And so it came to pass that Honor did the European presentation of the Honor Magic V2 at this year's IFA at Berlin. Wouldn't you know it — we happened to be there!
If you've been geeking out about foldables, you probably know that the Honor Magic V2 has already been out in China for a while, and that it's supposedly impressive. But none of those reports prevented us from having a "Wow" reaction when we held it in-hand.
The Honor Magic V2 somehow fits the absolutely best hardware you can find on an Android phone right now — from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage.
Specs
Honor Magic V2
Size and Weight
Unfolded: 6.17 x 5.72 x 0.19 in (156.7 x 145.4 x 4.7 mm) Folded: 6.17 x 2.92 x 0.39 in (156.7 x 74.1 x 9.9 mm) 8.15 oz (231.0 g)
66 W wired charging 5 W reverse charge (via cable)
Yes, this thin wafer of a smartphone somehow fits a 5,000 mAh cell inside. Also, a thin layer of vapor cooling chamber to keep that Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 performing for longer stretches of time. For a full specs sheet, do visit the Honor Magic V2 specs page.
The Honor Magic V2 adopts the two-screen foldable design. Meaning, there's one screen on the outside, for "regular smartphone" use, and the big one on the inside, once you open the phone as a booklet.
This is unlike the Honor Magic Purse and the first gen Honor foldables, where the device had a single screen that bends to wrap around the phone when it's in a folded state.
So, what wowed us about the Magic V2? It is incredibly thin. Even when closed, it's barely thicker than a Galaxy S22 Ultra, if at all. And the 6.4-inch external screen means you can very much use it like a "regular" smartphone.
Honor Magic V2 thickness, next to Galaxy S22 Ultra (Image credit - PhoneArena)
We do say that a lot with foldables like the Pixel Fold and the Oppo Find N2. But the Magic V2 is yet another strong entry into that category.
Opening it up, we are greeted by a large 7.9-inch screen, which looks great and allows you to multi-task. Note how the homescreen gives you a lot more freedom with folder sizes and placements, so you can arrange the work space accordingly.
As for colors, the main ones are black and purple. The units at IFA did also display exclusive limited edition options, like a leather-clad Honor Magic V2. One has to ask the question — if it isn't going to be for sale, why bother showing off the limited edition colors? Hmmmm...
Some cases for Honor Magic V2 (Image credit - PhoneArena)
Honor Magic V2 Camera
Hopefully, the pics will look as nice as the specs
Thin camera module (Image credit - PhoneArena)
It is hectic here at IFA, so no way we can get a few photo snaps to analyze right now. The specs of the Honor Magic V2's camera sound great on paper — the main 50 MP camera and the 20 MP telephoto camera both have OIS modules, which should help a lot with both pictures and video. The ultra-wide camera also has a 50 MP sensor, which may end up giving us great detail in landscape shots, but it also may end up being bad with dynamics and in low-light scenarios.
We do assume that the photos from the Honor Magic V2 will, at the very least, pass the "good enough to share" threshold, but we will have more on that if we have a chance to test it.
Honor Magic V2 Hardware and Performance
Melt my heart, not my processor
It's a pretty big deal that the Honor Magic V2 packs UFS 4.0 — the new storage chip that's capable of read and write speeds twice as fast as UFS 3.1 before it. That alone is a pretty hefty upgrade.
It stands to reason that the flagship foldable will have a flagship chipset — the Honor Magic V2 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 purring from the inside.
We were quite curious about thermals and it turns out there is, in fact, a thin sheet a vapor cooling chamber somehow fitted in there. Apparently, the Honor Magic V2 packs heat only figuratively, but not literally.
Of course, we would like to be able to run it through some stress tests and see how quick it throttles, but at face value, it seems like a promising power house.
The software on board is Honor's MagicOS, with enhanced features to provide multitasking options for that big screen inside.
Curiously, you are limited to only using two apps at a time — whether it is in floating window mode or in split-screen. Samsung will often allow you to default to 3 in split screen or about 5 in floating window mode. We do think that's a bit overkill, but it's nice to have the option — we wonder why Honor decided on the 2-app-cap.
All that aside, the UI is laid on top of Android 13, though the operating system is barely recognizable. It's a heavy departure from what you'd typically see on an Android phone with a lot of iOS-like icons and control sliders.
Honor Magic V2 Battery
Say what?
The Honor Magic V2 packs a 5,000 mAh battery in that thin chassis, which is quite impressive, especially when you consider there's also a vapor chamber there to cool the CPU.
We would assume that's a good size to keep the big screen on for 7 hours at least, but that's going off of past experience. We haven't had the chance to put the Magic V2 through our extensive battery life tests.
Honor Magic V2 Charging Speeds
For charging, you can get up to 66 W, which is not the fastest out there but it's still quite respectable. One caveat though — only the 1st party Honor charger unlocks this speed. Other standard chargers can still get you quick charging of 40 W, if you find a compatible 10 V / 4 A brick.
Wireless charging isn't mentioned in the specs sheet, but if it's a Qi (1) standard, the most common ones give you 7.5 or 10 W. The Honor Magic V2 does support reverse charging to top up accessories with a 5 W output from its USB port.
Honor Magic V2 Speakers and Audio Quality
We couldn't really dive into the speakers' performance at the loud IFA showfloor, but we do know the Honor Magic V2 has two drivers shooting in stereo from its slim body. As for their depth, meatiness, and loudness — we can't yet comment.
Honor Magic V2 Competitors
If it steps into the international markets, the Honor Magic V2 will surely compete with the Google Pixel Fold on the form factor front and then with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is the most popular foldable right now.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 next to Honor Magic V2 (Image credit - PhoneArena)
The Honor Magic V2 does have what it takes, including support for a separately-sold stylus, powerful hardware, and awesome design. It will come down to price point, software, and actual support if it hopes to make any kind of dent in the mainstream market. Otherwise, we can definitely see more than a few enthusiasts picking this up — it's equal parts exotic and impressive, while still being powerful.
Honor Magic V2 Expectations
This is certainly a phone that will attract the attention of anyone that's into the new foldable tech. It is pretty, it is very thin, it's packed to the brim with high tech. Oh, did we mention it also supports a (separately-sold) stylus?
The UI... may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the hardware is absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately, even though that was an "European introduction" of the phone, it did not come with any price-tag or launch date attached. And Honor is being quite mum on the possibility of a launch.
But, let's say we wouldn't be surprised if we were to see it hit certain EU markets in the next two months.
