The Honor Magic Vs is a big-screen folding smartphone here to take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Unfortunately, as we found out, the Galaxy is safe for now.
We need more big-screen folding smartphones like the Honor Magic Vs to take on the mighty, market-dominating Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. But these phones need to do more than just exist
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is an excellent smartphone, and it’ll take more than just similar hardware to become a serious challenger. Can the Honor Magic Vs steal people away from the Z Fold 4?Honor Magic Vs: design
I’m going to talk about the Honor Magic Vs’s design in a mostly positive fashion, but there are a few causes for concern here. The Magic Vs’s wide cover screen is more usable than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4’s, and I’ve primarily used it this way during my weeks with the phone. The keyboard is placed a little low on the screen, which needs adjusting to, but once you have it’s fine. However, it’s Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard installed by default, so I installed Google’s Gboard separately, as it’s far more reliable to use.
At 12.9mm thick when closed, the Magic Vs is surprisingly compact, and it has slipped into my pocket without causing a problem. It is quite heavy at 267 grams, and for that reason, you always know it’s there. This also causes fatigue after holding the closed phone for any length of time, but this isn’t a situation unique to the Magic Vs. Open the phone up, and the chassis is 6.1mm thick.
The slimness of the chassis, and the way the phone folds tightly shut without a gap, do make it a little awkward to open. The hinge is still stiff on my review model, and there isn’t much to “grab,” so it takes more effort than I’d like to open the phone. If my hands are sweaty or recently moisturized, then there’s almost no chance of prying the two sections apart at all. I like the gapless construction, but the Oppo Find N2 shares a similar design and isn’t such a pain to open.
The gear-less hinge is quiet, and its special construction allows the phone to close without a gap, but it still seems to be bedding in. At least, I hope it is. Initially, the hinge didn’t have enough resistance to hold it at a semi-open angle, but it seems to be better now after a few weeks of use. However, it needs time to settle after opening it up, as for a start, the phone isn’t quite flat. After a short time, it seems to relax the last few millimeters, which is very strange, and the not-quite-flat angle is really noticeable at first. I’m hoping time will fix it, but I’m not convinced.
My version of the Honor Magic Vs is in the stunning cyan color, which has a beautiful silver flake inside to really catch the light, but you can also get the phone in an ordinary black color too. The camera module is jewel-like in its shape, with more sweeping corners than you’d expect to find, and it looks great. The Magic Vs has a very attractive overall look, especially in cyan, and the slimness of the chassis makes it feel “normal” in your hand when it’s closed up. I have been able to comfortably use the phone like this, which is great news, but the hinge is not as refined as the one on the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The hinge isn’t the only issue. The Magic Vs is also lacking any durability enhancements. It does not have a basic IP rating for dust resistance, and there’s no mention of Gorilla Glass or an alternative to give this heavy phone some extra protection in the long term. Honor says the hinge has been tested to 400,000 folds, but outside of this, you should be pretty careful with the Honor Magic Vs if you want it to last.Honor Magic Vs: screens
On the outside is a 6.45-inch, 21:9 aspect ratio, OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 2560 x 1080 pixel resolution. On the inside is a 7.9-inch OLED with a 10.3:9 aspect ratio, a 90Hz refresh rate, and a 2272 x 1984 pixel resolution. Both have a 90% screen-to-body ratio, 1920Hz PWM dimming for less flicker, a DCI-P3 color gamut, and can show more than one billion colors.
What about a crease? Well, it is there, but as with most foldables you can’t see it when viewed face-on, and when the screen is illuminated. It’s more visible at an angle, and you can feel it when you run your finger across the screen. I don’t find it annoying or distracting, and there aren’t any ripples in the screen on either side. I don’t consider it an issue. Outside visibility is good, but in bright sunlight, there is a lot of reflection on the inner screen.
Both screens have a higher than 60Hz refresh rate, but you won’t always see the 90 or 120Hz refresh rates the screens are capable of. I found that, particularly when closed, the Magic Vs defaults to 60Hz far too often. It’s noticeable in apps like Chrome and Twitter, where blur I don’t expect to see was visible when the refresh rate was left on automatic. I ended up forcing the phone to use the higher refresh rate all the time.
Video looks great, especially on the inner screen, and it remains a huge benefit of big-screen foldables. I love not having to reach for a tablet when I want to really enjoy a video, and the convenience of doing this anywhere is fantastic. It’s the same for reading, whether it’s an e-book or the browser, too.
However, apps (including YouTube) don’t really support the half-angled mode, where the phone supports itself, so the information bar at the top of the screen doesn’t disappear.
