Honor Magic V3: Everything you need to know

❘ Published: 2024-07-18T12:04:32

Honor

Honor Magic V3 is among the slimmest foldable phones you can buy. Here’s everything you need to know about the foldable.

The Honor Magic V3 is the latest foldable smartphone from the brand, and it takes on the likes of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Pixel Fold, and OnePlus Open.

The Magic V3 lineup includes two phones – V3 and Vs3. Like the Honor Magic V2, the Magic V3 lineup is unbelievably thin for a book-styled foldable phone.

To put this into perspective, the Magic V3 is 9.2mm thick when folded and only 4.35mm when unfolded. In contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 measures 12.1mm and 5.6mm, respectively.

So, if you plan to get one of the best foldable phones for 2024, the Magic V3 series could be worth considering.

Release window

The Honor Magic V3 lineup has been released in China. The company has started teasing the global launch of the V3 Magic phone. However, we’re unsure if both phones will be released globally simultaneously.

The official teaser only says, “Honor Magic V3. The thinner, lighter, foldable. Coming soon.” So, we will have to wait to see which device makes an international debut.

While the Honor UK website already has a dedicated page for the device and a “Magic Insider” promotion offering a trip for two to Germany, it doesn’t reveal anything about the potential launch date.

One of the perks of this promotion is that it allows a lucky winner to “try the Magic V3 at home for a whole month” for free. Ideally, such a promotion is done before the launch to help create hype around the phone, suggesting that the phone may only launch around the end of August or early September.

That said, the launch date for the UK and the US could be different.

Expected price

The Magic V3 and the Vs3 have been priced in China at RMB 8999 and RMB 6999, which translates to $1240 and $964, respectively.

The international pricing might not be a straightforward conversion. However, we expect the phones to be priced aggressively. The Honor Magic V2 arrived in the UK and EU at a starting price of £1,699.99 / €1,999, and considering the iterative updates, we expect the Magic V3 to launch at a similar price point.

Design, specs, and features

While the Honor Magic V series foldable phones have primarily focused on design and lifestyle elements of design, the phones don’t miss out when it comes to specifications.

The Galaxy Flip phones or the Pixel Fold have been traditionally thicker and chunky, and the Magic series from Honor has been traditionally thinner. This slim form factor makes the phone easy to hold, operate, and slip into the front pocket of your jeans.

The Magic V3 comes in four colorways: Velvet Black, Snow, Tundra Green, and Red, while the Vs3 doesn’t come in Red.

Despite its form factor, the Magic V3 is a fully loaded device. It has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with 12GB and 16GB of RAM. The phone is available in 256, 512GB, and 1TB trims. The Vs3, being a budget variant, has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC to boot and has the same memory & storage combinations as its pricier sibling.

Magic V3 and s3 have a 6.43-inch cover screen and a foldable screen measuring 7.92 inches with a 120 Hz refresh rate. The screen supports PWM dimming up to 4320Hz and a peak brightness of up to 1800 nits.

The Honor Magic V3 has a triple camera setup at the back, which includes a 50 MP primary camera, a 40MP ultra wide-angle camera, and another 50MP periscope telephoto camera. It has a 20MP selfie camera on the cover display and another 20MP camera on the primary display.

The Honor Magic Vs3, on the other hand, has a 50 MP primary camera, a 40 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and an 8 MP periscope camera. For selfies, it has a 16 MP selfie camera on each screen.

The Magic V3 has a 5,150 mAh battery pack, which supports 66W wired, 50W wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging. The Vs3 has a slightly smaller 5,000 mAh battery with 66W wired, 50W wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging support.

Should you wait for the Honor Magic V3?

Though it’s unclear whether Honor will introduce both devices internationally, they are different and cater to different audiences.

The slim form factor, high-end specifications, and aggressive pricing make the Honor V3 a Galaxy Z Fold 6 competitor. Though Honor doesn’t enjoy a brand recognition similar to Samsung, and the Honor’s Magic UI may not be as feature-rich as OneUI, the Magic V3 could offer an option to users looking for a Galaxy Z Fold 6 alternative.