There’s another book-style foldable phone available in the UK to challenge tech heavyweights Samsung and Google. Honor claims its Magic V2 handset is the thinnest inward-folding smartphone in the world, and the Chinese firm has just announced it is available to pre-order in the UK from today.
Just like its rivals, this cutting-edge tech will cost you – in this case the princely sum of £1,699. That’s expensive but is cheaper than the Galaxy Z FOld5. The Honor Magic V2 is remarkable for its incredibly thin design, which measures just 9.9mm when folded shut (minus the camera bump) – that’s barely 2mm more than the 7.8mm iPhone 15. It means the phone should feel like a regular – if large – smartphone, rather than a very thick wedge with a hinge like other older folding phones can be.
On the inside is a 7.92-inch folding OLED screen with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. As with other book-style foldables such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, OnePlus Open, and Google Pixel Fold, this display lets you run apps side by side for multitasking, watch films without squinting too hard, or simply enjoy your apps in a larger size.
When you close the Magic V2, there’s a 6.43-inch screen there, just like a normal slab smartphone. This display gets even brighter than the inner one and has tech that scrolls just as smooth. Both screens have a selfie camera for photos and video calls, while around the back of the phone are triple rear cameras headed up by a 50MP main lens.
Because the device was already launched in China, this isn’t the latest and greatest processor – it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 rather than the Gen 3 of the Galaxy S24 Ultra or Asus ROG Phone 8. That said, the chip is still whip-fast and shouldn’t bother anyone but the pickiest tech enthusiast. You also get a generous 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
In the razor thin halves of the Magic V2 is a split battery that adds up to 5,000mAh, enough power to hopefully keep you going for a whole day even when using the power-draining main screen, but annoyingly the 66W fast charger is not included in the box.
The phone ships with Android 13, which is a bit of a shame for the price considering Android 14 is the latest and is on the latest Pixel and Galaxy devices. Honor’s MagicOS 7.2 has its quirks, and can look a little like iOS at the best of times, but that’s no bad thing. Hopefully, an update to Android 14 is around the corner.
If you pre-order the Honor Magic V2 from the company itself you can claim a free pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones worth £459, six months of screen protection and a 66W Honor SuperCharge power adapter.
