Competition amongst folding phones is hotting up.
In 2019, Samsung revealed its first-ever Fold device, sister to the Flip - itself an updated version of the iconic 90s clamshell phone.
It triumphed unchallenged for a fair few years, until Google launched its foldable handset, called the Pixel Fold to market in summer 2023. Since then, Huawei and Motorola have brought out their own models, proving the demand for foldable handsets is on an upward trajectory. China’s Honor is the latest brand to join the fray with the Magic V2, slimmer, slicker and shinier than all the others.
Regular readers will know I adore a folding phone. The metamorphosis from handset to tablet is a magic trick that just doesn’t get old. I mean, extra screen space to watch boxset downloads without squinting, a supersized map to plot my next overseas adventure, the ability to zoom into images to a frankly unnecessary degree. The modern foldable manages all this without breaking a sweat.
The most exciting thing is, as the latest chapter of mobile phone history, foldables are only just getting started. You see it in every new model that gets launched into a fairly jam-packed mobile phone market. Faster, thinner, sharper, refined each time.
I’ve been a member of the Samsung faithful since reviewing the Fold3 (the brand is on its 5th rendition at the time of press, but I currently have the Fold4). Not even Google’s offering could tempt me from its charms. But having played with the new Honor Magic V2, could all that be about to change?
Honor Magic V2 Key Specs
- Display: front screen - 6.4 inches, main screen - 7.92 inches
- Depth (closed): 9.9mm
- Construction: Superlight Titanium hinge, nanocrystal glass 2.0
- Front camera: two 16MP Wide Cameras (interior and exterior screens)
- Rear camera: 50MP Ultra Wide Camera, 50MP Wide Camera, 20MP Telephoto Lens Camera
- Video: 4K video recording
- Weight: 231g
- Processor and memory: Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform9
- Memory + Storage: 16 + 512GB
- Battery and charging: 5000mAh, 66W Wired Honor Supercharging
- Memory and storage: 12 LPDDR5 GB RAM
- Processor: MagicOS 7.2
- Security: HTEE + QTEE Dual-Security System, Discrete Security Chipset
- Colours: black, gold, silk black, silk purple
The design
It was starting to become an accepted fact that if you wanted a foldable phone, you had to put up with the added weight that comes with an additional screen. It has to go somewhere; if you want the rainbow, you’ve gotta put up with a dark cloud or two - right?
Honor proves this wrong with an ultra-slim body that’s just 9.9mm deep when closed. Compare that to my Galaxy Fold4 at 15.8mm deep or even its successor the Fold5 at 13.46mm. Those numbers may feel fractional in print, but you’ll feel every millimetre in your pocket.
Aside from weight and depth, when closed the front screen wins out again (6.2 inches from Samsung, versus 6.4 from Honor. Google’s Pixel Fold offers even less at 5.8 inches closed). Though small, the extra space combined with the hinge, which sits each half of the phone completely flush against the other, means Honor’s device presents more like a traditional smartphone, in looks and weight.
The 0.2 extra inches from Honor means that the main screen, once swivelled open like a book, is larger than the Korean competitor at a positively palatial 7.92 inches (compared to Samsung’s 7.6 inches).
The cameras and video
Like Samsung, Honor’s foldable comes with a suite of three cameras on the back, each heavy on the megapixel front. There’s also a selfie cam on the main screen and one on the cover too, both better quality than Samsung’s.
Photos taken in natural daylight are sharp and packed with rich colour, and selfies come with a beauty mode, which appeals to my vanity but might not be for everyone. However picture-taking is a gamble; the app would often freeze or refuse to open at all, exposing the glitchiness of the operating system. Shutterbugs, beware.
Videos play smoothly with a top refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 2,500 nits which makes colours pop off the screen.
The extra features
Like Samsung, Honor offers a split screen so that you can run - and see - multiple apps all on one screen. It’s useful if you’re trying to finalise travel plans with friends while looking up flight prices or places to stay on Booking.com, which comes already installed in the suite of apps you'll find ready installed when booting it up.
It also boasts something called Cover Screen Preview, an excellent feature I’ve used countless times on my Samsung that enables you to see the images that are about to be shot. It means if you’ve handed your phone to a stranger to take a shot, you can see their view and adjust your pose or shot accordingly.
Price - is it worth it?
For the extra screen estate and features, foldables usually sit around the £1.5k mark, and here, Honor follows in the footsteps of its rivals.
The Magic V2 handset costs £1699.99, compared to Samsung Galaxy's Fold5 £1349 (but you can find models for under a grand if you buy refurbished).
Meanwhile, Google's Fold is £1599 new or £996 pre-loved and unlocked.
Honor Magic V2 - where to buy
On contract
Fonehouse - £35 upfront, then £69pm on a 24-month contract.
Verdict
Honor’s newcomer is undeniably an attractive proposition, but it’s not all about size. It’s what’s inside that counts (a lesson for life as well as handsets), and Honor’s glitchy apps just aren’t cutting it for me. I also found the gestures weren’t as seamless as on my Samsung Fold4, which feels far more intuitive to use.
I would be thrilled to get this as a gift, but if I were looking to invest in a new phone and it was foldable or bust, Samsung still takes the crown.
