Folding phones have reached a point where I don’t need convincing that they are useful. As a tech journalist who travels regularly, a foldable has become a laptop replacement.
I can conduct interviews, use live transcription tools, publish articles and juggle multiple windows from anywhere. My tablet is now redundant for many of these tasks because a folding phone is easier to travel with.
The Honor Magic V6 delivers on all of the above and with its R40,000 price tag, multitasking and a snappy performance are non-negotiable. But it’s the smaller details where the experience falls short.
The Magic V6 is almost identical to its predecessor, the Magic V5, and at 224g, including the battery, it’s impressively light for a device that opens to almost 8 inches.
The OLED displays are bright and well suited for consuming multimedia content, browsing social media or reading documents. The cover display is wide enough to type comfortably.
Performance is consistently fluid from its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This is despite the battery set to “balanced” mode by default; you can manually switch to performance mode for intensive tasks.
Switching between apps is quick, and multitasking and resizing windows is intuitive. You simply tap the top bar to switch to full screen, make it a pop-up window or replace it. If you tap the centre three dots, it adjusts the size of the window.
Durability is another plus, with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, among the highest for a foldable.
The phone feels solid in the hand; it’s designed for everyday use rather than something that needs to be treated like fragile glassware.
A big design gripe is the camera bump. The phone is 4mm thin when open, but the oversized camera module spoils the sleek form factor.
Another disappointment is the software experience. At setup, the V6 asked if I want to install Temu; not quite the premium experience given the price tag. There is also unnecessary bloatware in the form of pre-installed apps, even a mirror, alongside duplicates of Google Mobile Services.
I also ran into a bizarre software glitch after setup in the shortcuts menu, where it was blank due to “insufficient space”. After troubleshooting, I discovered a reset layout option that repopulated its icons.
These aren’t dealbreakers individually, but they do get in the way of the V6 feeling like a premium device.
One place the V6 outshines most foldables is the rear cameras, with the inclusion of 3x optical zoom on the 64MP telephoto lens. It also has two 50MP wide and ultra-wide lenses.
Portrait mode offers adjustable depth of field while macro shots capture detail, but selfies look filtered. Overall, it’s a strong camera for a foldable.
The Honor Magic V6 is a robust productivity tool, but at R40,000, the little niggles add up. And with passport-sized foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo changing the game, I’m no longer convinced the traditional tall design is the way to go.
Cool factor: 4/5
Usability: 3/5
Value for money: 3/5
