Honor unveiled the Magic V2 foldable just some months in the past, beautiful the world with the handset’s skinny profile (9.9mm when folded closed) and its weight (231g). The Magic V2 is as thick because the iPhone 14 Professional and its successor, the iPhone 15 Professional. Honor unveiled the Magic V2 after Google made the Pixel Fold official, simply forward of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 launch occasion.
Quick-forward to mid-October, Honor launched the Magic Vs2, a brand new foldable that’s additionally extremely skinny and lightweight for this class. Extra impressively, the handset sells for round $1,000, which is cheaper than the Pixel Fold and Fold 5. It’s much more inexpensive than the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
The massive caveats right here could be apparent. We’re taking a look at a foldable machine with a skinny profile and decreased weight, so we’ll fear about its sturdiness. Plus, the handset is unique to China in the intervening time, so there’s no technique to benefit from that nice value if you happen to stay wherever else. And, since nothing is free, the worth teases one anticipated compromise: An older processor than what’s out there on present flagships.
However with all that in thoughts, it nonetheless looks like Honor is doing extra for the foldable area of interest than Samsung and Google might. And this may hopefully strain different distributors to provide you with comparable foldable smartphones.
It’s unclear why Honor went for the Magic Vs2 launch right now of yr. The corporate mentioned in an announcement that the Magic V2 was the best-sold Fold-type foldable cellphone in China within the September quarter, per information from Counterpoint Analysis. Perhaps Honor desires to seize extra gross sales by releasing a extra inexpensive model of that handset.
What’s clear from the get-go is that the Magic Vs2 isn’t an improve of the Magic V2. You may learn our Magic V2 evaluation to be taught extra about that mannequin.
However the cellphone nonetheless units a brand new weight report at 229g. That’s 2g lighter than the common Magic V model. Concerning thickness, the handset measures 10.7mm when folded and 5.1mm when unfolded.
Honor says the Magic Vs2 is made with aerospace-grade uncommon earth magnesium alloy. The steel is much less dense and covers 72% of the floor space below the foldable panel. The Tremendous-light Titanium Hinge, in the meantime, is made with “state-of-the-art 3D printing know-how.”
The specs are additionally nice for a high-end foldable with a design that’s much like the Galaxy Z Fold. We’re taking a look at a 7.92-inch OLED foldable panel with 1,600 nits prime brightness. The exterior show is a 6.43-inch OLED panel with 2,500 nits brightness.
Powering the Magic Vs2 is the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, the identical one which Samsung used for final yr’s foldable fashions, the Flip 4 and Fold 4. It’s in all probability the one approach for Honor to launch a sub-$1,000 foldable proper now. Of observe, the Magic Vs2 comes with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage.
On the digicam entrance, we’ve got a triple-lens module on the again: a 50-megapixel extensive digicam, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 20-megapixel telephoto digicam.
Lastly, the Vs2 foldable rocks a 5,000 mAh battery with 66W Honor SuperCharge quick charging tech.
The handset is offered in China at 6,999 yuan ($958) for the 12GB/256GB possibility. Pay 7,699 yuan ($1,054), and also you get the 16GB/512GB mannequin.
All that makes the Magic Vs2 a fairly compelling machine, one that will put great strain on Samsung and Google. Sadly, there are not any plans to launch the Magic Vs2 internationally. The older Magic V2 will hit worldwide markets, nevertheless it’s unclear when it’ll launch in new markets.
That mentioned, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see what Samsung and Google do subsequent within the foldable area. The identical goes for different Chinese language distributors who’ve already began promoting their foldables internationally. On that observe, the OnePlus Open would be the subsequent foldable to take a look at, because the handset ought to hit shops quickly.
