Honor Magic Vs hands-on: Finally, some competition for Samsung foldables

Honor has a new foldable phone called the Magic Vs, and unlike its previous one or existing foldables from Chinese brands such as Xiaomi or Oppo, it'll launch "globally" in Q1 2023. Honor has not announced specific markets, but the list will very likely include countries like the U.K, Germany, Spain, Singapore, and Malaysia (and almost certainly, not the U.S.). Even if market availability isn't as wide as the word "globally" usually implies, this is still a noteworthy launch because the Honor Magic Vs will finally give Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 some competition on a global scale.

I've been testing a pre-production unit of the Honor Magic Vs for the past few days, which runs an unfinished version of the phone's international software. While I haven't noticed any bugs, Honor has requested reviewers refrain from evaluating the software and camera aspects just yet.

But even with limited hands-on time and restrictions on things I can test, I can say the Magic Vs hardware is good enough that Samsung will have to take notice (if it hasn't already). The Magic Vs is lighter, thinner, and doesn't have the jarring screen crease or folding gap that have been considered design compromises in Samsung's foldables. It just looks better. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 still wins in a few areas, including an official IP water resistance rating and a fully articulated hinge. But the fact that in a few months, consumers in, say, London, Hong Kong, or Kuala Lumpur can walk into a store and have two large foldables to choose from is a major step forward for the foldable industry.

About this hands-on: Honor provided me with a pre-production unit of the Honor Magic Vs running international software. Honor did not have any input in this article.

Honor Magic Vs: Pricing and availability

The Honor Magic Vs was announced on Nov. 22 for the mainland China market and is on sale now in China. Prices start at 7,499 yuan ($1,067) for the 8GB RAM, 256GB storage base variant, and up to 8999 yuan ($1,260) for the highest 12GB RAM, 512GB storage model. Honor has confirmed the device will launch outside China in Q1 2023, but at the time of this writing, there's no information on the exact date or price.

Design and hardware: Great, but only if you're new to foldables

• The Honor Magic Vs packs the largest battery in any foldable phone so far
• It's also the lightest large foldable phone yet, at 261g
• 7.9-inch main screen, 6.45-inch outside screen

Whether the Honor Magic Vs looks jaw-droppingly impressive or just "pretty good, but nothing new" depends on how much exposure you've had to foldables. If you're a casual smartphone observer and don't live in China, chances are you've only seen or held a Samsung foldable. If that's the case, the Honor Magic Vs will impress immediately because it's thinner and sleeker.

When folded, the Magic Vs looks like a slightly thicker version of a normal phone, with its 6.45-inch, 120Hz, 21:9 aspect ratio OLED screen not looking out of place when placed next to a "normal" phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, by comparison, has an elongated candy bar shape that clearly doesn't look normal. Compounding matters is how Samsung's foldable doesn't fold flat, leaving a gap at the folding point, while the Magic Vs folds flush, measuring only 12.9mm in folded form.

Unfolded, the Magic Vs offers a 7.9-inch 90Hz OLED display with a 1984 x 2272 resolution. The crease is only noticeable if you view it from very off-angles (compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which has a very visible crease if you're slightly off-center). This is due to the Magic Vs using a folding mechanism that leaves a small water drop cavity into which the screen tucks when folded.

The phone packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor with a 5,000 mAh battery. The latter is impressive, considering the Magic Vs is thinner than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4, which has a smaller battery. In fact, the 5,000 mAh battery here is the largest in any foldable phone. Honor says it could do this because it redesigned the hinge to involve fewer moving parts.

However, while the hinge feels well-built and sturdy (Honor claims it's been tested to withstand 400,000 folds), it cannot stay in place mid-fold the way Samsung's hinge can. There are also a pair of excellent speakers, along with a clicky power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

As I said, if your only experience with foldables has been Samsung's offerings, the Magic Vs looks more impressive at first glance. But if you're familiar with the hotly contested foldable phone scene inside China, then you'd know that other than the larger battery, the Magic Vs doesn't offer anything Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, or Huawei don't already. In fact, while the Honor Magic Vs is marginally lighter than Xiaomi's Mix Fold 2, the latter is still significantly thinner. Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo's foldables have a hinge that can stay locked at any angle.

Cameras: Results remain to be seen

• Five cameras total: Three on the rear main system, plus two selfie cameras
• Can't share photo samples just yet

Honor requested we not share photo samples due to the unfinished software, but I was reasonably impressed by the Honor Magic Vs' camera system considering the standards set by previous foldable phones. The main camera is a 1/1.5-inch IMX800 sensor paired with an f/1.9 aperture. It's a fine sensor, particularly compared to other foldable smartphone camera sensors, but it lacks the jaw-dropping light intake or bokeh prowess of the best camera sensors used by the Google Pixel 7 Pro or Xiaomi 12S Ultra.

The 50MP ultra-wide camera is also quite good, though there's a bit of image distortion. The 8MP 3x zoom lens is acceptable in a foldable phone, but falls way short of the Periscope cameras found in other phones, including Honor's own Magic 4 Pro. There are a pair of selfie cameras on each screen — the inclusion of a camera in the inner screen is rare among Chinese foldables. The camera bump is quite sizable, so the phone wobbles when used lying flat.

Software: MagicOS still feels a bit Huawei-like, but with Google apps!

• The Magic Vs runs Honor's MagicOS skin on top of Android 12
• Overall, the UI still feels very similar to Huawei's EMUI/HarmonyOS, but with Google Mobile Services support

My Magic Vs unit runs Honor's MagicOS 2.1 over Android 12. It's the international version of MagicOS (the one that gets released outside China), so it comes with full Google Mobile Services support, including access to Google Assistant. Essentially, all the U.S. sanction-related issues that plague Huawei — and, by extension, Honor — no longer apply here.

Honor was insistent that this software here on my device is "not finished," hence I can't talk about specific features, but truth be told, I've been using the phone out and about and I don't notice anything unusual about the software. Everything works. I particularly like MagicOS' split-screen multi-tasking system, which involves a slide-over menu that you trigger by swiping and holding from the sides. Yes, it's the exact same setup as Huawei's take on multi-tasking too. Right now, MagicOS still feels very similar to Huawei's EMUI, but I interviewed Honor's consumer boss a few months ago and he assured me this will change in future, as "building a software from scratch takes time."

Early impressions: Ending one brand's monopoly is always a good thing

As mentioned at the beginning, the Honor Magic Vs has already launched in China, and it's selling at a very reasonable price that's equivalent to $1,067. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4, for comparison, retails for $1,800. To be fair, the Magic Vs will almost certainly be priced higher in European markets, but even if it goes on sale for, say, €1,500 (which is about $1,500), this still undercuts Samsung's pricing by quite a bit.

I don't think Honor's foldable is going to be flat-out better than Samsung's Fold 4. The latter comes with an official water resistance rating, wireless charging, a fully articulate hinge, and stylus support. But how much those things matter depends on you. I personally don't care too much about stylus support or wireless charging, and while water resistance is a "nice to have" feature, it may not be a necessity for some people. I can say in all my years of testing phones I have never lost one to water damage. The only thing Samsung's Fold does better that will clearly benefit most people is its ability to sit in an L-shaped laptop form. On the other hand, I do care that the Magic Vs has a wider outside screen, a sleeker and lighter design, and a potentially lower price.

Whatever the case, the fact there is a debate to be had is great news! One brand having a monopoly in an industry is not ideal. When brands compete, consumers are the biggest winners. With reliable rumors saying that other Chinese brands will also launch foldables outside China in 2023, plus the Google Pixel Fold, it seems like 2023 is the year Samsung's monopoly on the foldable scene ends.