Just days after Samsung’s grandeur Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris, France (together with the all-new Galaxy Z Fold6), HONOR abruptly steals the spotlight with the revelation of the newest Magic V3 and Vs3 foldables in China.

Slimmest fold of 2024

HONOR has challenged their own record and managed to beat the Magic V2’s already impressive 9.9mm chassis with an impossibly thinner 9.2mm thin design. Mind you, we’re talking about the foldable in its folded state.

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Moreover, it’s expected to become lighter as well. The HONOR Magic V3 now weighs at just 226 grams — 11 grams lighter than its predecessor. Still, vivo holds the record for having the lightest foldable of ’em all with the X Fold3 at 219 grams.

HONOR has achieved this breakthrough thanks to their Luban Hinge Architecture. If you remember, it’s also found on the company’s first flip, the Magic V Flip.

It’s the company’s second-generation self-developed shield steel that’s ultra high in strength yet light as well. It delivers a smooth folding and unfolding experience and can withstand up to 2100MPa of pressure.

And to make the HONOR Magic V3 durable than ever, it employs a new back material called Aerospace Special Fiber. This promises up to 40x stronger protection than conventional glass. A stronger 7 Series Aluminum Alloy frame is present as well.

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Finally, the Magic V3 now features an IP certification. IPX8 rating makes the foldable withstand depths of water down to 2.5 meters. Using it with wet hands won’t ruin your device either.

Mighty like a V3 Engine

The madness doesn’t stop there! Under the hood, the HONOR Magic V3 runs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with Adreno 750 graphics.

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You can either have it in 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage options. Onboard memory starts at 12GB and maxes out at 16GB. However, last year’s Magic V2 was only offered in a loner but bigger 16GB RAM.

Worried about cooling in such a thin chassis? Well, the Chinese company spotlights its Cicada Wing Titanium VC (Vapor Cooling) Chamber and manages to provide enough cooling while being so slim at 0.22mm.

As evident as it looks in the new bigger camera island, the Magic V3 features improved cameras across the board: 50MP f/1.6 main (wide) sensor, another 50MP f/3.0 telephoto shooter with a farther 3.5x optical zoom (from 2.5x). Lastly, a 40MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens with 112-degree FoV (Field of View).

For outer and inner selfie cameras, HONOR has also slightly tweaked ’em: 20MP f/2.0 with 90-degree FoV (from Magic V2’s 16MP f/2.2).

Keeping What’s Already Impressive

The HONOR Magic V3 still keeps the already impressive 6.43-inch outer and 7.92-inch inner LTPO OLED displays of its predecessor.

Those also mean great stuff remain like its 1~120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 4320Hz PWM Dimming, DCI-P3 wide color gamut and support for 1.07 Billion Colors plus Dolby Vision.

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The displays are both protected by King Kong Giant Rhino (external) and King Kong Flexible Armor (internal). Albeit, some improvements in brightness like 1800 nits in peak and up to 5000 nits in HBM (High Brightness Mode).

Fast charging speed remains the same (66W SuperCharge) but capacity has slightly been boosted from 5000mAh to 5150mAh — still with Si/C (Silicon/Carbon) battery tech. Additionally, it’s worthy to point out though that it finally supports 50W wireless charging.

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Not that we are complaining but vivo also holds the record for having the biggest battery and fastest charging in a book-style foldable so far — 5700mAh paired with 100W wired FlashCharge on the vivo X Fold3 Pro.

The Love Child of Magic V2 and V3?

Already on HONOR’s third “Vs” iteration, the Magic Vs3 is evidently the underpowered Magic V3. But unlike past generations, the Magic Vs3 doesn’t use the same design as its full counterpart with its less attractive looks (subjective).

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Other than its 9.8mm chassis (0.1mm slimmer than the Magic V2), it also shares last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip found on previous foldable flagship.

More key features remain the same: 6.43-inch cover + 7.92-inch foldable LTPO OLED adaptive 120Hz displays, 16MP f/2.2 selfie shooters, and a 50MP f/1.9 main rear camera like the V2.

But some changes include Magic V3’s 40MP 112-degree f/2.2 UWA lens and a smaller 8MP f/3.4 telephoto unit — yet with the farthest 5x optical zoom of the bunch.

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Base memory still starts at 12GB but continues to be the selection even when you opt for the 512GB storage option. While it also has the same 5000mAh battery as the V2, the Magic Vs3 sticks with the conventional Li-Po (Lithium-Polymer) battery tech instead of Si/C (Silicon/Carbon).

On a good note, it also supports 50W wireless charging like the Magic V3.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

It’s quite the love child of Magic V2 and V3 — or like a Magic V2 on a new skin with some tweaks. Both of these Magical foldables run on a newer MagicOS 8.0 software based on Android 14.

AI features should already be expected much like every new Android flagship out there. However, satellite connectivity is limited to the Magic V3 only.

Pricing and Availability

The HONOR Magic V3 and Vs3 are available in these nature-inspired colorways: Qilian Snow, Tundra Green, and Velvet Black. Additionally, the Silk Road Dunhuang color choice is exclusive to the Magic V3.

Pricing and configuration of each foldable are as follows:

Magic V3

• 12+256GB = CNY 8999 (US$ 1237 / EUR 1143 / GBP 966 / SG$ 1669 / PhP 72,115 / INR 103,287)
• 16+512GB = CNY 9999 (US$ 1374 / EUR 1270 / GBP 1073 / SG$ 1854 / PhP 80,129 / INR 114,765)
• 16+1TB = CNY 10,999 (US$ 1512 / EUR 1396 / GBP 1180 / SG$ 2040 / PhP 88,142 / INR 126,243)

Magic Vs3

• 12+256GB = CNY 6999 (US$ 962 / EUR 888 / GBP 751 / SG$ 1298 / PhP 56,088 / INR 80,332)
• 12+512GB = CNY 7699 (US$ 1058 / EUR 977 / GBP 826 / SG$ 1428 / PhP 61,697 / INR 88,367)
• 16+1TB = CNY 8699 (US$ 1196 / EUR 1104 / GBP 933 / SG$ 1613 / PhP 69,710 / INR 99,844)

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Global availability was never mentioned but we are expecting HONOR will at least sell the Magic V3 in international shelves soon much like its predecessor.