What you need to know
- Honor sat down with CNET to discuss how its ultra-thin and durable Magic V3 came into being.
- The company stated how deeply it invested in the R&D side of batteries to pack one larger than its predecessor into a much thinner frame.
- Honor also didn't want to sacrifice quality photography, thus is why we have the large octagonal camera bump.
- The Honor Magic V3 launched in China in mid-July, but the company is preparing for a global debut at IFA 2024 on September 5.
Honor launched an incredibly thin foldable in July, and the company is getting candid about how that happened and its tough durability.
An interview with Honor's Magic V3 product expert Hope Cao and CNET highlights how it was known that "stronger and slimmer" was always the goal. Many of the internal components of a phone or, in this case, a foldable contribute to its thickness. The Magic V3 boasts five cameras and a beefy 5,150mAh silicon carbon battery. All of that was placed within a 9.2mm (folded), 4.35mm (unfolded) chassis.
Technically speaking, it appears difficult to pull off, but Honor informed the publication that it relied heavily on the R&D side of the battery. The purpose was to fit such a large battery into a thinner body to avoid sacrificing the longevity consumers have come to expect.
Then, there's the device's large camera bump, which takes on an octagonal shape. The reason behind it is similar to Google's huge visor on the Pixel 9: to keep photo quality high, crisp, and clear. Honor stated it took inspiration from "architectural dome structures" when designing the camera bump to avoid an eye-sore situation.
Durability is the other side of the Magic V3, as the company sought to deal with some user frustration with its predecessor. Honor added that it upgraded its hinge with an "extra set of swing arms." For context, typical foldable hinges only offer one set of swing arms, but Honor's additional set is said to increase its resilience by 1,250% over the Magic V2.
Cao said that Honor is investing specifically in "steel materials as part of the hinge" for durability reasons. Moreover, Honor's investments have bear fruit as it states the Magic V3's hinge has been tested to withstand 500,000 folds. Unfortunately, as the post notes, the device lacks full dust resistance and sports an IPX8 rating, like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. On the plus side, this means the phone can be fully submerged in water
Consumers in China are currently the only ones able to snatch up Honor's new thin Magic V3 foldable that beats the likes of Samsung. The phone's launch showcased its 6.43-inch cover display and immersive 7.92-inch internal screen. Internally, it's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The phone's rear camera array features a 50MP primary camera, a 40MP ultrawide-angle camera, and a 50MP periscope telephoto camera. The two front cameras (cover and internal) are also 50MP. Despite these specs, Honor told CNET there's more work to do. Cao said, "We do have some room to improve, especially the total photography performance and as well as the thickness of the module."
Honor's Magic V3 debuted in China alongside the Magic Vs3, which is just as sleek but with some unique attributes. What's more, global consumers should expect some Honor magic as the company is preparing to show off the Magic V3 at IFA 2024 on September 5.
