Foldable smartphones were once an interesting new thing, but like many new things, they weren’t all that refined. A few years and many attempts later, the folding form factor has become a legitimate alternative.

Safe to say Samsung laid much of the groundwork with its Fold and Flip devices, but it’s no longer the sole, reliable player. Many hats are now in the ring but one that’s standing out just a little bit above the rest is the HONOR Magic V3.

With how it’s built, the HONOR Magic V3 feels like a culmination of what these folding devices are trying to achieve. It’s unexpectedly slim, and powerful, and it’s more affordable, too.

Thin, light, and puts up a fight

Folding phones are often described as bulky, high maintenance, and even fragile. And for a while, that was true but HONOR wants to redefine those expectations — and it does so quite elegantly.

The HONOR Magic V3 is unexpectedly and surprisingly slim for a book-style folding phone. At 9.2mm thin, it’s much slimmer than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6. The closest, measuring 9.5mm folded, is the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 but even those few millimeters make a difference with in-hand feel.

Folded, the Magic V3 settles nicely in the hand and can easily be mistaken as a regular ‘ol brick phone with a 6.43-inch display. Unfolded, you’re provided with 7.9 inches of screen real estate which is a godsend for multitaskers like myself — more on that in a bit.

The displays are both LTPO OLED offering 120Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision. The outer display isn’t HDR10+ certified, however, but the inner display is so you’re better off watching on it instead. Thankfully, the crease is next to invisible, and images on the unfolded display aren’t disrupted at all.

Now something that irked me in using this phone is that there’s too much screen. I end up almost always accidentally tapping something or scrolling away. Putting on the included case is also something I would recommend because it hinders you from swiping on the screen because of the raised edges.

But I suppose you’re fine using this without a case as well because, as mentioned, HONOR made sure to make the V3 more durable.

Offering an IPX8 water resistance rating, the Magic V3 can withstand submersion up to 2.5 meters (the official spec states 1.5 meters though). More interesting is a new gel material that HONOR developed. Used as a coating for the phone, this gel hardens upon impact to help reduce damage impact.

The hinge, HONOR says, is rated for over 500,000 folds which is more than double what Samsung promises for its Fold 6. There’s a bit of resistance when you open the display but nothing that’s of concern. It is hard to open with one hand, however, though that may be just my tiny hands talking.

HONOR was so confident with the durability of its folding phone that during its launch here in the Philippines, they stuck it inside a washing machine while we had dinner. It came out alive and working.

Power multitasker

From what I’ve observed, those who prefer book-type folding phones are those who need that extra space to work. Some use it to edit spreadsheets, some use it to edit photos and videos but both utilize the extended screen space.

With that, it’s no surprise that HONOR puts in a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and partners it with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This ensured that my day-to-day duties, like social media management and editing, were done without a hitch.

It’s powerful enough to handle video and photo editing on all sorts of apps, light or heavy, and is also a multitasking champ. Having a couple of resource-heavy apps in the background or many tabs open a browser didn’t really bog down the performance of the HONOR Magic V3 — at least not in a noticeable way.

I personally enjoy and prefer working on bigger displays which is the main reason why I often opt for tablets or gaming consoles when working out of the house. But in my time with it, I also found the HONOR Magic V3 a very viable alternative to working on the go.

The bigger display isn’t just big — it offers you different ways to work. Split screen is probably the most useful but you can also make better use of floating windows. If you need even more room to work on, there’s also Parallel Space which simulates another space you can switch in and out of.

But it’s not that all that serious of a phone and you can use it for gaming, very well too might I add. Genshin Impact held strong with steady frame rates at medium, sometimes high, graphics settings. And while I’m not a heavy mobile gamer, gaming on a folding phone was a lot of fun.

As for heat, it was barely felt during extended gaming sessions. One small complaint, however, is that the speakers, while of good quality, aren’t very loud. When playing or watching, I find myself clicking on the volume rocker only to find I’m already maxed out.

Finally, addressing another pain point of foldable, HONOR also made sure not to skimp out on its battery. The Magic V3 is surprisingly efficient in handling its 5,150mAh battery and can easily last well through a day of average to moderately heavy use. I was able to use it for about 10 hours outside the house before needing to charge.

It’s a given that the Magic V3 lasts longer when using unfolded but that’s not what you’re getting this phone for. With both screens deployed, the HONOR Magic V3 does cut its battery life down. I experimented by exclusively using it unfolded during a work day and fetched about 7 hours of use before I had to plug in.

For charging, thankfully, HONOR was generous offering 66W wired charging and 50W for wireless.

Yes, there’s AI

Because phones these days do get a lot of benefits from AI, the HONOR Magic V3 makes sure to have a few features and optimizations on board.

One of my personal favorites is Magic Portal which is basically Google’s Circle to Search but with upgrades.

Once activated, you use your knuckle to circle around content you want to know more about or to extract text. Magic Portal also allows you to transfer this to different apps. If you want to send a meme with the least amount of effort, for example, just circle around it with your knuckle and have the Magic Portal send it to your chats.

We also have other AI features onboard that are quite similar to what Google Gemini offers like AI face-to-face translation, AI eraser, and more. We also have the AI Portrait Engine which we’ve seen on the HONOR 200 Pro but more on its cameras in just a bit.

A better set of cameras

Camera systems were once compromised because of the form factor and while that is true to a certain extent, the HONOR Magic V3 camera’s system is on par with the rest of it specs and comes through for a flagship device.

For the rear, the Magic V3 comes equipped with a triple lens setup: 50-megapixel Telephoto, 50-megapixel Wide, and a 40-megapixel Ultra Wide. We’ve got AI support in the form of HONOR’s AI Portrait Engine and AI Motion Sensing which automatically fires the shutter when motion is detected.

But HONOR phones have a tendency to pack in too many megapixels with a sensor that doesn’t work. Thankfully, the 50-megapixel telephoto is now partnered with a proper sensor so you get better detail, colors, and light reception. It’s especially great when using the 3.5x optical zoom.

As mentioned earlier, HONOR ports over the AI Portrait Engine were first seen on the HONOR 200 Pro. It also continues its collaboration with Harcourt Studio bringing its filters to the Magic V3. Portraits look just as good but with a closer zoom, you will have to be some distance from your subject to get the proper focus.

In low light, it’s not all that dependable. It can be in certain conditions but, in general, you’ll need to be more patient when taking your shot. The software also tends to overexpose which is a shame because it does exhibit a pretty wide dynamic range. To remedy this, lower exposure before you take your shot.

READ: HONOR 200 Pro camera review: We’re impressed

But overall, I find little reason to complain. The HONOR Magic V3’s bread and butter isn’t its cameras but it still found a way to pack in some all-scenario, flagship-like shooters.

But it’s not perfect

The HONOR Magic V3 has a lot of things going for it — slim design, great battery life and performance — but if there’s one thing it needs improving, it’s software.

I’m no stranger to MagicOS but I haven’t had the opportunity to use it on a folding phone until now. Initially, everything felt seamless but as I wanted to do more with the phone, I found it was harder to figure out how.

For example, there’s a button you can tap to use the front screen as a camera viewfinder — but that’s all it is. A viewfinder. You won’t be able to see any controls on the front display.

To do that, you’ll have to go back to the inner display and drag the camera switcher button out to activate the front screen controls. But doing this, in turn, turns off the inner screen. You’ll have to tap another button to turn off the front screen before you can use the inner screen again.

There were also times when transitioning from the front screen to the inner screen wasn’t at all seamless. It would flicker and glitch before settling into place.

Hopefully, these are things HONOR can remedy with OTA updates.

Its price makes the difference

Another characteristic of folding phones? Lofty price tags.

While there are many folding phones on the market right now, availability will depend on where you are. In the Philippines, for example, we’re not spoilt for choice, and book-type folding phones are definitely a luxury.

This makes the HONOR Magic V3 all the more appealing. It’s priced well below the competition but shows little compromise. With HONOR rapidly growing in the country, I suspect it wouldn’t be hard to find proper after-care service as well.

Final thoughts

What I appreciate most about the HONOR Magic V3 is that it’s making quite a step forward for foldable smartphones.

The HONOR Magic V3’s thoughtful balance of flagship-like features and more accessible pricing (for a foldable) makes a compelling argument that this form factor is ready to move beyond being a niche luxury device.

It eliminates bulk without sacrificing too much of its performance or its cameras. It also addresses the fragility associated with this form factor by developing an impact-resistant gel and improving hinge durability. Software quirks and camera limitations show there’s still room for refinement, but for users looking to embrace the versatility of a folding form factor without the typical premium price tag, the HONOR Magic V3 stands as proof that the future of everyday foldable phones isn’t just possible – it’s already here.