Honor Magic V5 Foldable Review: Fun, But Bulky Camera

The Competitive Landscape of Foldable Phone Thickness

A significant competition is currently unfolding among phone manufacturers, all vying to produce the thinnest foldable device on the market. Companies are meticulously refining their designs, measuring thickness in fractions of millimeters to gain a competitive edge.

Honor's Claim to Thinness – With a Caveat

Honor currently leads this race, at least on paper, with its Magic V5 foldable phone, boasting a folded thickness of just 8.8 mm. However, this figure comes with a substantial qualification related to the device’s camera system.

The slim profile of the device provides a comfortable feel when held around the lower portion. However, contact with the prominent camera bump can create an awkward sensation for some users, requiring a period of adjustment.

When placed on a flat surface, the phone exhibits a noticeable tilt due to the camera module. While this isn’t problematic in the folded configuration, unfolding the device results in instability and wobble.

In its unfolded state, the frame measures only 4.1 mm in thickness. This is 1 mm slimmer than the Oppo Find N5, yet 0.5 mm thicker than Huawei’s triple-folding phone.

Hardware and Display Specifications

Beyond the thickness, the phone presents itself as a robust piece of hardware. It is equipped with the high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

The external display measures 6.43 inches with a resolution of 2376 x 1060 pixels. The primary, unfolded display spans 7.95 inches, offering a resolution of 2172 x 2352 pixels.

Honor utilizes a carbon fiber reinforced inner panel to enhance drop protection. Furthermore, an antiscratch material has been applied to both displays, and initial use has not revealed any significant scratches.

The screen achieves a peak brightness of 5,000 nits, providing excellent visibility. Reading materials, such as articles and PDFs, are particularly enjoyable on the expansive unfolded screen.

Display Technology and Performance

Both displays incorporate LTPO technology, enabling dynamic refresh rates ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. This feature contributes to smooth navigation and scrolling.

Most applications adapt seamlessly to both the cover and main screens. However, some graphical distortions were observed while playing “Diablo Immortal” on the unfolded display, necessitating the use of the front screen for gaming.

Durability and Battery Life

The device’s construction is solid, and it carries IP58 and IP59 ratings for resistance to dust and water. The second-generation Honor Super Steel hinge mechanism felt reliable throughout a week of testing.

Powering the foldable is a large 5,820 mAh silicone carbon battery. This capacity easily supports a full day of use, even with moderate gaming.

The phone supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, although Honor’s proprietary chargers are required to achieve these speeds. A 66W charger is included in the box. The company states that a 0% to 50% charge can be achieved in 16 minutes with the wired charger, and a full charge in 43 minutes.

Camera Capabilities and Artificial Intelligence Integration

The Honor Magic V5 incorporates a triple-lens camera system within its housing. This setup features a primary 50-megapixel sensor boasting an f/1.6 aperture, alongside a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens offering 3x optical zoom capabilities.

Furthermore, the device is equipped with dual 20-megapixel front-facing cameras, strategically positioned for use with both the internal and external displays.

Image quality is generally strong across various shooting scenarios, with a commendable level of detail and typically accurate color reproduction. However, a tendency towards boosted red tones was observed in certain photographic conditions.

The Magic V5 also provides a capable super macro mode, enabling detailed close-up photography of subjects like flowers.

AI-Powered Zoom Technology

With widespread access to advanced AI image models, numerous manufacturers are now integrating super-zoom functionalities. These systems capture an initial image and then leverage generative AI to enhance and refine the details.

Honor’s implementation of 100x zoom proves adequate for capturing distant text and utilizing AI for improved clarity. However, when applied to diverse objects, the resulting AI-processed images often exhibited an artificial appearance, a contrast to the performance of the Pixel 10 Pro’s equivalent zoom feature.

Honor 100x ZoomImage Credits:Ivan MehtaPixel 100x ZoomImage Credits:Ivan Mehta

Consistent with many smartphones originating from China, this device includes a comprehensive suite of AI-driven “beauty” enhancements. These features allow for skin smoothing, adjustments to facial features, and overall image brightening.

Users have the option to easily disable these effects via a dedicated toggle.

Honor has also integrated a range of AI-powered editing tools into the phone’s software. An AI eraser allows users to remove unwanted objects from photos by simply drawing over them.

Additional options within this tool include the removal of background individuals and the elimination of reflections. However, the object removal function doesn’t consistently deliver optimal results, as demonstrated in a test image taken at Wimbledon where it inadvertently removed part of a tennis player’s body.

AI Editing and Image Manipulation

The phone features an AI cutout tool, enabling the selection and repositioning of objects within a photograph. Generative AI is then employed to seamlessly fill the vacated space.

This functionality is not without its limitations, occasionally producing visual artifacts such as shadows around the object’s former location, clearly indicating manipulation.

Further AI-driven tools include AI upscaling and AI outpainting capabilities.

Image-to-Video Conversion

An image-to-video function is also included within the device’s camera application, allowing for the creation of videos from still images, limited to three generations per month.

This feature utilizes Google’s Veo 2 model, but the resulting videos often appear unnatural and lack the fidelity of the original image.

Software and Device Availability

The Honor device operates on MagicOS 9, which is built upon the Android 15 operating system. The user interface is relatively clean; however, several pre-installed Honor applications were observed. These included apps designed for smart home integration and the myHonor community platform, which some users may find superfluous.

An Honor Health application is also included, facilitating connectivity with Honor’s range of smart health accessories. This app also provides access to pre-loaded exercise routines and content.

MagicOS demonstrates effective compatibility for media sharing between devices running both Android and Apple operating systems. A dedicated Workstation application is available for macOS, streamlining the transfer of photos, videos, and documents to Apple computers.

A novel on-device call translation capability has been introduced by the company. This feature allows users to download translation models directly onto their phone, enabling local data processing. Currently, support is offered for six languages: Chinese, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.

Testing of this translation feature was conducted with a French speaker, yielding highly satisfactory results. Unlike Google’s Pixel translation functionality, which preserves the user’s original voice, this system allows selection between a male or female synthesized voice.

The Honor Magic V5 is being launched in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East. In the United Kingdom and Europe, the 512GB model will be available starting at £1,699.99/€1,999.

This pricing positions the device as a more accessible foldable option, being £200/€199 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7. While it may not immediately displace Samsung’s leading position in the foldable market, it is expected to contribute to Honor’s growing market presence as foldable devices gain popularity.