Honor’s Magic V2 is likely one of the most compelling foldable telephones I’ve ever used. From the light-weight design and shiny, expansive shows to the respectable cameras and reliable battery life, there’s so much I like about it. Forward of its European launch, Honor despatched me the worldwide model of the Magic V2, and it impressed me as quickly as I took it out of the field.
This telephone is unusually moveable, for one factor. And it would not essentially really feel like I am holding a foldable telephone, except I slide my thumb over to the place the screens meet. The V2 continues to be the lightest and slimmest book-style foldable telephone accessible, regardless that it was first launched final yr. When folded, it is simply 9.9 millimeters thick, making it barely thicker than a bar telephone and handy to hold round. For reference, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, a direct V2 competitor, is 13.46 mm thick when it is closed.
Learn extra: Greatest Foldable Telephones in 2024
The Magic V2 weighs 231 grams. That is 2 grams lower than Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 Extremely and greater than 50 grams lower than the Google Pixel Fold. The V2’s skinny and light-weight design makes it really feel extra like a daily telephone and fewer like an experiment. (I ought to word that the OnePlus Open, which my colleague Eli Blumenthal reviewed final yr, comes near matching the V2’s svelte, light-weight construct.) Regardless of the telephone’s compact dimension, Honor managed to pack it with flagship specs, together with final yr’s still-peppy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a triple-camera module full with a telephoto lens and a big battery that helps 66-watt quick charging.
However as compelling as it’s, the Magic V2 nonetheless has some shortcomings. It would not have an official IP ranking for water- and dust-resistance. The Z Fold 5, by comparability, is rated IPX8 for water-resistance and will be immersed underneath 1.5 meters of freshwater for as much as half-hour. Almost all foldables lack dust-resistance other than the IP52-rated Motorola Razr Plus, which provides some resistance in opposition to mud and water splashes. It would not have stylus assist both, in contrast to the Z Fold 5 and OnePlus Open.
Not all apps are optimized for the V2’s screens both, which is the same problem my friends had reviewing different foldables. The CNN app, for instance, is not but optimized for the internal display if you obtain them. However you could possibly change the decision within the Settings panel, and it principally resolved the issue.
The Magic V2 is on sale in elements of Europe and the UK, beginning as we speak for £1,700 (converts to roughly $2,160 or AU$3,280) or 1,999 euros. This can be a decrease beginning value within the UK than the £1,749 Galaxy Z Fold 5 ($1,800, AU$2,559), however the Z Fold 5 prices 1,899 euros. Honor says there are presently no plans for a launch in america.
I beforehand wrote about my expertise with the show and design {hardware} of the Magic V2, when it was launched in China final yr. This text’s protection will give attention to the software program, digital camera, efficiency and battery.
What the Magic V2 appears to be like like when folded.
Utilizing the Magic V2
Due to the abundance of display actual property, the Magic V2’s massive inner show makes it a superior multitasker in comparison with my regular bar telephone. I may stream a film in a single window, browse Instagram on the opposite, and sort out an e-mail in a 3rd floating window. I may additionally take notes when on Zoom calls since I may overlay a Zoom video over a phrase doc.
The Magic V2 runs on MagicOS 7.2 primarily based on Android 13, which Honor says provides a slew of sensible options to help in multitasking. A singular addition to the combination is a characteristic referred to as Privateness Name. It is an AI-based “directional sound know-how” designed to stop sound leaking, or when the particular person you are speaking to on a name will be heard by folks round you, even when they don’t seem to be talking loudly. Honor says the display and the receiver work collectively to regulate the quantity of the incoming audio to go well with totally different environments. I examined it out and it labored as marketed.
Honor additionally launched a characteristic referred to as Magic Textual content, which jogs my memory of the iPhone’s Stay Textual content characteristic from iOS 15 in 2022, that Honor says acknowledges textual content content material on a picture and converts it into editable textual content.
The Magic V2’s 5 cameras
The Magic V2 has 5 cameras. You get a 50-megapixel principal digital camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide digital camera and a 20-megapixel digital camera with a telephoto lens on the again. You may as well use this trio to take selfies due to the foldable design of the Magic V2, and you may as well use the duvet display as a viewfinder. There is a 16-megapixel digital camera on the duvet display and a second 16-megapixel digital camera underneath the show of the internal display. Listed here are the cameras in motion.
Beneath shiny lighting environments, this telephone managed to take crisp and colour correct photos.
Ultrawide digital camera instance.
Taken on default settings.
Instance of two.5x zoom.
10x zoom instance.
Zoomed all the best way in at 40x. Discover how the picture begins to appear to be a watercolor portray.
Taken indoors. The digital camera manages to seize the flecks of mud on the desk in addition to the shadows on the wall.
My canine Rocky’s fur coat is a hotter golden brown in actual life.
Usually, photographs from the V2 are respectable, however they don’t seem to be the most effective you will get from a telephone. Pictures taken with shiny gentle have been good. Nonetheless, I discovered the pictures shadowy in indoor or low gentle environments. If you happen to’re not a die-hard photographer, then the V2’s cameras must be simply wonderful for taking snaps.
To be honest, the V2 is not the one folding telephone with this problem. Foldable telephones’ cameras are typically a weak point in comparison with equally priced non-foldable telephones. You are primarily paying for the telephone’s massive, versatile show that allows multitasking quite than for the sort of top-of-the-line cameras you discover on the Galaxy S24 Extremely, Pixel 8 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Magic V2 battery and efficiency
Honor crammed a 5,000-mAh silicon carbon battery into the Magic V2’s slim and svelte body. In my expertise, the battery lasted all through the day after reasonable use: fast telephone calls, social media scrolling, studying emails, watching YouTube movies and listening to music. For the total assessment, I’ll present a spread of battery endurance assessments.
Because it was launched in 2023, the Magic V2 runs on that yr’s top-of-the-line processor from Qualcomm, which is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. In my expertise, it may deal with nearly every little thing I threw at it, together with graphic-intensive video games like Genshin Affect and working Zoom video calls whereas taking notes. Here is the way it stacks up in opposition to some rivals.
Efficiency assessments
| Cellphone | Geekbench 6 single-core | Geekbench 6 multicore |
|---|---|---|
| Honor Magic V2 | 1,824 | 4,254 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 | 2,014 | 5,419 |
| Google Pixel Fold | 1,458 | 3,540 |
| OnePlus Open | 1,571 | 4,556 |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 | 1,842 | 4,508 |
Conclusion
General, I used to be impressed with the Magic V2 folding telephone. It has slick {hardware} that makes Honor’s Magic V2 probably the most moveable book-style foldable telephone I’ve ever used. It is backed up by high-end specs together with a zippy processor, a flexible digital camera module with a telephoto lens, an internal display with a hard-to-find crease and quick charging. I nonetheless have extra testing to do, so maintain an eye fixed out for my full assessment subsequent week.
Honor’s Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Extremely