IFA 2023 – Honor V Purse 5G, a concept phone to try to “glamorize” the Fold

Concept, yes, but for what purpose? Test the interest of its potential customers (or rather customers)? Demonstrate your technical expertise? Whatever its objective, it is indeed a concept phone that Honor unveils at the IFA. A smartphone, of course, since it is its core business, and a smartphone intended for a female target; a “gendered” concept by the name of Honor V Purse 5G.

The device is designed as a fashion accessory intended to highlight the style of the wearer. It is intended to be as thin as it is light, despite the large size of its screen, and features an exterior screen imitating a texture of your choice, such as leather or fur, reacting to the passage of a finger and automatically evolving during the day. Such an external screen, intended to remain on permanently, of course raises the question of autonomy, especially since the thinness announced by the manufacturer leaves little space for a large battery.

The other elements that Honor ships are thin. It is not inspired by its other folding smartphone, since the folding panel is not located on its internal face, but on the outside. It is clear that it strongly resembles a certain Mate Xs 2 from Huawei, the Chinese brand being the only one to offer this type of external screen. We also know that the device is less than 9 mm thick (11.1 mm for the Mate Xs 2), and that it opens like a small bag or a purse. , with a button to press to do this, and that it can be associated with handles in… various styles. See the appearance of the device yourself:

Folding smartphones, at least in the “fold” format (the only one currently operated by Honor), mostly suffer from a concern inherent in their format. They remain bulky and heavy, even if the various players are working to reduce their weight – this is the case of Honor, whose Magic V2 does not exceed 231 grams. Beyond these technical data, they are most often associated with the notion of productivity, although the declination of the latest models of the genre, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, in less austere colors, aims to bring them into a more “lifestyle” universe, currently occupied by flip-folding smartphones. To flirt with a wider target, Honor will fortunately be able to count on a future “Flip” type model, the development of which is in progress, and which can easily play the fashion accessory card… without however coming up against the pitfall of gender stereotypes.