Honor clearly is aware of what it is doing on the subject of foldables; the Magic Vs was an awesome showcase for what the model can obtain, but it surely was the Magic V2 that gave the Chinese language producer a definite benefit.
By delivering the thinnest and lightest foldable, Honor managed to simply carve out a distinct segment on this phase. That stated, availability problems with the worldwide mannequin hindered the model’s progress to an extent, and that is one thing Honor is seeking to change with the Magic V3.
The Magic V3 makes use of the identical design basis as its predecessor, however it’s even thinner and lighter, and truthfully, it would not really feel such as you’re utilizing a cumbersome foldable. It’s simply 5g heavier than the Pixel 9 Professional XL, and whereas it’s 0.7mm thicker when folded, that is not evident when utilizing the machine.
The skinny-and-light design makes the Magic V3 stand out significantly, and it simply feels higher to carry and use than different foldables — it makes the Galaxy Z Fold 6 look archaic. I used the Magic V3 for simply over a month, and this is why I feel that is the very best foldable you should purchase at this time.
Honor Magic V3: Pricing and availability
Honor unveiled the Magic V3 in China on July 12, and the foldable went on sale within the nation later within the month. The model launched the foldable in world markets at IFA 2024, and the Magic V3 is now on sale within the U.Ok. and different world markets.
Honor is bringing a single 16GB/512GB variant of the machine exterior China, and it prices £1,699 ($2,209) within the U.Ok. For the time being, you may get a £300 ($390) low cost on the machine when shopping for from Honor’s web site, and that brings it all the way down to £1,399 ($1,819) — £200 lower than the equal mannequin of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
You additionally get an honest variety of freebies with the foldable; Honor bundles the Band 9, a 100W charger, the X6 earbuds, and a further six-month display safety protecting each panels.
Honor Magic V3: Design
Honor’s foldable differentiation revolves round light-weight designs, and the Magic V3 is the thinnest foldable you should purchase at this time. The machine is simply 4.4mm unfolded, and that is unbelievably skinny; if something, it feels just like the model might have made the machine thinner if not for the USB-C port.
The ultra-thin profile makes utilizing the V3 an absolute pleasure; the inside display particularly is excellent. What’s simply as noteworthy is that the Magic V3 is 9.2mm thick when folded, and this greater than the rest makes the foldable stand out — you do not really feel such as you’re utilizing a foldable in any respect.
One other issue is the load. At 226g, the Magic V3 is not simply lighter than different foldables — it beats typical telephones on this regard. The Galaxy S24 Extremely is 2g heavier than the Magic V3, and that conveys the size of what Honor managed to attain with the foldable.
The design means the Magic V3 is simply as comfy to carry and use as an everyday telephone. The quilt display is sufficiently large that it’s not an issue in any respect — not like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 — and there are delicate curves across the sides and rounded edges that make a distinction.
Honor went with a matte texture on the again that feels nice, and the inexperienced mannequin of the Magic V3 seems understated. Should you want a daring coloration possibility, the Reddish Brown variant is the one to get. The again is dominated by the digital camera island, which has similarities to that of the Magic 6 Professional. The island makes use of an octagonal design, and the three digital camera modules are ensconced inside.
The metal of the digital camera island contrasts nicely with the again, and the telephone would not wobble when utilizing it on a flat floor. This is not the case when the machine is unfolded; because the digital camera island sits to the aspect in that mode, you get a noticeable wobble.
Honor went with a chrome steel hinge that is the thinnest within the trade, and it’s sturdy, with the model touting one million unfolds. Like final 12 months, the hinge can keep open at any angle between 45 to 140 levels, and that unlocks the flexibility for distinctive use circumstances.
The hinge itself has a easy articulation and would not want a lot power to open, and whilst you get a visual crease, it isn’t as noticeable as different foldables I examined this 12 months — the crease on the Z Fold 6 is rather more outstanding.
The aluminum body provides rigidity to the machine, and there is IPX8 water resistance, giving the Magic V3 the flexibility to face up to the weather. On the entire, the design is well among the best round, and the skinny profile and light-weight chassis makes the Magic V3 a unbelievable alternative in the event you’re able to make the change to a foldable.
Honor Magic V3: Shows
Honor did not change the sizing of the panels with the Magic V3, and the machine will get the identical 6.43-inch cowl panel and seven.92-inch inside display as its predecessor. Each panels go as much as 120Hz and include LTPO tech to dynamically modify display refresh, and the inside display will get an AMOLED panel whereas an OLED show is used exterior.
There’s loads of cool tech readily available this time round, and Honor continues to paved the way on the subject of making units with eye consolation in thoughts. Each panels have excessive PWM dimming — the inside display goes as much as 3,840Hz and the duvet panel hits 4,320Hz — and the AI-assisted Defocus Eyecare characteristic is legitimately helpful.
Each panels have good coloration vibrancy and distinction ranges, and also you get respectable customizability on the subject of adjusting the colour steadiness to your preferences. A nifty utility that I made good use of is the e-book mode; most producers supplied one thing comparable previously, however you do not get the characteristic in as many units today, so I am glad that Honor retained it.
In e-book mode, the display successfully turns monochrome, making the Magic V3 an awesome alternative for studying books — significantly on the inside display. On the opposite aspect of the equation, the telephone has Dolby Imaginative and prescient integration, and HDR content material is a delight to stream — it makes a noticeable distinction inside Netflix and YouTube.
Whereas the inside display will get noticeably brighter than the Magic V2, it is not fairly as vivid because the X Fold3 Professional, which will get virtually as vivid as common telephones. That stated, there aren’t any points with brightness ranges on the duvet display, and it’s among the many brightest on this class.
Gaming can be pleasurable on the machine, and the built-in sound is loud sufficient that you just needn’t use earbuds for informal gaming classes. Whereas the Magic V3 has a crease — like each different foldable — it is not as seen, and it wasn’t a limitation in my utilization of the machine.
Honor Magic V3: Efficiency
The Magic V3 has among the best {hardware} packages on this phase, and there actually is not something lacking. The machine options the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and also you get 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.
I did not see any slowdowns in day-to-day use, and the Magic V3 did an awesome job dealing with demanding video games. Given the restricted thermal administration, the foldable acquired significantly hotter than bar-style telephones, and it throttled before normal. That stated, I acquired constant framerates in most titles, and out of doors the extreme warmth, there have been no points.
| Class | Vivo X Fold3 Professional | Honor Magic V3 | Honor Magic 6 Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (General) | 14366 | 15720 | 17314 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Internet Looking) | 10796 | 18363 | 15748 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Enhancing) | 6642 | 7706 | 7707 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 19077 | 16451 | 21271 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Picture Enhancing) | 32883 | 30295 | 36257 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 2120 | 1489 | 1908 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 6482 | 5291 | 6816 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 4216 | 4170 | 5121 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 25.245 | 24.965 | 30.67 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (rating) | 5802 | 7605 | 8623 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (FPS) | 22.06 | 28.915 | 32.79 |
The Magic V3 managed a stability rating of 71.6% in 3DMark’s Photo voltaic Bay stress take a look at, which is respectable sufficient. Nonetheless, it went as much as 46 levels Celsius in that point, and that is six levels hotter than most 2024 foldables. The machine had barely decrease scores in Geekbench 6.0 than different 8 Gen 3-powered telephones I examined not too long ago, but it surely wasn’t a problem in every day use.
Like most different foldables, Honor makes use of a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that is baked into the ability button, and whereas it would not have any issues, I’d have favored to see an in-screen possibility.
Coming to connectivity, the machine has Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, dual-band GPS, USB-C with DisplayPort 1.2, and your complete suite of AptX codecs. I did not discover any issues when making calls or utilizing mobile information, and I acquired a dependable Bluetooth connection when pairing equipment.
Honor Magic V3: Battery
The Magic V3 has a 5150mAh battery, and identical to the Magic V6 Professional, Honor makes use of silicon-carbon tech to ship higher density. Different manufacturers are beginning to use the same system in their very own units, and the battery is a smidgen larger than what we acquired the V2 final 12 months.
I acquired a day’s value of use out of the Magic V3 between expenses, however even with heavy use involving the inside panel, the foldable wanted to be plugged in earlier than the evening. There aren’t tangible good points on this space over the V2, and different foldables I used this 12 months delivered higher battery life.
The Magic V3 expenses at 66W, and Honor bundles the requisite charger within the field. It takes slightly below 50 minutes to completely cost the battery, with an 80% cost attained in half-hour.
Honor Magic V3: Cameras
Honor has sizeable upgrades on the digital camera entrance, with the Magic V3 that includes a trio of latest sensors, together with a 50MP f/1.6 important digital camera with OIS, 50MP telephoto with OIS that goes as much as 3.5x zoom, and a brand new 40MP wide-angle lens with autofocus. You get a 20MP entrance digital camera housed inside every panel.
Honor’s collaboration with Harcourt is unbroken, and also you get three distinct types that you need to use when taking portrait photographs. The digital camera interface itself is equivalent to final 12 months, and also you get the standard set of capturing modes, together with the flexibility to take pictures of fast-moving objects.
The Magic V3 takes 4K60 video in any respect focal lengths, and there is a devoted video-focused evening mode just like what you get with Evening Sight Video on Pixels. The Film mode has larger management over movies, and also you get a Professional mode with nonetheless pictures that allows you to tweak particular person settings.
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Whereas it isn’t on par with the Magic 6 Professional or Vivo X100 Extremely, the Magic V3 does an awesome job in daylight conditions, with good particulars and correct coloration rendition. The resultant pictures aren’t oversaturated, however they nonetheless look nice.
There are three coloration modes out there — Pure, Vibrant, and Genuine — and the latter provides a vignette to the photographs. I went with the Vibrant mode because it delivered higher vibrancy to the pictures. The brand new zoom lens delivers detailed pictures at as much as 3.5x, and it does a superb job with portraits as nicely.
The wide-angle lens is respectable sufficient in its personal proper, and whereas it would not fairly measure up in difficult low-light eventualities, it’s higher than what you get on most different foldables. The lens doubles as a macro shooter because it has autofocus, and it takes detailed pictures from simply 4cm away.
General, the Magic V3 does an admirable job on this regard. The X Fold3 Professional nonetheless has an edge on the subject of foldables, however the Magic V3 is not that far behind, and that is an enormous deal in and of itself.
Honor Magic V3: Software program
The Magic V3 runs MagicOS 8.0.1 based mostly on Android 14 out of the field, and the interface is sort of equivalent to earlier years. Honor’s UI is in want of a facelift, and whereas there may be loads to love, the interface nonetheless has vestiges of legacy EMUI, and that should change.
That stated, the interface itself is easy, and the software program is optimized to reap the benefits of the highly effective {hardware}, so you will not see any lag or jitter in every day use. There’s a noticeable uptick in fluidity, and Honor addressed long-standing points, like the flexibility to not view app data whereas lengthy urgent an app icon within the drawer. Honor’s tackle the iPhone 16 Professional Max‘s Dynamic Island is helpful, and I discovered myself utilizing the characteristic fairly a bit.
Nonetheless, the strategies bar positioned on the high of the app drawer nonetheless would not ship helpful apps, and also you get the identical listing of utilities on a regular basis. Reminiscence administration continues to be aggressive, and there have been points with push notifications at occasions. Outdoors of these bugbears, I did not see any issues with the Magic V3.
There’s loads of AI-based utilities as nicely, and Magic Portal is helpful if you wish to collate data or search for a photograph on-line. Honor teamed up with Google to allow face-to-face translation, and the characteristic does an awesome job. You additionally get Circle to Search, and a number of different Google utilities.
Coming to foldable use, there’s loads to love on the Magic V3. There is a cut up notification shade, a taskbar that is simply accessible, and intuitive multi-window modes. The fundamentals are coated right here, and also you get a superb quantity of customization as nicely.
With regards to software program updates, the Magic V3 will get the identical 4 years of Android OS updates alongside 5 years of safety patches. Whereas that is not as many because the Pixel 9 Professional Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 6, it’s in keeping with what different Chinese language producers ship, however I might wish to see Honor do higher on this regard.Â
Honor Magic V3: The competitors
Foldables are now not a distinct segment, and there are many nice decisions on this class. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the apparent start line for lots of customers, however I would not even pit the foldable in the identical league because the Magic V3 — it feels a number of generations behind when it comes to the {hardware}.
Vivo’s X Fold3 Professional is the closest rival to the Magic V3, with the machine providing a svelte design, terrific {hardware}, nice battery life, and excellent cameras. It has the very best battery lifetime of any foldable I used this 12 months, and the very best total cameras. The one limiting issue is that it’s bought in only a few international locations globally, and if something, that works out to Honor’s benefit.
Google’s Pixel 9 Professional Fold is an effective foldable as nicely, and it has the very best software program and AI-based options on this class. The design is a lot better than its predecessor, and whereas it is not highly effective by any measure, it would not have points in every day use. However the largest subject with the 9 Professional Fold is that the cameras simply aren’t adequate, and if that is a consideration, it is best to simply get the Magic V3.
Honor Magic V3: Must you purchase it?
You can purchase this if:
- You want the thinnest foldable out there at this time
- You want vivid OLED panels which can be straightforward on the eyes
- You need highly effective {hardware} and nice cameras
You should not purchase this if:
- You want the very best battery life
- You want in-screen sensors
The Magic V3 has its drawbacks; the X Fold3 Professional has higher battery life, and I like the truth that Vivo in some way managed to fit in two in-screen sensors, as a substitute of the side-mounted fingerprint reader that is normal on each different machine on this phase.
Vivo additionally has an edge on the subject of the cameras, with the auxiliary lenses particularly delivering fabulous photographs. That stated, the Magic V3 does an awesome job in its personal proper, and it has among the best digital camera packages on this class — it outshines the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Pixel 9 Professional Fold by a substantial margin.
The Magic V3 additionally has the brightest OLED panel of any foldable, and Honor leads the pack on the subject of eye-friendly tech. The {hardware} is among the many finest on this class, and whereas it is not an enormous improve over the Magic V2, there are sufficient small tweaks to provide the V3 an edge.
In the end, I desire the Magic V3 due to the design, and I just like the route Honor is taking with the software program. MagicOS wants a visible overhaul, however the upcoming MagicOS 9.0 construct seems attention-grabbing to say the least, and the model has a ton of customized options and is leaning closely on AI utilities you will really find yourself utilizing.
The Magic V3 is the thinnest foldable you should purchase at this time, and it
