Honor Magic V2 is sure to make Samsung sweat — here’s why

Honor is back at IFA 2023 with a brand new foldable: the Magic V2. I’ve got to be honest, this is perfectly timed, as the company has caught Samsung napping with its mundane Galaxy Z Fold 5 and dropped the banger of the summer.

What we have here is the thinnest and lightest foldable phone in the world, and it’s quite the stunner as I’m sure you’d agree. Let’s take a closer look.

Super svelte, yet more capable than Galaxy Z Fold 5

Put simply, Honor has put the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 on notice. The Magic V2 is not only thinner and lighter at  just 0.39 inches when folded, with a weight of 8.1 ounces (the Z Fold 5 is 0.53 inches, and 8.9 ounces), but it also packs more capabilities too.

This includes that 6.43-inch display upfront, and a 7.92-inch panel (both OLED 120Hz) on the inside, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a triple rear camera system with a 50MP main, 50MP ultra wide, and a 20MP telephoto (plus a 16MP selfie snapper), and a 5,000 mAh battery. The latter is especially impressive, given Samsung has only packed its Fold 5 with a 4,400 mAh cell.

So how did Honor manage to cram this super slim device with more battery? The secret is silicon carbon, which has created cells that are as slim as your average credit card. As for the hinge, Hardware-wise, the company has knocked it out the park.

But there is one key problem

It’s the same issue we’ve all faced with Honor and Huawei phones — it doesn’t support Google services out of the box. Of course, with a bit of knowhow, you could sideload the APKs for Google apps, but as it is, MagicOS is limited to Honor’s own services.

Not to say they’re bad, but there is definitely a limit to what you can do based on the rather constricted app store. Chances are it may not even be a problem for you, but it’s worth knowing from the get go.

Outlook

We’ve known about the Magic V2 for a while now, but now with a worldwide launch at IFA, one thing is clear — Honor is really taking the fight to Samsung this year for foldable supremacy.

U.S. availability is going to be the equivalent of a sad face emoji, as it is with all Huawei and Honor tech. But if this is a glimpse at just what is possible in the foldable space, we’re in for some seriously sleek devices in the future.