At MWC 2023, we were excited to see Honor launching the Magic Vs, its first foldable that shall be obtainable globally after its introduction in China in late November.
The Honor Magic Vs is the primary critical different to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 because it delivers a barely thinner and lighter kind issue with an analogous construct high quality and system {hardware}. The shows and cameras are additionally on par, whereas the battery is bigger and comes with a 66W quick charger within the field.
The Honor Magic Vs shall be obtainable with 12GB+512GB in Black and Cyan for €1599 in Europe. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 was priced at €1799 at launch.
There are not any plans for a U.S. launch the place the Z Fold4 was launched at $1799, which is simply $99 lower than the transformed $1700 value (from €1599).
The Magic Vs just isn’t waterproof, one other draw back in comparison with the Z Fold4 which options an IPx8 ranking.
Design
The construct high quality is superb, with a sublime shiny end on the again cowl.
Through the keynote occasion at MWC, Honor CEO George Zhao was proud to disclose that, not like the Z Fold4, the brand new Magic Vs is gapless as soon as folded, and at 12.9mm, is slimmer than its nemesis (15.8mm). At 261g, the Vs can be a hair lighter than the 263g Galaxy Z Fold4.
The again cowl options curves on each lengthy edges, which convey a smoother really feel to the gadget when in comparison with its competitor, the flat Z Fold4.
“SMOOTHER FEEL TO THE DEVICE WHEN COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITOR”
The hinge was an vital a part of George Zhao’s presentation as it’s manufactured from an aerospace-grade polymeric materials, and has considerably fewer parts than its predecessor. Their quantity was diminished from 94 to 4 to make room for a bigger 5000 mAh battery.
Honor claims that the brand new hinge can stand up to as much as 400,000 folds, double of the 200,000 folds ranking of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.
Folding Expertise
The foldable design includes a completely different expertise vs. basic telephones, nonetheless, Honor, following within the footsteps of Samsung, along with the giant 7.9” interior display, offers a high-end 6.45” outer show that utterly covers the entrance of the gadget when it’s folded.
When folded at about 120 levels and positioned vertically on a desk, you don’t want a stand to devour content material or learn emails on one aspect whereas watching a video or consulting one other app on the opposite aspect. It may be extraordinarily handy and is actually a pure tripod.
Not like the Galaxy Z Fold4, the 90-degree folded place works provided that you place the quilt with the digicam module on the desk, in any other case, it flips again open, most likely a trade-off of the lighter and extra sturdy hinge.
Show(s)
Each shows function wonderful picture high quality, responsiveness and luxury, and produce a superior visible expertise for consuming content material typically.
The 7.9” OLED includes a 2272 x 1984 pixels decision in a ten.3:9 facet ratio (382ppi pixel density). The 90Hz refresh price is beneath the 120Hz functionality of the Galaxy Z Fold4, the Combine Fold 2 or the Oppo Discover N2.
“AMAZING IMAGE QUALITY”
In all probability to boost the common telephone expertise over the “pill mode”, Honor determined to supply a better 120 Hz refresh price and pixel density (431PPI vs. 381) to the 6.45” 2560 x 1080 pixels outer display.
The 1200 NITs peak brightness on the paper is much like the theoretical peak brightness of the Z Fold4, we nonetheless have to measure the brightness to examine the declare.
The crease is as seen as within the foldable telephones we’ve performed with, such because the Galaxy Z Fold4 and the Z Flip4. I barely discover it, because the show high quality is excellent.
Sound High quality
The audio high quality is excellent, and the stereo twin audio system ship a robust and clear sound at most quantity. Nevertheless, when in comparison with the Galaxy S22 Extremely whose sound is nearly as wonderful because the Galaxy S23 Extremely and the Apple Professional Max, I seen that the Magic Vs barely lacks bass.
Honor Magic Vs Digital camera
The Honor Magic Vs brings the digicam efficiency shut the one discovered within the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23, and barely increased than the one of many Z Fold4.
On the again, there’s a triple-camera module:
- Main Digital camera (Extensive)
- 27mm 54MP IMX800 Principal Digital camera (f/1.9)
- Video: As much as 2160×3840 pixels
- Picture: As much as 6144×8768 pixels
- Ultrawide & Macro digicam
- Telephoto digicam
- 94mm 8MP f/2.4 3X optical zoom + OIS
Within the interior show, there’s a selfie digicam:
Our algorithmic CAMERA HW score ranks the Honor Magic Vs (rating=161) barely above the Galaxy Z Fold4 (rating=155) and nearer to the Galaxy S23+ and S23 (rating=166), a great rating as impartial reviewers acknowledge the S23+/S23 as a great shooter within the premium section.
The first large digicam is supplied with a big 54MP IMX800 sensor that’s akin to the one discovered within the Galaxy Z Fold4, in line with our algorithm.
Each the ultrawide and telephoto lenses are slightly higher than those within the Z Fold4. The Magic Vs optical “3X” zoom is healthier as a result of it includes a longer focal lens 94mm than the 62 mm of the Z Fold4.
Each telephones function a high-resolution sensor for the first shooter. Nevertheless, not like the Samsung gadget, the high-res photograph seize is unavailable in auto mode. With the Magic Vs, you could drill down two sub-menus to search out it (digicam mode menu>extra>excessive res).
System Efficiency
As a result of it’s geared up with the identical Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 because the Samsung Z Fold4, the efficiency could be very a lot comparable. Our assessments present the Z Fol4 has a small benefit within the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark, but it surely’s one thing that customers would most likely not discover a lot in the true world. We actually didn’t.
From a graphics/gaming viewpoint, the efficiency we measured is almost similar, which isn’t stunning. In any case, the conclusion is that the Honor Magic Vs performs precisely like what we’d anticipate from a big high-end, Foldable android smartphone.
Battery Life
Due to the brand new hinge, the Magic Vs includes a 5000 mAh battery, the most important on the foldable market. Non-foldable flagships akin to S23 Extremely or OnePlus 11 have the identical capability. 5000 mAh is usually thought-about to be the utmost sensible capability, however it’s notably difficult for a foldable design.
Moreover, when you want to replenish the battery, this smartphone can cost as much as 66W of energy, which is quicker than any of the opponents we’ve seen till now. For heavy vacationers, this can be a vital benefit as you may cost 66% quicker earlier than boarding a flight or heading to your subsequent vacation spot.
Conclusion
The Honor Magic Vs is a formidable piece of expertise on the similar stage of system efficiency, design excellence, show high quality, and digicam efficiency because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, its nemesis.
“AN IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY”
The slight distinction in our ranking is justified by the absence of water resistance which is vital for any gadget above $1500, and a greater consumer expertise for productiveness and multi-tasking discovered within the Samsung gadget.
The Honor gadget actually feels thinner and extra agreeable to carry within the hand than the Z Fold4, with a greater digicam, for 200 euros much less.
Filed in . Learn extra about Editorspick, Honor, Honor Reviews and Smartphones.
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