The Honor Magic V5 is going global.-ish. Now sold in Europe, here’s how the biggest Z Fold 7 competitor performs!
The Honor Magic V5 was originally announced in July and dropped with the bombastic «thinnest foldable phone» promise. However, its initial launch was limited to China only, so all global customers could do was watch through the window pane with longing eyes.
Today, the Honor Magic V5 launches in Europe as well. Unfortunately, the phone will probably not be officially available stateside. You can still import one through 3rd party retailers, but you do need to be extra careful about carrier band support. Read twice, order once!
We’ve taken our time to test the Honor Magic V5 — performance, camera, display brightness and calibration. The phone is supposed to be the cream of the crop, with the best of everything. How did it fare?
Table of Contents:
Let’s start it off with a quick overview of the Magic V5 specs. Throw in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 specs for good measure!
Honor Magic V5 Design and Display The Honor Magic V5 came out with the bold statement that it’s the world’s thinnest foldable phone, measuring at 4.1 mm (when unfolded). There was some scrutiny, some measuring tools were pulled out, and it turned out that nobody could get that 4.1 mm reading. Then it turned out that it’s only the thinnest if you buy the white color (due to the finish thickness, I presume), and also that the phone comes with a screen protector that adds a few micrometers, and this and that.
OK, let’s not dive into controversy and semantics. The bottom line is that the Honor Magic V5 is truly, incredibly thin. Can’t give it the «thinnest» crown, as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures a few micrometers thinner, but let’s not split hairs (ha! ha!).
When it’s folded, it does feel like a «regular phone» with a 6.4-inch, 21:9 screen on the front that’s fully usable. It also doesn’t cheap out on specs — the high refresh rate and high peak brightness are both available on the cover and the main screen. Oh, they also both support the Magic-Pen, which is a separately-sold Honor stylus.
The camera module on the back is quite bulky, but due to it being positioned in the center, the phone doesn’t wobble as aggressively as some other products in the segment (ahem, Fold 7).
The Honor Magic V5 opens with a nice, soft resistance. The chrease down the middle is quite shallow and nigh-undetectable when the screen is on and you are staring at it directly. yes, you can still easily find it if you go looking at an angle, but if you just want to use the phone and not be annoyed by a crease — the Magic V5 provides.
The closing is also worth noting — this phone clicks closed with a very soft sound that just oozes luxury. Unfortunately, the buttons on the side don’t exactly match it. They are not bad or anything, but they do have a shallow travel and a bit of resistance with a click that’s not very satisfying. To be fair, I can’t seem to think of a modern foldable that has solid and clicky side buttons — must be the room and size limitations.
The Honor Magic V5 comes in four colors — Black, Ivory White, Reddish Brown, and Dawn Gold. Though, some markets may or may not get all of them — the Reddish Brown option seems to be limited in some places.
In the box, we get the phone and cable. Honor SuperCharge charging plug may be included in some markets, which is nice. Well, nice for those that will get it that is. You also get a basic PU case as well as internal and external screen protectors (they are stated as «in the box», in reality they are applied to the phone).
5,000 nits peak brightness sounds very impressive, but «peak brightness» means only a small portion of the screen, for a limited period of time, and it’s often unknown how those measurements were taken. That’s why we measure full screen brightness (all white, all the screen) and then a 20% APL, where 20% of the screen surface is lit up to kind of simulate regular content you’d be viewing.
Phones typically get a higher reading in 20% APL, the Honor Magic V5 however acted a bit differently. for some reason (we checked multiple times). Full screen brightness was about 1,320 nits, which is on par with its competitors and quite adequate. 1,200 nits at 20% APL is not the end of the world, but definitely outdone by the competition.
Measurements also show that the screen calibration is pretty natural, leaning towards warm whites, which is appreciated.
