The Honor Magic Vs smartphone is the first of its kind for the Chinese brand to be marketed in France. It is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 using the principle of a vertical hinge and opening like a book. Equipped with an external AMOLED screen, but also an AMOLED panel for the internal screen which folds back on itself, it is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip associated with 12 GB of RAM, carries a battery 5000 mAh and benefits from a real configuration for photos, in particular based on the presence of two 54 and 50 megapixel sensors as well as a 3x optical zoom, it runs on Android 13 with access to Google services. With such a configuration, you’ll easily be able to play Bizzo Casino on this mobile. We were able to try it for a while and here are our impressions.
Main technical characteristics:
- 7.9-inch, 1984×2272 pixel 120Hz Flexible AMOLED display
- 6.45-inch, 1080×2560 pixel 120Hz AMOLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset
- 12 GB expandable RAM
- 512 GB of non-expandable internal storage
- Triple 50+50+8 megapixel photo sensor
- 16 megapixel front sensor
- Profile fingerprint reader
- 5000 mAh battery compatible with 66 watt charging
- Operating system: Android 13 with MagicOS 7.0 software overlay
Design
The Honor Magic Vs folding smartphone is therefore presented as a “book” opening in the same way and having almost the same format as its direct competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. It is however higher than the Samsung mobile measuring 160.3 mm against 155.1 mm. It is also wider closed but also open. It is 72.6 mm closed against 67.1 mm for the Galaxy Z Fold4.
Open, it is 141.5 mm wide against 130.1 mm for the Samsung folding. On the other hand, the Honor mobile is a little heavier than that of the South Korean weighing 267 grams against 263 grams. Finally, regarding the thickness, the Magic Vs offers a profile of 12.9 mm closed, against 15.8 mm for the Galaxy Z Fold4.
We are therefore entitled to a higher format and the external screen is also in 21/9 format like the screens of Sony Xperia smartphones. This external screen is fully usable and can be used as you would with a smartphone with a conventional (non-folding) design.
The Honor Magic Vs benefits from a titanium chassis and seems particularly solid. The device is only available in black. This version leaves no chance for fingerprints that remain on it. The surface is rather shiny. In the upper left corner, there is a relatively thick plate that accommodates the photo sensors. The plate is in two parts. The upper part is curved offering a very nice effect. The double flash and the multispectral sensor are slightly offset, on the same plane as the rest of the back. The external side of the rear part is slightly curved, thus offering an excellent grip. This is also the case of the external screen, with a curved side, on the right.
If we go around the device, we notice the presence of the standby button on the right pane which also serves as a fingerprint reader. This one turned out perfect in our testing and never failed. In addition, it proved to be responsive enough to provide a satisfactory wake-up experience. On the left pane (but always on the right if the mobile is closed), there is the double button to manage the volume. On the upper parts, there is a loudspeaker, a microphone as well as an infrared transmitter. The latter allows, via the appropriate application, to use the mobile as a universal remote control, like Xiaomi and POCO smartphones. On the lower profiles there is a second speaker, the USB-C connector and another microphone. There is also the SIM card drawer. This can support two simultaneously, but cannot accommodate memory cards to expand the internal storage capacity. The smartphone is compatible with eSIM technology. The drawer is protected against water infiltration. However, officially, the mobile is not certified waterproof. It must be able to withstand water splashes, but no more.