HONOR has just announced the new Magic V3 globally. It was actually announced in China back in July, but at IFA HONOR has made the Magic V3 global – aka it’s coming to Europe. We’ve spent the better part of a month with the Magic V3, while also reviewing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and using the Galaxy Z Fold 6. I started to wonder, what makes the Magic V3 so much better than those foldables that are available in the US? Mainly those options from Samsung and Google.
I’ve put together a list of 5 ways that HONOR is blowing away its North American competition. If only the US government wasn’t so scared of Chinese companies doing well in the US, we could be using the Magic V3 here full-time.
1. Thinner and Lighter
When it comes to Samsung and Google’s offerings, some of the bigger complaints are about how thick and heavy both of the most recent foldables are. Sure both got thinner this year, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 being 5.6mm unfolded and 12.1mm folded, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold being 5.1mm unfolded and 10.5mm folded, but that’s still much thicker than what HONOR has here. The Magic V3 is just 4.4mm when unfolded and 9.3mm when folded. Sure that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it really is. It makes all the difference in trying to make a phone lighter.
Speaking of the weight, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold remains one of the heaviest foldables on the market, at 257g. Meanwhile the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has lost some more weight this year, down to 239g, but the Magic V3 is just 226g. For reference, the Galaxy S24 Ultra weighs 232g with a smaller battery and only one display. That makes this even more impressive. As it weighs less than a slab phone.
These are two things that really matter for foldables, and will help foldables take off with the average consumer. No one wants to carry around a brick in their pocket all day.
2. Larger battery than some slab phones
What’s even more impressive than the thinness and lightweight of the HONOR Magic V3 is the battery capacity. HONOR has managed to fit a 5,150mAh capacity battery inside the Magic V3. That’s larger than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and quite a few other slab phones.
How was HONOR able to do this? Silicon Carbon. HONOR first introduced this new Silicon Carbon battery in its Magic6 series earlier this year, where the Magic6 Pro actually saw a battery capacity of 5,600mAh! Now, HONOR has moved onto putting this type of battery in its Magic V3 foldable.
So what does Silicon Carbon batteries do? Well, by using silicon-carbon composite as its anode material, it allows the battery to be more dense. Essentially holding a larger capacity battery in the same physical space. That allows phones like the HONOR Magic6 and Magic V3 to have incredibly long battery life.
When we compare this to what Samsung and Google have, it’s pretty laughable. Samsung is still using a 4400mAh capacity battery, and Google has a 4650mAh capacity battery in its new Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
3. Faster Charging
This is an issue that is not exclusive to Foldables sold in the US but all phones sold in the US (except for OnePlus). Google’s new Pixel 9 Pro Fold maxes out at 21W. Yes, let me say that again, twenty-one watts. What the heck is that? I understand not wanting to get the battery too warm, but come on. That’s incredibly slow, and actually, it’s the slowest charging foldable we’ve ever tested. Samsung isn’t much better, maxing out at 25W.
Meanwhile, HONOR is doing 66W charging. Oh, and get this: there is a 66W charger in the box. Something that most other manufacturers stopped doing after Apple did in 2020. This means that the Magic V3 was able to charge in about 45 minutes (not quite the fastest we’ve tested; the OnePlus Open was about 42 minutes). But that’s roughly twice as fast as Samsung and Google’s charging speeds.
4. Incredible cameras
Earlier this year, I got a chance to review the HONOR Magic V2 RSR, which was their Porsche Design version of the Magic V2 and I was pretty underwhelmed by the cameras on that phone. Thankfully, HONOR heard that, and greatly improved the cameras on the Magic V3 this time around. It’s using HONOR’s Falcon Camera system. Including a 50-megapixel primary camera, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto at 3.5x optical zoom, and a 40-megapixel ultrawide. And it really blows away Google and Samsung’s latest offerings.
Samsung has been using the same camera setup for the past few years, including a 50-megapixel primary camera, 10-megapixel telephoto at 3x optical zoom and a 12-megapixel ultrawide. The pictures are good, but a far cry from some competitors. Google, on the other hand, really nerfed its cameras. With a 48-megapixel primary, 10.8-megapixel telephoto with 5x optical zoom and a 10.5-megapixel ultrawide. Again, they take good photos, but they could and should be better for these prices.
This is one area where a foldable sold in the US does stack up to HONOR quite well – the OnePlus Open from last year.
5. There’s a (good) case in the box
Here in the US, most phones come with a charging cable, a piece of paper for warranty information and a SIM ejection tool. That is it. No charger, no case, nothing else. HONOR still includes cases in the box with its phone. And no, this is not some flimsy clear case like we see with a lot of other phones. This is actually one of the best foldable cases I’ve seen.
My model here is the green HONOR Magic V3, and it came with a faux leather green case that looks incredible. In fact, I like it better in the case than without the case. On top of that, the ring around the camera doubles as a kickstand. That’s really nice to have, especially for the price you’re paying for this phone.
For me, the HONOR Magic V3 is too thin to really use for long periods of time, unless it’s closed. So I often times will keep the case on, and I love that this is a good-looking case with plenty of grip. Definitely needed on a phone like the Magic V3.
