Honor Magic V5 evaluation: incredible foldable telephone that wants higher Android software program

[ad_1] Honor’s newest foldable phone-tablet makes an attempt to usurp Samsung because the chief of the pack with a super-thin physique, large battery and a ginormous digital camera lump on the again.

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The Magic V5 is an impressively skinny piece of engineering, slimmed all the way down to about 8.9mm thick when shut, with every half about the identical thickness as a USB-C port. It feels similar to a normal slab telephone within the hand, however one you possibly can open up like a ebook for a mini-tablet on the go.

The foldable prices £1,699.99 (€1,999.99), undercutting the competitors from Samsung and Google by as much as £100, however nonetheless very a lot on the eye-wateringly costly finish of the smartphone market.

The Magic V5 is available in varied colors with completely different supplies on the again that make the telephone various thicknesses and weights. At 222g or beneath it's barely heavier than Samsung’s newest Fold 7, however far lighter than the remainder of the folding telephone competitors, and about the identical weight as a big slab telephone.

When closed the Magic V5 is about the identical weight, thickness and width as a big common telephone. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The skin 6.43in OLED display is nice and acts identical to a daily telephone whereas the within 7.95in folding display is without doubt one of the greatest, with a formidable brightness. It nonetheless has a crease down the center however you don’t discover it in use. The within display is essentially softer than conventional telephone screens to permit it to bend, so you must deal with it with care; and it's a fingerprint magnet.

The Honor is without doubt one of the first folding telephones to be water- and dust-resistant to comparable requirements as a daily telephone. Which means fantastic particles shouldn’t be capable of get behind the transferring, versatile display and metallic hinge, which has been a sturdiness concern for all foldables.

Specs Fundamental display: 7.95in (403ppi) 120Hz OLED versatile show

Cowl display: 6.43in (405ppi) 120Hz OLED

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM: 16GB

Storage: 512GB

Working system: MagicOS 9.0.1 (Android 15)

Digital camera: 50MP + 50MP ultrawide + 64MP 3x tele; 2x 20MP selfie

Connectivity: 5G, twin sim + esim, USB-C, wifi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 6, GNSS

Water resistance: IP58 and IP59 (immersion and excessive stress jets)

Dimensions folded: 156.8 x 74.3 x 8.88-9mm

Dimensions unfolded: 156.8 x 145.9 x 4.1-4.2mm

Weight: 217-222g

High Snapdragon chip and a high-capacity battery A full cost takes 55 minutes utilizing a normal 100W USB-C energy adaptor (not included), hitting 70% in beneath half an hour. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The Magic V5 has Qualcomm’s present prime Android chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, matching rivals and flagship telephones. It feels responsive in day-to-day actions, performs video games very properly and doesn’t get too scorching when pushed onerous.

However that energy is greatest used when multitasking, as you possibly can run as much as 4 apps on display without delay – half as many as Samsung’s Fold 7 however greater than sufficient to really be capable of use.

Extra spectacular is the high-capacity battery Honor has managed to squeeze into the svelte body, which is bigger than most massive slab telephones, not to mention folders. Which means the battery life is nice, however as with different folding telephones it varies loads relying on which display you utilize most. Used primarily as a pill for looking and watching video with 4 hours of 5G utilization, the Magic V5 lasts 37 hours between fees. With extra balanced utilization throughout the 2 screens it lasts into a 3rd day earlier than working out of juice.

MagicOS software program nonetheless wants work Multitasking on the big inner show is nice, with as much as three apps in split-screen. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The Magic V5 runs Honor’s MagicOS 9, which relies on final 12 months’s Android 15 quite than the most recent Android 16. However Honor will present seven years of Android model and safety updates for units offered inside Europe, which is a dramatic enchancment over earlier efforts, and comparable in size to its important rivals.

The software program has some good concepts, however as with earlier variations it nonetheless has some tough areas and aggravating behaviours. The skin display works principally like another Android telephone with Gemini and varied different AI instruments. However it's on the within display the place the software program shines and irritates. You may place three apps in a splitscreen without delay, with one in every of them pushed partially off the aspect of the display to supply extra space for the opposite two with out quitting it. Tapping it brings it again on to the display to make use of it. It’s a sensible thought first seen on the OnePlus Open. A button on the taskbar makes arranging your a number of home windows simple.

Mini floating home windows permit desktop-like multitasking. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian However faucet on an app notification on the within display and the system insists on opening the app in a mini-window, even in case you wished it to be full display. That is likely to be fantastic for smaller messaging apps comparable to WhatsApp, however I by no means wish to open Gmail or larger-format apps in tiny home windows that then must be tapped a pair extra instances to fill the complete display.

The software program additionally doesn’t make good use of the partially folded modes that the within display can undertake, missing an equal to Samsung’s good Flex mode, which looks as if a wasted alternative. One other bug within the typeface on the Honor makes it very tough to see which emails are unread in daring in Gmail, which is extraordinarily irritating.

A lot of those little annoyances can be acceptable on cheaper smartphones, however not on a £1,700, ultra-premium gadget. Honor nonetheless has work to do.

Digital camera The digital camera app has a number of modes to shoot closed, half open, totally open or utilizing the principle cameras for selfies. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The Magic V5 has an honest set of cameras housed in an unlimited spherical digital camera lump that protrudes from the rear of the telephone. The principle 50-megapixel digital camera shoots handsome pictures throughout a variety of lighting circumstances, although it might probably change into a bit smooth with weaker indoor lighting.

The 50MP ultra-wide digital camera is strong, however shows a little bit of warping across the edges of the scene and lacks a little bit of fantastic element. The 64MP 3x optical telephoto digital camera is the most effective of the bunch, with good element and color, even in indoor lighting. It might handle a 6x in-sensor zoom, which is a bit softer on element when considered at full measurement however works properly in shiny mild, plus digital zoom as much as 100x that is still pretty first rate as much as about 20x magnification.

The 2 20MP selfie cameras are ok, however you get a lot better outcomes utilizing the principle digital camera and the surface display for a viewfinder.

The digital camera has many alternative modes to mess around with together with a sensible movement seize system that handles motion pictures and strong video seize. It additionally has a variety of AI and enhancement options which can be frequent to Chinese language smartphones modifying the looks of faces and the alike do you have to want.

Total the digital camera is without doubt one of the higher ones on a foldable, although it might probably’t match the most effective cameraphones available on the market.

Sustainability The capacitive fingerprint scanner within the energy button works properly within the skinny body. {Photograph}: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian The battery has an anticipated lifespan of a minimum of 1,200 full-charge cycles with a minimum of 80% of its unique capability. The Magic V5 is mostly repairable by Honor, with inner screens costing about £700 or exterior screens about £200 to interchange out of guarantee. Honor presents a free display restore for 12 months if purchased inside the first month of launch.

The gadget accommodates some recycled plastic. Honor publishes restricted environmental studies and presents trade-in and refurbished merchandise.

Value The Honor Magic V5 prices £1,699.99 (€1,999.99).

For comparability, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 prices from £1,799, the Google Pixel 10 Professional Fold prices £1,749, the Galaxy S25 Extremely prices £1,249 and the Honor Magic 7 Professional prices £1,099.

Verdict But once more Honor has produced some beautiful folding telephone {hardware} that's let down by its software program. MagicOS has improved over the previous couple of years, but it surely lacks a lot of the customisation and capabilities doable on rivals.

The largest drawback is that it lacks polish, with tough patches or irritating behaviours throughout the system. None of them is a deal-breaker, however they construct up and might’t be neglected on a £1,700 telephone.

It’s a disgrace because the telephone is quick, the battery life is nice, the digital camera is extremely succesful and it seems fabulous. It’s good to see Samsung and Google get some significant competitors in book-style foldables. However at about the identical worth because the market chief, Samsung, there’s little purpose to select the Magic V5 over it.

Execs: super-slim telephone and pill in a single, mild, identical to a traditional telephone when closed, nice efficiency, very lengthy battery life, good inner display, first rate digital camera, good fingerprint scanner, water and dirt resistance ranking.

Cons: very costly, software program not as refined as wanted with irritating behaviours, extra fragile than a daily gadget, expensive to restore, restricted folding modes.