the slimmest foldables on the planet at 4.7mm thin when unfolded and 9.9mm when folded down.
HONOR Magic V2 first impressions
At a media briefing in Malaysia alongside the IFA live stream, HONOR shared working examples of the HONOR Magic V2 for a quick hands-on with invited guests. When held, the phone feels wonderfully premium on account of its metal finish and redesigned hinge mechanism that feels smoother when opened.
Intended as the successor to the current HONOR Magic Vs, the new HONOR Magic V2 hosts a 6.43-inch LTPO OLED display with FHD+ (1,060 x 2,376 pixels) resolution with a 20:9 aspect ratio, a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,840Hz PWM dimming to eliminate banding and to make it easier on the eyes especially when using the phone at night. Of note is that the front display is also brighter than its predecessor, with 2,500 nits peak brightness.
Unfolding the phone reveals a 7.92-inch foldable OLED display with 2,344 x 2,156 pixels resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and a squarish 9.78:9 aspect ratio. Running under the hood is the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with Android 13 and their MagicOS 7.2 interface overlay paired with up to 16GB RAM and up to 512GB of storage with an ‘Ultimate’ variant featuring 1TB of storage in total and a free bundled Magic Pen stylus. On paper, HONOR has stated that the Magic V2 foldable flagship phone has a minimum of 3 years of firmware updates all the way to Android 16 and up to 5 years of security updates which is somewhat on par with current standards.
The rear cameras host a triple camera array with a 50MP F/1.9 primary camera with OIS, a 20MP F/2,4 telephoto camera that also has OIS and up to 40x hybrid digital zoom as well as a 50MP F/2.0 camera with the whole setup offering up to 4K video capture capabilities. For selfies on the front cover display you have a 16MP F/2.2 cemera that can also capture 4K video. Keeping the phone powered is a 5,000mAh battery with 66W wired fast charging.
Also announced at IFA 2023 was the HONOR Magic Purse, a concept phone that somewhat resembles the Huawei Magic Xs 2 with an outward folding display though this time around the phone has a pair of clasps on each end to allow it to be held like a handbag while featuring an interactive always-on display which features whimsical items like lucky charms or a panda that you can poke and prod for unusual results onscreen. There are no specifications announced thus far for the HONOR Magic Purse nor a price tag but it will presumably have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor running under the hood.
At present, HONOR also hasn’t announced any prices yet for their Magic V2 foldable nor a launch date for Malaysia but we’ll keep you posted! It’s certainly a promising offering and from a quality standpoint alone it looks every inch like a flagship foldable from stem to stern.
For more details on the HONOR Magic V2 check out their global website at https://www.hihonor.com/global/phones/honor-magic-v2/spec/
