HONOR Magic V5

The HONOR Magic V5 is a book-style foldable built around one idea: make a large-screen phone that feels close to a normal slab when closed. HONOR quotes a folded thickness of 8.8 mm and a weight of 217 g for the Ivory White version, and it still fits a 5820 mAh battery, a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera and IP58 plus IP59 ratings. This page is based on the published specifications and manufacturer information, and it explains what the phone offers, where it sits in the lineup and what you give up for the thin design.

Where the Magic V5 fits

The Magic V line is HONOR's inward-folding flagship family. The newer HONOR Magic V6 has since replaced it at the top of the range, and HONOR's own site now points visitors from the V5 page to that model. The slab-style flagships of the brand, such as the HONOR Magic8 Pro, serve people who do not want a folding screen. The V5 launched in China on 2 July 2025, and HONOR's newsroom reports a Western Europe launch on 28 August 2025, with a starting price of 1,699.99 pounds (1,999 euros) and four colours: Ivory White, Black, Dawn Gold and Reddish Brown. No US price is published on the pages reviewed, so none is given here. The global specification page lists a single memory configuration of 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. Against its main rival, the Galaxy Z Fold7, the numbers are laid out in the HONOR Magic V5 versus Galaxy Z Fold7 comparison.

Design and displays

The Magic V5 measures 156.8 mm in height. Folded it is 74.3 mm wide, and unfolded 145.9 mm wide. The thickness is 8.8 mm folded and 4.1 mm unfolded on the Ivory White model, and 9 mm and 4.2 mm on the other colours, while the weight is about 217 g for Ivory White and 222 g for the others. HONOR notes that the thickness figure excludes the screen protective films and the raised camera area. Visually, the design draws on an octagonal dome motif with diamond-pattern details and a three-dimensional curved cut on the back, and a large circular camera module dominates the rear.

There are two screens. The inner display is a 7.95-inch foldable OLED with a resolution of 2352 x 2172 and a 120Hz LTPO panel, and the outer display is a 6.43-inch OLED at 2376 x 1060, also 120Hz LTPO. HONOR quotes up to 5000 nits of HDR peak brightness on both, with global peak brightness of 1300 nits for the inner screen and 1800 nits for the outer one, 4320Hz PWM dimming and 100% DCI-P3 coverage. Both screens support stylus input through the HONOR Magic-Pen, with 4096 pressure levels. HONOR adds that the inner panel uses a carbon-fibre reinforced layer rated at 380GPa to resist bending, that the hinge is made of a steel it rates at 2300MPa and tested for 500,000 folds, and that the outer glass uses an anti-scratch nanocrystal coating. An "AI foreign object detection" feature is meant to warn if something as small as 0.8 mm is trapped near the hinge when closing. These are laboratory claims.

Performance and software

Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite on a 3nm process, with two Prime cores at 4.32GHz and six Performance cores at 3.53GHz, and an Adreno 830 GPU. HONOR adds a dedicated power-management chip called E2 and an "energy enhanced" SoC chip for efficiency. With 16GB of RAM, this is a flagship-class configuration that should handle multitasking, split-screen use and demanding games without trouble. HONOR quotes percentage gains for the chip, such as 44% lower power consumption and 45% higher performance, but these are manufacturer figures without published test conditions.

The software is MagicOS 9.0.1 based on Android 15. The big screen is where HONOR spends its software effort: a split-screen AI assistant, Google's Gemini integration, AI call translation, an AI deepfake detection feature and an AI motion sickness relief mode that shows moving dots at the screen edge. For people who use a mix of devices, HONOR Share is advertised for file transfer with iPhone, iPad and Mac, using the HONOR Connect app on the Apple side. The pages do not state how many Android or security updates the phone will receive, so check HONOR's policy for your market before buying.

Camera

The rear system has three cameras. The main camera is a 50MP sensor with an f/1.6 aperture and optical stabilisation, which HONOR calls its Falcon main camera. The telephoto is a 64MP periscope camera with f/2.5, optical stabilisation and 3x optical zoom, and HONOR also lists 100x digital zoom through AI processing. The ultrawide is a 50MP camera with f/2.0 and a 122 degree field of view. The front has two 20MP cameras, one above the inner screen and one on the outer screen, both at f/2.2 and both recording 4K video. The rear camera also records 4K video, with a maximum still resolution listed at 9216 x 6912 pixels, and stabilisation is a mix of optical and electronic.

The foldable form brings a practical benefit: you can use the powerful rear cameras for selfies by looking at the outer screen,. HONOR highlights a 64MP periscope telephoto for portraits and distant subjects, a night-shot capability and AI editing that removes reflections and blemishes. As always, the 100x figure should be treated as a digital enlargement and not as optical quality.

Battery and charging

The battery is rated at 5820 mAh typical and 5690 mAh nominal, a lithium polymer cell that HONOR describes as the first with over 15% silicon content. That is a large capacity for a foldable of this thickness, though the two big screens use a lot of power. Wired charging reaches 66W, and wireless charging reaches 50W with a separate charger. HONOR states that the charger is not included in the box in Europe, and that the contents depend on the market. The phone also offers USB 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort 1.2 output through its USB Type-C port. The brand claims the large screen can stay on all day thanks to its AI power management, which is a general statement and not a measured run time, so real endurance will depend on how much time you spend with the inner display open.

Who it is for

The HONOR Magic V5 suits people who want the productivity of a tablet-sized screen but are put off by the bulk of earlier foldables. Travellers who read, write or edit on the move, professionals who use split-screen and stylus input, and photographers who like a periscope zoom will find a lot to like. It also appeals to buyers who value 50W wireless charging and a high water-resistance rating on a foldable. If you want a different approach, the OPPO Find N5 is another thin book-style foldable, and the phone rankings show how these models stack up on published specifications.

Compromises to know about

• The thin 8.8 mm figure applies to the Ivory White version; the other colours are slightly thicker and heavier at 9 mm and 222 g.
• IP58 means water resistance, but the dust rating of 5X is not fully dust-tight, and HONOR warns that dust can enter.
• Stylus input depends on the HONOR Magic-Pen accessory, and the wireless charger is sold separately.
• The charger is not included in the box in Europe, and the 66W wired rate depends on the original charger.
• The price is high, at 1,699.99 pounds in Western Europe, and the phone has been succeeded by the Magic V6 on HONOR's site.
• No update policy is stated on the pages reviewed, and the 100x zoom is digital.

Overall, the Magic V5 is notable for making a foldable that is thin and light without a visible reduction in battery size or camera hardware. Its main drawbacks are the price, the usual folding-screen caveats and the limited detail HONOR gives on long-term software support.