We were on the ground in London, UK, on November 23, checking out the latest flagship from firm MUO favorites, Honor. The brand is set to launch its new foldable handset globally soon, having literally just dropped the device into Chinese Honor fans' hands.
So, what is the Honor Magic Vs all about? Let's take a first look at the device hardware...
Hands on With the Honor Magic Vs
The Honor Magic Vs is the latest device to drop into a rapidly growing repertoire of superior smartphones stocking the brand's stable. It is a foldable smartphone, released in China first for 7499 RMB (about $1050, or £900), with a global release planned at some point in the near future (dates and territories TBC). Let's take a look at some of the hardware specs.
Unfolding the Honor Magic Vs: Form Factor
As mentioned, the Honor Magic Vs is a foldable smartphone. If you're looking for a real world comparison, then the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is probably your closest, looks-wise. When folded, the device is only 12.9mm thin and weighs only 261g (making it lighter than the Z Fold 4, by two grams).
Thanks to the innovative hinge deployed in the Magic Vs, the phone unfolds like a charm, with no noticeable crease down the centre of its screen. All good there then. Plus, Honor tells us you'll get 400,000 folds out of your device; the equivalent of 100 folds a day for ten years, by which time you're likely to be on your fifth folding Honor smartphone, if you like to keep up with smartphone trends.
The phone fold/unfolding action is incredibly smooth. This is likely down to the gearless hinge design Honor has adopted, which features less moving parts and so is structurally better placed to cope with constant folding and unfolding than competitor folding handsets.
Honor Magic Vs: Dual Display Delight
Honor's Magic Vs folds on the vertical axis, meaning down the middle, from top to bottom. Folded, you've got a 6.45-inch front display, boasting a not-too-shabby 90% screen to body ratio and 21:9 aspect ratio. Unfurling the device presents you with the crease-free, internal dual display, with a more tablet-like 7.9-inch screen.
The screen supports 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, meaning it can deliver 1.07 billion colors. Essentially, any media you view on the device is gonna look awesome. A refresh rate standing at 120 Hz means any media do watch, will be buttery smooth, as will anything else that happens on the screen.
The screen is a delight to behold. Flipping between the front screen and the larger internal screen is instantaneous, and both screens are incredibly responsive to touch. Scrolling is excellent, with no noticeable blur or stutter when flying through the app drawer.
Hotshots: The Honor Magic Vs Camera
Honor's previous release, the Honor 70 (check out our review, here), was the first smartphone to debut Sony's 54 MP IMX800 sensor. Thankfully, Honor has continued to employ this sensor with the Magic Vs, so we know we're going to get some outstanding snaps with this handset.
Alongside the 54 MP main sensor we've got an equally impressive 50 MP wide angle, and an 8 MP optical zoom camera. The device makes us of Honor's AI Image Engine, which (from prior experience) allows the phone to layer shots from all three sensors, resulting in epic smartphone pics.
The camera array on the back of the handset follows a more familiar form, as Honor tries to minimise the weight of the device. Gone is the "Eye of Muse" present on the Magic4 Pro, and there are no dual rings as per the Honor 70. Instead, we have a rectangular camera island.
Honor Magic Vs: Pure Processing Power
On paper, the Honor Magic Vs sounds like its going to perform perfectly, and may outperform some of its main rivals (paying attention Samsung?). The phone ships loaded with Qualcomm's SnapDragon 8+ 1st Gen, so it's going to be rapid, whatever you throw at it. And with that tablet-like screen, you can bet you're going to be packing productivity with this in your hands.
The device also runs MagicOS 7.0, so this is the latest software skin honor has produced for Android 12 overlay. Honor promises a "raft of smart features" which will enable the user to increase productivity with their smartphone.
Honor Magic Vs: Life in Color
So, what about the colorways? Well, the Magic Vs comes in three colorways which, if this writer's memory serves him correctly, are the same colors as the Magic4 Pro. So, it'll come in Orange, Cyan, and Black (our hands-on version is the Black variant). As with the Magic4 Pro, the Vs orange version also features a rather snazzy PU leather rear face, which makes for an interesting hand-feel with a smartphone.
We checked out all three colorways, and (perhaps a little biased considering this writer's ginger hair) we prefer the Orange handset above the other two.
Introducing the Honor Magic Vs
So, that is your first look. We're sure you'll agree that the Honor Magic Vs sounds like a top-notch smartphone, and in particular a top-notch foldable. Keep your eyes peeled for our full review, coming soon.