In the closed state, the thickness is less than 1 cm, making it the world’s thinnest folding flagship, and the phone can be easily held like an ordinary straight-screen phone—the world’s first folding flagship with a titanium alloy hinge. While reducing the thickness and weight of the phone, it is also sufficiently rigid. The life of the hinge is also guaranteed. Even if it is folded 100 times daily, it will not be a problem for ten years. The Honor Magic V2 supports zero-risk dimming and eye protection with internal and external screens. Both the internal and external screens of the mobile phone support high-frequency PWM dimming up to 3840Hz. The higher dimming frequency can reduce the flickering frequency of the screen when the mobile phone is in low brightness and reduce eye pressure.
The Qinghai Lake battery, first launched in the Honor Magic 5 series, is used in a folding machine for the first time. The greater battery density also allows the horizontal folding screen to have a large-capacity battery of 5000mAh.
The second-generation Snapdragon 8 Advanced Edition was first introduced into foldable phones, and the high frequency of 3.36GHz ensures faster system response and higher game fluency. The C1 chip is used in a folding mobile phone for the first time, becoming the world’s first folding machine equipped with a self-developed RF enhancement chip, which ensures a high-quality communication experience for mobile phones in weak signal scenarios.
The blessing of customized ultra-thin dual-unit sound-generating devices also allows the folding machine, which costs a lot of money, to have the ability to make intelligent and private calls, and it is also the world’s first launch. In addition, it is also the world’s first folding flagship machine that supports the parallel space function.
Design & Appearance
The external screen of the Honor Magic V2 uses a 6.43-inch OLED screen, and the slender ratio 21:9 makes it easy for girls to hold it.
The resolution of the external screen of the mobile phone reaches 2156×2344, the display is clear and delicate, and the LTPO material is used. The adaptive refresh rate considers fluency and ensures excellent power consumption. At the same time, it also uses the industry’s highest 3840Hz PWM dimming, which can prevent eye fatigue when watching the mobile phone at night.
In the center above, the outer screen has a hollowed-out 16-megapixel wide-angle front camera. The color we got from Kuaitech is velvet purple, and the back of the fuselage is made of AG matte glass body, which feels very smooth to the touch.
The Honor Magic V2 has three rear cameras; the leading length and width are all assembled and located in the upper left corner of the back of the phone. Compared with the Magic Vs., there is one less cold color temperature fill light and one more laser focus sensor. The side of the fuselage integrates a power fingerprint two-in-one button. When the inner screen is unfolded, there are almost no creases under the Luban titanium hinge.
The 7.92-inch internal screen has a resolution of 2156×2344, and both the internal and external screens support 1-120Hz LTPO adaptive dynamic refresh rate and 3840Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming.
Honor’s self-developed Luban titanium hinge is the key to the extreme thinning of the product. The new hinge can further compress the internal space. Through the mortise and tenon integral molding technology, the internal parts are reduced, thereby making the thickness of the mobile phone extremely thin. We can see that the unfolded thickness of Honor Magic V2 is almost equivalent to that of Type-C.
The phone supports up to 66W wired fast charging and comes standard with a 66W fast charging adapter using the Honor SuperCharge fast charging protocol.
Inside the Honor Magic V2 packaging, in addition to the phone body and charger, it also comes with a nylon phone case with an integrated stand, a quick start guide, and a purchase privilege worth 800 yuan.
Next, for comparison, let’s measure the thickness and weight of the Honor Magic V2 using a straight-screen phone and a foldable phone.
It should be noted that Honor Magic V2 has two materials of, glass and plain leather, and there are specific differences in weight and thickness between the two. To show the thinness of the Honor Magic V2 more clearly, we found the iPhone 14 Pro Max for comparison. After weighing by a high-precision electronic scale, the weight of the iPhone 14 Pro Max reached 254.8g. We found the Mi MIX Fold2, the flagship of horizontal folding, whose weight came to 274.3g.
Finally, let’s take a look at the protagonist of the evaluation. The weight of the Honor Magic V2 is only 242.9g, which is about 13% lighter than ordinary folding phones, and even 4.9% lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is a straight-screen phone.
Then, we measured the thickness of the two folding phones. In the closed state, the thickness of the Honor Magic V2 is only 10.98mm, while that of the Xiaomi is 12.14mm. The Honor is about 10.6% thinner than the Xiaomi. In the unfolded state, the thickness of the Honor Magic V2 is even narrower, 5. 28mm, while the thickness of the Mi MIX Fold2 is 5.61mm.
In addition, the eight-curved fuselage used by the Honor Magic V2 fits the palm more closely than a straight-screen phone. With a weight of 231g, it is almost the same as a straight-screen phone when picked up. It can be easily put into the jeans pocket in summer without a tremendous sense of drop. In other words, in the Honor Magic V2, we have witnessed a breakthrough in the “lightweight” of horizontally folding mobile phones.
Screen Test
We all know that a higher dimming frequency can effectively reduce the problem of low-brightness screen flicker and reduce eye pressure.
Therefore, the 3840Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming technology first launched by Honor in the 90 series was introduced to the folding flagship for the first time, and this means that both the inner and outer dual screens are equipped with this technology.
So, how does it behave in the experience?
We took the iPhone 14 Pro Max for comparison, and we can feel that the screen flicker of the Honor Magic V2 is much lower than that of the iPhone. The higher frequency can reduce the brightness fluctuation of the screen in dark light, and it can better protect the eyes when looking at the phone at night.
System and communication
One step split screen
The Honor folding screen series has always been perfect in optimizing the large screen, simplifying the cumbersome multi-tasking interaction method, and you can enjoy the advantages and convenience of the large screen with just one operation.
Open any application on the internal screen, and a split-screen shortcut button will appear at the center of the top of the screen, and provide two ways of split-screen left and right and floating split-screen. We only need to click the button to choose any split-screen method. The one-finger split-screen function not only saves cumbersome operation logic but also allows novices to reduce learning costs and quickly experience the convenience of the large screen.
Parallel space split screen
The most convenient thing is that the Honor Magic V2 series also supports dual-system split-screen operation simultaneously, which means that the parallel world can split the screen. The processes between the two systems do not interfere with each other. You can even zoom in and out in the parallel space, drag the position, and make data retrieval and interaction in a similar area more flexible and convenient, bringing users an independent, safe, and consistent experience.
Signal test
Honor Magic V2, like the previous generation Vs., adopts a wrap-around antenna design. After iterative technology upgrades, the diameter of the antenna has been narrowed to 3mm, making it the thinnest in the industry. The equivalent antenna area is 10% higher than the Honor Magic Vs. The antenna performance is the best in the industry.
Secondly, the Honor Magic V2 integrates the first self-developed C1 radio frequency enhancement chip in the Magic 5 series, becoming the world’s first folding flagship equipped with a self-developed radio frequency enhancement chip to achieve a better communication experience.
In this regard, we used Magic V2 and iPhone 13 Pro to conduct comparative tests in the two scenarios where the signal is most likely lost.
After our test in the elevator, the download speed of the Honor Magic V2 was 47.3Mbps, which was 56.6% faster than the 30.2Mbps of the iPhone 13 Pro.
The two mobile phones in the underground parking lot lost the 5G signal and switched to a full 4G signal. At this time, the measured download speed of the Honor Magic V2 can reach 67.7Mbps, while 44.8Mbps defeat the iPhone. In this wholly enclosed underground space, the rate of the Honor Magic V2 is still 51.1% faster than that of the iPhone.
After comparison, it is enough to prove that the ultra-thin wrap-around antenna layout of the Honor Magic V2 can bring enough strong communication capabilities to the mobile phone in a relatively closed space.
Gaming Experience
Honor Magic V2 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 leading mobile platform version for the first time among foldable mobile phones. The central frequency of the CPU large core is increased from 3.19GHz to 3.36GHz, and the central frequency of the Adreno 740 GPU is increased from 680MHz to 719MHz, further enhancing the mobile phone’s performance and energy efficiency ratio.
Next, in the game testing part, we conducted in an office environment with a room temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. We selected two games, Call of Duty and Glory of Kings, for testing. Among them, Call of Duty can open up to 90 frames, and Glory of Kings can open 120.
1. Call of Duty
The Call of Duty mobile game can run smoothly at 90 frames. After a round of battle, the final average frame rate of Honor Magic V2 was maintained at 89.4 FPS.
In terms of power consumption, the average power consumption of large-screen games is only about 3.5W, the frame energy consumption is 78.4mW, and the energy efficiency ratio reaches 25.5 frames/W, almost the same as that of conventional direct-screen mobile phones.
In terms of temperature, the front of the fuselage is 41.3 degrees Celsius, and the back of the phone is 41.5 degrees Celsius.
2. Glory of Kings
The Honor of Kings mobile game runs at a maximum of 120FPS with extremely high image quality and ultra-high frame rate. In a game test of nearly 10 minutes, the average frame rate is stable at 19.4FPS, and there is almost no fluctuation in the frame rate of the entire game.
In terms of power consumption, the average power consumption of a single game is close to 3.6W, and the frame energy consumption is 61mW.
The highest temperature on the front of the fuselage is 42 degrees Celsius, and the highest on the back is 43.3 degrees Celsius. The temperature is relatively high. The most elevated heating pad on the front is in the middle of the fuselage, and the rear is in the camera area. Therefore, if you are playing a high-load game, you can avoid these two high-heat areas when holding the phone with both hands.
Cameras
The Honor Magic V2 has a thin and light body, and the imaging system has not shrunk. It is fully equipped with three cameras at all focal lengths. The primary camera and ultra-wide angle are 50 Megapixels, and the telephoto is 20 Megapixels with 2.5 times optical zoom. It also has a TOF sensor, a color temperature sensor, and a Flicker anti-flicker sensor.
Main camera
In the daytime scene, the imaging of the Honor Magic V2 belongs to the true color, which retains a higher dynamic range. Under sunny conditions, facing the direct sun, there will be no glare problem, and it can well show the original blue of the sky, giving people a refreshing and clean feeling. In the indoor environment, without the help of filters, you can also shoot a slight and fresh feeling. In terms of night scenes, the sample shots taken have a complete sense of immersion under the long exposure conditions of the night scene mode. The most important thing is that facing a direct light, most of the glare can be offset, giving people an immaculate feeling. The picture’s color tends to be rich in style, which looks very immersive.
Telephoto 
The style of the proofs presented by the telephoto lens is relatively close to that of the main camera. They all tend to have high saturation output, brightness, and vivid colors.
Moreover, the 2.5x light change will not be subject to excessive environmental and distance restrictions. Far away objects can be easily called, avoiding the trouble of “finding a lens.”
The 20-megapixel telephoto lens has a very satisfactory imaging effect in night scenes. It can accurately restore the blackness of the sky, and you can’t see any noise in the proofs. When shooting the lights of buildings, the picture looks clean and bright.
Ultra Wide Angle
The 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle picture is clear, and the distortion control on both sides is quite in place, which can meet the daily shooting needs and deal with some relatively wide pictures without pressure.
At night, halos and astigmatism will appear in some scenes with direct light. Although it is not as good as the main camera, the color performance is excellent. It can accurately restore the color of the light board and the ground in a scene with mixed colors, and there is no phenomenon of overexposure.
It is recommended that when taking high-quality night scene photos, you can turn on the night scene mode of the camera.
Battery
Qinghai Lake battery is the first technology introduced by Honor in the Magic5 series. This technology was first introduced in the folding machine. It provides higher battery capacity under the same battery volume through silicon carbon harmful electrode material + low-voltage charge gathering technology.
The Honor Magic V2 packs a dual-cell 5000mAh super-capacity battery into the 2.72mm extreme body. Just looking at the thickness of the body, it is already thinner than many single-cell batteries.
Charging test
When plugging in the charger, press and hold the fast charging animation in the middle to activate the super fast charging speed mode, and we conduct setting tests in this mode.
After actual testing, when the battery level of the mobile phone is 1%, it starts charging. It takes 10 minutes to charge to 27%, 20 minutes to 53%, half an hour to 74%, 40 minutes to 89%, 50 minutes to 99%, and 52 minutes to charge fully.
Endurance test
In the battery life test part, we use a professional battery life test tool – the battery dog produced by Kuai Technology.
In terms of test items, we chose the extreme battery life test, checked all test items, including CPU high voltage, CPU multi-threading, AI recognition, picture browsing, video playback, and web browsing, simulated user usage scenarios, restored the actual load to the greatest extent, and was infinitely close to the real power consumption.
1. External screen battery life
First of all, we tested the battery life of the Honor Magic V2’s 6.43-inch external screen. Adjust the phone’s brightness to 50% and turn off the automatic brightness. The default refresh rate is intelligent switching, and the memory expansion is turned off. The power is tested from 100% to 20%. The battery dog ran for 9 hours and 19 minutes.
2. Internal screen battery life
We also tested the battery life of the internal screen on the Honor Magic Vs. It took 7 hours and 25 minutes for the 7.92-inch external screen to drain from 100% to 20% of the battery power. Converted to a full charge, the battery life can reach nearly 9.5 hours, almost half an hour longer than the Honor Magic Vs. It is currently the most extended battery life among internal folding screen phones on the market.
Read Also: iQOO 11S Review: The Smartphone That Charges in 5 Minutes
Verdict
The slim body of 102.7mm and the light weight of 236.4g endow the folding screen mobile phone with the body of a bar machine. Honor Magic V2, Honor’s third folding flagship mobile phone, is more like a cross-generational product.
Honor Magic V2 has the thinnest body and the best feel among folding screens of the same size. It can be described in one sentence. It is so light that you can control the shape of a straight-screen phone at will and so thin that you can enter and exit the jeans pocket.
With dual 3840Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, dual LTPO adaptive refresh rate, and ultra-high brightness internal and external dual screens, the Honor Magic V2 shows the ultimate charm of internal and external dual screens with a display quality that exceeds the conventional screen.
Before his, there was a natural gap between folding scd straight-screen phones. Thickness and lightness cannot be combined. Honor uses technological innovation and unique thinking to achieve eight evolutions in Honor Magic V2. Combining the advantages of folding screen phones and bar phones completely breaks our thinking about heavy folding phones and poor experience. This is the tremendous significance of the birth of Honor Magic V2.
Honor Magic in 2016 showed us the future form of mobile phones in the non-full screen era. Seven years later, Honor Magic Vs. I interpreted a new species spanning folding and straight screen forms for us in the age of full screens. It not only considers thinness and practicality but also has a more extensive screen experience than straight-screen phones. Honor is not bragging if it can shout the slogan “Replace Apple’s top bar with a folding screen.”