HONOR Magic V3: THE BEST Foldable Phone!? [Real World Test]

HONOR Magic V3 Unboxing & Walkthrough – the thinnest, lightest… (and best?)

This is absolutely insane – there’s barely enough room for the USB port! Hey guys, I’m T Tech Chap, and this is the new Honor Magic V3, the thinnest, lightest, most comfortable, and dare I say, the best foldable phone I’ve ever used. Between this and others, I know exactly which one I’d choose. A big thank you to Anna for sending the V3 over for me to play with. While it was announced in China a few weeks ago, Honor is now officially launching it outside of China, including here in the UK. They’ve essentially taken everything that made last year’s Magic V2 great and made it even better.

For instance, here’s one I prepared earlier – the Magic V2. The V3 is even thinner, shaving off over half a millimeter, going from 9.9 mm to just 9.2 mm thick when closed. It’s significantly thinner than the 12.1 mm Fold 6. Open it up, and you’re looking at 4.35 mm. Honor has added wireless charging to the V3 – not just your standard slow wireless charging, but 50-watt wireless charging. Plus, we have a slightly bigger battery. That’s mind-blowing! Another upgrade is the IPX8 rating, so while there’s no dust resistance, it is fully water-resistant.

Honor has also put serious effort into durability. The V3 features their Honor Super Shield steel hinge, the thinnest foldable hinge out there, along with anti-scratch nano crystal shields and Super Armor for both screens. The design also includes smooth, rounded corners and an octagonal camera module, which adds bulk but eliminates wobble when folded. When open, there’s still some wobble, but overall, this device is impressively usable.

What I truly appreciate, especially compared to Samsung’s Fold 6, is the V3’s cover screen. At 6.43 inches with a 20:9 aspect ratio, it feels like using a regular phone. When you open it up, you get a 7.92-inch tablet display, which is even larger than the Fold 6. Though Samsung has slimmer bezels and squared corners for a classier look, Honor wins for usability. The V3 is less reflective and the crease is barely noticeable.

The device also has stereo speakers, supports Honor’s Magic Pen, and packs five cameras in total. Honor’s Magic Capsule feature, similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island, allows handy notifications. Both the cover and tablet screens are bright, with peak brightness up to 5,000 nits on the cover and 1,600 nits on the main screen. Both are 120Hz OLED displays with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, offering gorgeous visuals for any content.

Honor has also prioritized eye comfort with features like a circadian display, defocused eye care, blue light filtering, and incredibly fast PWM dimming, which reduces eye strain. The V3 also boasts impressive performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 12-16 GB of RAM, and up to a terabyte of storage. Despite being thinner, it throttles less and offers better sustained performance than the Fold 6. Thanks to Honor’s third-gen silicon carbon battery design, the V3’s battery life is strong, lasting over 10 hours with improved efficiency.

The camera setup is another highlight: a 50MP main, 40MP ultra-wide, and a 50MP telephoto lens with up to 100x zoom. Honor’s AI Portrait Engine delivers much better dynamic range and color balance than last year’s V2, and the camera captures sharp action shots with Honor’s motion-sensing feature. You can even use the cover screen to preview shots, making it ideal for selfies or solo shooting with its Flex Mode.

The software, Magic OS 8.0.1, has improved considerably over the years. While it lacks some features like Galaxy AI and 4-app multitasking, it offers a seamless transition between screens and minimal bloatware. Plus, it includes AI optimizations for battery, performance, and camera, along with Honor Magic Portal, a cool feature for dragging content across apps.

The V3’s Magic Ring ecosystem is another impressive feature, allowing easy interaction between Honor devices, like phones, tablets, laptops, and earbuds. Honor also promises four years of full OS updates, with a fifth year of security, ensuring the V3 remains future-proof.

Overall, Honor has taken everything great about the V2 and made it even better with the V3. From the stunning hardware to the robust battery life, this foldable is truly one to beat, and it’s now my favorite in the category.

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