The foldable smartphone arena used to be a turf dominated almost exclusively by Samsung. But over the last few years, Chinese smartphone makers like Vivo, Oppo, and Honor have been punching above their weight. When I reviewed the Honor Magic V5 (my review here) last year, I genuinely wondered how Honor could possibly engineer a foldable phone any thinner without sacrificing structural rigidity or battery life.
Enter the Honor Magic V6. Honor has somehow managed to trim down the chassis even further while packing in a bigger battery, top-tier IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance, and Qualcomm’s flagship chip.
- Price: S$2,599 (512GB, version reviewed) / S$2,899 (1TB), available at Shopee or Lazada
- Inner screen: 7.95-inch LTPO 2.0 OLED, 2,172 x 2,352 pixels, 120Hz
- Outer screen: 6.52-inch LTPO 2.0 OLED, 1,080 x 2,420 pixels, 120Hz
- Rear cameras: 50MP, f/1.6 (wide, OIS); 64MP, f/2.5 (periscope telephoto, 3x optical zoom, OIS); 50MP, f/2.2 (ultra-wide)
- Selfie camera: 20MP, f/2.2 (wide)Cover camera: 20MP, f/2.2 (wide)
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- RAM & Storage: 16GB LPDDR5X RAM; 512GB / 1TB
- Battery: 6,660mAh silicon-carbon; 80W wired, 66W wireless charging
- Weight & Thickness: 219g; 4.0mm unfolded, 8.75mm folded
| PROS | CONS |
| Thin and lightweight design | Honor’s MagicOS still has occasional bloat |
| Flagships-grade IP68 and IP69 dust/water resistance | Price has increased |
| Superb anti-reflective dual displays | Rear camera module still quite prominent |
| Significantly improved cross-ecosystem Apple integration | |
| Higher 6,600mAh battery capacity |
To start, the Magic V6’s design remains its crowning achievement. Measuring a mind-boggling 4mm thin when open and just 8.75mm when folded, it is actually slimmer than many traditional slab smartphones on the market. Weighing in at 219g, it is lightweight and sits comfortably in the hand for extended one-handed use when folded.
Honor has upgraded the hinge mechanism using its proprietary “Super Steel”, boasting an impressive tensile strength of 2,800 MPa. You might have seen it on social media. The device towed a 1.25-tonne aircraft and a sports car without structural damage, earning ASIA Record and ASEAN record titles for the “Heaviest Aircraft Towed by a Foldable Smartphone”, and has been tested for up to 500,000 folds, which is equivalent to over 13 years of daily use.
In everyday terms? The hinge feels incredibly smooth, rigid, and completely solid throughout its motion. The crease on the inner Ultra Thin Glass screen is virtually imperceptible when looking directly at it, only revealing itself at viewing angles around 45 degrees from the side.
To me, most importantly, Honor has achieved full IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings. This means the Magic V6 isn’t just protected against submersion in water, but can also shrug off high-pressure, high-temperature water jets and dust ingress. Of course, I didn’t test these claims, as I still need to return the review unit. But the resistance ratings are a massive confidence booster for a foldable smartphone.
Perhaps the only slight downer is the large, central camera bump on the back. It adds noticeability to the thickness when laid flat, though it acts as a convenient rest for your index finger when holding the phone upright.
The 7.95-inch main foldable display and the 6.52-inch cover display both get upgraded to LTPO 2.0 OLED panels, allowing dynamic refresh rates from 1Hz up to 120Hz for optimal power efficiency. Visibility outdoors under Singapore’s direct sunlight is superb.
The outer screen peaks at an astounding 6,000 nits, while the inner display reaches 5,000 nits. Honor has also applied an anti-reflective coating to the inner glass, which noticeably cuts down glare when reading e-books or watching movies. Add to its 4,320Hz Pulse Width Modulation dimming for reduced flicker in dark rooms, your eyes will thank you during late-night reading sessions.
Under the hood, the Magic V6 is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with 16GB of RAM. Whether you are running multiple demanding apps, editing video clips on CapCut, or running graphically intense games, performance is smooth as silk and lag-free.
Running on MagicOS 10, based on Android 16, the software experience feels well-suited for the large inner canvas. The multi-window features allow you to seamlessly run up to three active apps side by side. On the downside, MagicOS still carries the occasional bloat software such as Honor Docs or Honor AI, which you don’t really need.
On the bright side, Honor has upped the ante when it comes to photo and file transfers with Mac and iOS devices. MagicOS 10 introduces Tap to Share (up to 60MB/s transfer speeds to Macs and iPhones), notification sync across devices, and even allows the Magic V6 screen to function as an extended desktop for MacBooks. It is not as seamless as iPhone with MacBooks, but it’s a welcome nod to users who live in a mixed ecosystem.
For photography, the Magic V6 retains a versatile triple-camera setup featuring a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom (and up to 100x hybrid zoom).
For daylight shots, as you might expect these days from a flagship smartphone, images are crisp with rich contrast, exceptional dynamic range, and accurate colour reproduction. For telephoto and portrait, the 3x optical periscope lens captures lovely natural depth of field, making portrait shots pop effortlessly.
Night mode performance is commendable. Noise reduction is handled intelligently without over-sharpening fine details or washing out dark night skies.
While still-photography performance is boss-level, 4K video recording remains fairly standard. While it is good enough for social media and vlogging, it does not quite match the video stabilisation seen on dedicated camera-centric slabs.
Honor has somehow managed to squeeze a huge 6,660mAh silicon-carbon battery into this razor-thin frame. As a result, battery endurance is fantastic. During my review, after a heavy full day of checking emails, streaming YouTube videos, and light gaming, I consistently ended the day with around 40% to 45% battery life remaining.
VERDICT: The Honor Magic V6 is a triumph in foldable design. It seamlessly addresses the historic pain points of the foldable form factor, offering unmatched slimness, IP68/IP69 ruggedness, flagship performance, and all-day battery life.
Priced from S$2,599, it isn’t cheap. In fact, it is more expensive than its direct predecessor at launch. Still, the Magic V6 offers better battery performance, faster charging, a slimmer chassis, and arguably better displays. If you are looking to step into the foldable smartphone market without compromising on standard smartphone durability or battery life, the Honor Magic V6 is easily your best pick.