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🚀 The Honor Magic V5 has launched in the UK and Europe, and reviews of the device are going live
💨 Reviewers have praised its improved camera setup, faster internals and much improved battery life
😮 They’ve also been impressed with how stylish and slim the phone is, with it technically being the world's slimmest folding phone
🤷♂️ The consensus is that it's a great folding phone marred by poorer MagicOS software that isn't as polished as the Android skins of its rivals
The Honor Magic V5 is the Chinese brand's latest foldable, and it appears to have made some real waves with reviewers.
Unfortunately, the foldable isn’t available in the US, like most Honor devices. However, it’s still worth discussing, especially as it’s the thinnest foldable on the market, and should provide some serious competition to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
This new model comes with upgraded cameras and battery capacity compared to the previous Magic V3 model, areas that reviewers have praised. It’s also technically the world's thinnest foldable with a thickness of under 9mm, which has impressed.
For instance, The Guardian was strong in its praise for the Honor Magic V5, though noted problems with MagicOS.
"Yet again Honor has produced some exquisite folding phone hardware that is let down by its software. MagicOS has improved over the last few years, but it lacks much of the customisation and capabilities possible on rivals.
“The biggest problem is that it lacks polish, with rough patches or irritating behaviours across the system. None of them is a deal-breaker, but they build up and can’t be overlooked on a £1,700 phone."
In my review for Eurogamer, I shared similar thoughts, noting the stylish design and feel, solid bump in performance and improved battery life. However, the MagicOS version of Android lacks polish and some customization options compared to Samsung's OneUI, for instance:
"We've got potent performance, plus a set of two dazzling OLED screens and stronger performance in terms of camera quality and battery life, meaning Honor has hit the right notes when it comes to its targeted areas for upgrade over the Magic V3. By also being even thinner it makes it even more pocketable overall and retains serious points for a modern and stylish foldable phone. It's just the MagicOS Android distro that holds it back a tad."
Android Central went as far as calling Honor’s phone "thincredible", owing to its slender chassis, which has been a key win for the Magic V5. Though it seems that the reviewer also had misgivings over MagicOS.
The Verge gave the device a 7/10 rating, though were more impressed with its enhanced longevity owing to a much larger battery. However, the outlet deemed the 0.1mm difference in thickness between the Magic V5, the ZFold 7 and the Oppo Find N5 to be unperceivable. They also bemoaned the larger camera bump and the lack of US availability, summing up as below:
"So no, it doesn’t actually matter that this is the world’s thinnest foldable (if you don’t count the camera bump). What matters is that it’s really a rather good one, and a compelling reason to look beyond the big two players."
Trusted Reviews called the Honor Magic V5 an "absolute marvel from a hardware perspective" and had high praise for the device elsewhere:
"The Honor Magic V5 is an absolute marvel from a hardware perspective, making the foldable concept more portable than ever, before backing it up with outstanding cameras and even better battery life."
Despite some drawbacks with the software, the Honor Magic V5 has been well-received across a range of reviews. The actual hardware is excellent, but it's the shoddier software and quite high price at £1,699.99 that's holding the device back against its rivals.
Up next: Google Pixel 10 Pro review: the best AI phone on the market
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.
