Oppo is tipped to release the next-generation folding phone that is virtually crease-free. But before that happens next week, the spotlight is on Honor first with the new Magic V6. The biggest downside of foldables is durability and the crease, both of which the Magic V6 tackles head-on.
Let’s talk about durability, which Honor is absolutely confident in. So confident that it secured a unit to an arcade punching machine’s punching ball and invited media people to throw their strongest punch at it, which the smartphone maker did at the keynote. The phone survived, though from the videos we have seen, we noted that the crease becomes more noticeable after the abuse.
The new Magic V6 [CH]’s Mortise and Tenon Dampening Hinge (a.k.a. Luban shield architecture armor chain hinge, rated at 2,800 MPa) boasts a super stable structure with strong impact resistance. Together with aerospace-grade precision machining, it achieves a greater structural strength that is able to withstand drop impacts. As far as numbers go, it is SGS certified for up to 500,000 folds.
The toughness does not stop there. A bunch of Magic V6 units were frozen, submerged in water, used at the joint of a pull-up device, subjected to the gravity pull of a grown person, and even used as part of a towing line for pulling an aircraft. Yes, really! It was also subjected to a power drill with a drill bit and steel brush attachment. Basically, it is just about the cruelest thing anybody could subject a phone to.
Naturally, it also has dust and waterproofing covered. The device is IP68 and IP69 rated. Honor leverages AI smart sealing technology to achieve 0.003 mm assembly precision. This results in a seal so good that it boosted the waterproof depth to up to 4 meters (~13 feet), which Honor claims is the first in the industry for a foldable.
Part of the phone’s out-of-this-world durability is thanks to the next-generation King Kong Glass and the newly upgraded ultra-tough UTG, which is optimized to reduce creases. It is SGS certified for imperceptible creases.
Another highlight of the phone is the new Qinghai Lake blade battery, which packs 7,150 mAh and 32% silicon content in a ridiculously thin package. All told, this battery boasts an energy density of 985 Wh/L and a single-layer thickness of only 0.15 mm, which is claimed to be an industry-leading thin design. The battery is also TÜV Rheinland certified for sufficient battery life even after 24 hours of extended use with the large inner screen unfolded.
Because of the super-thin battery, the device also manages to outdo its predecessor’s already mind-boggling thin profile of 4.2 mm / 8.8 mm, measuring just 4 mm when open and 8.75 mm when closed. The weight remains roughly the same at 219 g.
Now on to the other key element of a folding phone (or any phone), the displays. It has a 6.52-inch external display with 1–120 Hz LTPO refresh rate and an insanely narrow 1.18 mm bezel. The screen boasts 6,000 nits peak brightness and 4,320 Hz PWM dimming.
Open it up, and you get a 7.95-inch LTPO display with 1–120 Hz refresh rate, 5,000 nits peak brightness, and 4,320 Hz PWM dimming. Both the inner and outer displays are OLED (the folding screen being flexible OLED, naturally), and both support Always-On Display and stylus input.
Under the hood, this big guy is powered by the 3 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, along with Honor’s self-developed C1+ signal enhancement chip. We do not know the RAM and storage types, but it is safe to assume they will be the fastest available. Possibly LPDDR5X, or perhaps the higher‑binned Ultra+ even, and UFS 4.0. But I could be wrong.
For imaging, it is set up with three rear cameras, including a 50 MP wide-angle camera, a 50 MP ultra-wide camera, and a 64 MP periscope telephoto camera. The rear cameras benefit from laser focus and support a rear color temperature sensor.
As before, it has two front-facing cameras, both 20 MP wide-angle units, though it only supports 2D Face ID.
Charging comes in the form of 80 W Honor Super Fast Charge and 66 W Honor Super Fast Wireless Charge. No mention of reverse wired or wireless charging, though.
Other spec sheet details include dual nano-SIM support, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with backward compatibility to previous standards, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB-C), and the usual collection of sensors and positioning systems.
The new Honor Magic V6 is offered in 12 GB + 256 GB, 12 GB + 512 GB, 16 GB + 512 GB, and 16 GB + 1 TB configurations, and in a choice of four colors, with a starting price of 8,999 yuan [CH] (about US$1,309).
Images: Honor [CH].
