Reviews

vivo X70 review: Sexy, camera beast

It has the makings of a high-end smartphone!

Published

October 14, 2021

MJ Jucutan

Over the years, vivo set out to take its brand to greater heights. Like OPPO, the Chinese company aims to be in the same league as Huawei — rivaling Samsung and worthy enough to take on Apple.

We thought it would be the NEX series that will elevate vivo’s standing, but the line didn’t fly. Instead, we get the X series which seems to refresh every six months or so.

Early this year, we got a hold on the vivo X60 series, which we’ve praised tremendously as the camera smartphone to beat. With the X70 series, vivo really took it up a notch.

In our vivo X70 Pro+ review, the Android flagship rivals Samsung’s best. So, can the base vivo X70 deliver on what its series promises — a premium flagship with cameras to beat?

Unboxing

The vivo X70 comes in a sleek, black box with its letters carved in a shiny silver colorway.

Details are on point with the way the box is crafted. It really excites you to see what’s in store for you.

Of course, the phone is wrapped in plastic — which will be the main point later.

Underneath is a set of accessories essential for your smartphone experience: warranty card, SIM ejector tool, USB-C cable, a 44W FlashCharge power brick, a clear case, a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle, and wired earphones.

Bringing sexy black

Seeing the vivo X70 for the first time charmed me. The Cosmic Black variant gave a sexy appeal, dressed in a black finish that’s soft but not slippery.

When hit by the sun, or any light, it explodes with shimmery glitter. I like how Vivo has taken what could otherwise be a black phone and not make it boring.

It has fine details, too. On its top, you can find a text written as “professional photography” that shines depending on the light.

Found on its right side are the power button and volume rockers.

The bottom side houses the sim tray, a USB-C port, and speaker grilles. There’s no headphone jack, which is why vivo included a dongle in the box.

It’s a bit sad, but you can only use two NanoSIM cards on its SIM card tray.

A sexier camera module

The vivo X70 series deviates from the familiar form of its predecessor, both for the X70 and X70 Pro. The X70 Pro+ has a larger camera bump added with curves around the module to soften the offensiveness of the large bump.

And it has a mirror-like piece called Ceramic Window, which doesn’t serve any practical purpose but it’s a nice design touch that helps balance the big bump.

Meanwhile, the X70 and X70 Pro doesn’t have the Ceramic Window. Instead, both phones have a slimmer, rectangular camera module that blends more with the design. Camera lenses are arranged vertically, and the LED flash is situated in the middle part.

Story-ready cameras

Onto most people’s favorite part: camera performance!

The vivo X70 has a triple rear camera setup: a 40-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel telephoto, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. It doesn’t have the beastly lenses its siblings sport, but it doesn’t mean the vivo X70 can’t pack a punch in the camera department.

Regular, wide-angle, and 2x zoom

On a cloudy day, the power of Zeiss T* coating began to shine through. There were no exploding highlights whether you take a regular snap, a zoomed-in shot, or even if you use its wide-angle lens.

What I like about the vivo X70 is that the Zeiss T* coating isn’t its only strong suit. In whatever mode and lighting conditions, the vivo X70 showed its prowess.

Here’s a regular photo of a Salted Caramel Latte from Elephant Grounds Manila. Notice how the background took on a creamy blur, or bokeh since that’s a term most people are familiar with. I didn’t even use Portrait Mode to create the background blur.

The output reminded me of high-end phones that I’ve played around with over the past two years. This is some next-level sh*t from vivo!

Indoors, the X70 captures enough details and depicts an incandescent tone due to the lighting condition. However, the camera struggles in balancing the temperature as seen on the cool-hued highlights and warm shadows.

It’s definitely a rocker when it comes to photos taken with a lot of natural light. Some shots I’ve taken with the vivo X70 had a moment in my Instagram Stories.

With balanced colors and vibrant processing, I didn’t think of editing and plastering some filters like I would with my usual content.

The power of Zeiss T* coating can also be seen during dusk and lowlight. The neon and night lights looked crisper and sharper, removing unnecessary flares from blown highlights.

Great companion for food trips

In case you didn’t know the trick, I use 2x zoom to capture my food shots — be it a flat lay or a zoomed-in crop of the food I’m delighting on.

The X70 comes with AI processing that identifies food easily, resulting in a shot with popping colors. Although, even without the AI processing, the X70 captures vibrant photos of food whatever the lighting condition is.

See those strawberry doughnuts that were taken inside my bedroom in the middle of the night. The photo is kinda noisy, but they’re still vibrant and crispy.

Stronger, cleaner bokeh

Time and time again, we’ve preached on shying away from Portrait Mode since smartphone makers haven’t perfected the feature. And we looked like cutouts from a magazine whenever we use Portrait Mode.

But vivo has made significant progress in that area. Look at my dog’s photo and notice how it created that soft blur on its edges as if it was taken by a mirrorless camera.

Left: Selfie taken using default mode | Right: Selfie using Portrait Mode f/1.0

I’ve tried the Portrait Mode while taking a selfie and set the aperture to f/1.0 to create that strong background blur. And hopefully, add depth to an otherwise flat photo. If you’re unfamiliar with photography terminologies, the aperture is listed as bokeh on the camera interface.

The cutout looks awesome for the upper half, especially in my hair. It’s clean and precise — vivo certainly has come so far. However, it didn’t blur the railings of my chair and everything else on the bottom half.

This is precisely why I personally don’t like Portrait Mode. It looks unrealistic from a photographer’s perspective. And it still needs to be perfected. Moreover, strong blurs are often used on product shots and zoomed-in crops, not when you’re a little bit far from the camera.

Beautified, anytime of the day

Regardless of the lighting condition, the vivo X70 takes selfies that make you feel good about yourself. I have complained about unnecessary beautification even in regular shots taken using the vivo X50, but the selfie I took for the X70 is surprisingly better.

It retained the details — scars, pimple marks, wrinkles, and the texture of my face — but still made it soft and appealing. There’s still a pad of beautification, but it’s barely noticeable. The selfies are reminiscent of photos I took using Xiaomi’s high-end smartphones. Which, for me, is still the selfie king of smartphone brands.

The beauty mode, on the other hand, still gives an unreal output. But the effect gives you more flexibility and freedom to alter what’s only necessary, and hopefully tone it down. Do note that beauty mode is only accessible when you use Portrait Mode.

In my case, I put the aperture back to f/16 to remove the unnecessary background blur. And so we can focus on how the beauty mode lit my face as if it was glowing. Eyes are also sparkly, and my skin looked more alive. Except, it’s still far from reality.

I got good use of the beauty mode when I worked out at night. I wanted to take a selfie but I look so worn out. Using the beauty mode and a bit of background blur put more attention to my face — which has been looking lively and fresh even with all the sweat.

The only caveat is that I look like a Ken Doll (yes, Barbie Doll’s boyfriend) due to excessive smoothening. Even if I toned down the smoothening, the effect has been more visible due to direct light hitting my skin.

Nonetheless, vivo’s cameras for both front and rear are amazingly good. I actually took some photos that I uploaded to my Instagram feed — and I only upload photos from smartphones that I really like.

This photo is an example of a post-processed photo taken using the vivo X70. And yes, it’s up on my Instagram for anyone to enjoy.

Eye-candy display

Moving to its front, the vivo X70 sports a 6.56-inch AMOLED display. It didn’t have a curved screen like the vivo X70 Pro+ but the vanilla X70 still looked like a beaut.

Colors pop like any other AMOLED display, but are more evident in the wallpaper I illustrated back in 2020. Anyhoo, the vivo X70 offered a multimedia experience that lets you want to skip work. It didn’t have a stereo speaker, but the loudspeaker made up for it especially when you’re watching your favorite shows on Netflix.

It’s also perfect for gaming, allowing you to play titles that you enjoy even when they’re graphics-intensive. But for the record, MOBAs do well when playing on this phone such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Pokémon Unite. The X70 is lightweight so you don’t have to worry about straining your fingers from long gameplays.

Moreover, it doesn’t heat up easily nor lags on whatever you’re doing with the phone. Performance is buttery-smooth and seamless, especially when you use its 120Hz refresh rate. Oh, scrolling and multitasking are so good. Thanks to its MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor, 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and 128GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage.

FunTouch is now really fun to use

The vivo X70 runs Android 11 out of the box, with a skin on top called FunTouch. Apart from the Quick Settings Panel which kind of looks clunky, for the most part, it looks just like the Pixel launcher.

Google News Feed when you swipe to the right, and an App Drawer when you swipe up. It comes with a few nifty customizations. Quick Action, for example, lets you assign a shortcut to the volume down button. When you press it for two seconds, you can launch the camera or the flashlight.

Further, I think they have the best implementation of split-screen on Android. With one app open, you just need to swipe up with three fingers. The other half shows you the app drawer from which you can launch a second app.

Lovin’ that fast charge

The vivo X70 has a 4400mAh battery capacity, capable of 44W fast charging. The phone lasted me a day of social media use, horoscope browsing, and taking photos and videos for my Instagram. When my phone’s battery dropped to 14 percent, I charged it using its cable and 44W FlashCharge power brick.

Starting at 14 percent, the battery juiced up to 51 percent in just 20 minutes. Then, it filled up to 70 percent after 21 minutes. It moved to 86 percent after nine minutes, and after seven minutes, the phone’s battery level is now at 94 percent. After six more minutes, the phone successfully reached 100 percent.

Surprisingly, the vivo X70 filled its tank for nearly an hour.

Built-in apps are holding it back from being premium

With everything that we’ve tackled, the vivo X70 seems like a premium phone already. In some way, it already is. But I still don’t feel it. The problem here lies in the bloatware, especially with the unit I had here in the Philippines.

Notifications from multiple pre-installed apps pop up even during the first time I booted the phone. Most of it comes from its pre-installed Browser and the V-Appstore that comes with silent notifications. This can be really annoying if you’re the finicky type and wants your notifications cleared as much as possible.

I don’t really have a problem with notifications. Even high-end smartphones from Samsung and Huawei have those annoying ones. And you can even turn it off accordingly on the settings.

The problem is the content — a lot of which isn’t something that interests me. Most updates sliding in my notification bar are news picked up by the pre-installed Browser.

For example, stories about the break-up of local celebrities Aljur Abrenica and Kylie Padilla, as well as the new affair of Abrenica with AJ Raval. There are also stories about the dramas of Julia Barretto — none of which are stories that entice the market that vivo is trying to appeal to.

I understand that these are from partnerships that vivo has. Infinix, Tecno, and other budget smartphones have this. My business degree understands that these are revenue-driving initiatives. But it doesn’t really help with vivo’s goals to be in the same league as Samsung and Huawei.

OPPO doesn’t even have annoying content in its pricier smartphones, which is why I fell in love quickly with the Find X3 Pro. That’s one reason why OPPO was able to step into the premium category, and here’s to hoping vivo can follow its footsteps.

In the end, holding the vivo X70 with those notifications on felt like I was holding and looking at a budget smartphone like the Infinix Note 10 Pro. I’m certain that’s not what vivo is going for.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

The vivo X70 is surely an excellent phone. If you want to soak up the goodness of the Zeiss partnership and the pride brought by the X70 Pro+ as a competitive Android flagship that can rival even Samsung’s best, then by all means go ahead.

Consider the vivo X70 your GadgetMatch. It’s basically a stripped-down X70 Pro+ without all the bells and whistles. A vanilla variant that you can still call a sexy beast.

Its got killer cameras, buttery-smooth performance, and a convenient user experience that lets you live the most out of a tech-oriented lifestyle. It may have its shortcomings, particularly in stuff that holds its back from being a premium phone, but there’s always a workaround.

As an Android fan, I’m certain you can tinker around with the settings on the vivo X70 — and you can customize it the way you want it to look and feel.

The vivo X70 retails for PhP 34,999. It’s available in all vivo concept stores or kiosks nationwide.

Reviews

The realme P4 Power: realme’s midrange power play?

A power bank and a phone — and more

Published

June 19, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

Whenever a brand slaps a “long battery life” label on a box, we take it with a grain of salt.

Even as smartphone battery capacities have become larger as of late, endurance is still subjective. It’s heavily dependent on your daily screen time, signal strength, and other habits.

But when a smartphone lands on your desk with a gargantuan 10,001mAh battery, then that subjectivity basically goes right out the window.

That’s what the realme P4 Power chiefly brings to the Philippine market for the first time, in the brand’s P series relatively quiet debut in the country.

It’s here to eliminate low-battery anxiety and render your bulky external power banks completely obsolete.

Tether-less freedom

We wielded this device for weeks as a primary daily driver, and the endurance is nothing short of black magic.

The daily rotation included endless social media scrolling, video streaming, continuous navigation, and a relentless stress test: serving as a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for up to three separate devices simultaneously.

Through all that usage, the phone flat-out refused to die. I didn’t consciously “try” to drain it. I just know it would last an entire day for up to the wee hours.

When acting as a multi-device router, the chassis does heat up slightly, but it never crosses into alarming or uncomfortable territory.

It simply sips power, providing a level of tether-less freedom that no standard 5,000mAh or 6,000mAh smartphone can replicate.

When it is finally time to recharge the device, it supports 80W SUPERVOOC charging so you won’t have to spend hours waiting.

Even if you don’t replenish it back up to 100%, an hour’s worth of charging should keep you going the extra distance.

Immersive visuals, casual performance

The massive battery pairs beautifully with a expansive 6.8-inch 144Hz AMOLED display. With a high, 453ppi pixel density and 1280 x 2800 resolution, media consumption and gaming become highly engaging — at least from a visuals standpoint.

There is a wider aspect ratio so you don’t get a comically long phone, and a curved screen. We aren’t typical fond of this but the curvature seems subtle, meaning no accidental edge touches.

When it comes to performance, the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultra chipset handles everyday tasks and casual, less-demanding titles with absolute ease.

However, when jumping into competitive matches of Call of Duty: Mobile or exploring the heavy landscapes of Honkai: Star Rail, you will encounter frame drops and stuttering from time to time.

It’s never jarring enough to ruin your match or hinder what you’re trying to do, but it does occasionally disrupt an otherwise smooth gaming experience.

If anything, there’s Championship Mode and GT Mode to optimize the device for such tasks. Bypass Charging is a bonus so you can keep playing without the risk of device overheating.

Audio is loud but somewhat flat, but I didn’t expect much.

Heavy, mecha-inspired tank

That display curvature is part of the phone’s overall aesthetic. Around the back, the realme P4 Power embraces its “all about power” persona with a distinct, machine-inspired design language.

The upper half where the camera island is located, in particular, look aggressive and sharp, as if a nod to mobile gaming. The colorway for this unit is silver metallic.

However, housing a 10,000mAh cell requires a serious physical compromise: weight. This phone is significantly, undeniably heavy.

The sheer heft is a constant reminder of the juice it carries, to the point where switching back to a “normal” smartphone yields a stark, instantly noticeable contrast in your hand and pockets.

Reliable main camera, lagging selfies

For its camera package, the realme P4 Power comes with a dependable 50MP main camera with a Sony IMX882 sensor.

I didn’t exactly “test” the camera but just naturally used it whenever I was out and about. Hence, I ended up with plenty of food, product reviews, and random finds.

Performance is decent, with the 1x to 1.5x range being the sweet spot. Compared to budget devices, there is definitely more detail and texture.

Color reproduction is likewise amenable, with some depth and acceptable clarity. But camera-centric mid-rangers can obviously offer punchier, more “popped-up” contrast.

With OIS, video recording is likewise smooth. It’s usable for casual vlogging, although lighting is still the catch. You’ll need an extra tofu light for instance, which sacrifices the portability of the phone itself.

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The selfie camera, meanwhile, also lags compared to older realme number series devices I’ve used. Sharpness, vividness, and color accuracy are lacking.

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Built to survive the elements

As an added bonus, realme didn’t sacrifice ruggedness for the sake of capacity. The handset comes armed with a familiar IP69 rating for dust and water resistance, including high-pressure water jets and submersion.

We took it out on outdoor jogs, and heavy sweat didn’t cause a single issue. Even when dealing with moisture, the display’s touch optimization remained responsive.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

The realme P4 Power sits right in the competitive PhP 25,999 price bracket. In an era where smartphone prices are continuously climbing, it still offers a value proposition as an all-around mid-range device.

Think of it as buying a standard mid-ranger plus a power bank, minus the double pocket clutter. Long-term battery degradation remains to be seen but it seems the device is a fair purchase for power users.

It’s a close call, but the P4 Power is still a Swipe Right especially if your lifestyle demands endless battery life above all else.

Reviews

HONOR Watch 6 Review: Less guessing, more knowing

Beyond educated guesses

Published

June 18, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

After a week with the HONOR Watch 6, I realized I liked having data on things I normally would just leave to uneducated guesses.

I love seeing my sleep metrics, knowing if my heart is actually racing, and seeing notifications on the fly. These are things I find truly helpful in how I go about life currently. That’s why I can already see myself using the watch beyond the review period.

The thing is, I wasn’t expecting any of this.

The first thing that jumped out at me when I first wore the HONOR Watch 6 was that it barely felt like it was there. I was half expecting it to be this chunky-feeling thing. But it wasn’t. I was pleasantly surprised.

I have the silver model with the brown leather strap, and it feels light to wear. That was key for me because what I really wanted to track more than anything was my sleep.

The only time I really started to notice that I was wearing it practically all the time was around the fifth or sixth day. And honestly, that says a lot because I tend to want to take off most of the smartwatches I’ve used in the past.

A smartwatch that fits daily life

The brown leather strap is inoffensive in the best possible way. It blends well with both casual wear and smart casual outfits, which made it easy to keep on throughout the week.

In fact, I think it looks more at home during everyday life than during intense workouts.

That’s why I found myself looking at the HONOR Watch 6 less as a fitness watch and more as a health tracker that looks nice and tells me if there’s a proverbial fire I need to put out — or if she remembered me that day.

The display also quietly did its job.

Of course it’s a TWICE notification

You know, I didn’t even think about it. Whenever I needed to check the time or glance at a notification, I simply gestured as anyone would to look at their watch. No matter where I was, what I needed to see was readily visible.

That’s probably the highest compliment I can give a smartwatch display. It never gave me a reason to think about it.

Managing attention without reaching for my phone

Oof. I cannot overstate how many notifications I get on any given day.

As a Managing Editor with occasional side hustles, notifications come from multiple messaging apps. One moment I’m tracking production progress on WhatsApp, the next I’m checking what the team is discussing on Telegram. Then there are the emails, Messenger messages from friends, and the “… sent you a reel” notifications that have recently dropped in frequency to my dismay.

I don’t always want to pull out my phone to check these.

What I appreciated most about the HONOR Watch 6 is that notifications are grouped by app, and each one provides a clean preview. It gives me enough information to quickly assess what needs attention and what can wait.

For someone who is constantly juggling attention, that proved surprisingly useful.

Replacing guesses with data

The feature I was most interested in wasn’t fitness tracking.

It was sleep tracking.

Some time ago, a friend of mine started tracking her sleep and it helped her better regulate her energy throughout the day. I am nowhere near that level of discipline, but I was curious.

Between traveling across time zones, late-night coverage, doomscrolling, revenge bedtime procrastination, and everything else life throws at us, I honestly wasn’t sure if I was getting enough sleep.

What I learned is that I tend to wake up at least once in the middle of the night. Not for anything, really. I just do.

The mornings that felt best were often the nights where my sleep wasn’t interrupted. I know that sounds obvious, but if you’re not actively paying attention, these are the kinds of patterns you can easily miss.

The same goes for heart rate tracking.

During a particularly stressful stretch, I noticed my heart rate was consistently elevated. It wasn’t exactly surprising, but seeing the data attached to the feeling made it feel more real.

That’s what I found myself appreciating most about the HONOR Watch 6. It didn’t magically solve anything. It simply helped me replace assumptions with information.

Battery life that quietly impressed

As of taking the photos, the battery life is at 39% – still coming off the first initial charge.

I charged the watch the moment I unboxed it. Seven days later, it was sitting at 59%.

During that time, I wore it constantly. Notifications were enabled. Health tracking was enabled. I tracked a handful of kettlebell workouts and wore it while sleeping.

I wasn’t exactly pushing the watch to its limits, but I also wasn’t babying it.

The result was a battery experience that quickly faded into the background. That’s exactly what I want from a smartwatch.

Everything else

To be completely honest, I didn’t have the time or bandwidth to thoroughly test every feature.

My workout sessions were limited to a few kettlebell workouts and my usual walking. That said, the breadth of sports tracking available here is impressive. If you can think of an activity, there’s a good chance the HONOR Watch 6 can track it.

Pairing was also straightforward. The initial setup process and software updates went smoothly, even if updates immediately after unboxing remain one of my least favorite parts of testing any device.

My one annoyance came from using the watch with multiple HONOR phones. At times, notifications would arrive twice or arrive at slightly different times depending on which device was relaying them. There’s probably a setting that solves this. I just didn’t have the opportunity to dig deeper.

Same notification, two different phones

As for features like AI Recorder and NFC payments, I simply didn’t encounter situations where they became essential to my routine. That’s not necessarily a criticism. It may simply reflect how different people use smartwatches.

Is the HONOR Watch 6 your GadgetMatch?

Something I don’t think we’ve talked about enough is that the HONOR Watch 6 also works well with an iPhone.

If you don’t particularly like the look of the Apple Watch but still want a smartwatch on your wrist, this is a viable alternative.

The HONOR Watch 6 is for people who want useful technology that blends into everyday life. It looks good enough for casual outings and nicer occasions alike, while still offering the usual smartwatch essentials like health tracking, workout monitoring, notifications, and long battery life.

After about a week with the HONOR Watch 6, I realized I liked having data on things I normally would just leave to uneducated guesses.

Smartwatches aren’t for everyone. But if you fancy having one, the HONOR Watch 6 is an easy swipe right.

It has the right features, excellent battery life, and a design that fits comfortably into many parts of daily life.

That’s really all most people need.

Reviews

HONOR Magic V6 review: The best version of a book-style foldable?

Little left to sacrifice

Published

June 11, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Before I learned when the HONOR Magic V6 review embargo would lift, I had already become aware of the possibility of upcoming wide foldables.

The idea immediately caught my attention because it seemed to address one of the few remaining questions I have about today’s book-style foldables.

They’re excellent productivity devices. The larger, almost square-like display is perfect for multitasking, reading, editing documents, and working with multiple apps at once.

But much of the content we consume today isn’t square.

It’s vertical: Reels. Shorts. TikToks. Fancams.

Or it’s widescreen: YouTube videos. Movies. TV shows.

Book-style foldables can absolutely play these types of content. But when unfolded, they don’t always make the best use of the additional screen space because of their aspect ratio.

That thought lingered in the back of my mind while testing the HONOR Magic V6.

What surprised me was that despite that lingering question, the Magic V6 still made a compelling case for the current form factor. In fact, if the goal is to create a foldable that feels as close as possible to a regular flagship smartphone while still unfolding into a tablet, HONOR may have come closer than anyone else.

The HONOR Magic V6 is priced at RM 7,699 in Malaysia, with pre-orders running from June 4 to 11, 2026 and bundled gifts worth up to RM 3,797.

That’s flagship foldable money. Fortunately, the Magic V6 spends very little time reminding you that it’s a foldable and most of its time convincing you it’s simply a very good smartphone.

It feels like a regular smartphone

The HONOR Magic V6 looks and feels almost too much like a standard slab smartphone that you almost forget it can unfold into a larger screen.

That’s perhaps the most impressive thing about the device.

Most certainly, I felt the Galaxy S26 Ultra more when carrying it compared to the Magic V6. Despite being a foldable, it never feels cumbersome in daily use.

One of the subtle improvements I appreciated most was the button placement.

This is one of those low-key things you don’t really think about at first but becomes important over time. There’s little to no adjustment required when moving from a regular smartphone to the Magic V6 because the buttons sit exactly where you expect them to.

I use it alongside both the HONOR Magic8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the transition feels seamless. That’s something I can’t quite say about the OPPO Find N6, whose power button still sits at a height that feels a little awkward.

Folded, the Magic V6 doesn’t feel like a compromise compared to a traditional flagship.

It simply feels like a regular flagship smartphone.

Unfolded, it feels natural too. The display even feels larger than the Galaxy Z Fold7 and HONOR Magic V5 that I used previously.

And that’s where the appeal of a book-style foldable continues to shine.

Productivity remains the killer feature

The larger display became particularly useful during several production shoots.

I found myself timekeeping to make sure we stayed on schedule while simultaneously checking scripts and production notes. It’s one of those situations where the larger screen immediately proves its value.

On another occasion, I handed the unfolded device to a project lead so she could review a script while planning shots for the day.

It immediately made her stop and consider whether she should get a foldable herself.

Moments like these highlight the unique advantage of book-style foldables.

The larger screen doesn’t just exist for the sake of being larger. It enables workflows that simply aren’t as comfortable on a conventional smartphone.

That’s why, despite my growing curiosity about where foldables go next, the Magic V6 reminded me why this category became appealing in the first place.

Battery confidence is underrated

An overwhelming yes.

That’s my answer when asked whether the battery capacity translates into confidence.

The Magic V6 is an endurance beast.

I never worried about using it folded or unfolded throughout the day. I never worried about taking photos, multitasking, or spending extended periods on the larger display.

For the most part, I simply knew that no matter what I did during a normal day, I’d still have enough battery to get home or reach somewhere I could recharge.

As someone who tends to become conscious about battery life once it drops below 50 percent, that’s saying something.

I also noticed myself worrying about the battery less the more time I spent with the device. I got used to how much power it consumed depending on what I was doing throughout the day.

Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold7 and HONOR Magic V5, the Magic V6 feels like it has more endurance.

It also charges faster.

The media consumption question

Did the Magic V6 make me watch more videos than I normally would on a phone?

Not really.

Most of my phone-based video consumption consists of Reels, Shorts, and the occasional K-pop fancam. Longer content usually happens elsewhere. If I’m watching a movie, a series, or even a lengthy YouTube video, I’d much rather do it on a TV or tablet.

For the purposes of this review, I spent some time watching aespa Karina’s “Lemonade” facecam. I figured if there was any content I’d naturally watch on a phone, it would be that.

Folded and held in hand, it’s your typical smartphone viewing affair. In fact, the cover display is still a little narrower than I personally prefer.

You can also prop it up in Flex Mode and watch hands-free, which works surprisingly well when you’re sitting at a desk or table.

When unfolded, things become a little more complicated.

You can watch content in its original aspect ratio and live with the black bars. At night, they practically disappear. In brighter environments, they’re much more noticeable.

You can also pinch to zoom and fill more of the display. This works particularly well for content where the subject stays near the center of the frame. Facecams like Karina’s are a perfect example.

Why is Karina giving so much Shego vibes here?

The challenge is that much of today’s content exists in either 9:16 or 16:9 formats, while book-style foldables unfold into something much closer to a square.

The result is that the additional screen space isn’t always utilized as efficiently as you might expect.

That’s not really a criticism of the Magic V6 itself.

Rather, it’s one of the reasons I’ve become interested in the idea of wide foldables. The Magic V6 excels at productivity because of its aspect ratio. Whether that same aspect ratio remains ideal for modern media consumption is a question I continue to think about.

Cameras that don’t feel like a compromise

The camera system is one of the standout features of the device.

For a foldable, it takes really good photos. Photos I wouldn’t hesitate to post immediately on social media.

I’ve become particularly fond of HONOR’s Authentic Filter and used it extensively throughout my testing. The images look excellent and carry a look that I genuinely enjoy.

I still notice some limitations once I move beyond 6x zoom, but realistically, most users won’t spend much time there.

For everyday photography, the Magic V6 delivers more than enough.

That’s important because it removes one of the traditional compromises associated with foldables. Check out the samples below.

Witcher in Concert night

Food with friends

Taipei streets part 1

Middle Name Coffee and Space

Taipei streets part 2

Instil Coffee

Taipei streets part 3

Taipei at night + Bar Shock

Taipei at night + Backstreet Bar

Side gig

Sushi Party

Apple-friendly and easy to live with

One of the more pleasant surprises was how useful the Apple ecosystem features turned out to be.

Funny story.

I attended a sushi party where one of the guests happened to be an engineer who liked tinkering with hardware. He brought a small development board loaded with chips and components. When powered on, it mimicked the pairing process of AirPods and attempted to communicate with nearby Apple devices.

As he was scanning the room for iPhones, he was surprised to see his setup interacting with the HONOR Magic V6 I was carrying.

It’s a small anecdote, but it serves as a real-world reminder of how much effort HONOR has put into making the device work alongside Apple’s ecosystem.

More practically, I’ve regularly used the Magic V6 to move files between the phone and my MacBook Pro M4. The process is straightforward and useful enough that it naturally became part of my workflow.

The same can be said about durability.

The funny thing is people often comment about how not-so-careful I am with my devices. It’s not that I don’t take care of them. I simply carry a lot of gear at once and sometimes toss things into my bag without thinking too much about it.

Despite that less-than-careful handling, the Magic V6 hasn’t sustained any significant or noticeable damage.

Is the HONOR Magic V6 your GadgetMatch?

The HONOR Magic V6 is the fulfillment of the book-style foldable promise.

It’s a standard-sized smartphone that unfolds into something larger. It unlocks productivity and multitasking capabilities exactly the way you imagine it would.

The weight, thickness, and handling are about as close as you’re going to get to a regular smartphone. What’s remarkable is that HONOR achieved this while also delivering excellent battery life, fast charging, and a camera system that rarely feels like a compromise.

It won’t stop me from being curious about where foldables go next.

But it did remind me how good today’s foldables have already become.

If we’re judging the HONOR Magic V6 based on what a book-style foldable is supposed to be, there is very little left to sacrifice. That’s why I’m giving the Magic V6 the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.