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Thin, robust and lovely to hold, the Honor Magic V5 is a huge improvement over the V3. It gets close to being the perfect foldable, helped along by a superior silicon carbon battery and a lovely portrait mode.
The Good
- Super thin design gives a great form factor
- Excellent battery life for a foldable
- Strong hinge
The Not So Good
- Camera can struggle with fast-moving subjects
Need-To-Knows
- Virtually as thin as the Z Fold 7
- Camera is good, but can sometimes struggle with fast-moving subjects
- Robust hinge
- Brilliant silicon-carbon battery
You can now pre-order the Honor Magic V5 in the UK, and it looks like the strongest contender thus far for the Samsung Z Fold7’s crown.
There’s just one problem. Samsung is the brand which has made the biggest change to its foldable this year. Honor was already firmly on the thinnable bandwagon – last year’s Magic V3 was much thinner than most of its rivals. The Magic V5, therefore, could easily fall into ‘iterative upgrade’ territory this year.
I’ve been using Honor’s latest foldable for around a month now, and while it won’t tear me away from the Z Fold7, it is undeniably impressive and beats the Samsung in some key areas.
At the time of writing, I’m afraid I don’t have pricing information, nor do I have details on the storage options, but we’ll update this review once they become available. As a guide, however, the Magic V3 launched with a price of £1,699.
How I reviewed the Honor Magic V5
I have two SIM cards. The first is my main SIM, which resides permanently in my iPhone 16e. That phone is my ‘daily’ and utterly unremarkable, but it’s uniquely tied to my life and production process.
The secondary SIM card is always placed into whatever phone I’m reviewing at the time. For the last month, it has been inside the Honor Magic V5. Despite my reliance on the iPhone 16e, I always pay far more attention to my secondary phone, and the Magic V5 has received considerable attention due to the length of time I’ve had access to it, pre-launch.
Related: Honor Magic V3 review
It has been my main phone for work and leisure, and it also travelled to Greece with me for a family holiday. It’s not often we get this much time with review units before the launch; therefore, I can confidently say that I’ve given the Magic V5 a thorough run for its money.
At A Glance
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Release Region | Launched in Europe on August 28, 2025 |
| Pricing | £1,699.99/€1,999 |
| Promotional Offer (UK) | Early-bird promotion via official HONOR UK site: final price from £1,399.99 with code ‘AV5UK300’—includes free Honor Magic-Pen and 66 W SuperCharge adapter (value ~£104.98) |
| Dimensions (folded) | Ivory White: ~156.8 × 74.3 × 8.8 mm; Other colors slightly thicker (up to ~9 mm) |
| Dimensions (unfolded) | ~156.8 × 145.9 × 4.1 mm |
| Weight | Ivory White: ~217 g; Other variants: ~222 g |
| Build & Durability | IP58/IP59 water and dust resistance; hinge rated for 500,000 folds |
| Displays | Internal: ~7.95″ LTPO OLED, 2352 × 2172 px, 120 Hz, up to 5000 nitsExternal: ~6.43″ OLED, 2376 × 1060 px, 120 Hz, up to 5000 nits |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm) |
| Memory & Storage | RAM up to 16 GB; Storage options up to 1 TB |
| Battery & Charging | ~5,820 mAh (global); 66 W wired, 50 W wireless fast charging |
| Cameras | Rear: 50 MP main (wide, OIS) + 50 MP ultrawide + 64 MP periscope telephoto (3× OIS); Front: dual 20 MP (both screens) |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 6E/7, Bluetooth 6.0 (region-dependent) |
| Operating System | Android 15 with MagicOS 9 + Gemini AI multitasking tools |
| Special Features | World’s thinnest book-style foldable (Ivory White), ultra-bright displays, stylus support, Gemini AI & Honor Share |
Design and display(s)
According to Honor, the Magic V5 is the thinnest foldable on the market (at the time of writing). We could argue until we’re blue in the face about how true this is, based on the varying ways in which device thickness is measured, and the impact different colours can have on it (no, really). But Honor tells us that the Magic V5 is just 8.8mm thick when folded.
If you’re wondering, the Samsung Z Fold7 is 8.9mm.
Does any of this matter? No, of course it doesn’t. It’s akin to Blur versus Oasis; you’ll pick the band you prefer, regardless of who used the best mixing desk to record their album.
These are both stupidly thin foldable smartphones.
Check out my Honor Magic7 Pro review!
Ironically, the Magic V5 feels more substantial than the Z Fold7 because of the huge camera bump – which offers two benefits. The first is the lack of any table wobble (unlike the Z Fold7). The second is that the camera bump rests conveniently on the top of your finger when holding the phone one-handed, adding a bit of reassurance to that particular grip.
The Magic V5 is apparently very tough, too. The hinge is made from HONOR Super Steel and is rated for half a million folds. Honor has been showing off just how durable it is via a bunch of slightly bizarre stress tests, including hanging eight cans of Coca-Cola from one half of an opened V5 during a press briefing I attended. It was impressive, but overkill, obviously.
Basically, if you drop yours, it should be fine.
The best Android phone? Google Pixel 10 review
Water and dust resistance are rated at IP58 and IP59, which has since been beaten by the IP68-equipped Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Still, that’s probably enough for most people.
The displays on the Magic V5 are lovely. Both have a maximum peak brightness of 5,000 nits, Dolby Vision support, and 4,320Hz PWM dimming. Oh, and the Magic V5 also has stylus support on both displays. So, if that’s important to you, it’s one of the few new foldables that will satisfy such a requirement.
Overall, the Honor’s latest foldable is a very nice-looking device, which is as thin as the USB-C port will allow, and which is seemingly durable enough to cope with even the most ham-fisted of owners.
Performance and battery
The Honor Magic V5 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite and features 16GB of RAM. As mentioned earlier, at the time of writing, I don’t have the storage options or pricing to hand, but we’ll update this article as soon as we do.
Best phone battery? Read my OnePlus 13 review
At the heart of the operation is MagicOS 9, which is great. I prefer One UI, personally, but Honor knows how to make a relatively unfussy version of Android that isn’t stuffed to the rafters with bloatware. Although, there’s still a bit of the latter which you’ll inevitably end up removing.
There’s loads of AI stuff, too, and Google Gemini is the digital assistant of choice. I’m not a huge AI user at all, but I’ve dabbled with Honor’s stuff in the past, and it works well. It certainly doesn’t feel half-finished. How much you’ll actually end up using – or benefitting from – deepfake detection, group photo cleanup, and the various other AI bits and pieces remains to be seen.
Good news: the Magic V5 has a huge battery which is made from silicon carbon. The 5,820mAh mega battery is also capable of 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging via Honor SuperCharge. It basically ticks all of the boxes and leaves nothing for people to complain about.
The main benefit of this new battery tech appears to be biblical standby performance, but in normal use, the Magic V5 will deliver a couple of days of use, in my experience – just like the Z Fold7.
Camera
These are the Magic V5 camera specs you need to know:
- 64MP Periscope Telephoto Camera
- 3x Optical Zoom
- 100x Digital Zoom
- AI Super Zoom kicks in at 30x+
- OIS
- 50MP Main Camera (Ultra-Light Sensitive Falcon Sensor)
- OIS
- Low-light and motion capture
- 50MP Ultra-Wide Camera
- Also functions for macro and contextual wide shots
Read my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 review!
As always, this is the most subjective part of any smartphone review, and I’d love to hear what you think about the examples in this review.
I’ve always liked Honor phone snaps. They remind me a bit of Pixel photography insofar as they’re sharp, contrasty, and drama-filled. But there’s also a beautiful Harcourt portrait option, which is definitely worth playing with – I managed to get some great photos of our puppy with that mode turned on.
There were some misses, though. The Magic V5 did occasionally struggle to capture sharp images of my two hardest test subjects – my three-year-old son and the aforementioned puppy. Persevere, though, and the Magic V5 is a great camera phone.
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Conclusion: should you buy it?
I like simple conclusions, and this is about as simple as it comes.
If you’re a Samsung person, you’ve already bought – or have ordered – the Z Fold7. And you’ve made the right choice – you’ll love that device.
If you’re not a Samsung person, and you want a super thin, durable, and attractive foldable phone which has a great camera and equally great operating system experience, just get the Magic V5. It’s an insta-hit.
45 Comments
Ok, but what if I’m still in the middle between Z Fold 7 and Honor? Which one is the better choice?
Great review of the Honor Magic V5. I like how you focused on real-world usage instead of just the thin design. The battery performance and hinge durability sound especially impressive for a foldable device.
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I actually agree with the take here—thinness feels overrated now. What stood out more to me was the battery upgrade and hinge durability, since those impact real daily usage. The camera issue is a bit of a letdown though, especially for moving subjects.
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Great review, really appreciate the balanced take on design vs real-world usability.
I agree, ultra-thin is nice, but battery and hinge durability matter way more long-term.
The silicon-carbon battery sounds like a real upgrade, especially for heavy users.
Camera inconsistency with motion is a bit concerning though, especially at this price point.
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Overall, Magic V5 looks solid, but Samsung still feels like the safer ecosystem choice.
Really enjoyed this review — the balance between real-world usability and specs was refreshing. I especially liked the point about thinness not mattering as much as overall comfort and battery reliability. The silicon-carbon battery and hinge durability sound genuinely impressive for a foldable.
I’ve been comparing foldables recently, and reviews like this are way more useful than spec-sheet comparisons alone. I also came across some interesting smartphone and tech insights on https://ainsnilam.com/ while researching newer Android devices and mobile trends. It’s interesting to see how quickly foldables are evolving now beyond just “being thin.”
Love the breakdown on the Honor Magic V5! It’s refreshing to see a focus on usability over just thinness. But I wonder if durability might also be an underrated factor? Thanks for sharing such insightful content—much appreciated! Monkey Mart
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Great review of the Honor Magic V5. Foldable phones are getting more advanced every year, and features like dual SIM or eSIM support are becoming important for people who travel or switch networks frequently. Setting up connectivity on new devices can sometimes be confusing, especially when activation or verification steps are required. I’ve noticed that having clear guides for these processes helps a lot when configuring a new phone or SIM service. globesimreg.com.ph/
Great review of the Honor Magic V5. Foldable phones are getting more advanced every year, and features like dual SIM or eSIM support are becoming important for people who travel or switch networks frequently. Setting up connectivity on new devices can sometimes be confusing, especially when activation or verification steps are required. globesimreg.com.ph I’ve noticed that having clear guides for these processes helps a lot when configuring a new phone or SIM service.
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Great review of the Honor Magic V5. I like how you focused on real-world usage instead of just the thin design. The battery performance and hinge durability sound especially impressive for a foldable device.
While browsing tech and education resources recently, I also found https://ainsnilams.my/
which explains Malaysia’s AINS NILAM digital reading system. The site shows how students record books, articles, and e-books online using their DELIMa accounts. It’s interesting because the platform tracks reading activity and even awards recognition levels based on how many materials students log.
I actually agree with the take here—thinness feels overrated now. What stood out more to me was the battery upgrade and hinge durability, since those impact real daily usage. The camera issue is a bit of a letdown though, especially for moving subjects.
Separately, I recently came across a useful breakdown on https://idmekp.my/ where you can understand IDME KPM account registration and system access in one place, and it explains how users manage their profiles and login across multiple education platforms. The flow is quite clear and easy to follow.
Great review, really appreciate the balanced take on design vs real-world usability.
I agree, ultra-thin is nice, but battery and hinge durability matter way more long-term.
The silicon-carbon battery sounds like a real upgrade, especially for heavy users.
Camera inconsistency with motion is a bit concerning though, especially at this price point.
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Overall, Magic V5 looks solid, but Samsung still feels like the safer ecosystem choice.
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Honestly, this is one of the most balanced reviews I’ve read about the Honor Magic V5. I like how you didn’t just focus on the “thinness hype” but highlighted what actually matters in real-world use, like battery life and overall experience. It’s interesting that despite being super thin, it still manages to compete strongly with other foldables. The camera limitations you mentioned also add a realistic touch with Wingdings. Great insights overall, really helped me understand the device better!
I completely agree that thinness doesn’t matter as much as real-world usability. The silicon-carbon battery, robust hinge, and overall refinement on the Honor Magic V5 sound like big wins over previous generations. The camera struggles with fast-moving subjects is a fair call-out though — that’s important for everyday use with kids or pets.
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You’re absolutely right thinness is overrated. What truly matters in a foldable are battery endurance, hinge reliability, and day-to-day practicality. That silicon-carbon battery is impressive, and I like how you prioritized real usability over just how slim it gets. The camera notes on fast-moving subjects are also very helpful.
Overall, the Honor Magic V5 looks like a serious contender, especially for those wanting a strong alternative to the Galaxy Z Fold7.
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I agree that chasing extreme thinness isn’t the most important thing for foldables. Battery life, build quality, hinge strength, and actual daily performance are what matter most. The silicon-carbon battery on the Honor Magic V5 is impressive, and your camera feedback (especially with moving subjects) is very useful.
This phone looks like a serious option for people who want a premium foldable without going Samsung.
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Really enjoyed this review — the balance between real-world usability and specs was refreshing. I especially liked the point about thinness not mattering as much as overall comfort and battery reliability. The silicon-carbon battery and hinge durability sound genuinely impressive for a foldable.
I’ve been comparing foldables recently, and reviews like this are way more useful than spec-sheet comparisons alone. I also came across some interesting smartphone and tech insights on https://ainsnilam.com/ while researching newer Android devices and mobile trends. It’s interesting to see how quickly foldables are evolving now beyond just “being thin.”
Overall user experience rather than just how thin a device is. Features, usability, and long-term value matter much more. cru resolution show real-world performance more important than headline specifications.
It’s refreshing to see a focus on the overall user experience rather than just how thin a device is. Features, usability, and long-term value often matter much more. cru resolution show real-world performance can be more important than headline specifications.
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Nice to see a review that focuses on actual usability rather than just specs. As someone who’s used foldables before, I’ve found that thickness is often blown out of proportion—it’s the software experience that makes or breaks daily use. Do you think Honor’s approach to multitasking holds up against Samsung’s One UI?
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Absolutely excellent review of the Honor Magic V5: Thinness Doesn’t Matter. You brilliantly balance design elegance with real-world performance, showing how a slim profile can coexist with solid heat management, battery life, and everyday usability. I appreciated the clear benchmarks, hands-on testing, and thoughtful coverage of trade-offs like durability and repairability, along with crisp visuals, LIONISH eBike coupon code and camera samples. The piece is engaging, trustworthy, and beautifully structured—perfect for readers weighing a lightweight flagship. Great work—eager to see your next deep dive.
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I really enjoyed this review because it looks beyond the thinness and focuses on what actually matters when using a foldable every day. The battery life and hinge durability sound particularly impressive, although the camera struggles with moving subjects are worth considering. For anyone researching practical tech tools and apps, https://deltaexecuter.app/delta-executor-key/ is another useful resource to keep bookmarked.
Great review of the Honor Magic V5. I especially found the discussion around the silicon-carbon battery, display technology, camera performance, and motion capture interesting. These technologies are a great example of how physics principles are applied in modern smartphones, from energy and electricity to light, optics, and motion.
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The silicon carbon battery in the Magic V5 sounds like a real game-changer for foldable longevity. It’s great to see brands pushing battery tech forward. If you’re building a playlist to test out that new portrait mode, a tool like playlist name generator can help you name it quickly.
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