Foldables have really started to take off in the last year or so, with the likes of Samsung, Motorola, Oppo and Huawei releasing models that prove the format is more than just a novelty. Now it looks like Chinese brand Honor is about to join the party. Here’s all we know so far about the Honor Magic V.
When will the Honor Magic V be released?
Honor has officially confirmed the existence of the Magic V but has only released a teaser image along with the name. However, there has been lots of speculation about when this highly anticipated device would arrive.
Several reputable sites have pointed to the Chinese tipster Chrysanthemum Factory Films Fan, who posted on Weibo that Honor would “release its first folding-screen phone at the end of the fourth quarter. It is currently said that the code name is Magic X.” Now we know that’s not quite correct.
The name is almost right, but the fourth quarter of 2021 is firmly behind us. One potential date that Honor is likely to announce more details is 5 January 2022, as that’s when the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) begins.
This has been an event in the past that has seen some significant announcements, so Honor could choose the show (and the wide coverage it generates) to introduce its first foldable.
Another possibility, and one put forward by the Chinese tipster who goes by the name of Changan Digital King, predicts that the new device will arrive in February 2022, to coincide with Chinese New Year.
Either seems plausible to us, as the Honor foldable has been long rumoured and feels likely to appear sooner rather than later.
How much will the Honor Magic V cost?
At the time of writing, Honor hadn’t told the world anything beyond the name, and the fact it will launch a folding phone.
But there has been a lot of chatter that the new device would share quite a few features and design elements with the recently announced Huawei Mate X2 5G. One of the prime reasons for this is that Honor was a sub-brand of Huawei until the controversy where the USA decided to ban the latter.
This caused Honor to be spun off into an independent company, but there is bound to be plenty of crossover in product development from before the split.
With that in mind, the Huawei Mate X2 price could point us in the right direction. That particular model is currently only available in China, with a cost of CNY 17,999. This roughly converts to £2,119/€2,499/US$2,825, which while astronomical for normal phones isn’t so outlandish in the realm of foldables.
For reference, here’s how other top foldables are priced:
As prices have started to drop below the frankly ludicrous figures at which they began, we’d hope that any offering from Honor would at least be competitive with its rivals from Samsung and Oppo.
What features will the Honor Magic V offer?
Again, nothing has been confirmed, so we remain in the land of rumours and speculation. Most of the leaks we’ve seen have stated that the Magic V will be similar in design to its erstwhile stablemate, the Huawei Mate X2. So, if this turns out to be true, then the Honor may well feature a tall book-style construction, with a 6.45in OLED display on the outside and an 8in OLED on the inside.
Reports from several sites, including GizChina, state that the new foldable panel will be made by Visionox and BOE, who have already worked with Xiaomi and Huawei on their foldable smartphones.
In fact, there is a possibility that Honor could be working on two styles of device, with SparrowNews reporting that the company has filed for two name registries in Europe: Honor Magic Fold and Honor Magic Wing. This does suggest that alongside a vertical fold we may also see a clamshell foldable as well.
Under the hood, the Mate X2 uses a Kirin 9000 processor, but with the Honor Magic 3 series topping out at a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ 5G, it could be that the Magic V gets something of an upgrade to its silicon.
According to Weibo tipster, Digital Chat Station the Honor Magic Fold will be first and come sporting a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, instead of any MediaTek hardware, suggesting that the ‘Wing’ will be the one to run on a Dimensity chip.
GizChina has another suggestion though, based on a non-foldable model Honor could be preparing. The X20 Max is expected to make its debut in the same kind of time frame as the Magic V, and that is thought to come equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 1100 processor. Either chip would mean that Honor’s first foldable smartphone is sure to pack something of a punch, though.
The Mate X2 also featured a quad-camera array, made up of a 50Mp, f/1.9 Wide + 16Mp, f/2.2 ultra-wide + 12Mp, f/2.4 tele + 8Mp, f/4.4, macro, with various OIS (optical image stabilisation) capabilities. This same arrangement could easily make its way onto the Honor foldable device.
Rather than dabble with under-display fingerprint sensors, and the potential challenge the folding display could present with this feature, Huawei decided instead to place the sensor on the side of the device inside the power button. This is a solid solution and one that would make perfect sense on the new Honor phone too.
Aside from these key areas, there is very little being leaked or reported about what Honor may be bringing to its new venture. If the release dates are accurate though, we should see the finished results in the coming months.
Until then, to see how the Huawei Mate X2, and what might turn out to be a very similar Honor Magic V, was put together, here are its technical specifications:
- Android 10 with EMUI 11
- Interior: 8in foldable 90Hz OLED display (2200 x 2480)
- Exterior: 6.45in 90Hz OLED (2700 x 1160)
- Kirin 9000 chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
- 50Mp, f/1.9, RYYB OIS rear camera + 16Mp, f/2.2 ultra-wide + 12Mp, f/2.4, 3x, OIS tele + 8Mp, f/4.4, 10x, OIS periscope
- 16Mp f/2.2 front camera + colour temperature sensor
- Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
- 11az dual-band Wi-Fi 6
- Bluetooth 5.2
- GPS
- NFC
- 5G/4G LTE
- USB-C
- 4500mAh non-removable battery
- 55W wired charging
- Unfolded: 161.8 x 145.8 x 4.4-8.2mm
- Folded: 161.8 x 74.6 x 13.6-14.7mm
- 295g
For more devices that we’re looking forward to seeing, read our roundup of the best new phones coming in 2022.