HONOR Magic V2 Evaluation: An Impressively Skinny And Mild Foldable Telephone

At IFA final September, I encountered the Honor Magic V2 for the primary time, which debuted in China in July 2023. The recipient of one among our Better of IFA 2023 Awards, the Magic V2 went world on Jan 26, 2024. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and OnePlus Open in measurement and efficiency, this foldable cellphone contains a thinner and lighter chassis. Honor additionally unveiled the Porsche Design model on the Leipzig, Germany, launch occasion, and we’ll publish the evaluate quickly.

Some folks expressed reservations about final yr’s Qualcomm flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Nevertheless, the Magic V2 stays potent, with 16GB RAM and 256/512GB storage choices. Its standout characteristic is being the thinnest and lightest massive foldable in the marketplace, coupled with good digital camera efficiency for such a slim physique.

Competitors, Value, and Availability

From a show high quality and computing energy perspective, the Honor Magic V2 is on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, apart from its lack of a waterproofing IP ranking (the Fold 5 is IP X8), its thinner chassis, and its considerably quicker charging pace.

The Magic V2’s show and SoC are additionally much like the thicker Oneplus Open, apart from the digital camera efficiency.

Thinner and lighter than all its foldable counterparts, the Magic V2 seems to be like a normal 8-inch high-end smartphone, making it an interesting possibility for journey, doubling as a pill for content material consumption or work. At Ubergizmo, we’re severely contemplating ditching our cellphone and pill combo for the Magic V2, because of our intense touring schedule.

Nevertheless, its multitasking characteristic lags behind the heavier Z Fold 5, which additionally gives extra functionalities with the non-obligatory new Z Fold 5 S Pen and the S Pen Professional (together with air actions and distant management just for the latter).

Launching with out Android 14, its replace program stays much like the competitors. The HONOR Magic V2 is priced at £1,699.99 within the UK, and €1,999 in choose E.U. nations (roughly $2,150). We suggest shopping for the Honor 66W quick charger together with your order,in some nations just like the UK, it’s provided as a bundled reward (as of in the present day).It prices solely €1 in Germany (as of in the present day), as an alternative of the €29.90 value provided on the Honor France web site (as an alternative of the common €49.90 value, as of in the present day).

Design

The Honor Magic V2 stands out for its key design parts, notably its skinny chassis at 10.1 mm / 237 g (or 9.9 mm / 231g for the vegan leather-based model), surpassing the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (13.4mm, 253g), the Pixel Fold (12.1mm, 283g), and the OnePlus Open (11.7-11.9mm, 239-245g).

Unfolded, it measures solely 4.7 mm or 4.8 mm (glass-finish model), which is just one mm thicker than common smartphones such because the iPhone 15 Professional Max, which is 8.25mm and 221 grams.

The construct high quality is superb, and we contemplate the Honor Magic V2 one of many best-designed foldable telephones, that includes a sublime purple shade for the glass end model (our evaluate unit).

“THE BUILD QUALITY IS EXCELLENT, AND WE CONSIDER THE HONOR MAGIC V2 ONE OF THE BEST-DESIGNED FOLDABLE PHONES”

The folding expertise is smoother than the Z Fold 5. Nevertheless, in contrast to the Samsung’s massive foldable, it lacks a 45-degree folding place, which is a minimal trade-off. The redesigned hinge eliminates gaps, making the cellphone ultra-thin whereas lowering crease depth.

The package deal features a case with a built-in kickstand, usable in varied orientations, sustaining the Magic V2’s thinner profile in comparison with the Z Fold 5, even with the case hooked up.

Shows

The Honor Magic V2 contains a 6.43-inch OLED show on the entrance with a decision of 1060 x 2376,a 120Hz refresh charge, and a theoretical peak brightness of two,500 nits.

Internally, it homes a virtually sq. attractive 7.92-inch show with a decision of 2156 x 2344, a 120Hz refresh charge, and a claimed peak brightness of 1,600 nits. HONOR highlights its 3840Hz PWM dimming tech, doubtlessly aiding customers liable to eye pressure throughout extended cellphone use.

The exterior display mirrors the scale of a daily smartphone with a curved proper edge, whereas the inside crease is barely noticeable throughout media consumption or gaming. Examined for 400,000 folding cycles, equal to 10 years of folding 100 occasions every day.

Digital camera

The Magic V2 has a typical triple rear digital camera, together with a 50-megapixel predominant, a 20-megapixel telephoto with a 2.5x optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide. There’s a 16 MP punch-hole selfie digital camera on every display, able to taking pictures 4K video at 30 fps. The rear digital camera can shoot 4K video at 60 fps.

Major digital camera night time:

The Magic V2 has a barely much less performing main digital camera at night time in comparison with the opposite massive foldable telephones. Nevertheless, it does a very good job general, and the outcomes are passable for such a skinny chassis.

The Magic V2 night time image high quality is closest to the Pixel Fold, however the particulars are barely extra blurry, partially due to the robust filtering and sharpening algorithms, particularly in case you zoom in shut or crop the photographs. In addition to that, the digital camera does an important job of capturing pure colours and preserving the temper of the night time scene as you see it. The lighting stays pure and on-point and captures in a predictable approach.

General, the digital camera has good efficiency each in low mild and in vivid daylight. We couldn’t calculate Ubergizmo’s HW digital camera rating because of a scarcity of particular metadata within the photographs we shot, so we can not evaluate the {hardware} digital camera system in opposition to the opposite foldable telephones we examined. We are going to attempt to get the data and replace the evaluate accordingly.

Ultrawide digital camera:

Day: The sundown shot is basically fascinating as a result of it challenges the digital camera to concurrently seize particulars and high-dynamic vary. The Magic V2 did effectively with the HDR and particulars seize (together with texture) in our exams. Nevertheless, it tends to overshoot the publicity settings and different filters, making the ultimate picture look just a little unnatural (too vivid/vivid) in comparison with what your eyes see.

Evening: At night time, the Magic V2 Ultrawide digital camera does a very good job of preserving the lighting, colour, and temper of the scene. Nevertheless, the ultrawide digital camera module shouldn’t be as highly effective as the first (vast) digital camera, and the feel of sure supplies might be tough to protect. On this scene, the Ultrawide shot is akin to what we obtained with the OnePlus Open.

Zoom digital camera:

The two.5X zoom of the Magic V2 is extra suited to seize portrait photographs than competing with telephoto cameras that characteristic 6X or 10X optical zooms. At long-range (10X), the digital camera will depend on digital zooming, making small particulars comparatively blurry in comparison with the intense zoom cameras. That apart, the final 2.5X zoom picture high quality is sort of good, however like it’s usually the case with this digital camera, the photographs can typically look much less pure because of how the publicity is about and the way filters are being utilized.

Digital camera conclusion:

The Magic V2 rear digital camera system’s picture high quality is spectacular in case you contemplate how skinny the chassis is. Certainly, cellular cameras want as a lot depth (thickness) as doable to host the digital camera lenses, and HONOR appears to have efficiently balanced cellphone design and digital camera high quality.

SoC, reminiscence, storage, efficiency& software program updates

Software program updates

Honor commits to offering 5 years of safety patches and 4 years of Android updates for the Magic V2, aligning with Samsung and OnePlus’ assurances for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and OnePlus Open, respectively. Google’s Pixel Fold ensures three years of Android model updates and 5 years of safety patches. Whereas the Magic V2 ships with Android 13, one replace is required to deliver it updated with Android 14. In contrast to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Magic V2 is but to obtain an Android 14 replace.

It homes final yr’s Qualcomm flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with configurations of as much as 16GB RAM and 512GB storage (expandable to 1TB within the Porsche Design variant).

Perceived Efficiency

Efficiency stays fluid in every day utilization, together with 3D gaming (I attempted just a few video games).

Measured Efficiency

CPU efficiency

As you’ll be able to see from the charts, the Honor Magic V2 has wonderful efficiency within the context of foldable telephones regardless of its superb thinness. That is in all probability because of Honor’s efforts to provide a complicated cooling system known as Extremely-thin Bionic Cooling System.
In response to the corporate, the brand new cooling expertise combines an ultra-thin vapor chamber, ultra-high thermal conductivity graphite, thermal conductivity gel, and copper foil.

It ranks among the many highest CPU efficiency, which generally ensures that apps load quick and most duties are accomplished quicker.

GPU efficiency

From a graphics standpoint, the scores are additionally very excessive, making it a excessive performer for normal graphics (GPU efficiency) but in addition video games. Needless to say with prolonged gaming classes, the warmth will ultimately construct up. That’s why all devoted gaming methods are inherently thicker with further cooling.

Battery

Battery capability

Regardless of its ultrathin chassis measuring 4.7 or 4.8 mm, the Magic V2 impressively integrates a 5000 mAh battery (the largest for a foldable cellphone), because of its two-part silicon carbon battery expertise.

Debuting because the thinnest twin Silicon-carbon Batteries, averaging solely 2.72mm in thickness, the modern battery system extends its cycle life by 40%, in response to HONOR.

It incorporates an electrochemical system that enhances longevity and options HONOR’s low-voltage cost energy-gathering expertise for enhanced energy output on the similar voltage as graphite-based batteries.

With common use, linked to each 5G and Wi-Fi, the Magic V2 ought to final no less than a full day on one cost. Throughout my evaluate, which was performed solely on Wi-Fi (with out 5G) with intermittent use, the battery lasted for 3 days. I can not vouch for battery life as battery drainage extremely varies relying on utilization, with searching and e mail having minimal impression in comparison with excessive workloads corresponding to intense picture shoots, video streaming, or 3D gaming classes. As standard, the battery’s capability (in mAh) is your greatest indicator for potential battery life.

Charging pace

The Honor Magic V2 fees 71% of its 5000 mAh battery in half-hour with the non-obligatory €30 66W charger (free or €1 bundle in some markets). That is much like the OnePlus Open charging time of 79% in half-hour for its 4805 mAh battery (with the included OnePlus 67W fast-charger). By comparability, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 fees 49% in half-hour with its non-obligatory 50W Samsung charger.

Conclusion

The Honor V2 delivers spectacular construct high quality and show high quality within the thinnest and lightest foldable kind issue in the marketplace.

This distinctive characteristic ought to persuade folks reluctant to hold thicker and heavier smartphones to strive the folding smartphone expertise. Vacationers ought to contemplate switching to the Magic V2 because it may also be used as a pill for productiveness and leisure throughout flights.

Though the digital camera efficiency is barely under the one present in aggressive gadgets, it’s wonderful for such a skinny chassis.

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Filed in Cellphones. Learn extra about Foldable Smartphones, Honor, Smartphones and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.