{"id":64,"date":"2025-08-30T15:00:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bepet.net\/?p=64"},"modified":"2025-09-27T16:45:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T16:45:33","slug":"honor-magic-v5-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bepet.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/30\/honor-magic-v5-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Honor Magic V5 \u2013 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
Honor has just announced its new folding flagship for 2025. I was fortunate enough to have been able to use this device for the last month or so, and now it\u2019s time for me to share my thoughts on the brand new Honor Magic V5<\/a> folding phone. The first place I want to start is by referring you to the unboxing video I released just over a month ago. In that video, I took you on a tour of the hardware and unboxed the device. While some information in the video was not fully revealed, it still provides valuable details about the device. Design<\/span><\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s delve deeper into the design of the Honor Magic V5<\/a>. Every time I pick up the device, I\u2019m slightly awestruck by how thin it feels. However, I understand that some people may think that thinness comes with fragility. Rest assured, I\u2019ve had issues with creaking, bending, flexing, or indeed, grinding from the all-important hinge mechanism. I\u2019ll discuss these issues in more detail later.<\/p>\n When using this phone as my daily driver, I\u2019ve taken it to various environments, including a recent holiday to Madeira. Thanks to its IP rating of IP 58 and IP 59, I have very few concerns about using it in damp environments. The outer display is the same size as most candy bar phones available today, making folding the phone a breeze. I can do everything I need to do without any issues. When I need more real estate, unfolding the phone is easy and smooth, with a seamless transition from folded to unfolded. I<\/em>nsert images of Magic Stylus\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Moving away from the display, let\u2019s talk about buttons. One thing I noticed with the Honor Magic V series, up until now, was the asymmetric placement of the volume and power buttons. The reasoning for this made sense at the time: you had the power button on one side of the phone when unfolded, and the volume button on the other, creating a stepped bottom effect when folded closed. This did allow for clear distinction between the bottoms once you adjusted to it, though. When holding the phone in my right hand, I find that my thumb naturally finds the power key with ease. The buttons also have a nice, reassuring click to them, so you know from haptic feedback that you\u2019ve pressed them correctly. The same cannot be said for some of the Honor Magic V5\u2019s rivals.<\/p>\n Around the back of the phone, your colour choice will make a difference to how things feel. If you choose the Dawn Gold version, like I have, you have a textured golden finish that still allows for some grip. If you go with the White version, you have a back panel made of carbon filament, which I haven\u2019t had the pleasure of feeling, but I\u2019m assuming would be grippier still. As far as I know, the Black finish will be the most similar to the gold design, but I haven\u2019t had the chance to hold one in my hand yet.<\/p>\n The phone has a substantial camera module on the back. Initially, I wasn\u2019t a fan because it means the phone doesn\u2019t rest flat when placed on a surface. However, over time, I\u2019ve come to appreciate the benefits of having such a large module. <\/p>\n I\u2019ve found myself using the phone with and without the cover, depending on what I was doing that day. When I was on holiday, I did use the cover, and I did drop the phone on one occasion. Fortunately, the cover was present, so the phone was largely unscathed. I did suffer a slight scratch on the bottom rail, next to the USB-C port. <\/p>\n The front glass is a hardened glass from Honor, an in-house developed glass. The screen on the inside is also using in-house developed, almost level technology that allows the inner screen to be tougher than previous generations. After a month of usage, I haven\u2019t had any marks on the inner display from daily use or debris when the phone is folded. A nice touch is that Honor\u2019s inbuilt software can detect something on the screen when you\u2019re trying to fold the phone and will warn you. I\u2019m not sure how this is done, but it\u2019s a nice reassurance to keep your inner display safe.<\/p>\n As mentioned, the phone does have a very thin USB-C port that barely fits into the thickness of the side rail. However, this USB-C port will support fast charging, including Supercharger Standard, which can charge at up to 80 watts when using the appropriate Honor Supercharger. Overall, I\u2019m very impressed with the design of the Honor Magic V5<\/a>. I\u2019ve been very happy using it as my daily driver. However, when I returned to using my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I found that I missed the thinness of the Honor Magic V5<\/a>. With that said, let\u2019s now look at the internal hardware and see what makes this phone truly special.<\/p>\n Before we get into the hardware, let’s take a look at the specs table<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
So, without further ado, let\u2019s jump in!<\/p>\n
Before we dive into the tour and explore the finer details of the design, I recommend taking a quick look at the unboxing article<\/a> I wrote. <\/p>\n
One of the first things I want to mention is how incredibly thin this phone is. The colour I have is Dawn Gold, which is not the thinnest version of the phone. If you\u2019re looking for the thinnest version, you\u2019ll need to consider the Arctic White variant. This version measures 8.8 mm when folded and 4.1 mm when unfolded, leaving barely enough room for the USB-C port. Weight-wise wise it comes in at staggeringly low 217g in the Ivory White version with the Dawn Gold and lack version a tiny bit heavier at 227g, not that you can really notice.
The gold variant I have is slightly thicker, measuring 9 millimetres unfolded but less than 4.2 millimetres when unfolded. This means that the phone feels like a regular candy bar when used in its folded state.
For example, I have a photo below of the Honor Magic V5<\/a> next to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. You can see how these phones compare in terms of thickness. It\u2019s amazing to see how Honor has managed to cram in two batteries and two screens into such a thin form factor.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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Although I haven\u2019t actually done so yet, I\u2019m comfortable taking this phone to the beach. This is the first time I\u2019ve said that about any folding phone I\u2019ve used in the past. I\u2019ve used various types of folding phones over the years, including both Pixel Fold devices and Samsung Z Fold devices. I\u2019ve also been lucky enough to use every Honor Magic V Fold device they\u2019ve produced, with the Magic V5 being by far their best implementation of a folding phone yet.<\/p>\n
As an added bonus, the Magic V5 is now the only new flagship folding phone available in the UK that supports stylus input using the Honour Magic Stylus 2. This is a significant difference from the implementation Samsung had on the Z Fold line, as you could only use the stylus on the internal, more fragile display. As a result, I barely used the stylus on the Z Fold when I owned it. With the Honor Magic V5<\/a>, I can use the stylus on the outer display without any concern, as it\u2019s a solid glass panel with a slightly softer plastic, glass composite panel on the inner display.<\/p>\n
However, the owner has adopted a more standard button placement for the Honor Magic V5<\/a>. Now, we have the power and volume rocker located on the right-hand side of the phone, one above the other, which makes it easier to transition from a more traditional candy bar format. As your muscle memory knows where to put your fingers, you can perform appropriate actions, as is the norm with foldable phones. The power button also doubles as a fingerprint reader, which I\u2019ve found to be fast and effective at scanning my fingerprints, with only very rare failures. This is probably more down to me as I switch phones quite a lot, but I\u2019m sure if I stuck with using the Magic V5 for a long time, I would minimise the misreads of the fingerprint sensor.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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I really like the design of the camera modules around it. Honor has taken the time to give fine detailing to this round, making it look and feel like an expensive watch face. I also like that it\u2019s centrally placed along the Z axis, so when you place the phone on a flat surface and close it, there\u2019s no appreciable wobble.
Unfortunately, the same can\u2019t be said when the phone is open and folded. This is a byproduct of having high-quality camera sensors in such a thin device. The simple laws of physics dictate that these cameras need to be raised slightly from the back panel to allow for the space needed to achieve the focal lengths we now demand from our smartphone cameras.
As a bonus, the owner includes a protective back cover in the box. This colour-matched cover is made of PU leather-like material and provides a nice degree of protection for the camera island. It also has the added benefit of including some hinge protection that magnetically holds itself in place when the phone is closed.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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However, it was merely cosmetic thankfully.<\/p>\nThe Metal side rails are made of stainless steel and subtly curved to provide a comfortable feel and prevent them from sticking into your palm when using the phone, whether folded or unfolded.<\/p>\n
Sadly, this charger is not included in the retail packaging. However, I would be very surprised if Honor didn\u2019t offer a charger as a bundled accessory when the phone is pre-ordered, as they have done with most of their flagship devices over recent years.The last area I want to mention about design is the speaker placement. The Honor Magic V5 speakers are offset when the phone is unfolded, which is important because it provides a better audio experience when you hold the phone in its unfolded position, as the chances of you covering one or both of the speaker grilles are minimised. This is different from the implementation of some other manufacturers. Follow. It\u2019s now becoming more common for speaker grills to be placed on one side of the fold mechanism, as seen with the Oppo Find N5, which I reviewed previously.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for a thin and sleek folding phone, then the Honor Magic V5 definitely needs to be on your list.<\/p>\n