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This is the Honor Magic V3, and despite the added competition this time around, much like its predecessor, it can still claim to be the thinnest foldable in the world. In fact, it’s even thinner than last year’s Magic V2. While this might be my favorite foldable in terms of hardware, there is something holding me back from using this phone every single day.
Firstly, when you unbox the phone, you get the usual USB-C cable, a 66-watt power brick, and a really nice faux vegan leather case with a kickstand, which has been a dream to use. The kickstand makes using the phone when traveling so much easier, just being able to pop it down and watch content. So the fact that this comes in the box and feels premium is a big bonus.
Speaking of premium, when you look at the hardware of the Honor Magic V3, that’s exactly what you get. It has a 6.4-inch LTPO 120Hz AMOLED cover display, and it’s so nice to use. It also has a peak brightness of 5000 nits and supports Dolby Vision. If this were the only display on the phone, I’d be really happy just using it all day, every day. When the phone is folded and you use the cover display, it’s impressively thin—pretty much the same thickness as an S24 Ultra or a Pixel 9 Pro XL. Without the camera bump, it’s just 9.2 millimeters.
When you unfold the V3 to use the inner display, this is where you really see the magic. The phone is just 4.35 millimeters thin, and even the USB-C port looks like it struggles to fit in there. Compare this to the Z Fold 6 at 5.6 millimeters or the Pixel 9 Pro Fold at 5.1 millimeters, and you can see how impressive it is. It’s even thinner than the Passport. The unfolded screen is fantastic too—a 7.92-inch OLED, again with 120Hz refresh rate.
Using any foldable phone shines when watching content on a bigger screen, especially on the go, and the 7.92-inch display is no exception. My only complaint when watching content on that foldable display is that the sound isn’t great, and I can easily cover up the bottom speaker with my finger, which gets a little annoying.
Typing, once you get used to the split keyboard, is also really nice and easy. It makes taking notes much simpler, and overall, having that larger inner display is convenient. Both displays also support a stylus.The only problem I have with foldable phones is that I feel like I have to force myself to use that folding display. Everything I can do on the inner display, I can pretty much do on the cover display.
The complaints I had about the V2 have been fixed on the V3. There was no water resistance before—now there is, with an IPX8 rating. Last year, there was no wireless charging—now there is, with up to 50 watts of wireless charging. To get that full 50 watts, you do need to buy Honor’s wireless charger, though.Another change this year is the design of the camera module. It essentially takes the design of the Magic 6 Pro and slaps it on the back of the V3, and it is big—there’s no denying it. But I actually don’t mind it. While I’m not in love with the octagonal design, it’s bold and stands out, so I’m okay with it.
As much as I love the design and as great as the hardware is, sadly, the software doesn’t match up. The phone ships with Android 14, and on top of that, you get Honor’s MagicOS 8, which lets down the next-level hardware. MagicOS, right out of the box, starts off badly. The app drawer is turned off by default, which is a poor decision, and it takes too much time to go through the settings to turn it on—it’s not a simple process.There’s a ton of bloatware, which you also have to go through and delete. I don’t want an OS to come with AliExpress, Booking.com, and Amazon pre-installed. If I want them, I’ll download them myself—don’t force them onto my phone. On top of that, separate notification shades and control center swipe-downs from the top of the display feel clunky. You also have to manually turn on “Raise to Wake” and “Double Tap to Wake,” which is another hassle.
I also found the home screen and style settings just to change the wallpaper and lock screen to be a bit overcomplicated. That said, I really like the full wallpaper always-on display, and I feel like every phone should have that.Honor’s AI offerings also aren’t pushing the boundaries. The Gallery app includes Honor AI Eraser, but this is just Google’s Magic Eraser built into the app, powered by Google Cloud. There’s an AI privacy call feature meant to minimize sound leakage on a call, but I haven’t noticed any difference between having it on or off. There’s also a “Face-to-Face Translation” feature, but it’s not even an app—you have to go into settings, search for “Face-to-Face Translation,” turn it on, and add a shortcut to your home screen. It’s also confusing to use, as the translation doesn’t appear on the cover display correctly.
Credit where it’s due, Honor’s new Notes app does a lot right, and I like it. You can record who’s speaking, have it transcribed, and take notes at the same time, which I can see being really useful. If the speaker is talking in one language, you can have it translated into another within the app, which is also cool. Magic Portal is another nice feature, allowing you to drag and drop text or images into suggested apps without leaving the app you’re in, and it now supports over 150 apps. I just need to remember it’s there because it’s genuinely useful when I do use it.Honor is also offering four years of OS updates and five years of security updates with the V3, which is one of the best update promises we’ve seen from Honor.
Let’s talk about the cameras. There’s a 50MP wide, 50MP 3.5x telephoto, and a 40MP ultra-wide camera. I have to say, I’m impressed with the photos this phone takes. Cameras are usually where foldable phones compromise, but the V3 pushes the envelope and produces impressive pictures. One thing I really like is the color accuracy between the lenses—going from ultra-wide to main to telephoto, the photos all look consistent. They’re bright, vibrant, and capture nice detail, especially when using the 3.5x optical zoom.For some people, the saturation might seem a little much, but I actually like it. The dynamic range is great, and the shadows look really good. For selfies, you get three cameras—one for the inner display, one for the cover display, and one for the main camera. The inner and cover display cutouts are both 20MP, so the images are identical. If you want, you can also use the 50MP sensor for super-detailed 3.5x optical zoom selfies, though if you need that kind of zoom for a selfie, you might just want to use the main camera.
Sadly, video quality isn’t great. It maxes out at 4K 60, which is fine, but the image isn’t very sharp and looks a bit muted. Stabilization also isn’t amazing, despite OIS on each lens, as it picks up every bit of movement when walking. That’s a little disappointing.The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is expected, so it should handle anything you throw at it with ease, especially with 12GB of RAM. It comes in storage options of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, which is great for a foldable phone, especially if you plan to download a lot of content.
However, the Magic V3 has a 5150mAh battery, and while on paper that sounds great, it doesn’t hold up in practice. Ten percent of the battery is made up of silicon, which Honor claims is an industry first, but it doesn’t work as well as expected. If you’re only using the phone for social media and taking a few pictures, you should get through the day without complaints. But if you push it further, the battery drains quickly. For example, I installed Genshin Impact, and it swallowed almost 11% of the battery just for the download, and playing the game drained it even more.
Overall, the Honor Magic V3 offers some seriously impressive hardware. It’s thin, has an IP rating, wireless charging, and no compromise on cameras. It will come to Europe, but the price, as with most foldables, is a problem—it’s expensive. And while the hardware is great, the software compromises make it hard to recommend, but if you’re after a foldable phone with some of the best hardware available, the Honor Magic V3 might be it.Let me know what you think in the comments. Could this tempt you to switch to a foldable phone? Before you go, don’t forget to hit the like button and subscribe for more!