The Honor Magic V2: Redefining the foldable phone experience
Honor Magic V2 foldable smartphone. Picture: Honor.
I love tech, and it feels like a privilege to test the latest and greatest technology and share my findings with our readers. I remember seeing the first foldable smartphones at the Mobile World Conference 2019. There was excitement about where smartphones might go. Yet, after five years, companies like Samsung expected to release their sixth iteration of the Galaxy Fold this year, the foldable category hasn’t come close to the mainstream.
While the technology is incredible, the form factor has had to make too many compromises. In general, foldable phones are too big and bulky compared to candy bar-style phones and unfolded, they’re awkward to hold. So, while I have enjoyed testing them, I have not considered replacing my everyday phone with one until now.
One of the Honor Magic V2's most unique features is that it feels and looks like a normal smartphone. At 231 g, it’s slightly lighter than an iPhone 15 Pro Max and only slightly thicker when closed, at 9.9mm. When unfolded, it’s an incredible 4.7 mm at its thinnest point.
When you hold the Magic V2 in your hand, it feels like you're holding a normal phone, not a bulky foldable. Of course, it is still a big device with a large screen, so if you’re looking for something more compact, this is not a phone for you.
The Magic V2 has changed my mind about foldable phones. I can use it as a normal phone, which is amazing, and I don’t feel there’s a compromise when I want the larger inner display. This has changed my outlook on foldable phones going forward, and for the first time, I can see the practical benefits for a broader range of users.
The magic happens when you unfold the phone and are greeted with the massive 7.92-inch, 120 Hz OLED display. Yes, there is a crease, but it’s not as noticeable as the one found on the Samsung Galaxy Fold5, and you quickly forget it’s there.
Regarding how robust the Magic 2 is, Honor says the outer glass is twice as durable as before, and I can confirm this after I accidentally dropped it twice onto concrete and tile floors.
The phone opens flat, and the new Honor super light titanium hinge is SGS-certified for its reliability. Even after several weeks of daily use, there’s a satisfying snap sound when you close the phone.
The cover display and the inner display come with a pre-installed screen protector. The outer protector is user-replaceable, but you’ll have to return the device to Honor if you need to replace the inner one.
Unfortunately, the Magic V2 doesn’t have an IPX waterproof rating and doesn’t support wireless charging.
The front display is 6.43 inches with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 2,600 nits of peak brightness and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The right edge of the glass is slightly curved, and this is mirrored on the back glass, which makes the phone comfortable to hold. The top right and bottom right corners are rounded, while the top left and bottom left corners are more square.
The tall, narrow front display makes reaching the top with one hand difficult, but there is a quick and easy gesture to enable one-handed mode.
The internal screen is 7.92 inches with up to 120Hz refresh rate and is great for productivity apps like Excel, Acrobat, web browsing, emails and messaging. Of course, it’s also great for media consumption, social media, and gaming.
Everything is better on the bigger screen, whether reading documents, replying to emails, or scrolling through social feeds. The Magic V2 works great as a normal phone with the added advantage of viewing content on a larger screen without needing a separate device. Crucially, the ergonomics of the Magic V2 differentiate it from every other foldable I’ve used, making it a top choice for those who don’t want to sacrifice the conveniences of a bar-style phone while being able to reap the productivity and entertainment benefits of the larger inner display.
The Magic V2 comes with the Snapdragon Gen 2 and not the latest Snapdragon Gen 3. This is because the phone was released last year in China and only in Europe last month. The difference between the two chipsets was visible in benchmarks, but you can’t feel or see a difference in everyday usage. One of the main differences is in the graphics, where you will see an improvement in frame rates in some of the latest AAA games. However, while playing games like Wreckfest, Asphalt 9, COD Mobile, PUBG, and other graphically intensive games, playability was excellent, and the ability to play on the larger display far exceeded any imperceptible drop in frame rates.
While using the phone for everyday tasks, I found it smooth, snappy, and responsive. Whether launching or switching between apps or transitioning from the cover display to the inner display, the phone always performed as expected from a flagship device in 2024.
It’s hard to discuss battery performance without mentioning the incredible silicon-carbon materials Honor used to create a thin, light, credit card-sized 5,000mAh battery. This is one of the few phones I could get two days of use, and with heavy use, I could still manage a full day without reaching for the charger.
Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging, but it can charge at speeds up to 66W wired using the Honor SuperCharge charger. It's worth noting that the charger isn't included in the box, so you'll need to provide your own.
The Magic V2 has a solid all-around camera system, but it isn’t as good as the latest Honor Magic 6 Pro — a review is coming soon.
The Honor Magic V2 boasts an impressive array of cameras designed to capture every moment with stunning clarity and detail. The primary 50MP (f/1.9) camera can produce sharp, vibrant images in various lighting conditions. Complementing this is a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens (f/2.0), which offers a broader perspective for easily capturing expansive landscapes and group shots. The image quality is excellent, with excellent sharpness from the centre to the edges. Colours are consistent with the main lens, which isn’t always true of other phones.
The Magic V2's telephoto 20MP camera boasts impressive capabilities, featuring a 2.5X optical zoom and up to 40X digital zoom. However, there are some peculiarities in its functionality. In the default photo mode, capturing shots at 1x or 2.5x magnification surprisingly uses the main camera instead of the telephoto lens. Strangely, the telephoto camera comes into play only when zooming in to 10x. I discovered that using the Pro or High-res modes was the only option to utilise the 2.5x telephoto lens.
Also, while the device supports shooting in RAW format, this feature is exclusively available in Pro mode and, disappointingly, only works with the main camera. Most people will only use the photo mode, which offers excellent flexibility and consistency from shot to shot, regardless of which lens the system uses.
One of the big advantages of a foldable phone is the ability to take selfies with the rear cameras while seeing a preview on the cover display. This has the advantage of using the best cameras for image quality, plus the phone can double tripod. The 16MP selfie camera is excellent in its own right and works great for video calls.
The camera's innovative motion-sensing capture feature is a lot of fun. It lets users capture dynamic actions such as running or jumping by looking at the camera. Once enabled, the camera autonomously detects motion and snaps photos accordingly, eliminating the need for manual intervention. However, based on my testing, the reliability of this feature varies. It adds an exciting dimension to capturing spontaneous moments and can be a fun feature to showcase to others.
The ultrawide-angle lens doubles as an excellent macro lens, enabling close-up photography and revealing intricate details often overlooked by the naked eye. You can get close to your subject and capture incredible details with ease.
The video features are also very solid. All three rear cameras can capture up to 4K at 60FPS, and the image stabilisation is excellent. The main and telephoto lens has optical image stabilisation, while the ultrawide only has electronic image stabilisation.
The Magic V2 comes pre-installed with Android 13 and MagicOS 7.2. While it’s not the latest, an update to MagicOS 8 and Android 14 is due later this year.
I enjoyed the user experience, and the foldable-specific features, including App Scaling, App Extender, and Hover mode, all work well. The app extender was my favourite, but the only two apps that worked with the feature were Outlook and Microsoft 365 (Office). In Outlook, you can view your inbox in one half, read an email in the other, and toggle between split and full view modes.
The large inner display uses multitasking features like split-screen and app overlays to good effect.
The Honor Magic V2 redefines the foldable phone experience, offering a sleek and ergonomic design, immersive displays, and reliable performance. While not without its quirks, such as the lack of wireless charging or a waterproof rating, it delivers a seamless transition between traditional smartphone use and the benefits of a foldable display. With its impressive camera system, solid hardware, class-leading battery life, and innovative software features, the Magic V2 sets a new standard for practicality and usability in the foldable phone market.
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