On Wednesday, Chinese phone brand Honor launched its third-generation foldable phone the Honor Magic V2 at a new product launch event. The company announced it as the slimmest foldable on the market, measuring an ultra-thin 9.9mm in foldable state and weighing just 231 grams.
Why it matters: Honor claims its new device breaks the boundary between regular smartphones and foldable phones. The Magic V2 is comparable in size to a standard smartphone – for comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is 7.85mm thick and weighs 240 grams.
Details: When smartphone makers first introduced new generation foldable phones in 2019, the devices’ foldable state was commonly around 16mm. By 2022, the thinnest model on the market, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, measured 11.2mm. The Honor Magic V2 is the first such device with a thickness below 1cm when folded.
- Despite the thinner design, the phone offers a large 5,000mAh battery that can be fast-charged at 66W. Equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, it has three rear cameras including a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and a 20MP telephoto camera.
- The Magic V2 utilizes a light titanium hinge and has been certified by Swiss testing and inspection authority SGS as being able to withstand more than 400,000 folds, according to Honor.
- The Magic V2 comes with a 7.92-inch primary screen and a 6.43-inch cover screen, both utilizing an OLED panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It features a high-frequency 3,840Hz PWM dimming function, which the company says eliminates flickering and ensures smooth animations.
- The phone is available in three colors: black, gold, and purple. There are actually three black models, including the basic black version, a silk black version coated in vegan leather, and what the brand calls the ultimate black version, which comes with a golden brand logo.
- The device is priced from RMB 8,999 to RMB 11,999 ($1,255 to $1,674), with storage of up to 1TB.
- The Magic V2 is currently only available in China, though an international release is anticipated later this year. Its predecessor the Honor Magic Vs was introduced in China in November 2022, followed by a global release in February 2023.
- In addition to Magic V2, Honor also unveiled the MagicPad 13, Magic Watch 4, and Honor Smart Screen 5 at the launch event.
Context: According to research platform Counterpoint, global foldable shipments grew 64% year-on-year to 2.5 million units in the first quarter of 2023, while the overall global smartphone market faced a 14.2% year-on-year decline during the same period.
- In the first quarter of 2023, Honor shipped 9.7 million units globally, making it the fourth-biggest mobile phone maker by global market share, ranking after Apple, Oppo, and Vivo, according to market analysts firm Canalys.