It has been half a year since the Honor Magic V2 was released in China, but at long last the phone has arrived in Europe with an event on Friday. Honor tried to get to the European launch faster than it did with the Magic Vs, however, it actually ended up being slower (the Vs was unveiled in China in November 2022 and got to Europe in February 2023). Better late than never, we guess.
The Honor Magic V2 is well liked by our team. You only need to look at the dimensions to understand why – it measures 156.7 x 74.1 x 9.9mm and 231g when closed. For comparison, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm and 232g, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.3mm and 221g.
Of course, as a bar phone the V2 offers a fairly conventional 6.43” with 1,060 x 2,376px (20:9) display (well, it’s a 10-bit 120Hz LTPO panel, so it’s quite good, actually). But that’s not why we’re here, are we?
No, it’s the 7.92” 10-bit 120Hz LTPO display on the inside. This is a mini tablet that fits comfortably in your pocket – more comfortably than an S24 Ultra, in fact. Alas, the phone shows its age with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. But even a year old Honor has faster charging than Samsung and Apple at 66W (there’s no wireless, however, that would have added to the thickness). And the 5,000mAh battery is as large as the Galaxy’s battery and larger than the iPhone’s. Add in the 50MP main, 20MP 2.5x tele and 50MP ultra wide cameras and we have a serious competitor.
Before we continue, we should mention that the Honor Magic V2 carries a price tag of £1,700/€2,000 for a 16/512GB unit. Who is the Magic V2 competing against? The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 for one. This one is also a year old (having launched at the same time as the V2), so it also has an SD 8 Gen 2 chip. It’s decently compact when closed, though thick and a bit heavy (154.9 x 67.1 x 13.4mm and 253g). The 23.1:9 cover display is on the narrow side and the 7.6” inner display is smaller (and isn’t an LTPO panel). The battery does have wireless charging (15W), but the battery is smaller at 4,400mAh (it also has 25W wired charging). the 50+10+12MP camera is similar to the S23/23+.
There’s also the Google Pixel Fold with a very similar 7.6 inner display. The folded dimensions of 139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm are oddly proportioned and this one is an absolute brick at 283g. The Pixel camera includes a 48MP main and 10.8MP 5x periscope, plus a 10.8MP ultra wide. The battery is bigger at 4,821mAh and the charging speed is on the slow side for both wired and wireless chargers. The less said of the Tensor G2, the better.
There’s also the OnePlus Open. This one also has a 20:9 cover display, a bit smaller at 6.3”. The inside display is almost as large at 7.82”, both are 10-bit 120Hz LTPO panels. Like the Magic and Galaxy, the Open has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. It pairs a 48MP main camera with a 64MP 3x tele module and a 64MP ultra wide. The 4,805mAh battery does 67W wired-only charging.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 • Google Pixel Fold • OnePlus Open
Of course, these are due for a replacement later this year and the new models will bring updated hardware, which will make the generational gap with the Magic V2 more noticeable.
Depending on where you live, you may also have access to the Tecno Phantom V Fold (it’s not available in Europe, though). This one is a more affordable option and uses the Dimensity 9000+ chipset. It has a pretty decent camera setup with a 50MP main, 50MP 2x tele and 13MP ultra wide, the 5,000mAh battery supports 45W wired-only charging. The cheaper build means this one is quite large at 159.4 x 72 x 14.2mm when folded and weighs a massive 299g. Unlike some pricier options, it has dual 10-bit 120Hz LTPO displays (6.42” at 21.25:9 cover and 7.85” inner displays).
There’s also the vivo X Fold2 and Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, but they just aren’t widely available. The same goes for Huawei’s foldables.
Tecno Phantom V Fold • vivo X Fold2 • Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 • Huawei Mate X5
You can check out our Honor Magic V2 hands-on review for more details on the phone. What do you think – can this be your next phone? Your first foldable, perhaps?
