It’s crazy to think that folding phones have only been around for seven years, and even crazier to think about how far they’ve come in that time. The original Galaxy Fold had a smaller front screen, a deep crease, and many compromises, but last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 addressed almost all of the original’s complaints.
Yet, there are a few areas where the Galaxy Z Fold 7 still fell short, but its chief global competitor — Honor — has consistently been proving that these were choices Samsung made, rather than necessitated by the technology available to customers. This is the new Honor Magic V6, and it hopes to prove that folding phones can have few compromises.
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A further refinement of the folding phone form factor
Building on an already-great folding phone
Last year’s Honor Magic V5 was a revolutionary successor to the Magic V3, and it launched just weeks before Samsung unveiled its revamped Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Magic V5 stood out as thinner, lighter, and, in many ways, better than Samsung’s lineup and key competitors in China and elsewhere.
The Magic V6 isn’t the revolutionary upgrade last year’s model was; it’s a more refined version. There are subtle improvements to the Magic V5, but the Magic V6 will also be a phone that performs well against the competition when it launches globally in the coming months.
The Magic V6 comes in four colors, and how thin or light it is, firmly depends on which color you buy. The white model remains the thinnest and lightest, measuring 4mm thin when unfolded and 8.75mm when folded, and weighing 219 grams. Meanwhile, the Black, Red, and Gold versions are slightly thicker and heavier, measuring 4.1mm when unfolded and 9mm when folded, and weighing 224 grams, 5 grams heavier.
This isn’t new for Honor folding phones, but, like last year, it doesn’t truly matter. Yes, there are some differences, and the thickness difference when folded would be somewhat noticeable if comparing both side by side, but it won’t make a huge difference in daily usage. That said, only the white version is technically thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, if that matters to you.
A flagship camera system on a folding phone
A true telephoto in a folding phone
The Honor Magic V6 camera proves that folding phones can have a flagship camera system, even when they’re super thin.
The Magic V6 features a 50MP main camera with an f/1.6 aperture, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens with a 70mm-equivalent focal length and 3x optical zoom. The latter is the largest telephoto camera on any folding phone to date, and it finally brings folding-phone cameras on par with the best non-folding phones.
The telephoto camera is a key reason to buy the Magic V6 over the competition. For example, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 features a larger 200MP main camera, but the 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto cameras both pale in comparison to the Magic V6, which further shows what Samsung and Apple need to fix with their next, and first, folding phones later this year.
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A feature-rich specs sheet for all use cases
The Magic V6 also hits a new high in battery capacity, with a 6,600 mAh silicon-carbon battery that is 50% larger than the 4,400 mAh battery found in the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Battery life can be a challenge for folding phones, especially if you predominantly use the large internal screen. Honor claims the battery can last up to 24 hours on a single charge, and while I haven’t fully tested this, my initial testing suggests it could meet these claims.
There’s also super-fast charging, which is among the fastest on a folding phone.
The Magic V6 supports up to 80W wired charging and 66W wireless charging, though it doesn’t include magnetic charging. That said, this is the fastest charging you can get on a folding phone, and this sets a benchmark that Apple and Samsung need to hit later this year.
The larger battery is made possible by Honor’s redesign of the Magic V6’s internals, which shrinks many core components, including a new antenna, speaker chamber, vibration motor, NFC module, USB-C port, and SIM card slot. The result is a larger battery with 25-percent silicon content, and if you buy the Magic V6 in China, you’ll get an even larger battery measuring more than 7,000 mAh, complete with 32% silicon content.
Another interesting point is that the redesigned internals mean the Magic V6 can offer full IP68 and IP69 dust and water protection, making it the first folding phone to do so. The redesigned Super Steel Hinge is the strongest we’ve seen on a folding phone and is rated to support up to 500,000 folds and unfolds based on Honor’s internal tests.
The whole package is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. It’s the first folding phone to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset, which is identical (in name at least) to the one found in the new Galaxy S26 Ultra. That said, Samsung’s latest flagship phone features a customized, optimized version of the chipset, whereas the Magic V6 uses the standardized version.
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Several software tricks, including Apple integrations
The best folding phone for Apple users
Beyond the hardware, the Honor Magic V6 is designed to integrate directly with Apple devices. There’s easy, quick sharing from your iPhone, although you need the Honor Connect app. There’s also tight integration with AirPods, including the same pop-ups for audio controls and connectivity.
Honor is positioning the Magic V6 as the best folding phone for Apple users, and it’s hard to disagree, especially since the phone integrates very well with the Mac. The Magic V6 supports one-tap sharing on iOS and Mac, and on the latter, it can also be used to easily share files or extend your screen.
We’ve seen many Android phone makers promote the ability to integrate with Apple products, but Honor’s integration seems the most complete yet.
Beyond this, there are a host of Gemini- and DeepSeek-powered AI features, including AI Eraser, an AI Upscaler, an easy ability to cut out and edit images, and a great AI translation app. The Magic Portal feature makes it easy to share to other devices directly from the quick settings menu, while Honor’s Deepfake detection feature is also present, helping to prevent you from falling for scams.
The Magic V6 runs MagicOS 10, which is based on Android 16. Honor has committed to providing seven major Android updates, so it should receive Android 23.
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The Honor Magic V6 proves that foldables can offer it all
The Honor Magic V6 is very similar to last year’s Honor Magic V5 but goes a considerable way to prove that folding phones can offer few compromises over their non-folding counterparts. It’s very similar to last year’s Magic V5, but that’s not a bad thing considering that it was a great folding phone in itself.
The result of all the changes is an experience that looks very similar to last year’s but features enough marked improvements to stand out against the competition. Yet, with companies like Oppo, Samsung, Motorola, and even Apple all set to launch new folding phones this year, it remains to be seen whether the Magic V6 will stand the test of time and how it will hold up in a full review later this year.
