Honor’s second foray into the wonderful world of smartphones with folding screensthe Magic Vs has been available in China since the last quarter of 2022.
Surprise: the manufacturer recently announced that an international version will be marketed in Europe during the first quarter of 2023.
Honor Magic Vs Data Sheet
Technical characteristics
Internal screen display
External screen display
Memory
Performance
Battery
Camera
Network
Connectivity
Equipment
Physical characteristics
Even better, we were able to use a prototype for a handful of days. Here are our first impressions while waiting for an exhaustive test of a definitive model.
Two formats of folding smartphones coexist on the market. Models like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4 or Oppo’s Find S2 Flip are the distant descendants of flip phones, which were very popular in the early 2000s. The Magic Vs belongs to the second category, book-style folding smartphones. .
Bigger and thinner than the Z Fold4
In this, it looks a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4… without being totally identical to it. It is, in fact, a bit larger than its elder and above all less thick: 12.9 mm folded and 6.1 mm unfolded, against 15.8 mm and 6.3 mm for the Z Fold4.
Its 6.45” external screen is made up of an AMOLED panel in 21:9 format displaying 1080 x 2560 pixels. It is therefore as comfortable as a traditional smartphone, this ratio being used on many models.
With a diagonal of 7.9”, the interior screen is very comfortable. It consists of a flexible AMOLED panel displaying 1984 × 2272 pixels. Thus equipped, the Magic Vs easily replaces a tablet for watching videos or for professional tasks.
A redesigned hinge
Honor has taken great care with the hinge and the device folds without leaving any apparent gap when closed. Honor also guarantees at least 400,000 open/close cycles. The crease is present, but less visible than on the Magic V and a little less noticeable on the finger.
The hinge does not allow the device to be kept half open as with Samsung, making it impossible to use applications in “flex” mode. The lack of IP certification does not officially guarantee it against dust or splashes.
The Magic Vs shouldn’t have any issues when it comes to raw power. It is thus equipped with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 from Qualcomm is 8 or 12 GB of RAM depending on the model. The internal storage, not expandable, is 256 or 512 GB.
Honor specifies that the power supply is provided by a 5000 mAh battery which should provide it with good autonomy. The device benefits from 66 Watt fast charging thanks to the supplied power supply, but does not have induction charging.
The Magic Vs has five photo modules: one for each screen (very conventionally housed in a punch) and three for the back camera:
- Main: 54MP; 27 mm lens opening at f/1.9
- Ultra wide-angle: 50 Mpxl; 13 mm lens opening at f/2
- Telephoto: 8 MP; lens opening at f/2.4 3x optical zoom
Prototype obliges, we will not comment on the image quality for the moment.
The model we had in hand is equipped with Android 12 and Magic OS 7.0. Honor told us that the software for this prototype was “not final”: will it be equipped with Android 13 and a more recent version of Magic OS? Answer when we test an official copy!
Our first impressions of the Magic Vs are quite positive. We appreciate the ratio of the external screen which allows use identical to that of a conventional smartphone. Good point also for its lesser thickness as well as the absence of space between the two shutters when it is folded.
It remains to be seen at what price Honor will market it: will it be the first manufacturer to offer such a qualitative model for less than 1000 euros? We hope so… without really believing it! Response on February 27, the date of the official announcement of the Magic Vs during the Mobile World Congress…
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