At IFA 2024, I finally got my hands on the Honor Magic V3, the world’s thinnest folding smartphone. It’s worth noting that you can’t get this phone unless you cross the ocean and go to either Asia or Europe; however, because it’s a world first, I thought it was worth trying out.
Honor has made a genuinely outstanding product, and while thinness plays a humongous part in why this handset is elite, it’s not everything. However, before moving on to my favourite part, let’s discuss some specs. On the outside, the Honor Magic V3 sports a 6.43-inch cover screen with a 1060 x 2376-pixel resolution, while on the inside, you’ll see a 7.92-inch 2156 x 2344-pixel resolution with Dolby Vision, 120Hz refresh rate and LTPO AMOLED technology. It’s also IPX8 water-resistant and supports a stylus. Internal specs include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a 5,150mAh battery. On the back, there’s a 50-megapixel primary, a 50-megapixel periscope with up to 3.5x optical zoom and a 40-megapixel ultrawide. The two selfie cameras sport 20-megapixel sensors. I didn’t test the cameras while I was at IFA; however, I’ve seen the results that other reviewers could shoot. Some seemed to like the camera, but others also had big problems with it. Perhaps it’s user error, or it requires some excellent knowledge of how cameras work, but it seemed to have mixed reviews.
The Honor Magic V3 unfolded is an astonishing 4.4mm thin, and while folded, it’s 9.2mm (or 9.3mm, depending on the model you grab). This makes it thinner than the newly released Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the OnePlus Open and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. I’ve used the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for the past two weeks and compared the two devices. The 9.3mm and 10.5mm difference didn’t feel too big when folded. Yes, it is evident that the Magic V3 is thinner, but I overlooked the thinness until I opened up the handset and got the full 4.4mm experience. Despite its thinness, the device didn’t feel flimsy.
Honor’s craftsmanship is excellent here, but what I first noticed when I picked up the device wasn’t how thin it was. I was more surprised by how light it felt. As I mentioned, I’ve been using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for about two weeks now, and while I’ve fallen in love with the device, I’ve come to accept that it feels heavy. I wish that weren’t the case, but weighing 257g and with a case on top, the smartphone is a lot to carry around with you 24/7. The 226g (or 230g, depending on the model) Magic V3 Pro feels much lighter. Since some reviewers had units already, I could carry the device around with me at some points throughout the week, and it wasn’t a bother whatsoever, like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold on occasion.
The handset seems to be a powerhouse, and Honor has done some magic with the device’s hardware, getting it so thin and light. The device also seemed pretty durable as I watched Timo Boll, a world-famous German table tennis player, play several table tennis matches using the phone instead of a racket. Software-wise, it seemed fine, but it might take a bit of getting used to. Of course, this device has some AI features, including AI motion sensing, which can capture some great action shots, according to Honor. There’s also face-to-face translation, audio recording that can be translated immediately and then summarized, and some easy drag-and-drop features and AI app sorting. I’d need to play with these features/gimmicks to see if they are worth what Honor is selling.
Speaking of selling, the device costs £1,699 or €1,999, which works out to around $3,000 CAD. That puts the Honor Magic V3 a fair bit higher than the Z Fold 6 at $2,564, which has half as much storage in the starting model (256GB in the Fodl 6 to 512GB in the Magic). We’re in talks with Honor to get a review device, but until then, these are my thoughts on the Magic V3.
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