Honor’s Magic V6 Achieves Three Foldable Milestones
The Honor Magic V6 appears to be a significant advancement in the world of foldable smartphones. It boasts the title of the thinnest foldable yet, features the largest battery, and offers the best water resistance to date. However, in real-world use, only the enhanced battery capacity feels like a substantial upgrade, while the other improvements are only marginally better than previous models.
This isn’t entirely on Honor, as distinguishing foldable phones has become increasingly challenging. Even last year’s models felt like complete flagship devices. The Huawei Pura X Max made waves with its unique aspect ratio, a trend we expect Samsung and Apple to follow soon. Meanwhile, the trifolds represent a different category altogether. Book-style Android foldables have matured significantly, now competing closely with traditional flagship phones in nearly every aspect.
Honor has been a key player in advancing foldable technology, so it’s understandable that they would release a device with relatively minor hardware enhancements. However, it would have been great to see more effort put into revamping the software, as MagicOS continues to be a limiting factor for the Magic V6.
The Magic V6 made its debut at February’s MWC trade show, initially launching in China. It has since begun its global rollout, now available in Malaysia and Singapore for RM 7,699 (approximately $1,930), with more regions, including the UK and Europe, expected to follow soon.
Let’s dive into the phone’s three notable firsts, even if they are mostly incremental. First, it’s the world’s thinnest foldable, measuring just 4mm when open and 8.75mm when closed (the white version is slightly thinner, while other colors are about 9mm). When closed, it matches the thickness of an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is quite an achievement. However, it’s only 0.05mm thinner than the previous generation Magic foldable, a difference so small it’s nearly imperceptible.
The Magic V6 also claims the title of the first foldable phone with an IP69 rating, meaning it’s dust-tight and can withstand high-pressure, high-temperature water jets. While this offers better dust protection than the V5’s IP59 and can endure water exposure that the IP68 Pixel 10 Pro Fold cannot, the practical benefits may be limited. Most users won’t encounter high-pressure jets in their daily lives, but the added peace of mind is certainly appreciated.
The most significant upgrade is the battery, now at 6,660mAh thanks to improved silicon-carbon cells (with a 7,150mAh version available in China). This surpasses any other foldable on the market and is a notable increase from the 5,820mAh capacity of the Magic V5. The results are impressive; while the V5 could last a day or more, the V6 comfortably lasts two days on a single charge, even for heavy users.
Beyond these highlights, the rest of the features are standard for flagship foldables. The Magic V6 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, offers up to 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, supports fast wireless charging (though it doesn’t support Qi2), and features dual 120Hz OLED displays along with a triple rear camera and stylus support. These specifications have become expected in this category.
However, despite the advancements in foldable technology, there are still drawbacks. The camera remains a significant concern. While the triple rear camera is impressive and likely the best among foldables, it still falls short compared to top-tier slab phones, hindered by smaller sensors that limit light capture, excessive saturation in many images, and inconsistent color processing. In essence, the camera is good but not exceptional, which is a common compromise with foldable devices.
The crease on the V6 is relatively subtle, but it’s still more noticeable than the nearly invisible crease on Oppo’s latest model. Durability is another issue; despite the IP69 rating, the foldable design means the hinge is delicate, the inner screen is soft, and finding a protective case can be challenging. Outside of China, Honor lacks the robust repair and support infrastructure that competitors like Samsung offer, which could pose challenges if the device needs repairs.
On the software front, Honor promises seven years of OS and security updates, surpassing Oppo and matching the offerings from Google and Samsung. However, MagicOS is not my favorite Android skin. The UI can feel cluttered and increasingly resembles Apple’s Liquid Glass, and the device comes preloaded with numerous Honor apps. Additionally, multitasking capabilities aren’t as powerful or intuitive as those found in Oppo’s offerings. I find other Android versions more user-friendly, which is a key reason why the Oppo Find N6 remains my top choice among foldables.
While we don’t know what the rumored foldable iPhone or Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 will bring, Apple will be entering a well-established foldable market. Honor deserves credit for helping shape this landscape. Over the years, its Magic foldables have consistently pushed the boundaries of design and battery capacity, and the Magic V6 represents the culmination of that progress, even if the software hasn’t kept pace. It’s an impressive foldable, but the incremental upgrades are starting to feel a bit stale. It will be interesting to see if Apple can shake things up again.
