An unfortunate truth of smartphone testing is that phones have become dull. I ended up with an iPhone because my Mac, iPad and iPhone ecosystem at least meant everything ran smoothly. Hardly the measure of an exciting tech life. But little over a month ago, HONOR got in touch with a HONOR Magic V5 to test out. Last year I had bought my own iPhone 16 Pro, but for the first time in years I said I’d daily drive Android. I love this phone.
HONOR Magic V5: Design and Build
HONOR’s marketing spiel pushes the 8.8mm device thickness as a headline feature, but really it’s just a way to try and find differentiation between themselves and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. Conveniently, as I was daily driving the HONOR Magic V5, the Z Fold 7 landed on my desk too, giving me and excellent opportunity to compare the two phones. Whether one is 8.8mm and thinner – doesn’t really matter if I’m honest. Both are beautiful phones. For today, HONOR takes centre stage and there’s plenty more to celebrate aside from that title of “thinnest foldable”.
As I’ve mentioned the phone is 8.8mm folded, and 4.1mm unfolded – if you get the white Magic V5. If you get the black or (as I’ve reviewed) the gold, it’s slightly thicker at 9mm folded and 4.2mm unfolded.
It’s tidy in the pocket but also really nice to use in your hand. Folded, the external screen is 6.43-inches capable of 120Hz and perfect for everyday smartphone usage. But the real joy of this form factor is when you open the phone up to reveal the internal 7.95-inch display. Both displays are lovely to look at, which is important given the form factor lends itself to streaming movies, TV shows or YouTube.
There are some quirks to getting this form factor to work for you. You need to pay attention to app layouts for example and sometimes the opened screen full of apps can be a little overwhelming when it comes to finding the app you need next. Some apps don’t play nicely with different screens and the phone can get confused as to whether its best to show desktop mode or a regular mobile tab. This is a quirk of foldables and one I’ll feel a little more because I use Firefox for web browsing which isn’t optimised for folding phones; Chrome worked much better.
But my first month with a folding phone as been absolutely fantastic. Just earlier today, I headed out in Dublin to do some camera testing and popped into Lee’s Charming Noodles for some lunch. I was able to prop up the phone opened, and watch some YouTube while eating my lunch. Sure, folding phones are expensive, but this is one of the most exciting phones I’ve ever had. It’s changed my tech touch points on a daily basis.
Similarly, on flights I’ve been able to watch movies on a bigger screen and even get more work done when travelling too. The opened screen makes productivity much easier and natural than a regularly sized phone.
The keyboard, and just how easy it makes typing on a touch screen, surprised me quite a bit. It’s a nicely weighted phone coming in at 217g in white with black and gold devices weighing 222g. Impressive considering you get all that screen space for less weight than a Pixel 10 Pro XL. I can’t say it’s fantastically balanced, though, and that’s down to the camera setup.
The thing is massive. And at times it can be a little awkward, largely down to what way the screen spins. Sometimes “full screen mode” still lets me rotate the phone as much as I like until it’s comfortable. Other times, the phone decides what way is a right way up. I found this a little unintuitive at times, but it topped out at extremely mild annoyance – perhaps peaking at the internal pinhole camera getting stuck on a video that I couldn’t rotate away from.
One thing to note, as is a change for me is that the device is IP59 water and dust resistance rating. A little less than most regular smartphones, but also making it one of only a few folding devices with that rating.
The hinge is good but unfortunately for HONOR the Samsung landed in in time for me to feel how satisfying their hinge is. Unfortunately for Samsung, I can say the HONOR hinge goes fully flat, while the Samsung doesn’t. The crease is visible if you go looking for it, but is barely noticeable when the screen is on and viewed straight on.
I have to mention the fingerprint sensor too, which is located in the power button. Since Sony did this back in the day, I’ve said this is the peak fingerprint sensor location – all in-screen solutions. You can set up several fingers to match a couple of different grips (important given the form factor!). I’m even going to say it’s better than Face ID – but only just. And I really like Face ID.
Overall, the design is great. As many people have seen this and said “oh my, a folding phone” and been blown away playing with it. As soon as people see it, they have to have a play – and I miss this from testing smartphones a few years ago. Plenty have also said “that camera is massive”. But I can live with that, given it takes nice pictures too.
HONOR Magic V5: Camera
I had a fair idea what to expect from the HONOR Magic V5 given the specs are similar to that of the HONOR Magic 7 Pro, even though the Magic 7 Pro does have slightly different specs on paper. Indeed, the Magic V5 does deliver exactly what I expected – and that’s a very good thing.
The HONOR Magic V5’s massive camera system is a triple-camera system with a 50 MP main sensor with OIS, a 50 MP ultra-wide with autofocus, and a 64 MP 3× telephoto lens (which is actually a step up on the Magic 7 Pro), plus dual 20 MP selfie cameras on the cover and inner screens.
While some spec here is sacrificed in exchange for, what I assume is engineering demands, the camera is still stunning.
Now the above image has been optimised as soon as it hits the site, but it remains my favourite one I’ve taken with the phone so far. I see a lot of reviews get caught up in the details of photos, getting a bit anal about the finer photography points – that I don’t really enjoy getting lost in.
What I did notice about this phone was I had a family wedding and took lots of pictures. After sharing them around, countless people asked what camera I was using because the pictures were stunning. Several were shocked to hear it was a smartphone at all.
If there’s a fantastic result for any smartphone camera review, it’s that the public believe the camera takes stunning photographs. Let’s keep this one simple and class that as a win.
I nearly forgot to mention the absolute gem of a feature you get with this form factor. Beyond for conference calls on Teams, the front facing cameras are a bit pointless. Because you can use the external screen as a preview for your primary camera. That means you can take selfies with your primary camera and get full high quality shots in both directions. HONOR has also added the ability to play cute characters on the external camera when taking pictures of infants or kids who refuse to look at the camera. Neat feature for parents that.
What I’m really looking forward to is getting in deeper with the Samsung Z Fold 7 camera to see how the two companies have addressed compromised from flagship to fold.
HONOR Magic V5: Power, Performance and Software
This was my first time testing a folding phone, but I’ve heard plenty of complaints from other reviewers saying battery is a massive weak point for this form factor. The issue is and engineering one. Battery’s take up space, cause weight and make devices thicker. But if you skimp on them, particularly in a phone with more screens than most, you’re going to have a problem.
AI-advancements means power management has greatly improved, and I’m largely left scratching my head as to how HONOR has got a phone this slim and relatively light to operate for as long as it does. I easily clear a day using the phone, and could easily get into a second day for a good few hours without charging.
Perhaps it’s because I’m coming from iPhone (which is something I will touch on later) and that Apple products have really curved my expectations for battery power. But this was an area of concern when switching over to a folding phone, a concern that HONOR has tackled head on.
Even if you do find yourself a little short on battery, HONOR has an amazing charging setup. You can charge this phone with a 66w charger. It’s not included, so I recommend getting into the shops or onto Amazon to find an Anker charger that supports that power. Because a little over 15 minutes will get you close to 50% charge.
Because the Magic V5 is sporting a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, it has virtually the same power as the aforementioned HONOR flagship and Samsung flagship too. This makes for some great on-board AI-abilities, but also great power management.
I don’t think for one second that many people are buying this to game on, but you can. In fact the screen makes for a nice gaming experience. I usually use my Gamesir G8, but would probably recommend something more like a
HONOR’s Magic OS has improved significantly over the years and is intuitive to use with some quirks that need getting used to. A lot of this could be a simple hangover for me coming back from Apple too. When it comes to phone UI impressions, everyone gets used to the one they have in my experience, and I’ve gotten used to Magic OS. I quite like the
I quite like the idea of Parallel Space. Pinch out on your Home Screen and the phone goes into a whole secondary space locked away behind your pin or biometrics. It’s a nice private space for secure storage or files and browsing where apps can also be locked away. I could see this being really useful for keeping work files secure and if I was flying to the USA in the morning, I would be storing all of my JD Vance memes in there for sure.
HONOR has also bugged up AI with the Magic V5, highlighting the company’s partnership with Google and Gemini. This is a very similar quite to what I’ve talked about at length with the HONOR Magic 7 Pro. I’ve used this AI for meeting notes, live translation of conversations and more and have always had my mind blown with how HONOR has absolutely nailed it. What I don’t fully understand is how has HONOR nailed it, when Google hasn’t. The Pixel 10 Pro XL impressed, but I was left frustrated with Google’s own implementation of AI, where HONOR has excelled.
HONOR has also promised 7 years of Android updates for the Magic V5 showing the company has a fair bit of confidence in the device’s longevity.
Moving from iPhone to the HONOR Magic V5
And onto the big thing for me. I was using an iPhone 16 Pro until HONOR handed over the Magic V5. I have an entire Apple ecosystem spanning MacBook, iPad and iPhone. It works so well for my content creation and general day to day usage, that I struggled to consider ever changing back to Android.
But I did.
I’m going to write up a full experience, but it was better than I expected while also not being amazing. But I can’t leave any of the negatives at HONOR’s door. For example, changing WhatsApp or Signal over hasn’t been straight forward, with me having to accept losing chats is just going to happen. I was playing Subnautica on my Gamesir and iPhone, so now I have to carry my iPhone because I don’t want to have to buy the game again on Android.
You’ll find a lot of the old “I bought the app on iOS, and have to buy again on Android” has been overcome by cloud access. Instead of buying the app, you pay for your access inside the app itself (think MyFitnessPal).
Sending files is easy too. HONOR Share works across Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, allowing the transfer of files at speeds up to 60MB/s. It worked pretty well, but I still found myself falling back to LocalSend – an open source alternative that is also cross platform. Whether HONOR’s solution was perfect or a 3rd party does the job, doesn’t really bother me. What matter is the overall experience and how much do I miss my iPhone.
Frankly, I don’t. The Magic V5 camera is better, the battery about as good and the overall software experience has been fine. The main pain of changing is the day you change. Logging back into everything, moving my password manager across and making sure I have everything before heading out – like controlling my smart home. After the first 48 hours, you’re back using your Android phone, just like you were your iPhone.
What surprised me was how quickly I started leaving my iPhone at home. It really was after that 48 hours.
HONOR Magic V5: The Verdict
I absolutely adore this phone. And that’s a big deal. I’ve had a wild number of phones landing on my desk this year to test and the standard has been really high. Ironically, the only phone I didn’t get sent to test, was the iPhone 16 Pro which I bought myself. I liked it, but I sit here writing this review realising how much I want to stick with the HONOR Magic V5.
The form factor suits my lifestyle. The regular phone for quick messaging or scanning mails, flipping to full “phablet” when I need to type a mail, deep-scroll Reddit, read news articles or binge Netflix or YouTube.
Now I hear you. I’m praising the form factor more than the phone. Well, not really. I’ve enjoyed moving to the Magic V5 because the camera is lucious, the build is nice, battery life good and my “tech day” better because of how this phone fits my life.
As I opened with, I adore this phone and I’m not sure I can say much more about it. 30 minutes after taking the Samsung Z Fold 7 out of its box, there was a scratch on the screen too – so if I had to pick between the two to keep, it would absolutely be the HONOR Magic V5.
One major downside that I haven’t touched on is that all phones in this category don’t come cheap. The HONOR Magic V5 will be available in Ireland through Harvey Norman, but pricing has yet to be confirmed. UK pricing gives an indication, that at £1,699, it’s likely going to be close to €1900 – €2000. A considered purchase to say the least. It does come with a free case (I know – least they could do) and that case is actually quite useful, including a stand which is great for streaming).
I look forward to the day where the price of these foldables comes down, but if you are in the market for a foldable today the HONOR Magic V5 would be my first choice.
Be sure to follow Goosed on TikTok where I’ll be giving a bigger update on swapping to the HONOR Magic V5 from my iPhone soon.
