Remember the previous Xiaomi MIX Fold 3 review article? Through it I have said that the Honor Magic V2 is one of the thinnest foldable devices ever held. In fact, it feels thinner and lighter than the Huawei Mate X3. Therefore, it is quite interesting when also given the opportunity to use it for a long period of time and I share that experience through this review article.
Device Specifications
Honor Magic V2
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 512GB UFS 4.0
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 MP, f/2.45 (Front)
16 MP, 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
Selling Price RM 6,999 (16/512GB)
Shape
In my opinion, design is the strength of Magic V2. As previously shared through the first look article, Honor's offering this time is indeed quite extraordinary through interesting technology. This can be clearly seen through their ability to produce a device that is thin and light at the same time. As thin as 9.9mm when folded and 4.7mm when unfolded.
It is also very comfortable to use for long periods of time due to the weight of only 231-grams including the battery. The hinge is also redesigned making it thinner with no noticeable empty space when the device is folded. At the same time, it makes the experience of opening and closing feel good without strange noises. Even marketed can be used up to 400,000 folds but still raises questions about durability.
The device looks beautiful with two variants available in Malaysia which include the matte Silk Purple finish as the review unit received. To be honest, it still feels smooth without a frame, but it doesn't easily trap sweat. Through it there is also a glass camera bump with three cameras and an LED Flash available.
The right side houses the power button with a solid metal-based build. At the same time supports a built-in physical fingerprint scanner that is able to unlock the device smoothly. The audio rocker is on the opposite side, followed by the SIM card slot, USB-C port and speaker at the bottom.
A stereo-type speaker that supports IMAX and DTS:X Ultra audio with strong enough audio projection. However it sounds unbalanced and can be noticed with a louder sound on the bottom speakers than on the top. No 3.5mm audio jack also makes users have to rely entirely on wireless earphones. However, the presence of a red transmitter and built-in NFC to some extent give additional interesting value.
A major drawback is also apparent when the device itself does not pass the official waterproof rating. It is quite disappointing for such a premium device when the feature is the focus of other manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei. At the same time, it is also considered important for a device for long-term use.
Outer And Inner Screen
In the open position of the 7.92-inch main screen used does not show a big change with the previous Magic Vs. It's just that the 6.43-inch secondary screen is now smaller but can still be used optimally for daily use 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 for the inner screen. In addition to supporting a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, a maximum peak brightness of 1,600nits, and 3,840Hz PWM Dimming technology.
There are no issues for the visual presentation in fact the whole thing is beautiful, clear and lively especially used in closed areas. Scrolling is also smooth with the activated 120Hz screen and can also be switched between 90/60Hz for more battery saving.
Finger tracking capabilities are also responsive which makes it more fun to use. The effect of folding is not so clearly visible but can still be felt when the finger is moved through the pillar of the folding mechanism.
Benchmark – Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Magic V2 uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip with 16GB LPDDR5X RAM memory and 512GB UFS4.0 internal storage. It sounds a bit out of date especially when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip has been launched as the most powerful flagship processor at the moment.
But know that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is still quite powerful and I didn't experience any performance interruptions in daily use. Apps can be opened instantly and scrolling is also smooth with the 120Hz screen enabled. The first play experience was also enjoyable with no overheating issues throughout the review period.
Moreover, it is helped by the support of large memory which is more than enough for most users. The memory can also be expanded to a virtual 7GB RAM through RAM Turbo. It means that more applications can be launched simultaneously and the process of switching them is also very fast.
The only drawback is that it doesn't have the ability to change itself as offered on some other Android devices. There was also a time when the device issued a warning with suggestions for improvement if the heating level was more than usual.
I also had time to compare the Magic V2 with foldable devices in the Malaysian market so far and here are the benchmark test scores recorded:
AnTuTu 3D
Honor Magic V2 – 1,221,713
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 – 1,597,608
Huawei Mate X3 – 1,131,954
Oppo Find N3 – 1,405,149
Geekbench 6
Honor Magic V2 – 1985/5258
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 – 1948/5373
Huawei Mate X3 – 1746/4379
Oppo Find N3 – 1537/4561
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Honor Magic V2 – 13351
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 – 2929
Huawei Mate X3 – N/A
Oppo Find N3 – 3654
Software – MagicOS 7.2 (Android 13)
Next, the Magic V2 is equipped with MagicOS 7.2 software based on Android 13 which turns out to be behind because most devices now run Android 14. It is expected to be given later since Honor promises Android updates for four years, as well as five years of security on the device.
Compliments can be given to the device's ability to work well with built-in smart features for a more enjoyable multi-tasking experience. For example, such as the ability to launch up to two applications and one floating window simultaneously which is useful to take advantage of the entire screen space. Likewise with the ability to play two games simultaneously in one screen through a special mode.
Even so, this situation still feels not as flexible as the Boundless View Mode offered on the Oppo Find N3, which allows three applications to be launched simultaneously in full size. It can even be arranged according to suitability by placing two applications at the top and one at the bottom in full screen mode.
Gesture capabilities on icons that will increase their size are also still provided. In addition, there is also a Hover Mode function that divides the device into two screens when folded in half for the use of several things such as camera applications or video playback on YouTube. Interestingly the Magic V2 also supports a stylus on the foldable screen. But this stylus is not given for free or has a special storage place on the body.
Then if you notice one of the screenshots shared is related to Google, right? Magic V2 is fully functional with any application or service that requires logging into a Google account. At the same time, applications such as YouTube, Google Maps, Google Photos, GMail and many other Google ecosystems can be accessed without problems.
Shortcomings can be seen in the limited customization for themes and icons. Then not all applications support full screen mode with two black bars clearly visible. The problem of dumping fat applications (bloatware) that are ready to be downloaded is also still happening here.
Camera And Picture Quality
Magic V2 is equipped with three main cameras of 50MP wide-angle lens (f/1.9), 50MP ultra wide-angle (f/2.0) and 20MP telephoto (f/2.4) with built-in OIS. Followed by a selfie camera of 16MP (wide) (f/2.2) used on both sides of the outer and inner screen. Maximum 4K video recording can be made on both sides of the camera, and the zoom capability increases to 40X digital.
Just open the camera application, there are several built-in functions available such as Night, Portrait, Photo, Video, Movie and More. At the same time the camera supports AI and built-in HDR to allow photos to be taken with good light balance. Also included are the Milisecond Falcon Capture and AI Motion Sensing Capture features that can be found on the Magic5 Pro before.
The main camera works very well with satisfactory image quality for most situations. It can take bright and clear pictures consistently except in low lighting. Added to that the detail is well maintained along with the exposure is also good especially for subjects in extreme lighting.
Color reproduction is also pleasing to the eye, only becoming too saturated in some situations involving bright colors such as red or yellow for example. The presence of noise is also almost invisible in most images except ultra-wide and nighttime results. Night Mode is provided but photos taken by default through the main camera are more satisfactory.
An interesting improvement is of course the telephoto capability with the best results up to 10X along with consistent colors. The rest give less satisfactory results with noise problems and details that are completely lost. Selfie results are more in the same direction without the beauty mode activated.
Battery
The 5,000mAh battery is the same as the Magic Vs but larger than the 4,700mAh used on the Magic V. Kudos to Honor for being able to offer a large enough battery in a device that is so thin and light so far.
No problem the device lasts all day with SOT between 8 to 10 hours used for most daily activities. For example, such as browsing the web, taking pictures, watching video content, listening to spotify and playing games that depend entirely on a Wi-Fi/hotspot connection.
Then the device can be recharged in less than one via USB-C port and 67W wired charging. The charging head is also given for free but no wireless charging is given which can be considered an error for a premium device that costs almost RM7,000.
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
The overall experience of using the Magic V2 is satisfactory. Design is again said to be a strength with the thinnest and lightest body of the device making it better than competitors in the market today. Added to the improved display capabilities, hardware and satisfactory camera system feel more fun to use.
The same can be felt through the large battery support and fast charging which is very useful for all day use. But no waterproof rating and wireless charging are the main weaknesses of a premium device with a price of almost RM7,000.
Pro
Thinnest and lightest so far.
Smooth scrolling with a 120Hz screen.
Performance is more adequate for daily use.
Big battery and fast charging.
The camera is satisfactory for most scenarios.
Supports Google built-in.
Cons
Android 13.
There are no waterproof standards.
No wireless charging.
The software is not mature.