{"id":705406,"date":"2026-06-15T12:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/705406\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:17:09","slug":"honors-magic-v6-sets-three-foldable-firsts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/705406\/","title":{"rendered":"Honor\u2019s Magic V6 sets three foldable firsts"},"content":{"rendered":"

On paper, the Honor Magic V6 sounds like a tremendous leap forward for foldable phones: It\u2019s the thinnest one yet, with the biggest battery, and the best water-resistance ever. In practice, only the bigger battery feels like a meaningful improvement. The other upgrades are only fractionally superior to what came before.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t entirely Honor\u2019s fault. It\u2019s getting harder to make a foldable phone stand out; even last year\u2019s offerings felt like complete flagship phones. Huawei\u2019s Pura X Max<\/a> stood out for its odd new aspect ratio, which we\u2019re expecting to see both Samsung<\/a> and Apple<\/a> replicate later this year. Then there are the trifolds<\/a>, which feel like a separate beast entirely. But book-style Android foldables have well and truly matured, now able to go toe-to-toe with regular flagship phones in almost every respect.<\/p>\n

Honor has been one of the manufacturers pushing foldables forward most aggressively, so it\u2019s earned the right to release a phone with relatively modest hardware improvements. I just wish the company had done more to overhaul the software, as MagicOS remains the main thing holding the Magic V6 back.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

$1930<\/p>\n

The GoodTwo-day battery lifeIP69 dust- and water-resistanceThinnest foldable phone aroundSeven years of software supportThe BadMagicOS is often frustratingLacks Oppo\u2019s almost invisible creaseTriple camera is good, but slab phones are still better<\/p>\n

The Magic V6 launched at February\u2019s MWC trade show<\/a>. At the time, it only went on sale in China; it\u2019s taken until now for Honor to begin the global rollout. The phone is now on sale in Malaysia and Singapore<\/a>, where it costs RM 7,699 (about $1,930). More countries, including the UK and Europe, are set to follow later this month.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only fair to start with the phone\u2019s three foldable firsts, even if they\u2019re mostly incremental. For starters, it\u2019s the thinnest foldable in the world, just 4mm thick when open, and 8.75mm when folded shut (well, the white version is \u2014 other colors are fractionally thicker at 9mm). Closed, it\u2019s no thicker than an iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a>, which is a true accomplishment. But it\u2019s a mere 0.05mm thinner than Honor\u2019s previous generation Magic foldable<\/a>. That\u2019s about the width of a human hair, so I think it\u2019s safe to say we\u2019re in imperceptible territory here.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

My gold version of the phone isn\u2019t quite the thinnest, but each half is still barely thicker than the USB-C port.<\/p>\n

The Magic V6 is also the first foldable phone with an IP69 rating, meaning it\u2019s dust-tight and capable of surviving exposure to high-pressure and high-temperature water jets. The rating means the V6 has better dust protection than the V5\u2019s IP59 and can survive water exposure that the IP68 Pixel 10 Pro Fold<\/a> couldn\u2019t, but the practical implications still feel minimal. I can\u2019t say I run into high-pressure jets with my phone in hand all that often, but even so, the extra peace of mind is welcome.<\/p>\n

The most important of the three upgrades is to the battery, which is now 6,660mAh thanks to improved silicon-carbon cells (though China gets an even more capacious 7,150mAh model). This is bigger than any other foldable out there and a reasonable jump up from the 5,820mAh capacity of the Magic V5. And it pays off. The V5 could last for a day and then some, but I\u2019ve been comfortably using the V6 for two days at a time, charging every other night, and I struggle to see how even a heavy user could run this thing down over the course of a single day. This, at least, feels like a meaningful improvement.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Closed, it\u2019s increasingly hard to tell foldables like this from regular slab phones.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Magic V6 defaults to uncomfortably vivid display settings, but you can make it more muted.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The triple camera island is big, but actually a lot thinner than the Magic V5\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a touch gaudy, but I don\u2019t mind the glittery golden effect \u2014 it reminds me a little of silicon wafers.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere things are boring, but only because I take them for granted in flagship foldables. Of course the Magic V6 is powered by Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/a>. Of course it offers up to 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. Of course it includes fast wireless charging (but, of course, it doesn\u2019t support Qi2). Of course it has dual 120Hz OLED displays and a triple rear camera and support for a stylus. These things aren\u2019t just expected any more, they\u2019re assumed.<\/p>\n

Still, as much as foldable phones have advanced, there are drawbacks. The camera is still the big one. The triple rear camera here is certainly impressive and probably the best in any foldable bar Oppo\u2019s Find N6<\/a>. But, just like that phone, the camera system here lags behind the absolute top-end slab phones, held back by smaller sensors that limit light capture, heavy saturation on many shots, and some inconsistent color processing. In short: The camera is good, but not great, and that is still one of the big compromises you\u2019ll make with any foldable phone.<\/p>\n

1\/18As expected, the 50-megapixel main camera takes bright, detailed shots.<\/p>\n

The crease is another, of course. The V6\u2019s is fairly subtle, but nowhere near as hard to detect as the nearly imperceptible one<\/a> on Oppo\u2019s latest. And then there\u2019s durability. Yes, there\u2019s an IP69 rating, but it\u2019s still a foldable: The hinge is fragile, the inner screen is soft, and it\u2019s difficult to protect fully with a case. Outside of China, Honor can\u2019t match the repair and support infrastructure of the likes of Samsung, so you may have a harder time if it does ever break.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s software. The good news is that Honor is promising seven years of OS and security updates, two more than Oppo and the same that Google and Samsung offer. The bad is that Honor\u2019s MagicOS is among my least favorite Android skins. The UI is noisy (and increasingly inspired by Apple\u2019s Liquid Glass), Honor packs the phone with its own-brand apps, and the multitasking isn\u2019t as powerful or as intuitive as Oppo\u2019s. I much prefer using other versions of Android OS, and the software is a major reason the Oppo Find N6 remains my favorite foldable.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

MagicOS loves AI widgets and glassy UI elements.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know exactly what the rumored foldable iPhone will offer, or Samsung\u2019s imminent Galaxy Z Fold 8 for that matter. But Apple will be entering a mature foldable market, and I have to give credit to Honor as one of the companies that\u2019s made sure that\u2019s the case. Over the last few years its Magic foldables have pushed the limits of foldable design and battery capacity again and again, and the Magic V6 is the culmination of that steady progress in hardware, even if Honor has let its software side lapse. This is an impressive, complete foldable, but all those incremental upgrades are beginning to feel boring. Let\u2019s see if Apple can make things interesting again.<\/p>\n

Photography by Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

Agree to Continue: Honor Magic V6<\/p>\n

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it \u2014 contracts that no one actually reads. It\u2019s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit \u201cagree\u201d to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don\u2019t read and definitely can\u2019t negotiate.<\/p>\n

To use the Magic V6, you must agree to:<\/p>\n

Google Terms of Service<\/a>Google Play Terms of Service<\/a>Google Privacy Policy (included in ToS<\/a>)Install apps and updates: \u201cYou agree this device may also automatically download and install updates and apps from Google, your operator, and your device\u2019s manufacturer, possibly using cellular data.\u201dHonor End User Software Licence AgreementHonor Basic Service Statement<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a variety of optional agreements, including:<\/p>\n

Provide anonymous location data for Google\u2019s services\u201cAllow apps and services to scan for Wi-Fi networks and nearby devices at any time, even when Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is off.\u201dSend usage and diagnostic data to GoogleLet contacts nearby find and share with youGoogle Gemini Apps Privacy Notice if you opt in to using Gemini AssistantHonor User Experience Improvement ProgrammeHonor system software update serviceHonor Magazine Unlock User AgreementMy Honor User AgreementHonor Connect User AgreementHonor AI Suggestions User AgreementHonor Location Services<\/p>\n

Honor includes several more optional agreements during setup tied to specific features. Other Google features, like Google Wallet, may require additional agreements.<\/p>\n

Final tally: six mandatory agreements and more than 12 optional agreements.<\/p>\n

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