Located in Berlin, Honor took the main stage of IFA 2023 by showing off its new foldable screen device. Known as the Honor Magic V2, it comes with a book-like design with a screen that folds inwards while also supporting a stylus on both screens. But we have also been given the opportunity to take a closer look at its offerings despite not having to be flown to Berlin directly. Continue reading this first look article to see a little of the offering and our brief experience with it.
Device Specifications
Honor Magic Vs
External Screen – 6.43″ OLED, 120Hz
Inside – 7.92″ 120Hz OLED
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (4nm)
1 x 3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 chip
2 x 2.8 GHz Cortex-A715
2 x 2.8 GHz Cortex-A710
3 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A510
Adreno 740 Graphics Chip
RAM 16GB RAM
Internal Storage 256/512GB/1TB UFS 3.1
Primary Camera 50 MP, f/1.9, OIS (Wide Angle)
50 MP, f/2.0 (Ultra Wide Angle)
20 MP, f/2.4, OIS (Telephoto), 40X digital zoom
4K 60p
Front Camera 16 Megapixel f/2.45 (Front)
16 Megapixel f/2.45 (Inside)
4K 60p
5000 mAh battery
66W wired charging
SIM/Telephony Dual SIM Nano /5G
NFC Yes
Infrared Yes
Waterproof None
Side built-in Fingerprint Scan System
Sale Price RM4798* (8/256 GB)
RM5118* (12/256 GB)
RM5758* (12/512GB)
Device Design
Thin enough and comfortable to hold, this is what I felt when I first held the new Honor Magic V2 foldable screen device. This feeling is also what explains the experience when holding the Huawei Mate X3 before, but feels thinner.
According to Honor, this device has a thin body of 9.9mm when folded and 4.7mm when opened. However slightly increased to 10.1mm and 4.8mm for the glass variant since the device has two variants on offer.
It is also light with a weight of only 231g (PU)/237g (glass) including the battery which not only makes it comfortable to hold, but the sturdy body makes the process of handling the device in most situations easier. This includes when the device is inserted into the pocket directly without causing discomfort.
Further in it is seen that the elements used as a whole resemble several generations of Honor foldable devices before with a folding screen on the inside along with a secondary screen on the outside. This is also matched by thin side hinges with no noticeable gaps even when the device is in folded screen mode.
It is completely rebuilt using titanium material which is said to work well up to 400,000 folds. The experience of opening and closing the device also feels good with no strange noises though it raises questions about its durability over time.
Then the back panel also looks great with several options of finish types including glass like the unit held in this article. This panel is equipped with a brand new finish called Silk Purple which is not only good at reducing fingerprints, but also looks more premium with a shiny body. It is however actually quite slippery when held thus a special frame is necessary for better protection.
The right side has the power button which is believed to use a strong metal-based material. At the same time the device also has a physical fingerprint scanner built into the power button with a position that is very accessible to the fingers for scanning purposes. Due to the short usage, I didn't have time to test the performance either. But it is more convenient for the user, at the same time it is expected to be faster than the fingerprint scanner on the screen.
Further, the audio adjustment button is placed on the opposite side. Then the SIM card slot is placed on the bottom side and placed together with the USB-C port that can be used for charging or data transfer purposes. The device also features two stereo audio grilles on the top and bottom. It's big enough with IMAX and DTS:X Ulra audio support for an immersive audio experience.
The downside starts to show when the device doesn't even pass the official waterproof rating. It's a bit disappointing because the feature is starting to be the focus of some of its competitors like Samsung and Huawei on their latest foldable screen devices. At the same time, waterproof features are also considered important for a device for long-term use.
Device Screen
In the open position the 7.92-inch screen used on the device is larger than its predecessor Honor Magic V, but the difference is not very noticeable. However, it is different with the smaller 6.43-inch secondary screen that is used but still many uses can be used without issue.
The screen is entirely from LTPO OLED which also supports 2156 x 2344 pixels for the outer screen and 1060 x 2376 pixels on the inner screen. Both sides of the screen also support a 120Hz refresh rate and also feature 3,840Hz PWM dimming.
Short time usage experience found the screen display to be bright and sharp for both exterior and interior. On paper, the device is also said to pass HDR10+ and is capable of displaying up to 1.07 billion displays which should offer a better video viewing experience with the screen always clear. Crease effects are also not clearly visible for this early use unless viewed closely from the side.
Hardware And Software
Honor magic V2 is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip paired with Adreno 740 GPU, 16GB RAM memory and up to 512GB storage. This is the most powerful processing chip for an Android device to date, which at the same time also offers built-in 5G support. It is also the same chip used on the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Vivo X Fold 2. At the same time, the maximum memory and storage capacity of 16GB/1TB is also seen to be better than what was offered on the Magic V before.
The device runs MagicOS 7.2 based on Android 13 with no further details on when the updates will be supported. As a record Honor has provided updates up to three years for the system and five years for security on the Honor Magic Vs. The interface doesn't show any sudden changes, instead it's easy to handle because it's still similar to EMUI on Huawei devices.
Honor is also seen to focus on software by offering the feature of launching up to four applications floating on the screen and two applications simultaneously with two applications in a large window. Users are also given the choice of whether to display both top/bottom or side by side easily. It also supports Flexible Windows and Smart sidebar capabilities to facilitate multi-tasking.
Camera System
Honor Magic V2 is equipped with three main cameras with 50MP wide (f/1.9), 50MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.0) and 20MP telephoto lens (f/2.4) with built-in OIS support. Meanwhile, it is followed by a 16MP selfie camera (wide) with an aperture of f/2.2) also used on both sides of the outer and inner screen. The device also allows maximum 4K (3840×2160 pixels) video recording to be made on both sides of the camera. The zoom capability can be increased to 40X digital zoom.
There are also several functions built into the camera application such as Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, Movie and so on. At the same time the device also supports built-in AI and HDR to allow photos to be taken with good light balance. As usual, the picture capture option can be taken at a ratio of 1:1, 4:3 and full.
Battery Capacity
The 5,000 mAh battery is the same as the Magic Vs, but larger than the 4,700 mAh used in the Honor Magic V. It is interesting and commendable because Honor is able to offer a large enough battery in a very thin device body so far. However, the charging system provided is still the same 66W which also supports 55W wireless charging. But better than Magic Vs which only supports 5W wireless charging.
What's In The Box
1 X Honor Magic V2.
1 X Honor SuperCharge charging head.
1 X USB-C Cable.
1 X User manual.
1 X Warranty card.
1 X Protective frame.
Conclusion
It is still too early to determine the capabilities and performance in particular in this very short usage. But I can conclude that it can be a device that is capable of creating a difference especially for an amazing user experience. It's actually lighter and thinner by far than its competitors.
This clearly shows that Honor is really committed to providing something that can be used as an attractive alternative by today's users. But unfortunately there is still no final word given by Honor regarding its availability in the Global market, which in my opinion can actually be quite an interesting device if Honor can bring it to other markets including Malaysia itself.
Pro
120Hz screen outside and inside which is comfortable to use.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip with memory up to 16GB RAM.
The design is thinner than competing devices.
Large 5,000 mAh battery with 66W charging.
Cons
There are still no waterproof standards.
There are still crease marks on the screen.