prologue
Foldables from China have been making waves globally looking to challenge Samsung’s dominance in the field, and Honor Magic Vs is the latest to make its international debut. Honor’s second-generation foldable Magic Vs builds on last year’s V, with improvements to the moving bits, an improved camera system, and tweaks to the display and battery.
We had an early look at Magic Vs late last year. That unit was prime-time ready in terms of hardware, but not final in terms of software. : solid) and camera samples, etc. – these could not be tested three months ago.
The Magic Vs is based on a 7.9-inch foldable OLED display, but it’s still limited to 90Hz (Samsung’s Z Fold4 can do 120Hz). Honor says it’s brighter than the V, as is the 6.45-inch cover display. can Refresh at up to 120Hz.
The folding mechanism is new in the Vs compared to the V, with Honor forgoing gears in favor of a gearless hinge. By reducing complexity and using magnesium and titanium alloys in the build, the V is about 10% lighter than the V. This is a very welcome development. It also has a larger battery than the older model – 5,000mAh vs. 4,750mAh.
We believe that some changes to the camera system will make the Magic Vs a more capable camera phone. The telephoto camera replaces the Magic V’s ‘ultraspectrum’ 50MP module, something you’ve never experienced before. It may be a relatively modest 8MP 3x unit, but Several A telephoto is better than no telephoto. The 54MP primary His camera is also new for this generation, but the 50MP ultrawide has carried over. Two of his 16MP selfie cameras (his one punch hole per display) allow you to tally up to five cameras.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 works inside the Magic Vs and adds a plus to the Magic V’s chipset. And in the months between its initial release in China and its global rollout, Honor has put together his Android 13-based build of Magic UI (the one we made for hands-on was Android 12). This keeps us well up to date on the software front. .
Magic Vs specs at a glance:
- body: 160.3×141.5×6.1mm, 267g/261g; glass front, glass back or eco-leather back, magnesium alloy frame, titanium alloy folding mechanism.
- screen: 7.9 inch foldable OLED, 1B color, 90Hz, HDR10+, 1984x2272px resolution, 10.3:9 aspect ratio, 382ppi. Cover display: OLED, 1B color, 120Hz, HDR10+, 6.45 inches, 1080x2560px, 431 ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.5 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
- memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM.
- OS/Software: Android 13, Magic UI 7.1.
- Rear camera: wide (main): 54MP, f/1.9, 27mm, 1/1.49″, 1.0µm, PDAF; super wide angle: 50MP, f/2.0, 13mm, 122°, AF; telephoto: 8 MP, f/2.4, PDAF, 3x optical zoom, OIS.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide).
- Video capture: rear camera: 4K@30/60fps (10bit), 1080p@30/60fps, Gyro EIS, HDR10+; front camera: 1080p@30fps, Gyro EIS.
- battery: 5000mAh; wired 66W, reverse wired 5W.
- others: fingerprint reader (side-mount); NFC; infrared port; stereo speakers.
Magic of Honor vs. Kaifuku
Magic Vs ships in a large black cardboard box with fine stripes and a matte finish. Inside, the handset unfolds into a tray with accessories placed in separate boxes placed in dedicated compartments. It’s not exactly eco-friendly, but it’s clearly a premium presentation.
Bundled peripherals include a 66W adapter and corresponding cable that match the phone’s specified charging capabilities.
Also inside the box is a protector for the back of the phone. This is the only surface that doesn’t have a display of some sort. The design is a combination of a snap-on and a sticker – you can apply it without the adhesive strip, but the sticker will of course give you extra holding power.
