Before attending Honor's global reveal of its foldable Magic V5, I wasn't sure how I felt about foldable phones. I do well with my iPhone 16 Pro, and as we judge smartphones at Creative Bloq largely on how good their camera is, it's not as if I was eagerly looking for a new device.
Honor has really confused things for me with the release of the V5. There are many cool features, but the camera and display combination are the stars for me. And, once I got past the usual marketing waffle that comes with such reveal events ("non-Newtonian liquid" anyone?!), the specs in general seem to raise the bar for foldable phones.
But let's be clear. At £1,699.99, there's no way this smartphone is going to make our guide to the best budget cameraphones. And yes, that is still cheaper than the recently released Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but foldable phones are a luxury item – this is a cutting edge, eye-wateringly expensive phone that does things because it can, not because it needs to. Let's dig into it...
'Light as paper, strong as steel'
This is a very thin phone. 4.1mm thin. That makes it the thinnest smartphone on the market right now – not only cool, but useful, when you consider that, when folded, you'll have double that in your pocket. I put it in my pocket and – after explaining to a concerned staff member that no, I wasn't trying to have it away – it felt the same, if not a little thinner, than my iPhone 16 Pro, with silicone case.
At 217g it's light, but it's no lightweight – one of the pieces of marketing that actually hit was seeing the unfolded V5 take the weight of a 35kg dumbbell, showing that there's no weak spot in the V5's crease. In my hands, it certainly felt solid when I was folding the phone open and close.
AI and battery
A lot was said about the V5 being an AI device and, though not a lot was fleshed out at the event, that rings true with its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and Google Gemini installed. Coming with 16GB RAM should mean this will be a snappy, responsive device, and with that AI motor, the efficiency of the V5's battery looks to be industry-leading.
Honor claim that the V5's battery will last for 49 hours – 9 hours longer than the Samsung Z Fold 7 – though it wasn't made clear how the device was used in that time. Stats coming from the product's maker should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but if it's close to that number at mid-level use, that's pretty impressive.
Camera and display
The camera sounds great, with a 50mp wide, 50mp ultra-wide and 64mp periscope telephoto lens, and though I took a few snaps with the V5 at the event, I won't be able to give an informed opinion on this until I spend some time with the device and write up my full review.
One thing I can say with confidence is that the V5's display is utterly gorgeous. Unfolded there's a 7.95-inch AMOLED inner display with practically sparkles. It's really something to behold, and scrolling through text and images was really enjoyable. One cool detail – you can now use both inner and back screens with the stylus, where previously you could only use the larger inner screen.
All in all, I left the Honor Magic V5's launch event eager to get my hands back on the device, and really put it through its paces. First impressions? This is a seriously impressive smartphone, and – just possibly – the one that will convert me to foldable phones.
