Honor Magic V2 smartphone review

Honor Magic V2 Smartphone Review: The Honor Magic V2 is a foldable smartphone launched by Honor. The Honor Magic V2 has not yet been launched globally, but will do so soon starting with the European launch. It was originally released in July 2023 in China. 2023 is undoubtedly the year of foldable devices as we have seen many interesting launches of foldable devices from various smartphone manufacturers.

Honor followed suit and launched an updated model of its famous Magic V foldable series, replacing its previous Magic Vs. It brought changes that will make Honor’s foldable smartphone remain a popular option in this highly competitive foldable market. It also supports 5G and looks similar to its predecessor, Honor Magic Vs. Without further ado, let’s start with a review of the Honor Magic V2 and find out everything it has to offer.

Honor Magic V2 smartphone review

Reflexes

1. The Honor Magic V2 features a 7.92-inch foldable LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 2156 x 2344 pixels for the main display. While the cover screen has a 6.43-inch LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 1060 x 2376 pixels. Both displays feature a 120Hz refresh rate and support 1 billion colors, among other things.
2. It is powered by the flagship 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G processor, clocked at 1×3.36GHz.
3. The Honor Magic V2 comes preloaded with Android 13 out of the box with MagicOS 7.2.
4. The smartphone has a 50MP triple camera system on the back and a 16MP selfie camera.
5. The Honor Magic V2 also has a 5000mAh Si-Ca battery with 66W fast wired charging and 5W reverse wired charging support.

Design and display

In terms of design, there are very few changes apart from the obvious change in the location of the flash on the rear. Where it does provide improvements is in the weight and dimensions. The new Magic V2 is 30 grams lighter than the previous model, that is, the Honor Magic Vs, and also weighs less than 10 mm when folded, something that no foldable has achieved so far. The back panel can be purchased in both glass and leather. The side and center frame are made of magnesium alloy, while the folding hinge is made of titanium alloy.

Let’s talk about the screens of the Honor Magic V2. The main display has also received a big update and now supports a 120Hz refresh rate. The maximum brightness has also been doubled for both the main and cover displays. The main display features a new 7.92-inch foldable LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 2156 x 2344 pixels for the main display. The panel is optimized for IMAX Enhanced and HDR10+, so viewing content on the main screen will be a pleasure.

On top of that, the screen gets very bright at 1600 nits, so HDR content will look gorgeous. Then there is the cover display, which is a 6.43-inch LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 1060 x 2376 pixels. Like the main display, it has a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,500 nits of brightness, which is the brightest cover display yet. It is also HDR10+ certified and protected by Nanocrystal Glass 2.0. The screens also support a stylus. The new Honor Magic V2 is available in Silk Black, Black, Silk Purple and Gold.

Memory and internal

The chipset powering the new Honor Magic V2 is the flagship 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G processor clocked at 1×3.36GHz. This is the fastest Android chipset that will run all your favorite apps in no time. The app opening speed is too fast to even notice. With the large screen and faster performance, any work you do on this foldable device will be done quickly.

This level of performance also carries over to the gaming aspect. The chipset is powered by the Adreno 740 GPU, so playing high-fidelity games like Genshin Impact, CODm, and PUBG, among others, is not a problem here. The large size of the smartphone also helps dissipate heat quickly, so it gets little or no heat even under load.

The smartphone comes with Android 13 out of the box with MagicOS 7.2 for better customization support. The new Honor Magic V2 comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB/512GB/1TB of internal storage. The smartphone also supports 5G connectivity for gigabit speeds.

Camera

The Honor Magic V2 has a triple camera setup on the back, consisting of a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 20MP telephoto camera with 2.5x zoom capability. The 50MP main camera is adequately optimized to take fantastic photos with excellent details and high dynamic range. The sharpness of these shots is also precise and looks quite natural. The 50MP ultra-wide angle also takes similar photos with equally brilliant levels of detail and this excellent performance carries over to the telephoto camera.

The telephoto camera was able to take some amazing shots with 2.5x zoom and the details in the shots are quite good, able to compete head to head with other flagship smartphones. Additionally, shots taken at night with the rear camera look very well lit and have a good amount of detail. On the front of both displays, there is a selfie camera that is neatly presented inside a punch-hole cutout.

This is a 16MP selfie sensor that can take great selfies with a good amount of detail and a very natural skin tone. When it comes to video recording, the rear cameras can record up to 4K@60FPS at 10-bit and the footage is stabilized with OIS and gyro-EIS. But the selfie camera can only record videos at a maximum of 4K@30FPS with gyro EIS for stable video footage.

Battery and others

The Honor Magic V2 has a 5000 mAh Si-Ca battery, which can provide a full day’s worth of battery life even with medium to heavy usage including some photography, video streaming, and gaming. With lighter use, you might get an even better battery backup. With dark mode, the battery backup can be further expanded thanks to the use of an LTPO OLED display.

Even if your smartphone runs out of battery, the 66W fast cable charger will quickly recharge it within an hour. It also supports 5W reverse wired charging. Apart from that, the Honor Magic V2 supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C connector to charge. As for the price, the phone starts at $1,949 (Rs 1,62,499 in India) approximately.

Pros and cons of Honor Magic V2

Detail of the specifications of the Honor Magic V2

Below you can see the Full specifications of Honor Magic V2 smartphone.

Conclusion

The Honor Magic V2 is a foldable smartphone that is positioned as an alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. It has an equally impressive display, performance, and battery, but is a better value thanks to the lower price. It is also thinner and lighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which can have a significant impact on user experience and change people’s perception of foldable smartphones.

To achieve a lower price, Honor had to make some cuts. These drawbacks are the lack of wireless charging and an official IP rating for dust and water resistance. So if you don’t care much about wireless charging or IP ratings, then the Honor Magic V2 is an absolute gem. But if the lack of wireless charging is a deal-breaker for you, then you should look elsewhere.

The obvious alternative would be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, but it comes with a hefty price tag, so we have a different alternative for you and that is the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra. It has wireless charging and a water-repellent coating for better protection against water damage. It’s not the same as an official IP rating, but it’s better than nothing and available at a cheaper price.