In recent years, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) has been THE show for foldable smartphones. Samsung, Huawei, TCL, and now Honor regularly take part in these innovative festivities. Today, Honor announced the global launch of its latest foldable smartphone, the Magic Vs, which debuted in China last December.
Before you get excited about the idea of a new foldable device arriving in a store near you, know that the product will be available in France before the summer, at a price of 1,599 euros.
Like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Honor Magic Vs goes from a small 6.45-inch slab to a large 7.9-inch tablet. It’s a form factor that smartphone makers continue to push to appeal to power users and those who want multitasking capabilities in the palm of their hands.
A solid design
While the outer display refreshes at 90Hz, the inner display — where you’ll likely spend most of your interaction time — goes to 120Hz.
Where the Magic Vs beats the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, at least according to Honor, is in design, durability and price. First, the foldable has no visible gap when closed (see comparison image below).
Aside from aesthetics, the main benefit here is that dust and debris – two main sources of flaws for this thin, bendable glass – are less likely to seep into the phone’s internal display. Although Honor does not claim an IP rating for the smartphone, the gapless design is more protective than that of the Fold 4.
Notice the light coming through the opening of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (right). Image: June Wan/ZDNET.
A 5,000mAh battery with up to 66W fast charging
Honor also claims that the Magic Vs can handle up to 400,000 folds, which is double the 200,000 fold capacity of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4. That means the Magic Vs screen should retain its structural integrity even if you bend it 100 times a day, every day, for the next 10 years.
The rest of the technical characteristics of the device correspond to what is expected of a high-end smartphone, and not necessarily foldable: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset (remember that this smartphone was launched in December , while the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was not yet available), a 5,000 mAh battery with up to 66 W fast charging, and a triple rear camera (54 MP main, 50 MP ultra-wide and 8 MP telephoto).
The Magic Vs is available in blue (pictured above) and black. Image: June Wan/ZDNET.
The Honor Magic Vs will go on sale in a 12GB RAM and 512GB storage configuration for €1,599 starting in the second quarter of this year.
Source: ZDNet.com