Honor just pulled the wraps off of what is their third-generation large foldable, even though the name may not be all that self-explanatory - the Magic V2 arrives to replace the Vs, which was a significant enough change from the original V to count as more than a mid-cycle refresh. We were invited to the Magic V2's announcement event in China and got to spend some time with early samples of the new foldable, and we have some initial impressions to share.
First things first, though. These being pre-production units of the Magic V2, they're not running anything close to commercial-grade firmware, so we will be limiting our observations to just the hardware (and there's plenty to look at).
Next in line is the matter of availability. Honor is not detailing international plans for the Magic V2 for now, but we are hopeful things might end up the Magic Vs way with a global launch a few months down the line. That's just us being ever so optimistic, though.
Now, on to the device itself for a quick rundown of the specs. Some of the most impressive numbers come from the dimensions and weight fields where the footprint is smaller than that of an iPhone 14 Pro Max, but, more importantly, so too is the weight - Honor has managed to shave off some 30g from the Vs' heft to bring the number to a properly impressive 231g (with some caveats depending on back panel material - but more on that later). The Magic V2 is also the fist foldable of its kind to go below 10mm in thickness, if only barely.
The displays have gotten improvements across the board too. The internal one now supports up to 120Hz refresh rate (90Hz on the Vs), and maximum brightness is specified at 1600nits (800nits on the old model). The cover display's claimed brightness has been doubled, too - to 2500nits. Both are LTPO OLEDs, of course and feature 3840Hz PWM dimming. Diagonals remain unchanged at 7.92 inches on the foldable panel and 6.43 inches on the cover, but the aspects have been slightly tweaked.
The camera system has gotten some tweaks too. The rear setup now features two 50MP modules for main and ultrawide (somewhat of a sidestep from the Vs' 54MP+50MP arrangement), and a new 20MP telephoto that offers 2.5x zoom (the Vs had a more basic 8MP 3x unit). Two 16MP selfie cameras, one per display, complete the picture - now with f/2.2 apertures vs. the Vs' f/2.45 ones. We don't doubt the changes are in the right direction, but we'll still have to wait for a review unit to verify.
Honor Magic V2 specs at a glance:
Body: 156.7x145.4x4.7/4.8mm unfolded, 156.7x74.0x9.9/10.1mm folded, 231g/237g; Glass front, eco leather or glass back, magnesium alloy frame, titanium alloy folding mechanism.
Display: 7.92" Foldable OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2156x2344px resolution, 402ppi; Cover display: OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 6.43", 1060x2376px, 402 ppi.
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
Memory: 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM.
OS/Software: Android 13, Magic UI 7.2.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, PDAF; Telephoto: 20 MP, f/2.4, PDAF, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom.
Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.2; Cover camera: 16 MP, f/2.2.
Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+; Front camera: 4K@30fps.
Battery: 5000mAh; 66W wired charging.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; Infrared port; stereo speakers; stylus support on both displays.
Honor also had much to say about the new silicon-carbon battery used in the Magic V2, touting its vastly improved energy density. We don't doubt it's at least partially responsible for the weight reduction, even though capacity has remained the same at 5,000mAh. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset should help squeeze some more life out of it too.
That's more or less the basics covered; let's see what that Magic V2 is all about in the hand.
In terms of overall design, Honor Magic V2 is still relatively simple, from the hinge to the back cover is also not too much pattern design, we received the AG glass material of the velvet purple and leather material of the elegant black.
The Elegant Black version has a more pronounced leather texture, which is closer to a "lychee texture" and brings a nice texture while not being slippery.
The AG Glass in Velvet Purple is more subtle and has a harder texture than the Leather version, and there's a curved transition around the image module, which, combined with the hyperbolic design of the image module, has a lot more curves and a more rounded look.
The curves on both sides of the image module have been retained, but the corners, which originally resembled parallelograms, are now uniformly rounded, as is the writing "MATRIX IMAGE". The image of the three cameras has also been adjusted, and the size has become more consistent, which naturally looks more organized and harmonious.
The three-dimensionality of the Honor Magic V2 is quite impressive, as its internal screen size remains at 7.9 inches, similar to that of its predecessor, and with that in mind, it measures a mere 4.7mm thick (in the leather version). We also measured its weight without removing the supplied film, and it came in at 236g (for the leather version), which is pretty much unchanged from the official 231g claim.
Interestingly, on the side of such a slim body, the Honor Magic V2 also features a side fingerprint recognition module. We were worried that such a slim form factor would affect the fingerprint recognition, but with the sliding fingerprint entry, there's no need to worry about it.
A more complete folded form
In the first generation of products and Vs, glory folding screen models do not support the hover function, which also made us feel more or less sorry, to glory Magic V2, we finally waited for the new lupin Titanium hinge to support hover, as well as a series of hover functions to match.
With hover support, the Honor Magic V2 can be used as a "stand" to support the external screen for viewing and use, while the half-folded form also supports it to shoot at new angles, making it easy for users to create and record with it. Some third-party software has also been or will soon be adapted for it, which is a way to make up for all the lessons that were missing before.
Not only has the hinge design been improved, but Honor Magic V2 has also made some changes to the screen form factor, with the inner screen ratio adjusted to 9.8:9, which is a bit "squarer" and finally supports a full-blooded 120Hz refresh rate (and even LTPO adaptive refresh rate and 3840Hz ultra-high-frequency PWM dimming); the outer screen ratio is 20:9, while the outer screen ratio is 20:9, which is a bit "square". The ratio of the external screen is 20:9, which is closer to a normal straight phone when folded, and also supports 3840Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, making it the only folded-screen phone with LTPO and high-frequency PWM dimming on both the internal and external screens.
Honor Magic V2's internal and external screens have also added stylus support, with the meeting minutes function that recognizes different people's recordings, I believe its business office capabilities will also reach a whole new level.
Another thing that makes me feel better is the new case that comes with the Honor Magic V2. Although it's only half, it's a unique case made of Kevlar with its own rotatable stand, as well as an excellent thin and light feel, which is still very commendable as a protective case for a folding screen.
Not extreme, but balanced image module
Honor Magic V2's image part is not particularly prominent upgrades, is a relatively conventional set of configurations, wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle end of the sensor are 50 megapixels, the telephoto end of the upgraded 20 megapixel sensors, which wide-angle main camera and telephoto lenses are supported by OIS optical stabilization, and the telephoto end of the slightly improved.
What is more interesting is that this time the glory Magic V2 is a change in the image style, the imaging style is similar to the previous glory 90 series, is more refreshing, brightly colored style, in the hot summer, can really create a good sense of the corresponding atmosphere, coupled with a more in place tuning of the three cameras, the consistency of the picture performance is good, in the daytime the imaging effect of the three cameras is still relatively good.
Come to the night scene, we can also see the glory of the progress of the image tuning, the presentation of light and shadow is relatively harmonious, is also very good to restore the actual picture, neither for the bright part of the sacrifice of too much detail, but also will not let the dark part of the dark part of the pull up too bright, the final rendering of the effect is still very much the "night scene" sense of perception, in the folding model, such imaging performance is also considered to be relatively good. In the folding model, such imaging performance is also considered a relatively good level.
Of course, in this part, we can still see the glory Magic V2 in the body of the trade-offs. It does not carry a periscope telephoto, triple camera configuration is maintained in the glory flagship between the level of cup to large cup, considering its extremely thin folding body, I think this trade-off is more appropriate, is a more balanced choice.
Not only thin and light, but also a larger battery
The most amazing thing is actually the battery configuration of the Honor Magic V2. After reaching the achievement of the current thinnest horizontally foldable flagship, its battery capacity can still come to 5000mAh, we have to marvel at the power of the "Qinghai Lake" battery.
We also tested its battery life performance, the measured glory Magic V2 internal screen life performance is also very worthy of its battery capacity, whether it is playing video or graphic browsing, can do an hour 8% of the level, in the face of the "Honor of Kings" such as the national game, but also to do easy to cope with, to bring a long enough time to play the game.
As for fast charging, Honor Magic V2 is on par with the previous generation, using 66W wired fast charging. Fast charging results are shown in the chart below, it can be charged from 2% to 100% in 54 minutes, which is also a good result, it is considered to be on par with its own straight flagship, if there is wireless charging, I think it will be rated a little higher.
Summarize
Honestly, the Honor Magic Vs did have some regrets before, such as the weight and thickness of the body that is still a breath away, the lack of hover form factor, and to a certain extent, slightly insufficient function support. Honor Magic V2 is not only to erase these regrets, but also to achieve a breakthrough in the body, 230g weight and less than 1cm thickness, has come to challenge the straight plate machine and folding flagship cut-off point.
