He sends heavy to beat Samsung

Belgium is called the flat country despite the Ardennes and its reliefs. The Honor Magic V5, inherits the title of the finest foldable smartphone in the world despite the presence of an extremely prominent photo block. Here is a very clumsy analogy to show that you usually have to go beyond the pretty nicknames.

Fortunately, this protuberant module on the back of the smartphone is far from being the only thing that is retained from the Honor Magic V5 which will soon arrive in France. We took charge of the device to share our first impressions with you.

Refined design (and something that exceeds)

The Honor Magic V5 is a high -end smartphone that wants to be sure that we know that it is high -end. The finesse of the device, already, necessarily evokes an impression of refinement as is the case on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. However, on a folding model, this argument of the thickness reduced to its strict minimum has a real interest.

Indeed, without this work on finesse, a foldable smartphone cannot offer a normal (or almost normal) experience when closed. Thus, the Magic V5 shines, of course, by its finesse when it is open, but it is really when it is closed that we appreciate this detail the most.

Alas, there is a shadow on the board. If the smartphone is very fine, its photo module is one of the most imposing that I have come across while trying smartphones on a career of 8 and a half years. It is an estimate with a wet finger, but this protuberance effect is necessarily extremely reinforced by the finesse of the smartphone.

Result. When the Honor Magic V5 is folded and on a table, it becomes a launch ramp capable of peeling off the largest aeronautical devices. How do I exaggerate? When unfolded, you have a particularly wobbly phone when placed flat. Despite this, it remains difficult to really linger on this defect since it allows a very solid photo configuration as we will see later.

Let’s just say that if you are interested in the Magic V5, you should not crack without being aware of this element. The 4.1 mm thickness do not take, but then really not into account the photo module. The finest foldable smartphone, yes… partly only.

The opportunity to recall that the title of the finest foldable smartphone is not played out. The Vivo X Fold 5 in China is 4.3 m. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will, according to rumors, at 4.2 mm. Everything is played out a few tiny tenths of a millimeter and Honor seems to have made sure to double on the edge The Korean champion. But it is really not these games of dimensions that will make the difference for you, for the general public on the daily. Yes to the argument of finesse, but do not make a whole cheese of the mini differences between the competition. It is there, the most marketing game there is: a contest to whom the most … end.

Despite this, the Magic V5 remains a feat and a worthy successor (a priori at least) from Magic V3 from last year. Note that there was no Magic V4, because the figure 4 carries woe in China.

To stay on prints in hand, I allow myself a special mention to colors and their matt finishes. The black model caught my eye for its very classy appearance. The golden version is distinguished by a more brushed visual effect which suits it very well. However, I could not put my eyes on the white model.

Hinge and screens

On the hinge side, Honor claims to have particularly worked on its solidity. Supporting proof: During the presentation to the French press, the brand even hung a weight of just under 3 kg in half the internal screen without the latter suffering. Do not redo this at home.

In hand, no concern to point out, the hinge seems indeed robust and I will simply be able to point the finger at the fact that the Magic V5 does not seem to be 100 %unfolding, completely flat. Absolutely nothing embarrassing and it seems to be common on very fine foldable smartphones.

As for the folding in the internal screen, it can be seen quite easily by set of reflections, but under the finger, it is hardly felt. I really don’t see what might be bothering for use here.

Especially since the screens seem very well worked. I can only trust my eyes for the moment while waiting for a test with probe, but the Honor Magic V5 made me feel good on the display quality.

Above all, Honor promises maximum brightness up to 5,000 nits on the two slabs. It seems extremely high and we are tempted to believe, for the moment, that it is a localized peak and that on the whole screen will undoubtedly be lower. I prefer to leave pessimistic to be pleasantly surprised if the full test contradicts me.

Note that we are dealing with an external screen of 6.43 inch (2376 x 1060 pixels) and an internal screen of 7.95 inch (2352 x 2172 pixels). OLED display and cooling rate ranging from 1 to 120 Hz are part each time.

Honor can annoy Samsung

At the risk of repeating myself, I remind you that it will take a full test to really know everything that Honor Magic V5 has in the belly. The technical sheet has the merit of doing very much.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is always a promise of great performance, but it is above all the battery that makes me eye. In such a fine format, thanks to carbon silicon, Honor managed to fit a capacity of 5820 mAh! It does not stop there since the brand highlights a wired load at 66 W and a wireless load at 50 W. It is impressive on paper.

For the photo, as I said, the protuberant module is not only there to make it pretty. Honor is known for its beautiful photo paw on high-end models and here the Magic V5 is adorned with a main camera and an ultra large angle both at 50 Mpx while the 64 MP telephoto lens allows an X3 zoom and up to X100 digitally.

Again, it smells really good in terms of technical characteristics and we can’t wait to discover more. However, there is still a last detail where the Chinese brand has seriously muscled its game: the software.

On the one hand the Magicos interface with Android 15 swears by the IA functions – largely based on the Gemini solutions of Google. The opportunity to show that Samsung is not the only one to greatly invest this niche of artificial intelligence.

However, what will undoubtedly be attractive the most attention is the promise of 7 years of updates both on the major versions of Android and on security deployments. Honor is perfectly perfectly at the level of a Samsung or a Google. It is very appreciable.

By revealing his Magic V5 just before the UNPACKED of Samsung where the new generation of the Galaxy Z is expected, Honor plays, of course, to a racing at the rather subtle marketing argument. But rather than this maneuver, I will especially remember that the manufacturer sends a strong message to Samsung to tell him that he is determined to walk on his bedbags.

The battle promises to be very beautiful.

Price and release date of the Honor Magic V5

The Magic V5 in France still retains an important mystery: the price. The brand is content to confirm that there are four figures in it, which is absolutely not a surprise. Prepare to have more information around the start of the school year.

Only one configuration of 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage will be marketed. The Honor Magic V5 will exist in black, white and gold.