In mid-July, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 impressed me with its size and weight. It’s thinner than previous models and much more comfortable to hold. But Samsung’s brand-new phone is still 12.1mm thick when folded. That’s still thicker than last year’s Honor Magic V2, which has a 9.9mm profile when closed. That is, Samsung couldn’t beat one of its biggest rivals in the foldable phone niche.
About a week after Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Chinese vendor announced the Honor Magic V3, a foldable phone that’s even thinner than its predecessor. It measures just 9.2mm when closed, which is incredible.
Honor only launched the Magic V3 in China back then, without announcing plans for an international rollout. However, buyers won’t have to wait until early next year to get their hands on the world’s thinnest foldable phone. The Magic V2 launched in Europe in mid-January, suggesting the V3 could follow.
Honor on Thursday hosted a launch event in Berlin, Germany, at IFA 2024, bringing the Magic V3 phone to Europe.
The Magic V3 isn’t just the world’s slimmest foldable phone. It’s also a flagship Android handset with some of the best specs you can get.
The Magic V3 packs the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip as most current flagship Android phones. It’s paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The phone features a 5,150 mAh silicon battery that’s slightly larger than the Magic V2’s battery. It supports 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, which are faster than what the Galaxy Z Fold 6 can offer.
Like other 2024 Android phones, the Honor Magic V3 comes with built-in AI features, including Honor apps and Google AI. Honor is partnering with Google Cloud to power some of the handset’s AI features.
The triple-lens camera on the back features a 50-megapixel wide sensor, a 40-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 50-megapixel periscope zoom lens. Additionally, the phone has two 20-megapixel selfie cameras for the cover screen and the foldable display.
Speaking of screens, the Magic V3 features displays as its predecessor. We’re looking at a 7.92-inch foldable OLED display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and a 6.43-inch external screen.
The whole package weighs 226g, which is slightly lighter than the 231g Magic V2. The Fold 6 weighs 239g.
Back to that incredibly thin profile, the Magic V3 measures just 4.4mm thick when unfolded. That means the two batteries inside the two halves are even thinner than that, at 2.6mm. The Magic V2 is 4.8mm thick when unfolded, while the Fold 6 is even thicker than that at 5.1mm.
Honor says it also improved the foldable phone’s durability despite shaving off additional millimeters. The Honor Magic V3 features “19 innovative materials and 114 microstructures” that allowed the company to produce such a thin foldable.
The phone features Honor’s 2,100Mpa high-strength Super Steel Hinge, which can withstand over 500,000 folding cycles. For screen protection, the handset features a Super Armored Inner Screen with an anti-scratch NanoCrystal shield on top. Honor has also reduced the thickness of the rear cover by 30% while enhancing its resistance by 40%. Finally, the phone is rated IPX8 for water resistance.
If you’re looking to buy a Magic V3 in the coming months, you should also make sure you read the fine print. That 9.2mm thickness doesn’t factor in the film protectors on the two displays, so the phone might just be a little thicker than that. It still qualifies as the world’s thinnest foldable.
Of note, the octagonal camera module on the back isn’t accounted for here. That’s to be expected. All phones have large camera protrusions on the back, and that’s because we want them to feature better cameras.
Also, you might want to get the black Magic V3 rather than the green or brown colorways. Honor says the black model weighs 226g, while the others are slightly heavier at 230g. Also, the black Magic V3 is more resistant to accidental drops.
The Magic V3 will cost €2,000 ($2,218) in Europe, but Honor will throw in savings of around €300 ($332) at launch.
