REVIEW: HONOR Magic V2 – The World’s Slimmest Foldable Smartphone Yet

CONTENT: Michelle Ng

Foldable phones are still very much in trend, and HONOR has launched the foldable version of their flagship Magic line. The HONOR Magic V2 promises a top-tier phone that provides all the functions of a smartphone, unfolds into a wide 7.92 inches screen, and still remains lightweight and durable. The Magic V2 comes in two colors – a black and a royal purple version. We had a chance to try out the Magic V2, and here our thoughts!

Design & Interface

The HONOR Magic V2 uses an Android system, and while it’s easy to use and customize the interface, the responsiveness of the touch screen was occasionally a bit slow to the touch. A simple closing of the app would fix the issue, but it happened just often enough to become a slight. Otherwise, the Magic V2’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip was good enough for using everyday apps and playing games with close to zero lagtime.

The Magic V2 also comes with two SIM card slots, and 512GB of storage space, which is plenty to play around with. The 5,000mAh battery is pretty standard in charge, but the new silicon-carbon battery is both lightweight and increases energy density to ensure more efficient energy usage. A single charge could last the whole day and then a little more with constant use of watching Instagram, using apps, and even taking photos and video. Despite using energy intensive apps like video editing apps, the phone never heated up too much unlike the Pixel phones which has a tendency to overheat randomly

Camera

A major factor for most people when upgrading a phone is the camera, and the Magic V2 has 3 rear cameras and 2 front cameras. The 3 rear cameras are suited for a wide range of situations, with a 50MP Ultra Wide Camera (f/2.0), 50MP Wide Camera (f/1.9), and a 20MP Telephoto Lens Camera (f/2.4) to choose from. The photos can shoot up to 3456 x 4608 pixels, and the video can shoot up to 2160 x 3840 pixels – pretty decent for a phone camera. The Magic V2 camera best shines in outdoors and bright lighting, with crisp images and vibrant colors. If there isn’t enough light, I noticed that the colors do get a bit muted, probably due to the light compression. There is a from camera on the interior and exterior screens, which means that you can take selfies even when the phone is unfolded.

Extra Features

The biggest draw to the Magic V2 is the interior display, which unfolders into an impressive 7.92 inches. While it wasn’t as useful when watching Netflix or scrolling Instagram since it unfolds into a square, the bigger interior screen was really handy when editing images or videos on apps. Browsing the web and using chat apps is easier on the eyes, with a wider screen to scroll and type. The seamless transition between the interior and exterior screen when unfolding also meant that there was close to zero lag time, and there were also different modes to split the screen into different tabs (hello, multi-tasking!)

Even when folded, the thickness of the Magic V2 only came to 9.9mm. Which is pretty thin, and can rival other phones thickness. While the phone weighed in slightly heavier to my Pixel 8 – it’s double the screen surface after all – it was not that noticeable and fit nicely into my pockets. Despite the ultra-thin screens, the phone never felt fragile or if it would break when I was folding and unfolding the screens multiple times a day.

Another feature I really liked was the fingerprint sensor, which is built into the lock screen button located on the right side of the phone. Simply brushing my finger over the lock screen was enough to unlock the phone and wake it up, which was something I got used to very quickly! I never realized how slightly inconvenient it was to use a fingerprint lock in the middle of the phone until I got my hands on the magic V2.

Verdict

At a price point of S$1,999, the Magic V2 is not an entry level phone. While it’s slightly cheaper than the other foldable phones in the market by a couple of hundred dollars, the HONOR Magic V2 is an impressive upgrade from their other phone models. It’s a great option to try out a foldable phone which isn’t too bulky and still be able to enjoy all the additional features like a wider screen and easy adoption of the interface.

The HONOR Magic V2 is available for purchase now at selected electronics stores, including Best Denki, Courts, Challenger, Gain City , authorized HONOR retailers, and online via the Shopee and Lazada official stores.