The hinge is the most important part of any foldable phone, and its design and structural integrity play a big role in how well the device holds up in the long term. Samsung currently dominates the foldable phone market, but its foldables are far from perfect and the company's competitors are catching up.

Honor's new Magic Vs folding phone has an innovative hinge design that's smaller and less complex, and—crucially—allows the phone to fold completely flat. It could be a game-changer. Let's take a look at why it's such a big deal.

What's Special About the Honor Magic Vs?

Foldables usually have wildly complex internals with the hinge using several moving parts. The more moving parts, the higher the chance of something going wrong in the future.

Moving parts also require more internal space than static parts; this space could otherwise be used to fit a bigger battery, louder speakers, or a better haptic engine. A hinge with fewer moving parts allows all of these benefits while also making the device slightly thinner.

Enter the Honor Magic Vs. The teardown video from YouTuber JerryRigEverything shows the new gearless hinge mechanism of the device that the company claims "reduces the number of components of support structure from 92 to 4."

Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Honor Magic Vs doesn't leave a gap from which air, water, and dust can pass when folded shut—solving one of the biggest problems with foldable phones.

honor vs flat hinge
Image Credit: Honor

This also leaves room for a bigger 5000mAh battery with faster 66W charging, compared to the 4400mAh cell and 25W charging on the Galaxy. This is a big deal because foldables are meant for media consumption, but they also consume more power than regular smartphones due to the larger inner display. So, a bigger battery is always appreciated.

Why Gapless Folding Phones Are Inevitable

What's exciting is that the Honor Magic Vs isn't the only gapless foldable phone we've seen. There's the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, the Huawei Mate Xs 2, and the Oppo Find N2 as well. Clearly, an increasing number of Chinese manufacturers are betting on foldables to become mainstream.

Although it will take time to perfect the form factor of foldable phones, we hope rising competition from Chinese rivals nudges Samsung to innovate its own hinge design for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5. Gapless foldables are inevitable, and if you're looking to buy one, now is a better time than ever.

Samsung Has Some Catching Up to Do

Samsung currently holds more than 60% of the global foldable phone market share, but this dominance might not last very long if Chinese manufacturers continue to offer better hardware for cheaper.

The Honor Magic Vs is a brilliant example of the same as the device eliminates the air gap, has a better hinge design, plus a very usable cover screen that isn't unusually tall. It's expected to launch internationally at Mobile World Congress, which begins on February 27th.