At MWC 2023, we were excited to see Honor launching the Magic Vs, its first foldable that can be accessible globally after its introduction in China in late November.
The Honor Magic Vs is the primary severe different to the Samsung Galaxy Fold4 because it delivers a barely thinner and lighter kind issue with the same construct high quality and system {hardware}. The shows and cameras are additionally on par, whereas the battery is bigger and comes with a 66W quick charger within the field.
The Honor Magic Vs can be accessible with 12GB+512GB in Black and Cyan for €1599 in Europe. The Samsung Galaxy Fold4 was priced at €1799 at launch.
There isn’t a plans for an U.S. launch the place the Fold4 was launched at $1799, which is simply $99 lower than the transformed $1700 worth (from €1599).
The Magic Vs shouldn’t be waterproof, one other draw back in comparison with the Z Fold4 which options an IPx8 ranking.
Design
The construct high quality is superb, with a chic shiny end on the again cowl.
In the course of the keynote occasion at MWC, Honor CEO George Zhao was proud to disclose that, in contrast to the Fold4, the brand new Magic Vs is gapless as soon as folded, and at 12.9mm, is slimmer than its nemesis (15.8mm). At 261g, the Vs can also be a hair lighter than the 263g Galaxy Fold4.
The again cowl options curves on each longer edges, which convey a smoother really feel to the gadget when in comparison with its competitor, the flat Z Fold4.
“SMOOTHER FEEL TO THE DEVICE WHEN COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITOR”
The hinge was an vital a part of George Zhao’s presentation as it’s fabricated from an aerospace-grade polymeric materials, and has considerably fewer elements than its predecessor. Their quantity was lowered from 94 to 4 to make room for a bigger 5000 mAh battery.
Honor claims that the brand new hinge can face up to as much as 400,000 folds, double of the 200,000 folds ranking of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.
Folding Expertise
The foldable design contains a totally different expertise vs. basic telephones, nonetheless, Honor, following on the footsteps of Samsung, along with the giant 7.9” inside display, gives a high-end 6.45” outer show that utterly covers the entrance of the gadget when it’s folded.
When folded at about 120 levels and positioned vertically on a desk, you do not want a stand to devour content material or learn emails on one aspect whereas watching a video or consulting one other app on the opposite aspect. It may be extraordinarily handy and is basically a pure tripod.
Not like the Galaxy Z Fold4, the 90-degree folded place works provided that you place the duvet with the digicam module on the desk, in any other case, it flips again open, in all probability a trade-off of the lighter and extra sturdy hinge.
Show(s)
Each shows characteristic superb picture high quality, responsiveness and luxury, and produce a superior visible expertise for consuming content material usually.
The 7.9” OLED contains a 2272 x 1984 pixels decision in a ten.3:9 side ratio (382ppi pixel density). The 90Hz refresh fee is beneath the 120Hz functionality of the Galaxy Z Fold4, the Combine Fold 2 or the Oppo Discover N2.
“AMAZING IMAGE QUALITY”
Most likely to reinforce the common cellphone expertise over the “pill mode”, Honor determined to offer a better 120 Hz refresh fee and pixel density (431PPI vs. 381) to the 6.45” 2560 x 1080 pixels outer display.
The 1200 NITs peak brightness on the paper is just like the theoretical peak brightness of the Fold4, we nonetheless must measure the brightness tocheck the declare.
The crease is as seen as within the foldable telephones we have now performed with, such because the Galaxy Fold4 and the Z Flip4. I barely discover it, for the reason that show high quality is excellent.
Sound High quality
The audio high quality is excellent, and the stereo twin audio system delivers a robust and clear sound at most quantity. Nonetheless, when in comparison with the Galaxy S22 Extremely whose sound is nearly as wonderful because the Galaxy S23 Extremely and the Apple Professional Max, I observed that the Magic Vs barely lacks bass.
Honor Magic Vs Digital camera
The Honor Magic Vs brings the digicam efficiency shut the one discovered within the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23, and barely increased than the one of many Z Fold4.
On the again, there’s a triple-camera module:
- Major Digital camera (Extensive)
- 27mm 54MP IMX800 Essential Digital camera (f/1.9)
- Video: As much as 2160×3840 pixels
- Picture: As much as 6144×8768 pixels
- Ultrawide & Macro digicam
- Telephoto digicam
- 94mm 8MP f/2.4 3X optical zoom + OIS
Within the inside show, there’s a selfie digicam:
Our algorithmic CAMERA HW score ranks the Honor Magic Vs (rating=161) barely above the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (rating=155) and nearer to the Galaxy S23+ and S23 (rating=166), a superb rating as impartial reviewers acknowledge the S23+/S23 as a superb shooter within the premium phase.
The first broad digicam is supplied with a big 54MP IMX800 sensor that’s similar to the one discovered within the Galaxy Z Fold4, in accordance with our algorithm.
Each the ultrawide and telephoto lenses are just a little higher than those within the Z Fold4. The Magic Vs optical “3X” zoom is healthier as a result of it contains a longer focal lens 94mm than the 62 mm of the Z Fold4.
Each telephones characteristic a high-resolution sensor for the first shooter. Nonetheless, in contrast to the Samsung gadget, the high-res photograph seize is unavailable in auto mode. With the Magic Vs, you could drill down two sub-menus to search out it (digicam mode menu>extra>excessive res).
System Efficiency
As a result of it’s outfitted with the identical Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 because the Samsung Z Fold4, the efficiency may be very a lot comparable. Our checks present the Z Fol4 has a small benefit within the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark, nevertheless it’s one thing that customers would in all probability not discover a lot in the actual world. We definitely didn’t.
From a graphics/gaming viewpoint, the efficiency we measured is sort of equivalent, which isn’t stunning. In any case, the conclusion is that the Honor Magic Vs performs precisely like what we’d anticipate from a big high-end, Foldable android smartphone.
Battery Life
Because of the brand new hinge, the Magic Vs contains a 5000 mAh battery, the most important on the foldable market. Non-foldable flagships reminiscent of S23 Extremely or OnePlus 11 have the identical capability. 5000 mAh is usually thought of to be the utmost sensible capability, however it’s notably difficult for a foldable design.
Moreover, when you want to replenish the battery, this smartphone can cost as much as 66W of energy, which is quicker than any of the opponents we’ve seen till now. For heavy vacationers, it is a vital benefit as you could possibly cost 66% sooner earlier than boarding a flight or heading to your subsequent vacation spot.
Conclusion
The Honor Magic Vs is a formidable piece of expertise on the similar stage of system efficiency, design excellence, show high quality, and digicam efficiency because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, its nemesis.
“AN IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY”
The slight distinction in our ranking is justified by the absence of water resistance which is vital for any gadget above $1500, and a greater person expertise for productiveness and multi-tasking discovered within the Samsung gadget.
The Honor gadget definitely feels thinner and extra agreeable to carry within the hand than the Z Fold4, with a greater digicam, for 200 euros much less.
Filed in . Learn extra about Editorspick, Honor, Honor Reviews and Smartphones.
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