We were thrilled at the MWC 2023 to see Honor launch the Magic Vs, its first foldable device, which will be available worldwide after its launch in China at the end of November.
The Honor Magic Vs is the first serious alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 as it delivers a slightly thinner and lighter form factor with a similar build quality and system hardware. The displays and cameras are also on par, while the battery is larger and comes with a 66W fast charger in the box.
The Honor Magic Vs will be available in Europe with 12GB+512GB in black and cyan for €1599. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 cost 1,799 euros when it was launched.
There are no plans for a US launch where the Z Fold4 was released for $1799 which is only $99 less than the equivalent price of $1700 (starting at €1599).
The Magic Vs isn’t waterproof, another downside compared to the Z Fold4, which has an IPx8 rating.
Table of Contents
design
Build quality is excellent, with an elegant high gloss finish on the back.
During the keynote event at MWC, Honor CEO George Zhao proudly announced that unlike the Z Fold4, the new Magic Vs is gapless after folding and is slimmer at 12.9mm than its nemesis (15.8mm). At 261g, the Vs is also a hair lighter than the 263g Galaxy Z Fold4.
The back cover features curves on both long edges that give the device a smoother feel compared to its competitor, the flat Z Fold4.
“MORE SAME FEEL OF THE DEVICE COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITOR”
The hinge was an important part of George Zhao’s presentation as it is made from an aerospace-grade polymer material and has significantly fewer components than its predecessor. Their number has been reduced from 94 to 4 to make room for a larger 5000mAh battery.
Honor says so the new hinge withstands up to 400,000 foldstwice the 200,000x rating of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.
folding experience
The foldable design offers a different experience than classic phones, however, Honor follows in Samsung’s footsteps alongside large 7.9 inch interior screenoffers a high-quality 6.45-inch external display that completely covers the front of the device when folded.
When folded about 120 degrees and placed vertically on a table, you don’t need a stand to consume content or read email on one side while watching a video or consulting another app on the other. It can be extremely handy and is essentially a natural tripod.
Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold4, the 90-degree fold position only works if you place the cover with the camera module on the table, otherwise it folds back open, likely a compromise of the lighter and more durable hinge.
To sue)
Both displays offer amazing picture quality, responsiveness, and comfort, offering a superior visual experience for content consumption in general.
The The 7.9-inch OLED has a resolution of 2272 x 1984 pixels in an aspect ratio of 10.3:9 (pixel density 382 ppi). The 90Hz refresh rate is below the 120Hz capability of the Galaxy Z Fold4, Mix Fold 2 or Oppo Find N2.
“AMAZING IMAGE QUALITY”
Probably to improve the normal phone experience over the “tablet mode”, Honor opted for a higher one 120Hz refresh rate and pixel density (431 PPI vs. 381) on the 6.45-inch external screen with 2560 x 1080 pixels.
The 1200 NITs peak brightness on paper is similar to the theoretical peak brightness of the Z Fold4, we have yet to measure the brightness to verify the claim.
The crease is as visible as it is on the foldable phones we’ve played with, like the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4. I hardly notice it because the display quality is very good.
sound quality
The audio quality is very good and the stereo dual speakers deliver powerful and clear sound at maximum volume. However, compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, whose sound is almost as excellent as the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple Pro Max, I noticed that the Magic Vs lacked a bit of bass.
Honor Magic Vs Camera
The Honor Magic Vs brings the camera performance close to that of the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 and is slightly higher than that of the Z Fold4.
There is a triple camera module on the back:
- Primary camera (wide)
- 27mm 54MP IMX800 main camera (f/1.9)
- Video: Up to 2160 x 3840 pixels
- Photo: Up to 6144 × 8768 pixels
- Ultrawide and macro camera
- 13mm 50MP f/2
- telecamera
- 94mm 8MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom + OIS
There is a selfie camera in the inner display:
- selfie
- 25mm 16MP f/2.45
Our algorithmic CAMERA HW score ranks the Honor Magic Vs (Score=161) slightly above the Galaxy Z Fold4 (Score = 155) and closer to the Galaxy S23+ and S23 (Score = 166), a good score as independent testers recognize the S23+/S23 as a good premium shooter.
The primary wide-angle camera is equipped with a large one 54MP IMX800 sensor According to our algorithm, this is comparable to that in the Galaxy Z Fold4.
Both the ultra-wide and telephoto lenses are slightly better than those on the Z Fold4. The “3X” optical zoom of Magic vs.
Both phones have a high-resolution sensor for the primary shooter. Unlike the Samsung device, however, is the high-resolution photo capture not available in automatic mode. Magic Vs requires you to break down two submenus to find it (camera mode menu > more > high resolution).
system speed
Since it’s powered by the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 as the Samsung Z Fold4, performance is very comparable. Our tests show that the Z Fol4 has a small advantage in the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark, but that probably wouldn’t be noticed much by real-world users. We certainly don’t.
From a graphics/gaming perspective, the performance we’ve measured is almost identical, which isn’t surprising. Anyway, the bottom line is that the Honor Magic Vs performs exactly as we would expect from a large, foldable, high-end Android smartphone.
battery life
Thanks to the new hinge, the Magic Vs has a 5000mAh Battery, the largest on the foldable market. Non-foldable flagships like the S23 Ultra or OnePlus 11 have the same capacity. 5000mAh is often considered the maximum practical capacity, but it’s a particular challenge for a foldable design.
If you need to top up the battery, this smartphone can also charge up to 1000 rpm 66 w of performance that’s faster than any of the competition we’ve seen to date. For frequent travelers, this is a significant benefit, as you can charge 66% faster before boarding a flight or heading to your next destination.
Diploma
The honor magic vs is an impressive piece of technology with the same level of system performance, excellent design, display quality and camera performance as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4his nemesis.
“AN IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY”
The slight difference in our rating is justified by the lack of water resistance, which is important for any device over $1500, and a better user experience for productivity and multitasking found on the Samsung device.
The Honor device certainly feels thinner and more comfortable in hand than the Z Fold4, with a better camera e.g 200 euros less.
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