Honor Magic V2 hands-on review

Design, build quality, handling

Honor was on a mission with the Magic V2, and the mission was to make a large foldable that's no bulkier than a high-end handset in the (oh, so backward) bar form factor. Holding a V2 in the hand, we can easily say they've succeeded.

The Magic V2 measures 156.7x74.1x9.9mm in its folded state which is tangibly smaller in footprint than both the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. While both of those conventional devices are thinner, the 2mm difference vs. the iPhone is almost entirely offset by the Magic's curvier sides, while the 1mm advantage of the Galaxy is lost by its overall larger dimensions.

We're not saying the Magic V2 is a compact phone in its 'phone' state, no. It's more a matter of perspective - the thing is just no more of a burden to carry around than a proper full-size flagship, while also offering a comparable experience in this mode (unlike, for example, the Oppo Find N2, which is more of a mini phone when folded). We find this to be a big step in making the phone-turns-tablet form factor more appealing to a wider audience.

We mentioned that the weight and thickness achievements come with caveats and they have to do with what material is used for the Magic V2's back panel. The record numbers apply to the versions with a faux leather rear, while the glass-backed variants do come in at a few grams more and a fraction of a mil thicker (237g, 10.1mm). Even in those 'larger' trim variants, however, we reckon the Magic V2 is pretty pocketable for what it is - if you're on that side of the population that wears clothes with pockets in the first place, that is.

Speaking of colors and materials, the situation is a bit convoluted. There's a total of five colorways, but then there are also two trim level versions of the Magic V2. The 'Ultimate' (the one with 1TB of storage) can only be had in black leather (called 'Ultimate Black') with a golden Honor logo on the back and more prominent golden accents around the camera bump.

Ultimate Black (right) next to 'regular' Black

The less ultimate version of the handset comes in a choice of four colors, two of them black, so to speak. First, there's the Silk Black, which has a glass rear (that one we didn't get to see in person. It's similar to the Silk Purple in its glittery frosted finish. There's also a just 'Black' version, with black faux leather rear (with less fancy accents than the Ultimate Black, see above) - get this one for the lowest weight and thickness. Alternatively, you can opt for the super-glossy mirror-like Gold colorway that barely has its own color.

These all not just look different, but handle differently as well - in fairly predictable ways too. The faux leather is the grippiest, while the frosted one is a benchmark for slipperiness. The glossy one is almost as slippery, and is the only one that picks up fingerprints, but it does it at such speed and with such efficiency that it makes up for the entire range.

Black and Gold side by side • Black and Gold side by side • Silk Purple • Silk Purple

On to the moving bits, Honor has increased the use of titanium in the hinge compared to the previous generation and now the alloy is also used for the cover piece. The hinge support structure thickness has been reduced by 75%, going by Honor's press numbers, and a whole bunch of other unseen refinements have made the hinge stronger and lighter - we've been told.

The new hinge and display have been rated for 400,000 folds and we were shown one unit that's mid-way through that feat. Admittedly, at 200,000 folds the display's crease does look and feel a bit different than that of a brand new one, but it's still nowhere near that of the nearly brand-new Galaxy Z Fold4 we carry around for reference. The Magic's crease is, indeed, very subtle - both when new, and after what does sound like an unrealistic number of folds, though real-life use will inevitably affect its behavior.

One new development in the hinge area is its ability to remain stable at intermediate angles, enabling use cases for image and video capture that the Magic Vs didn't really support. It's a most welcome improvement, we'd say.

One thing that the Magic V2 doesn't offer yet, which we think is at least in part due to the hinge design, is an official IP rating. The internals are P2i coated, meaning they will probably survive an accidental splash, but you shouldn't expect your Magic V2 to live after a proper dunk in the water. Maybe the next Magic V will go all the way.

There's more than one area in which the Honor foldable is better than the Galaxy one - it's not just the thickness and display aspects. The gapless folded state is one of those advantages, the closed Fold4 looking like an early prototype next to the Honors.

Galaxy Z Fold4 wedged in between two Magic V2s

Another victory for the Honor vs the Samsung is the Magic V2's ability to work with a stylus on both the internal and the cover display - the Galaxy only supports an S Pen on the internal display making for a bit of a disconnect when trying to do things quicky and switch between screens for one reason or another. The Honor's stylus is also bigger, so a bit easier and more natural to hold, but that hardly makes a big difference.

Stylus can be used on both displays

We couldn't properly test the Magic V2's brightness or other aspects of its display performance, but we were able to observe the difference that the high-frequency pulse-width modulation makes - Honor had a setup demonstrating it against the Galaxy Z Fold4. Basically, at very low brightness settings (<10%), the Magic will not flicker, while the Galaxy will. Not all people will be equally susceptible to the effect, and since it only really manifests itself under fairly niche conditions, it may go unnoticed for most. But the flicker-sensitive folks that routinely use their foldables in the dark will appreciate the Magic V2's displays.

Magic V2 vs. Galaxy Z Fold4

Among the even less evident generational improvements is the battery that the Magic V2 uses. Already announced a few months earlier, Honor's silicon-carbon battery now makes its way to the company's foldable. Honor says it has a 9.72% increase in energy density over conventional chemistries, at least in the Magic V2's appication, and those are the most compact batteries in the industry for the given capacity. On stage, they showed an actual cell out of the foldable, measuring 2.72mm thick, and were keen to point out that the entire thicknesss of the unfolded Magic V2 is less than the thickness of an iPhone 14 Pro Max battery (4.7mm vs. 4.9mm).

Similarly hidden inside is the newly designed vapor chamber that the V2 uses for cooling its flagship internals. Dubbed (rather excessively) 'HONOR Ultra-thin Bionic VC Cooling System' is just 0.22mm thick and has a working area of 29,000mm2.

Honor also boasts it's developed the thinnest antenna on a current foldable, stating it's just 3mm thick, but also offering 10% larger area than on the Vs - all numbers we have no means to verify, of course.

Vapor chamber • Antenna

In lieu of conclusion

We were left with mixed feelings when reviewing the global Magic Vs some time ago, and a lot of what we didn't quite like was related to its software. We can't know for sure if the V2 will have addressed those when it launches, nor do we know if it will matter - if the V2 does remain confined to the Chinese market, its faults and merits will largely remain a theoretical concept.

But the V2 does improve on several areas we didn't really consider in dire need of improving. And we like where we've gotten. Perhaps the most important development is the weight and thickness reduction which is tangible and most appreciated and indeed makes the large foldable a more appealing handset for a wider range of consumers.

The advancements in hinge design and battery technology have brought us here and we're hoping they make it to more devices from more manufacturers. If we can't have the Magic V2, then at least that.

Just how better the better displays are, and how the new chipset/display/battery combo will work together, and how improved the camera system is, and how useful the new software will be, are all things that will need to wait for a review unit to get resolved. But the Magic V2 is indeed shaping up to be a meaningful step up from the previous generation.