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Honor has kept us waiting for the Magic V2, launching it in China way back in July 2023. I suspect it has spent much of that time refining the software that folding phones need to make them worthwhile, and while Honor still falls behind Samsung for slickness, the Magic V2 offers one big compensation: its compactness.
Because the Magic V2 is light years ahead of its key rival, the Galaxy Z Fold5 (see issue 349, p68), in terms of slimness and weight. A fact made even more stark for me as I had been using the Fold5 for several weeks before the Honor Magic V2 arrived for testing.
■ It’s a phone, Jim
The biggest difference between the two is that the Honor feels like a normal phone when folded. I’m talking about two key factors here: one, its full-size front screen compared to Samsung’s skinny offering; two, it’s slim and light enough to feel like a) or the iPhone 15 Pro () when stashed in a pocket. It’s true that both those phones are a couple of millimetres slimmer than the Magic V2, but whereas I always felt the weight and girth of the Fold5, I barely noticed the V2.
