My demo of Honor’s next-gen foldable shows how little Samsung moved on in 2024
The Honor Magic V3 beats the Z Fold6 in almost every area - but is that enough?
They’re still just a tiny sliver of the wider phone world, but I’ve never been more excited about foldables. We’re now tantalisingly close to getting zero-compromise handsets with tablet-rivalling inner screens, yet which are as pocket-friendly as their candybar counterparts. It seems the only brand letting the side down is, bizarrely, the one with the biggest market share.
This week I spent a little time with the Honor Magic V3, a currently China-only foldable that rewrites the rules on how slim these phones can be. It’s just 9.2mm thick while closed, and opens up to a barely-there 4.35mm. Pick up version with a vegan leather rear panel and it weighs just 226g – that’s almost as featherweight as the titanium-framed Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. Yet there’s been no skimping anywhere on the spec sheet, with the latest Qualcomm chipset, a trio of high pixel count cameras, and a huge battery with rapid charging.
It makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 look like the definition of a safe bet sequel. A few mild design tweaks and a new chipset pale in comparison to the Honor’s more significant style glow-up and new suite of camera sensors. It’s not like Samsung has addressed long-running complaints, either: the outer screen is still super-skinny, charging speeds are still snail-like, and there’s still nowhere to stash an S Pen stylus.
It’s not entirely fair to compare the Chinese market handset I tried to the Z Fold6, which is much more widely available – but Honor brought its predecessor to a global audience eventually, so the smart money is on it doing the same for 2024. If (or when) it does, the heroic hardware deserves to make a splash.
A matte metal frame and subtly curved edges made this seriously slim handset somehow feel even thinner in my hand. The Samsung is almost a third thicker at 12.1mm when folded, which makes it far more noticeable in a pocket – though not uncomfortably so, admittedly.
The outer screen is a generous 6.43in, with a sensible 20:9 aspect ratio that actually makes it usable as a phone full-time. The Galaxy Z Fold6 might’ve grown a millimetre, but I still constantly fumbled with typos on account of its slender dimensions. Opened up, you’re getting a larger 7.92in screen to the Samsung’s 7.6in square, and one with a much more subtle crease.
A quick glance at the spec sheets shows other areas the Honor stands out – though keep in mind that if the Magic V3 does head to Europe, not all of these variants are expected to make the trip.
| Honor Magic V3 | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 | |
| Screens | 7.92in 2156×2344 120Hz OLED (inner) 1800nit peak 6.43in 2376×1060 120Hz OLED (outer) 2500nit peak | 7.6in 2160×1856 120Hz AMOLED (inner) 2600nit peak 6.3in, 2376×968, 120Hz AMOLED (outer) 2600nit peak |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 For Galaxy |
| Memory | 12/16GB RAM* | 12GB RAM |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB* | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Cameras | 50MP f/1.6 w/ laser autofocus, PDAF, OIS + 50MP f/3.0 periscope telephoto w/ PDAF, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom + 40MP, f/2.2 ultrawide w/ autofocus rear 20MP, f/2.2 front 20MP, f/2.2 inner | 50MP f/1.8 w/ dual pixel PDAF, OIS + 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto w/ PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom + 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide rear 10MP, f.2.2 front 4MP, f/1.8 under display inner |
| Battery | 5150mAh w/ 66W wired, 50W wireless charging | 4400mAh w/ 25W wired, 15W wireless charging |
| Durability | IPX8 | IP48 |
| Dimensions | 157x145x4.4mm (unfolded) 157x74x9.2mm (folded) 226g/230g (vegan leather/glass rear) | 154x133x5.6mm (unfolded) 154x68x12.1mm (folded) 239g |
Camera hardware is the obvious stand-out. The Honor’s lead lens has a wider aperture for better low-light shooting; the ultrawide has a much higher pixel count, and autofocus for macro close-ups; the telephoto has stronger 3.5x magnification; the two selfie cams have much more resolution than Samsung’s effort. How that’ll translate for image quality remains to be seen, of course – but Honor is giving its foldable every chance to excel.
There’s a considerably bigger battery inside the Honor Magic V3, it gains wireless charging (missing from last year’s Magic V2) and can refuel far faster than the Z Fold6 can. Samsung’s bespoke tuning should give its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 a slight performance advantage, but the Honor has more RAM. The Galaxy is better protected against dust ingress, but both phones are as good as it gets for water resistance.
For all Samsung talks a big game about Galaxy AI, Honor hasn’t been slacking on the software side. If a European launch followed in the Honor 200 Pro‘s footsteps, I’d expect Google Gemini AI onboard as well.
Even after just a brief spell with one in my hands, it seems like the Honor Magic V3 is the blueprint for the next generation of foldable phones. So why does Samsung seem content to coast against such stiff competition? A full review might reveal some shortcomings, but from a hardware standpoint it’s hard to see how Honor could drop the ball.
There’s no official word on if the Honor Magic V3 will go global any time soon – but if you were in the market for a foldable phone, and expect top-tier hardware to match a top-tier price, it might be worth waiting a little while longer before reaching for that buy button.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
