Review-of-Honor-Magic-V2-Foldable-Smartphone-in-the-UAE
[editorial-rating id=”36195″]
Released in late 2023, the Honor Magic V2 marks a significant step forward in foldable phone technology. Building upon the success of its predecessor, the Magic V, it boasts several improvements, making a compelling case for those seeking a premium and portable powerhouse. This review delves deep into the phone’s design, performance, camera capabilities, software, battery life, and overall value proposition.
Design and Build Quality
The Magic V2’s first impression is undeniably impressive. It boasts a remarkably thin and light profile, measuring only 9.9mm when folded – the thinnest among its competitors. When unfolded the thickness is 4.7mm. The phone weighs 231 grams. This translates to outstanding portability, easily slipping into pockets without feeling bulky. Contributing to this are the lightweight materials employed, with the frame constructed from high-strength aerospace-grade aluminum and the backplate from a combination of glass and vegan leather.
The hinge mechanism, a crucial aspect of foldable phones, utilizes a combination of stainless steel and titanium for enhanced durability. Honor claims it can withstand 400,000 folding cycles, which roughly translates to ten years of usage with 100 folds per day. While a slight crease is visible on the unfolded display, it’s unobtrusive and barely noticeable in everyday use.
The phone features two displays: a 6.43-inch OLED display on the front with a 120Hz refresh rate with resolution of 2376px x 1060px. And a larger 7.92 inches LTPO OLED display on the inside, also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2500 nits with a resolution of 2344px x 2156px. The dual-screen also supports 3840Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming with TUV Rheinland’s flicker-free certification. Both displays offer vibrant colours, deep blacks, and excellent viewing angles, making the phone ideal for watching videos, gaming, and consuming multimedia content.
The outer screen is protected with 2nd generation Nanocrystal glass which is supposed to be 10 times more drop-resistant.
Performance and Hardware
At the heart of the Magic V2 lies the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform, one of the most powerful processors available at the time of its release. The phone comes with Honor’s Ultra-thin Bionic cooling system. This translates to smooth performance across all tasks, from demanding games and multitasking to everyday applications. The phone comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM with 7GB Honor RAM Turbo, ensuring seamless multitasking and app switching. Storage comes with 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, providing ample space for apps, media, and files.
Honor incorporates a sophisticated cooling system to maintain optimal performance under heavy loads. This system utilizes a multi-layer graphite sheet and a vapour chamber to efficiently dissipate heat, preventing performance throttling during extended gaming sessions or video editing tasks.
Camera System
The Magic V2 features a triple-lens rear camera system co-engineered with Sony. The main sensor is a 50MP IMX800 sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS). It is accompanied by a 50MP ultra-wide sensor with an F/2.0 aperture with a 120-degree field of view and a 20MP telephoto sensor with an F/2.4 aperture with 3x optical zoom and OIS. It comes with a Flicker sensor + Color Temperature Sensor. It has an 8×8 dToF Laser Auto Focusing system. This combination offers versatility for capturing various subjects and scenarios. The 20MP telephoto lens supports up to 40x digital zoom.
The camera app is well-designed and intuitive, offering various shooting modes, including portrait, night, and pro mode. Image quality is generally good in well-lit conditions, with sharp details, accurate colour reproduction, and a pleasing Bokeh effect. However, low-light performance could be slightly improved, with some images appearing slightly noisy.
There are two front-facing cameras, one embedded in the cover display is a 16MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, suitable for video calls and selfies. And other one is inside when you open the folded smartphone which also features a 16MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture.
Software and User Experience
The Magic V2 runs on Magic UI 7.2, based on Android 13. While not the latest version of Android at the time of writing, it offers a clean and user-friendly interface with some customization options. However, some users might miss features and functionalities found in stock Android or custom interfaces from other manufacturers.
Honor does pre-install some bloatware applications, which can be uninstalled if not needed. The company promises two years of major Android updates and three years of security updates, which is standard for premium smartphones in this price range. The Magic V2 takes advantage of its large unfolded display by optimizing specific applications for multitasking and enhanced functionality. For example, certain apps can be displayed side-by-side when the phone is unfolded, improving productivity and streamlining workflows.
Battery Life and Connectivity
The Magic V2 is equipped with an Honor Silicon Carbon Dual 5000mAh battery, which is adequate for a day’s worth of moderate usage. However, power users who heavily utilize the phone’s features or engage in extended gaming sessions might need to reach for the charger in the late afternoon. The phone supports 66W fast charging.
The Honor Magic V2 phone comes with a wrap-around antenna with a C1 RF enhanced chipset which helps for better connectivity for mobile signal or Wi-Fi connectivity. It comes with Bluetooth 5.3, 5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, infrared port and NFC. It has a USB type-C 3.1 port for charging and wired data transfer. It has stereo speakers and supports 24-bit Hi-Res audio too.
Benchmark Testing
The Honor Magic V2 was tested on various benchmarks and the result was excellent. Many of the benchmark results MAXED out. This proves the Magic V2 smartphone can handle not only general, business usages, it can be used mobile gaming. Geekbench 6 CPU Benchmark result: 1600 single-core score and 4443 Multi-Core Score. 3D Mark Benchmark results: Wild Life – MAXED Out, Single Shot Extreme – OpenGL ES 3.1 – MAXED Out. In the PCMark benchmark test, it scored 16718. Solar Bay Stress Test: – Best Loop Score – 3655, Lowest Loop Score – 2348 and Stability – 64.2%. Under the Solar Bay Stress Test which continuous 20 loops of heavy graphic rendering, the temperature maintained from 39 to 42 degrees Celsius which was a pretty good result. Even the graphic rendering loops didn’t have any stuttering.
Conclusion
The Honor Magic V2 is the best foldable smartphone I have reviewed so far in 2024. The built quality and slim folded form factor take the foldable phone to the next level for consumers looking for a stylish, great camera and business phone. The cameras performed excellently, especially during daylight and indoor photography. The low-light or night photography was great. The Video quality was great and the sound quality was like any flagship model should have, The stereo speakers and mic sound capture function were excellent. With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform and Android 13 built-in and Honor confirming two Android updates, it would be an excellent buy for the consumer who wants a foldable big-screen smartphone.
“I would recommend HONOR Magic V2 for Business, Creative people should have a look at this phone. It is an excellent buy if the price suits them”
Availability & Price
The HONOR Magic V2 Foldable Smartphone is available from various retailers and online platforms and consumers can buy from the HONOR Store where they can get gifts worth AED3645. Currently, it costs AED 6899 on https://www.hihonor.com/ae-en/shop/new-launch/
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