Let’s be honest. Foldables have been chasing a unicorn, a phone that folds yet feels like nothing was compromised. With the Magic V5, HONOR comes about as close as any. In a world of chunky, hinge-heavy compromises, this device slyly struts around with grace.
Physically, the V5 feels like ambition wrapped in glass and aluminium. HONOR bills it as “the thinnest booklet-style folding phone ever,” and with good reason. Folded, the V5 measures a slender 8.8 mm, and open, a razor-thin 4.1 mm, at least in the Ivory White model.
It’s a feat of engineering. Elegant, light at around 217 to 222 grams, and deeply seductive if you like your devices to feel like a statement. To be fair, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was equally as slim in my testing and ridiculously well built. You check the review here.
Screens, Speed and Substance
Unfold it and you’re greeted by a 7.95 inch LTPO OLED main display and a 6.43 inch cover AMOLED, both slick, bright, and effortlessly usable.
HONOR did not phone this in. The displays are among the best I have used on a foldable, with crisp colours, smooth 120 Hz refresh, and the kind of polish that makes you forget you’re holding a foldable at all.
Under the hood you get a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset backed by generous RAM and storage, up to 16 GB plus 512 GB or more, which delivers enough horsepower for multitasking, gaming, or productive work without the slightest stutter.
This is serious silicon.
What you get is a foldable that does more than avoid the usual compromises like performance dips, lag, or sluggish UI. It actually delivers a flagship level experience.
Battery, Cameras and Everyday Use
Battery anxiety is not part of the deal. HONOR packed a 5,820 mAh silicon carbon battery paired with an AI power management system that gives the V5 real staying power.
In real world use, browsing, streaming, a bit of 5G, the phone reliably makes it through a full day, often more, without needing a mid day rescue.
Cameras are no afterthought either. A mix of a 50 MP Ultra Light Sensitive main sensor, a 50 MP ultra wide, and a 64 MP periscope telephoto gives you flexibility from wide landscapes to respectable zoom shots.
The telephoto in particular stands out among foldables, a useful extra in a segment where camera modules often feel like afterthoughts.
For daily tasks, emails, browsing, messages, the Magic V5 behaves like a polished slab. It folds only when you want it to and unfolds when you need it to. It never feels like you are settling for something that is merely acceptable for a foldable. It feels like a serious, done right phone.
But Let’s Not Pretend It’s Flawless
Because it is not. Even with that world’s thinnest crown, the V5 is not the king of comfort. It has a huge camera bump that kinda takes away from the whole slimness story.
Push the battery too hard and the optimization is not always perfect. Quick charging helps, but foldables still come with trade offs.
You may also notice that the outer panel is narrower than some rivals. For all the elegance this brings, it can feel a little less phablet like.
In short, it is not perfect. But it is still fantastic. And I appreciate that honesty because the Magic V5 is ultimately a folded up device that wants to be taken seriously as a phone. Something slab like. Something beautiful. Something powerful.
Final Word
If you have been holding back on foldables, waiting for the moment when you no longer felt like you were settling for less smartphone in exchange for the folding trick, the Magic V5 is as close as the market has come this year. It does not just flirt with the idea of the perfect foldable phone. It comes remarkably close to delivering it.
It is luxurious. It is capable. And while it is not flawless, it is the kind of phone that makes you care about foldables again rather than tolerate them. If you want to buy into the foldable hype without the usual compromises, this is your moment.
