Magic V5: Honor's new foldable is ultra-thin – when you remove the camera

Honor has initially presented a new foldable generation for the Chinese market — according to the manufacturer, it will also be released globally soon. The Magic V5 replaces the Magic V3, which made its European debut at IFA 2024. There is no Magic V4 because the number 4 is considered an unlucky number in China.

Only one color variant is particularly thin

With the Honor Magic V5, the manufacturer is undercutting competitors such as Oppo and presumably Samsung in terms of case thickness. Oppos Find N5 is 8.93 mm thick, while the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is expected on July 9, is said to be around 8.9 mm thick. However, these differences are marginal.

In addition, only the “Warm White” version of the Magic V5 has this low case thickness. The other variants, some of which are covered with vegan leather, are specified on Honor's website (translation) as being 9 mm thick. Even when unfolded, the warm white version is 4.1 mm thinner than the others, which are said to measure 4.2 mm.

However, the manufacturer criminally neglects to include the massive camera element on the back when specifying the case thickness. In pictures, it appears to be almost twice as thick as the device itself. But large sensors require a lot of space.

More exciting than the Magic V5's impressive case thickness, however, is its low weight and the further improvement in dust protection. At 217 grams (in warm white) or 222 grams (other colors), the Honor foldable weighs less than some classic high-end smartphones: Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra weighs 218 grams and Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max even weighs 227 grams.

One positive aspect is that while the Magic V3 only had IPx8 protection, the new version supports IP58 protection. This means it is slightly better protected against dust.

High-end features

The other features of the new foldable sound excellent on paper. This is because it has Qualcomm's latest top-of-the-range Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which is accompanied by 12 to 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB to one TByte of flash memory, depending on the version.

The flexible 7.95-inch internal display has a resolution of 2,352 × 2,172 pixels and is slightly larger than the 7.92-inch screen of its predecessor. The external display has a diagonal of 6.43 inches. The global peak brightness of the outdoor screen is 1,800 nits and that of the indoor display is 1,300 nits. With HDR content, both LTPO OLED screens can be as bright as 5,000 nits. The screens offer a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.

The manufacturer has fitted a 50 MP wide-angle camera with f/1.6 aperture in the thick camera element of the Magic V5, while the ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture also has a 50 MP sensor. The telephoto zoom camera with f/2.5 aperture and 1/2 sensor has 64 MP and offers triple optical zoom. A 20 MP selfie camera is also built into both the external and internal display.

Despite the thin body, Honor has managed to install a 5820 mAh battery, which apparently consists of two cells. Interestingly, the capacity of the variant with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage is specified as 6,100 mAh. Wired charging is possible with up to 66 watts, wireless charging is possible with up to 50 watts if you have a proprietary charging dock. The device is delivered with MagicOS 9.0.1, which is still based on Android 15.

In China, the manufacturer is selling the new foldable at a price of 9000 yuan, which is equivalent to around 1065 euros. Experience shows that the euro prices are much higher. We assume that the Magic V5 in Europe will be more in the price range of its predecessor and should therefore cost a little under 2000 euros. Similar to the Magic V3, the new model is also likely to be launched for the global market around IFA. IFA will take place at the Berlin Exhibition Center from September 5 to 9, 2025.

(afl)