Honor Magic Vs Review: An Impressive First Try That Almost Rivals Samsung

Samsung lastly has a brand new rival within the foldable cellphone ring: The Magic Vs foldable from Honor, previously owned by Huawei. Honor revealed in September that it could carry its Honor Vs to worldwide markets after a China launch. This week, it confirmed off its book-style foldable flagship designed for a world viewers on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

I had the possibility to check the Honor Magic Vs a couple of days earlier than its launch. I used to be impressed with the machine’s slick {hardware}, which is light-weight but additionally allowed the 2 halves of the cellphone to fold flat towards one another and not using a hole. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, its largest rival, nonetheless has a wedge-shaped hole when closed even in its latest iteration.

Beyond the standout options, the Honor Magic Vs packs all of the specs you’d anticipate from a 2023 flagship cellphone right into a slick bundle. That consists of a big battery (5,000 mAh), quick charging (66 watts), a strong Snapdragon 8 Gen Plus 1 processor, and three years of OS upgrades in addition to 5 years of safety patches. The solely knock I may give by way of specs is that it lacks the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip discovered within the Galaxy S23 line and OnePlus 11.

However, it is not good. The crease is extra seen and discernible to the contact than different book-style foldables I’ve examined, such because the Oppo Find N and the Huawei Mate XS 2. The cellphone additionally lacks wi-fi charging and an official IP ranking for water- and dust-resistance. By comparability, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has an IPX8 ranking for water-resistance. 

That mentioned, the Magic Vs beginning value undercuts the Galaxy Z Fold 4 by 200 euros, and also you additionally get extra storage for that lower cost. The Magic Vs begins at 1,599 euros for 12GB RAM and 512GB storage. By comparability, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 begins at 1,799 euros for 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There aren’t any present plans for a US launch, though the corporate mentioned a UK launch is anticipated in June.

Honor Magic Vs outer show is the main focus

The Magic Vs’ headline characteristic is its bendable show. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, it has a canopy display and an inside display. The outer display measures 6.45 inches diagonally, whereas the interior show is 7.9 inches. I discovered each crisp, responsive and vivid, and every display additionally folds into the opposite with no discernible hole. 

Unlike Samsung, Honor selected to equip the duvet display of its book-style foldable with superior specs. For instance, it has higher brightness (1,200 nits vs. 800 nits) and a better refresh fee (120Hz vs. the interior display’s 90Hz). For reference, the Magic Vs’ interior display is a step under the 120Hz functionality of the Galaxy Z Fold 4. 

Considering this can be a foldable cellphone, I discovered Honor’s option to be counterintuitive at first. However, it appears Honor desires this machine to be a cellphone first, and a pill second. I believe this determination helped extend the battery lifetime of the Honor Magic Vs — which, by the best way, was unbelievable. (More on that under.)

Honor Magic Vs interior show has an apparent crease

Honor says the Magic Vs has a creaseless show, however that did not develop into true. You can see and really feel the interior show’s crease from varied angles. It was instantly noticeable as quickly as I opened the cellphone. I did not must seek for it as I’ve with different foldable telephones, such because the Oppo Find N or the Huawei Mate XS 2.

Despite the crease, watching films and flipping via photos is enjoyable and immersive. While it did not hassle me a lot, such a big crease could also be a deal-breaker for some. But it is a compromise that followers of foldables could must be taught to dwell with for now. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 nonetheless has a crease, although it is much less noticeable than prior to now. But Huawei’s Mate XS 2, which has a wraparound-style foldable cellphone design with one display, is mainly creaseless.

Key to the folding nature of this cellphone is the hinge. The firm mentioned the hinge is crafted with an aerospace grade polymeric materials and has fewer parts in its supporting construction (simply 4 in comparison with 94). This helps make the hinge lighter and probably extra sturdy. Honor claims the hinge can face up to as much as 400,000 folds, which implies you’ll be able to anticipate possibly 10 years of use out of it in the event you assume 100 folds per day. CNET hasn’t been in a position to independently confirm that declare.  

Honor Magic Vs digital camera

The Honor Magic Vs has three rear cameras, consisting of a 54-megapixel principal digital camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide digital camera, and an 8-megapixel telephoto digital camera able to 3x optical zoom. There’s additionally a 16-megapixel selfie digital camera, which is one much less front-facing digital camera than the pricier Galaxy Z Fold 4. 

Overall, I used to be pleased with photograph readability, dynamic vary, shutter velocity and the flexibility of the digital camera. Whether I used to be in vivid, dim and even darkish lighting environments, the digital camera captured crisp, vibrant and correct photographs in quite a lot of lighting eventualities. That mentioned, this is not the very best digital camera. It does not measure as much as the iPhone 14 Pro Max as an example, which tends to supply higher low mild images. But I assume that is OK (form of) because you’re actually paying for that fancy show, not the digital camera module. 

Honor Magic Vs battery efficiency

With a 5,000-mAh battery, the Honor Magic Vs has the most important battery of any commercially offered foldable cellphone. Non-foldable telephones, such because the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, have the identical battery capability.

The Magic Vs made it via most days of testing on a single cost with medium use. I did not must hassle charging on the finish of the day since I normally had greater than 20% remaining. But I charged in a single day anyway out of behavior. 

When I ran a battery endurance take a look at the place I watched YouTube movies, scrolled via my Instagram feed, performed Genshin Impact and took a 5-minute WhatAapp video name on the duvet display. The battery went from 100% to 86% in these 45 minutes.

The Magic Vs comes with a bundled 66-watt charger, which Honor says will utterly replenish a lifeless battery inside 46 minutes. Based on my expertise, that declare was  true, which implies the Magic Vs outshines the Galaxy Z Fold 4 on this division. 

The Magic Vs runs on 2022’s Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. In my brief time with this cellphone, the machine carried out and not using a hitch whether or not it was powering a number of apps, operating video games, streaming YouTube movies and even simply switching between apps. 

Honor Magic Vs software program

The Magic Vs runs Android 13 and Honor’s MagicOS. I’m a fan of MagicOS’ split-screen multi-tasking system, which features a slide-over menu that you simply set off by swiping and holding from the edges. You can multitask with as much as 4 purposes, and there is a break up display mode in addition to floating home windows. You can even transfer apps round and resize their home windows. 

It’s a disgrace the software program does not take sufficient benefit of the cellphone’s folding design. I’d have liked to see one thing like Samsung’s Flex mode on the Magic Vs. Even although I may use the cellphone when it was half-folded and prop it up like a laptop computer, not one of the apps I used, even native ones, that had been tailor-made for that have. The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s Flex Mode software program capabilities allow you to use the display when it is folded at a 90-degree angle. 

With the Magic Vs’ slender {hardware}, stable cameras, fabulous battery life and intuitive multitasking options, Honor has created a stable rival to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. But it is nonetheless robust to suggest the Magic Vs over the Galaxy Z Fold 4 for a number of causes: There’s no IP ranking, the crease is extra seen, its software program does not actually reap the benefits of the folding display and Honor offers fewer software program updates than Samsung. Honor made a stable first effort total, although, and I’m so glad Samsung has extra competitors. 

For extra particulars on how the Magic Vs and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 evaluate, check out CNET’s specs chart under.