Hope you’re all doing well.
Here’s my first hands-on experience with the Honor Magic V5, the thinnest and lightest foldable phone on the market. It just launched in China, and a global launch is coming. My device already has the global software, but it’s not finished yet, so this early preview is just a taste of what stands out.
Honor is happy to claim the spot for slimmest foldable again.
The Magic V5 measures only 8.8 mm when folded, just ahead of OPPO’s last model at 8.9 mm. The gold version weighs 222 grams, while the white option is even lighter at 217 grams. These numbers make a small difference in hand, but Honor still kept the hardware strong without adding extra weight.
On the back, you get three cameras, each at 50 or 64 megapixels. The periscope camera now has better features than last year’s Magic V3. OPPO’s foldable dropped some camera power to shed weight, but Honor kept up the specs. The battery is also bigger this year, now at 5,820 mAh, giving it more capacity than the last model and other brands, but the phone still feels slim.
The main screen is a 7.95-inch OLED with a 120 Hz refresh rate, LTPO tech, and over 400 pixels per inch. It gets as bright as 5,000 nits. The crease is barely there, even when you run your finger across it. The outer screen matches the quality: 6.45 inches, also LTPO, 120 Hz, 5,000 nits, and more than 400 PPI. Both displays are sharp and bright.
Inside, you get the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with 16 GB RAM, so the phone handles heavy apps without any trouble. It’s rated IP59 for water and dust resistance, which puts it ahead of most other foldables since many don’t have dust protection.
This phone is so thin the USB-C port almost sits flush with the side. Making it any slimmer would mean losing the port. You get a vegan leather case that goes over the hinge, and even with the case, it still feels thinner than many regular flagship phones.
For cameras, you get a 50 MP main lens with f/1.6, just like last year. The ultrawide lens steps up from 40 MP to 50 MP. The periscope camera now goes from 50 MP to 64 MP with a faster f/2.5 aperture, giving a boost to zoom and wide photos over the Magic V3.
Honor added new film-style filters to the camera’s portrait mode, so you can give your shots a classic look. The software needs more work, so I haven’t tested every feature, but first photos show good color and style.
Multitasking is better, with some ideas borrowed from OPPO and OnePlus. You can run two apps side by side and change their size as you like. A third app can float in its own window using a new menu. Honor’s global models have strong AI tools, like turning photos into moving videos, but that option isn’t available here yet.
This foldable packs almost everything: water resistance, wireless charging, high-end cameras, a light build, and what looks like good durability. Honor didn’t share hinge cycle numbers yet, but their past devices have held up well.
That’s it for this first look at the Honor Magic V5. Once the final software lands, I’ll have a full review and camera test ready. More updates are on the way, so keep an eye out for the next posts! Thanks for reading.
